"I Forsee You Will Soon Have Money Troubles"

[Mulboyne]

[floatr][/floatr]Yomiuri: Fortune-tellers swindle gullible
Victims of fraudulent fortune-tellers are on the increase, with large sums of money changing hands after they have been told their "spiritual powers" are at a low ebb. Authorities contend that the popularity of some fortune-tellers and spiritual advisers is one reason why people let down their guard and succumb to fraudulent ruses. In many cases, fortune-tellers use psychological means to extort money from those seeking advice. One religious organization, Koun no Hikari, was ordered by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry in March to close its "change of fortunes" business, set up under the name of Takashima Ekidan Sohonbu, which it suspected of using fraudulent means to obtain money from the gullible. In 2005, at a gathering organized by Koun no Hikari at a hotel in Kanagawa Prefecture, a woman in her 70s sought the advice of a female fortune-teller in regard to her eldest son's business. The following exchange took place:

Fortune-teller: "Your son's spiritual power is waning, and his life force is weakening [a reference to her I Ching reading]."
Woman: "How can he recover his spiritual power?"
Fortune-teller: "You should pay 1 million yen for a year's worth of prayers."
Woman: "I can't afford that."
Fortune-teller: "Well, I'll give you a special discount then."

Article continues here The day before, the Yomiuri carried this story:

72% irreligious; 56% believe in supernatural
Seventy-two percent of Japanese do not have any specific religious affiliation, but many still believe in supernatural forces, according to a recent Yomiuri Shimbun survey...Views of people's religious sentiment were split, with 45 percent of respondents saying Japanese had little religious faith while 49 percent thought otherwise. However, 94 percent of respondents said they respected their ancestors, and 56 percent claimed to have had some form of supernatural experience. The results suggested that many Japanese feel little affinity to a particular religion, but many do harbor feelings of respect for things that are scientifically unproven...The recent popularity of new forms of spirituality and other new age-related beliefs, such as an interest in previous lives and guardian angels, was particularly prominent among female respondents...more...

[dimwit]

I wasn't aware that you could distinguish between fraudulent and non-fraudulent fortune tellers.

Even well educated people do seem to affinity to fortune telling in this country. I recall a number years ago being in a bar and chatting with a well educated women about the worth of fortune telling. In an attempt to prove my point, I took out a desk of Let's Go 1 shuffled them and asked her to pick out five and lay them out in front of her. The first card flipped was 'Stand up' which represented the need to be decisive. The second card was 'Grandmother' which of course symbolically represented her maternal roots. The third card was 'a ball' which represent the whole self....and so on.

By the end of my reading, she was convinced that I was able see her soul when all I had really managed to see was her her lacey pink bra as she leaned over.

I suspect that as a day job it would probably be pretty depressing.

[Mock Cockpit]

You took some Let's Go 1 cards to a bar? You funster.

[dimwit]

[quote="Mock Cockpit"]You took some Let's Go 1 cards to a bar? You funster.]

Hey, I was coming home from work.

[Greji]

".....Fortune-teller: "You should pay 1 million yen for a year's worth of prayers."......"

The resident rice cooker, who follows these sort of things, informs me that this is the "yasui hou". On group called Takashima eki dan, was getting 3 million a pop from the spinnsters until they were reported.

Wow, talk about a great part-time job. Meet with the mark, 20-30 minutes to hear the story, once around the Tarots and 3 mil. Now that sure as hell beats the minimum wage scale. Where do we sign up?

[dimwit]

Wow, talk about a great part-time job. Meet with the mark, 20-30 minutes to hear the story, once around the Tarots and 3 mil. Now that sure as hell beats the minimum wage scale. Where do we sign up?

Just go out and buy some Let's Go 1 cards.

[Mock Cockpit]

Hey, I was coming home from work.

Thought you must have been. Bonus points for going straight to the bar from work though. Wasn't Flankie Kobayashi's by any chance?