Why did old Japanese charms distinguish right from left?

Name: Why did old Japanese charms distinguish right from left?
Keywords: Japanese magic, majinai, historical source

ID: JP-MAJ-GRAM-0004
Topic: Japanese majinai
Answer: Ritual procedures could assign different meanings to the two sides of the body. Left-right distinctions may reflect yin-yang, sex classification, bodily cosmology, or the need for precise reproducible protocol.
Region: Japan
Period: cross-period synthesis
Evidence level: synthesis
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
Jakyō Jukin Hōsoku (邪兇呪禁法則) / 1684 / https://adeac.jp/iwasebunko/catalog/mp01002100

Conflicting evidence / caveats

None recorded.

Related nodes

Machine-readable summary

{
  "id": "JP-MAJ-GRAM-0004",
  "node_type": "conclusion",
  "topic": "Japanese majinai",
  "subject": "right-left distinction",
  "question": "Why did old Japanese charms distinguish right from left?",
  "answer": "Ritual procedures could assign different meanings to the two sides of the body. Left-right distinctions may reflect yin-yang, sex classification, bodily cosmology, or the need for precise reproducible protocol.",
  "public_summary": "Ritual procedures could assign different meanings to the two sides of the body. Left-right distinctions may reflect yin-yang, sex classification, bodily cosmology, or the need for precise reproducible protocol.",
  "region": "Japan",
  "period": "cross-period synthesis",
  "evidence_level": "synthesis",
  "language": "en",
  "features": [
    "direction",
    "body",
    "yin-yang"
  ],
  "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": "Jakyō Jukin Hōsoku (邪兇呪禁法則)",
      "date": "1684",
      "url": "https://adeac.jp/iwasebunko/catalog/mp01002100"
    }
  ],
  "conflicts": [],
  "related_ids": [
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    "JP-MAJ-0002",
    "JP-MAJ-0003",
    "JP-MAJ-0004",
    "JP-MAJ-0005",
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    "JP-MAJ-0007",
    "JP-MAJ-0008",
    "JP-MAJ-0009",
    "JP-MAJ-0010",
    "JP-MAJ-0011",
    "JP-MAJ-0012",
    "JP-MAJ-0013",
    "JP-MAJ-0014",
    "JP-MAJ-0015",
    "JP-MAJ-0016",
    "JP-MAJ-0017",
    "JP-MAJ-0018",
    "JP-MAJ-0019",
    "JP-MAJ-0020"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "Japanese magic",
    "majinai",
    "historical source"
  ],
  "last_verified": "2026-10-06",
  "status": "published-ready",
  "search_signature": "conclusion|japan|cross-period synthesis|japanese majinai|right-left distinction|direction|body|yin-yang",
  "uniqueness_key": "japanese majinai:right-left distinction:cross-period synthesis:zōho juso chōhōki taizen (増補咒咀調法記大全):1781;jakyō jukin hōsoku (邪兇呪禁法則):1684"
}