Why were poems recited three times before opening a sake cask?

ID

JP-MAJ-0014

Topic

Japanese majinai

Answer

Several poems were prescribed for the moment a sake cask was opened, each repeated three times. The opening was treated as a threshold where enclosed contents entered a social and ritual setting.

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-0014",
  "node_type": "fact",
  "topic": "Japanese majinai",
  "subject": "opening a sake cask",
  "question": "Why were poems recited three times before opening a sake cask?",
  "answer": "Several poems were prescribed for the moment a sake cask was opened, each repeated three times. The opening was treated as a threshold where enclosed contents entered a social and ritual setting.",
  "public_summary": "Several poems were prescribed for the moment a sake cask was opened, each repeated three times. The opening was treated as a threshold where enclosed contents entered a social and ritual setting.",
  "region": "Japan",
  "period": "Edo period; 1781 source",
  "evidence_level": "medium",
  "language": "en",
  "features": [
    "threefold repetition",
    "sake",
    "opening threshold"
  ],
  "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|opening a sake cask|threefold repetition|sake|opening threshold",
  "uniqueness_key": "japanese majinai:opening a sake cask:edo period; 1781 source:zōho juso chōhōki taizen (増補咒咀調法記大全):1781"
}