The Cursing Kit of Ushi no Koku Mairi

Bibliographic Data

ID13044770
AuthorsSalvador Jimenez Murguia (corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume2
Issue1
Pages73-91
Publication date2013-03-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePreternature Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2161-2188 • E-ISSN: 2161-2196
PublisherThe Pennsylvania State University Press (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5325/preternature.2.1.0073
OpenAlexW25052977
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited6

The practice of Ushi no Koku Mairi is a form of execration loosely associated with the premodern rituals of Onmyôdô, which is a form of esoteric cosmology incorporating Shinto, Buddhism and Taoism. Today, Ushi no Koku Mairi is a syncretic product of Japanese folklore, quasi-religious practice, and popular culture, whereby clients pay for a cursing kit equipped with several items and a manual designed to guide the client through the curse-casting ritual. In this article I examine various artifacts of these cursing kits and draw on their historical, religious, and pop cultural development in an interpretation of their origins, as well as how they were constructed for modern use. I also survey the ways these artifacts are used in a sociocultural context where interaction with and among them cultivates a transcendent experience

Archaeology · Art · Buddhism · Context (archaeology · Curse · Folklore · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Literature · Sociology · Theology · Trance · Anthropology · Chinese history and philosophy · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Philosophy · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub