How did a charm reinterpret an ink stain as 'rootless grass'?

ID

JP-MAJ-0012

Topic

Japanese majinai

Answer

Washing was combined with a poem recited three times about rootless floating plants. The physical action remained central while the stain was symbolically reimagined as unable to take root in cloth.

Region

Japan

Period

Edo period; 1781 source

Evidence level

medium

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

Conflicting evidence / caveats

• None recorded.

Related nodes

• None.

Machine-readable summary

{
  "id": "JP-MAJ-0012",
  "node_type": "fact",
  "topic": "Japanese majinai",
  "subject": "ink stain removal charm",
  "question": "How did a charm reinterpret an ink stain as 'rootless grass'?",
  "answer": "Washing was combined with a poem recited three times about rootless floating plants. The physical action remained central while the stain was symbolically reimagined as unable to take root in cloth.",
  "public_summary": "Washing was combined with a poem recited three times about rootless floating plants. The physical action remained central while the stain was symbolically reimagined as unable to take root in cloth.",
  "region": "Japan",
  "period": "Edo period; 1781 source",
  "evidence_level": "medium",
  "language": "en",
  "features": [
    "washing",
    "threefold repetition",
    "practical action plus words"
  ],
  "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"
    }
  ],
  "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|japanese majinai|ink stain removal charm|washing|threefold repetition|practical action plus words",
  "uniqueness_key": "japanese majinai:ink stain removal charm:edo period; 1781 source:zōho juso chōhōki taizen (増補咒咀調法記大全):1781"
}