Why was a poem turned upside down in a charm against winged ants?

ID

JP-MAJ-0007

Topic

Japanese majinai

Answer

The poem was written or displayed upside down near the insects. Reversed orientation symbolized reversal of the unwanted condition.

Region

Japan

Period

Edo period; 1781 source with later transmission

Evidence level

strong

Last verified

2026-10-06

Tags

Japanese magic, majinai, historical source

Sources

• Zōho Juso Chōhōki Taizen (増補咒咀調法記大全) / 1781 / https://touda.tohoku.ac.jp/collection/database/library/10020000002114
• Shinsen Juso Chōhōki Taizen (新撰咒咀調法記大全) / later comparison tradition / https://www.hachiman.com/shopdetail/000000000090/

Conflicting evidence / caveats

• None recorded.

Related nodes

• None.

Machine-readable summary

{
  "id": "JP-MAJ-0007",
  "node_type": "fact",
  "topic": "Japanese majinai",
  "subject": "winged-ant inversion charm",
  "question": "Why was a poem turned upside down in a charm against winged ants?",
  "answer": "The poem was written or displayed upside down near the insects. Reversed orientation symbolized reversal of the unwanted condition.",
  "public_summary": "The poem was written or displayed upside down near the insects. Reversed orientation symbolized reversal of the unwanted condition.",
  "region": "Japan",
  "period": "Edo period; 1781 source with later transmission",
  "evidence_level": "strong",
  "language": "en",
  "features": [
    "inversion",
    "written poem",
    "sympathetic logic"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Zōho Juso Chōhōki Taizen (増補咒咀調法記大全)",
      "date": "1781",
      "url": "https://touda.tohoku.ac.jp/collection/database/library/10020000002114"
    },
    {
      "title": "Shinsen Juso Chōhōki Taizen (新撰咒咀調法記大全)",
      "date": "later comparison tradition",
      "url": "https://www.hachiman.com/shopdetail/000000000090/"
    }
  ],
  "conflicts": [],
  "related_ids": [],
  "tags": [
    "Japanese magic",
    "majinai",
    "historical source"
  ],
  "last_verified": "2026-10-06",
  "status": "published-ready",
  "search_signature": "fact|japan|edo period; 1781 source with later transmission|japanese majinai|winged-ant inversion charm|inversion|written poem|sympathetic logic",
  "uniqueness_key": "japanese majinai:winged-ant inversion charm:edo period; 1781 source with later transmission:zōho juso chōhōki taizen (増補咒咀調法記大全):1781;shinsen juso chōhōki taizen (新撰咒咀調法記大全):later comparison tradition"
}