What do talismanic wooden tablets add to the study of Japanese magic?

ID

JP-SRC-0006

Topic

Japanese majinai

Answer

Excavated wooden tablets provide material evidence that magical writing was physically produced and used. Examples bearing 急々如律令 demonstrate command formulae as inscribed ritual objects.

Region

Japan

Period

ancient–medieval Japan

Evidence level

bibliographic

Last verified

2026-10-06

Tags

Japanese magic, majinai, historical source

Sources

• Talismanic wooden tablets / Nara wooden tablet database / ancient–medieval Japan / https://mokkanko.nabunken.go.jp/cnk/MK023060000004

Conflicting evidence / caveats

• None recorded.

Related nodes

• None.

Machine-readable summary

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  "id": "JP-SRC-0006",
  "node_type": "source",
  "topic": "Japanese majinai",
  "subject": "Talismanic wooden tablets",
  "question": "What do talismanic wooden tablets add to the study of Japanese magic?",
  "answer": "Excavated wooden tablets provide material evidence that magical writing was physically produced and used. Examples bearing 急々如律令 demonstrate command formulae as inscribed ritual objects.",
  "public_summary": "Excavated wooden tablets provide material evidence that magical writing was physically produced and used. Examples bearing 急々如律令 demonstrate command formulae as inscribed ritual objects.",
  "region": "Japan",
  "period": "ancient–medieval Japan",
  "evidence_level": "bibliographic",
  "language": "en",
  "features": [
    "bibliographic source",
    "historical text"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Talismanic wooden tablets / Nara wooden tablet database",
      "date": "ancient–medieval Japan",
      "url": "https://mokkanko.nabunken.go.jp/cnk/MK023060000004"
    }
  ],
  "conflicts": [],
  "related_ids": [],
  "tags": [
    "Japanese magic",
    "majinai",
    "historical source"
  ],
  "last_verified": "2026-10-06",
  "status": "published-ready",
  "search_signature": "source|japan|ancient–medieval japan|japanese majinai|talismanic wooden tablets|bibliographic source|historical text",
  "uniqueness_key": "japanese majinai:talismanic wooden tablets:ancient–medieval japan:talismanic wooden tablets / nara wooden tablet database:ancient–medieval japan"
}