If we are going to get technical, it's not nipple fortune telling. Rather, it's reading areolas, the area around the nipple. Yes, this actually exists in Japan.
Note: This article contains content some readers might find objectionable.
In Japanese, "areola fortune telling" is called "nyuurin uranai" (乳輪占い). A few years back, magician Eri Koizumi* (pictured, below) published a book called Become Happy: Areola Fortune Telling. Sound unusual? People in Japan thought it was rather odd and amusing as well.
Areola fortune telling never remotely caught on the same way that, say, palm reading or handwriting analysis have. Yet, here is the system on which areola reading is based. (Note the the images below are from Japanese television; however, this sort of fortune telling is not mainstream).
So... the idea is that nobody's boobs are the same. And whether you are female or male, like popstar Shingo Murakami (pictured, top), your areola can reveal aspects of your personality, your fortune, and your fate. In Become Happy: Areola Fortune Telling, basic areola types are laid out.
Here are some of the different shapes: dart target shaped, Gayla kite shaped, mango shaped, crabapple shaped, blueberry shaped, and blue mountain coffee bean shaped. And what do these shapes say about your personality type?
According to areola reading, dart target shaped means you go easy on yourself and are wound up. Kite-shaped means you like bettering yourself. Mango-shaped mean you are family-oriented, nice, and a hard worker. Crabapple-shaped mean you are smart and put importance on happiness. Blueberry-shaped means you are a show-off. And blue mountain-shaped means you are slow to show strong emotions to your lover.
The fortune telling isn't only based on shape. There is an areola color wheel as well that includes Oreo, Bitter Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Rich Milk, Strawberry, and Biscuit. Each shade on the chart indicates something about one's personality.
Oreo areolas means you are strong willed, by don't always pick up on what's going on around you. Bitter chocolate means you have a strong sense of duty and are chatty. Milk chocolate means you are well-balanced with being both kind and strict. For rich milk, being nice is both a strength and a weakness. For strawberry, you are influenced by the opinions of those around you—and you lose sight of yourself. And finally, for biscuit, you don't have your own opinion and you soon escape from reality.
Keep in mind that these charts are aimed at a Japanese audience, so they are accounting to the variation of shapes and colors within the largely homogenous population. What's more, they come from a magician who is a member of a talent agency for comedians. So the whole thing really shouldn't be taken seriously! Though, I would say the same thing about fortune telling based on blood types and astrology, but people seem to believe that, too.
今、当たると話題の「乳輪占い」とは？ [NicoNico]
*Koizumi recently suffered a bone fracture while skiing for a television program. We wish her a speedy recovery.
Photos: kanon_yks, ykhn_er, hiperxxx9, sora, 茨城の漢（おとこ）Ⅱのブログ
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