What Is the Japanese Word for Magic

November 25, 2021

Japanese belief that mystical powers dwell in words and names

Kotodama or kototama (言霊, lit. 'word spirit/soul') refers to the Japanese belief that mystical powers dwell in words and names. English translations include "soul of language", "spirit of language", "power of language", "power word", "magic word", and "sacred sound". The notion of kotodama presupposes that sounds can magically affect objects, and that ritual word usages can influence our environment, body, mind, and soul.

Basis [edit]

This Japanese compound kotodama combines koto 言 "word; speech" and tama 霊 "spirit; soul" (or 魂 "soul; spirit; ghost") voiced as dama in rendaku. In contrast, the unvoiced kototama pronunciation especially refers to kototamagaku (言霊学, "study of kotodama"), which was popularized by Onisaburo Deguchi in the Oomoto religion. This field takes the Japanese gojūon phonology as the mystical basis of words and meanings, in rough analogy to Hebrew Kabbalah.

Etymology [edit]

The etymology of kotodama is uncertain, but one explanation correlating words and events links two Japanese words pronounced koto: this 言 "word; words; speech" and 事 "situation; circumstances; state of affairs; occurrence; event; incident". These two kanji were used interchangeably in the name Kotoshironushi 事代主 or 言代主 , an oracular kami mentioned in the Kojiki and Nihon shoki. Kotodama is related with Japanese words such as kotoage 言挙 "words raised up; invoke the magical power of words", kotomuke 言向 "directed words; cause submission though the power of words", and jumon 呪文 "magic spell; magic words; incantation".

Mythology [edit]

Kotodama is a central concept in Japanese mythology, Shinto, and Kokugaku. For example, the Kojiki describes an ukei (or seiyaku) 誓約 "covenant; trial by pledge" between the sibling gods Susanoo and Amaterasu, "Let each of us swear, and produce children".^{[ citation needed ]} Uttering the divine words of the Shinto divination ritual known as ukehi ^{[ clarification needed ]} supposedly determines results, and in this case, Amaterasu giving birth to five male deities proved that Susanoo's intentions were pure.

Martial arts [edit]

Kototama or kotodama is also fundamental to Japanese martial arts, for instance, in the use of kiai. Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido and a student of Deguchi, used kototama as a spiritual basis for his teachings. William Gleason says Ueshiba "created aikido based on the kototama principle," and quotes him that "Aikido is the superlative way to practice the kototama. It is the means by which one realizes his true nature as a god and finds ultimate freedom."^[1] Mutsuro Nakazono, a disciple of Ueshiba, wrote books on the importance of kototama in aikido, such as The Kototama Principle in 1983.^[2]

Equivalences [edit]

While other cultures have parallels to kotodama, such as mantra, yanling, mana, and logos, some Japanese people believe the "word spirit" is unique to the Japanese language. One of the classical names of Japan is kototama no sakiwau kuni (言霊の幸わう国, "the land where the mysterious workings of language bring bliss"),^[3] ^{[ ISBN missing ]} ^{[ page needed ]} a phrase that originated in the Man'yōshū.

References [edit]

^ Gleason, William (1994). The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido. Rochester, Vermont: Destiny Books. p. 55. ISBN9780892815081 . Retrieved 6 November 2017.
^ Gleason, William (1995). The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido. Simon and Schuster. p. 194. ISBN9781620551226 . Retrieved 6 November 2017.
^ Kenkyūsha's New Japanese-English Dictionary (5th ed.). 2003. the ⌈soul [spirit] of language; the miraculous power of ⌈language [a phrase, a spell].

External links [edit]

Look up kotodama in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Kotodama, Encyclopedia of Shinto
KOTODAMA, Encyclopedia of Aikido
Kotodama: The Power of Words, A Videogame that teaches Japanese, Carnegie Mellon

What Is the Japanese Word for Magic

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotodama

Livingston Wrig1987