fortune-telling slip; street fortune-teller
Historical term for a practice where a fortune-telling message was written on a slip of paper and left at a crossroads, or for the fortune-teller who interpreted it. Now mostly encountered in historical or literary contexts.
In the Edo period, there was a custom of fortune-telling using slips of paper called tsujiura left at crossroads.
There is a classical rakugo story based on tsujiura.
Japanese fortune cookie
Standard kanji spelling for this historical term.
Kana spelling may be used when the kanji are obscure or for clarity.
From 辻 “crossroads” and 占 “divination.” 辻占 originally involved interpreting words heard from passersby at a crossroads, and later also referred to fortune slips and their sellers.