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Topic: Kokkuri (Read 1482 times) |
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Koomori
Beer-Guzzling Gaijin
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I have been reading a book called Pandemonium and Parade. It has some very interesting and literal discussions on many Yokai and I have found the entry on Kokkuri to be particularly interesting. Perhaps this is because in my western mindset, I equate this to my experiments with the Ouja board as a kid and teenager.
Does anyone else have anything to share about this? I know that Kokkuri has been personified in the media, likely for the purposes of plot... but what if there could be such a spirit that held influence over the manipulation of tools used to do work on a metaphysical level.
That being said, I was wondering about what your opinions are. Is the effectiveness of a Kokkuri table or other tool governed by the user and their belief in the actions being taken or can it be perhaps personified by a ruling ghost?
I have been thinking about this ever since my last art piece for a project focusing on yokai. I chose to personify the effectiveness of a Kokkuri table by drawing a female spirit to represent the device being used as a medium to channel several other types of yokai (three whose corresponding names are written on the legs of the Kokkuri table).
What do you think?
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| « Last Edit: 07/26/09 at 20:53:40 by Koomori » |
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VilaJunkie
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Re: Kokkuri
« Reply #1 on: 07/27/09 at 16:52:11 » |
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I don't really know what a Kokkuri table is, as I haven't read that book yet. Could you explain its use and any other info you have about it?
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Koomori
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Re: Kokkuri
« Reply #2 on: 07/29/09 at 09:50:31 » |
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Sure. well, it's pretty simple really. Like I said, it is much like a Ouja board. Basically the way it goes is this. You have a round flat piece as well as three legs that come to a point and balance that flat round piece. upon each leg you would inscribe the names of entities you would like a spiritual connection to. you would then use the round flat piece balanced upon the rods to do so.
The round flat piece has the hiragana syllabary written upon it as well as some commonly used kanji - so much like how an Ouja board is laid out with the ABC's, Yes, No, Hello and Goodbye.
The theory is that enough focus upon the Kokkuri table will channel the requested spirits by means of moving about a piece that slides about to spell out words or - in some cases, the legs will thump and rock that third piece (the eye) about depending on what entity is present.
To rephrase the object of my discussion, I was curious to know whether people believe it is the tool that delivers outcomes or perhaps a spirit that governs the tool. Regardless of how it works, I guess I am trying to figure out whether or not it should qualify as a yokai. Things like this are a matter of interpretation I suupose but i was curious about the shared views here.
Is the kokkuri a tool..... or is it a yokai medium? The table itself is a tool yes... but can the metaphysical outcome be credited only to the use of this tool or can we say, perhaps, Kokkuri is a yokai medium with connections to all other yokai and possibly other metaphysical feats but can only be contacted through the use of a Kokkuri table?
Personally, I don't know what to believe. In a way though, I would almost like to believe that there is one central spirit medium that can connect the metaphysical to the physical- through use of a kokkuri table or otherwise.
...is anyone following me on this?
*weak smile*
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kurent
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Re: Kokkuri
« Reply #3 on: 07/29/09 at 14:57:52 » |
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on 07/29/09 at 09:50:31, Koomori wrote:
...is anyone following me on this?
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Basically, what you're asking is whether the Kokkuri board is, as is the deal with Oujia boards, merely a non-sentient transmiter for the otherworldly, or could it be considered, given the Japanese view of the otherworldly, as not a walkie-talkie-like medium, but a fully fledged spirit in and of itself. A sort of weird, faux tsukumogami, if you will.
Did I get that right? (bear in mind, even if I did, I'm not proposing any answers, just trying to clarify.)
In any case, it would probably help a lot to research the history of these boards. If they are recently emerged items, Japanese renditions of the Oujia board, then I doubt they were ever considered more than a novelty channel to the spirits. If they are an originaly Japanese item, though...
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Tatsu
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Re: Kokkuri
« Reply #4 on: 07/29/09 at 16:54:15 » |
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Way back in my teens as one of a group of trainee zoo keepers i took part in a ouja session. The glass slid about the table and i found i could predict what it was going to spell out. It seemed as if the others and i had made a mental gestault and i had seized control. The glass went were i metal told it to.
All this took place clandestinly behind in the education center of Twycross zoo when no public were about. Later i returned to the room on my own to get something and quite plainly saw the glass move twice on its own.
I think it has something to do with the power of our minds and residual mental energy.
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| « Last Edit: 07/29/09 at 16:54:31 by Tatsu » |
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Tonguespout
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Re: Kokkuri
« Reply #5 on: 07/31/09 at 02:11:44 » |
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狐狗狸さん
狐 (ko)=kitsune=fox
狗 (ku)=variant kanji for dog as in Tengu (天狗)
狸 (ri)=tanuki
Three people make the "board" by writing kana, hai, iie, and the kanji for "gate": 門 and sometimes other common kanji such as "man" and "woman". They use a ten yen coin. One person represents each animal and spirits of those animals can possess the people using the board. If the person representing the dog is "possessed", the spirit is suposedly the ghost of a once living person. The way to "call" kokkurisan also varies but it usually goes something like this: kokkurisan, kokkurisan.This is ~town, ~city, ~prefecture, Japan. Please come and move this coin. If she comes, the coin will move from the gate to "hai". There are many rules: You have to thank her when she leaves, you can't stop until she decides to leave, you must cut up the paper into 48 pieces (each with a kana on it), you can't use the coin for a certain amount of time, etc.
The information above is from a documentary I saw. There are several movies about the "curse" of Kokurisan sometimes involving variations of the board, and name kokkuri: cupid and angel are the two most common variants. The "curse" of kokkurisan is now urban legend.
Kokkurisan has its origins in the Edo period (1800s...probobly in the 1850s) when sailors made port, it is believed that they had quija boards and the Japanese copied. The elaberate "table turning" you described was common when kokkurisan first started, but now its pretty much a "spooky" game that junior high schoolers play to creep each other out.
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| « Last Edit: 07/31/09 at 02:21:23 by Tonguespout » |
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Koomori
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Re: Kokkuri
« Reply #6 on: 07/31/09 at 08:38:15 » |
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Yes! *excited nod* kurent, you are exactly correct in that being what I was asking. I apologize because sometimes I feel like I cannot express myself. It isn't often I talk to other people so I am lacking in practice. You did a great job re-expressing that and I thank you for it.
Tonguespout pretty much gave some of the information you can find in the book Pandemonium and Parade too and that is very helpful.
And Tatsu... that's very interesting. I messed around with divinary tools before as well. I used tea leaf cards, tarot, runes as well as played Ouja a few times. But then I got into Eastern Mysticism and ... that's a whole other message board of discussion. LOL!
I suppose I can see that you have a point about the effectiveness being quite dependent upon the given mindset and strength of will/belief or amount of focus within each participant. that leads me to believe that you consider the Kokkuri table as more of an object that acts as a medium and not an object that summons a spirit who in turn uses the object to summon other spirits... is this correct?
If so, i can agree to that but I do think the personification is pretty nifty even if it can be considered an urban legend. I was hoping it was an actual yokai medium and not just a tool. I mean... a spirit medium with a connection to all yokai... even if it is just a conception based on perception, it's still really cool to think about. ^__^
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| « Last Edit: 07/31/09 at 08:39:37 by Koomori » |
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Tonguespout
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Re: Kokkuri
« Reply #7 on: 08/01/09 at 20:57:47 » |
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Quote:| Is the kokkuri a tool..... or is it a yokai medium? The table itself is a tool yes... but can the metaphysical outcome be credited only to the use of this tool or can we say, perhaps, Kokkuri is a yokai medium with connections to all other yokai and possibly other metaphysical feats but can only be contacted through the use of a Kokkuri table? |
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My understanding is that the table (or paper and coin) are used as a tool by people to summon something: spirit of the dead, a fox spirit likely to cause trouble, or a tanuki spirit. In modern times Kokkurisan has come to be thought of as a single entity, but that was not always the case: the spirits that came varied, as did their motives. Kokkurisan is not a single youkai medium, it is a generalized name for a set of spirits.
But, as far as youkai are concearned, when a person is possessed by a fox there is an existing name for that: kitsunetsuki (狐付き). Possession by the spirit of a dead person also is a recorded phenomina in stuff about youkai. Possession by tanuki...I've never heard about that...yet.
Quote:A sort of weird, faux tsukumogami, if you will.
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The tables aren't really used today...paper and ten yen coins are. But there are specific rules about how to dispose of the paper and coin after you are finnished...so there is obviously some sort of left-over "spiritual power" from the contacted spirit.
Edit: ooops.
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| « Last Edit: 08/02/09 at 01:50:22 by Tonguespout » |
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kurent
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Re: Kokkuri
« Reply #8 on: 08/01/09 at 23:04:08 » |
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move along, nothing to see here
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| « Last Edit: 08/02/09 at 22:33:47 by kurent » |
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Dread Blue
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Re: Kokkuri
« Reply #9 on: 08/02/09 at 22:33:02 » |
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I think it's important to remember that Kokkuri is (or was) a close relative, both in practice and in theory, to the spiritualism of Europe. In fact, historical evidence suggests it was learned by Japanese from shipwrecked Western sailors. And spiritualism in Europe has always been something of a New Age pursuit (call it proto-New Age, if you will), having very little to do with tradition or folklore.
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