Previously: The Lookee Lookee Game.
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Looking for a fortune-telling game? Here’s one from Japan you may not have tried yet: Asobime-san, or, as I tend to think of it as, the Origami Paper Ritual. Why such different names? Well, one of them (Asobime-san) is the correspondent you’re supposedly summoning when you play, while the other (origami paper — specifically a piece of red origami paper) is a key ingredient necessary for the summoning.
It’s true that you won’t be folding it — but that’s why it’s the Origami Paper Ritual, not just the Origami Ritual. What you do to the paper matters, after all.
I’ve only ever seen this game in Japanese; as far as I know, it hasn’t made its way to other linguistic or cultural corners of the internet yet. Originally posted to 2ch (now 5ch) on April 19, 2008, it’s part of that same crop of ritual games that spread in the mid-to-late-2000s via the internet in Japan that include things like One Person Chit-Chat, Chizuko/the Attic Game, and, of course, the Elevator Game.
[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]
Interestingly, most of the 2ch users passing the rules to Asobime-san around didn’t have a terrific idea of who Asobime-san really was; however, a couple of notes shared a few possible meanings of the word “Asobime,” among them “shrine maiden” and “courtesan.” These ideas aren’t totally out of the realm of possibility, as it turns out; during the Heian era (about 794 to 1185 CE), asobi or asobi-be were, at various points — and occasionally in conjunction with one another — Shinto priestesses dedicated to the goddess Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, singers and performers of imayō music, and, yes, courtesans. For more on asobi-be, I highly recommend checking out Yung-Hee Kim Kwon’s article “The Female Entertainment Tradition in Medieval Japan: The Case of ‘Asobi’” from the May 1988 issue of the Theatre Journal.
For what it’s worth, the name “Asobime-san” is rendered as アソビメさん in all of the sources I’ve found for this one; that means there’s pretty much no mistaking how it’s pronounced. Since it’s expressed in katakana and hiragana characters, which are phonetic, rather than using kanji, which isn’t, it’s clear that it’s A (ア) So (ソ) Bi (ビ) Me (メ) San (さん).
However, the usual disclaimers apply here — I had to conduct the research almost entirely in Japanese, which I’m familiar with but not fluent in, so there’s something of a language barrier at work here. If you’re fluent, though, you can find the original Japanese version here. (And do let me know if I’ve gotten anything wrong, translation-wise — I’ll update and credit accordingly.)
And, of course, our other disclaimer applies, too:
Play at your own risk.
Players:
- One principal.
Requirements:
- A piece of red origami paper.
- A writing implement.
- A large bowl or basin.
- Water — enough to fill the bowl or basin.
- A strand of your own hair.
- A small stone or other heavy item. (Optional, but recommended.)
- A time-keeping device. (Optional, but recommended.)
- A candle. (Optional, but recommended.)
- Matches or a lighter.
- A northern-facing room.
- One question — maybe two, if you’re feeling brave — to which you desire an answer. Information you wish to know. A fortune you wish to be told.
Instructions:
The Awakening:
- Begin at 3am.
- Bring all your supplies to the northern-facing room in which you intend to play.
- If using the candle, set it up in a location within the room that will allow it to illuminate the actions you are about to perform. Light it using the matches or lighter.
- NOTE: If there are windows within the room, it is NOT required that you draw the curtains. Indeed, if there are windows, and they provide enough moonlight to illuminate the space as you carry out the ritual, it is preferable that you rely on the moonlight, rather than the light of a candle.
- Using the writing implement, draw two eyes on the piece of origami paper.
- Keeping the origami paper oriented such that the side with the eyes is facing you, fold all four edges of the paper inward about 2cm each. Do NOT fold the paper over the eyes; the eyes should still be visible to you — and you to them.
- Fill the bowl or basin with water.
- Pluck one strand of hair from your own head.
- Place the hair on top of the piece of origami paper; then, keeping the paper eyes side up, submerge it and hair atop it within the basin of water. If the paper and hair will not sink, place the stone or other heavy item on top of it to weigh it down. The paper and hair should stay submerged at the bottom of the basin without you needing to hold it there with your hand.
- Look into the basin. Look at the eyes on the paper. Keep your eyes trained on the eyes on the paper in the basin.
- Now, begin to chant aloud the following phrase: “Asobime-san, it’s time to work. Please wake up.”
- Keep chanting.
- Do not look away from the eyes on the paper.
- Keep chanting.
- Watch the paper. Keep chanting.
- If nothing changes within 15 minutes: The ritual has failed; do not proceed. Remove the paper and hair from the basin of water and dispose of them quickly and completely. Empty the basin of water, extinguish the candle if necessary, gather up the rest of your supplies, and vacate the premises. You may try again another time if you like.
- If the folded edges of the paper begin to shake or tremble: The ritual has succeeded; your correspondent has arrived. You may proceed.
The Work:
- You may now ask one question of your correspondent. Speak it aloud, clearly and distinctly.
- Keep your eyes trained on the eyes on paper.
- Do not look away.
- The answer to your question should become clear to you in some way, shape, or form. Precisely how, though, is not prescribed. You must pay attention, and determine whether you have received an answer — and what it may be — yourself.
- Do not look away from the eyes on the paper.
- Once you have received your answer, you may — if you are feeling brave — attempt to ask a second question.
- NOTE: It is NOT required that you ask a second question. Should you choose to ask only one, proceed directly from The Work: Step 5 to The Farewell, bypasssing The Work: Steps 6 through 9.
- Keep your eyes trained on the eyes on paper.
- Do not look away.
- Again, the answer to your question should become clear to you in some way, shape, or form. Pay attention. Do not look away from the eyes on the paper.
The Farewell:
- When you have received your answers, thank your correspondent for their time and the effort they have expended for you. Speak aloud the words, “Asobime-san, thank you. Your work is finished. Please sleep now.” Clap your hands once, loudly. Now: Listen.
- If you hear the clap echo back at you: Your correspondent has not yet departed. Do not proceed. Repeat Step 1 of The Farewell. Repeat this step as many times as necessary to proceed.
- If you do not hear the clap echo back at you: Your correspondent has departed. You may proceed. You may now look away from the eyes on the paper.
- Remove the paper and hair from the basin of water. Tear off the four edges of the paper you had previously folded inward. Deposit the torn-off edges, along with the hair, into the toilet. Flush both paper and hair away.
- Fold up the remainder of the paper such that the pair of eyes is no longer visible to you — nor you to them.
- Burn the paper to ashes and dispose of the remains.
- Extinguish the candle.
Additional Notes:
This game should be played ONLY between 3am and 3:30am. Do not begin later than 3am. Do not allow the game to go on beyond 3:30am.
Some sources stipulate that the following people should not undertake the ritual: Conventionally attractive men; men who are overconfident in their own appearance; or menstruating people. People with these characteristics who perform the ritual may be at risk of experiencing possession as a result.
Sources are vague on precisely how the answer to your question is revealed to you. It is simply remarked upon that you will see it, or you will not. Whether that means you will see it in within the basin of water, or within the eyes of the paper, or within your own mind’s eye, or in some other way is not specified. The only advice available for “seeing” it is: Be patient, and pay attention.
If you are unable to discern an answer to the first question you ask, you may attempt to gain clarity by touching your own eye and saying aloud, “I’ll make it better.” If, at that point, you still do not receive an answer, do NOT attempt to ask a second question. Your correspondent has chosen not to respond; it would be rude to continue to press the matter. Instead, clap your hands three times and, for each clap, repeat aloud the word, “Dismissed.”
Do not attempt to ask more than two questions. It wouldn’t do to be greedy, now, would it?
Regarding Early Termination:
If, at any point, you look away from the eyes on the paper — whether intentionally or by accident — terminate the ritual IMMEDIATELY. Follow the procedure laid out in Steps 2 through 5 of The Farewell: Remove the paper and hair from the basin of the water; tear off the four folded edges of the paper; flush the torn-off edges and the hair down the toilet; and fold up the remainder of the paper, burn it completely, and dispose of the ashes.
It is not recommended that you try again.
Ever.
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[Photo via royharryman/Pixabay]
