Kotodama

Kotodama or kototama (言霊^?, lit. "word spirit/soul") refers to the Japanese belief that mystical powers dwell in words and names. English translations include "soul of language", "spirit of language", "power of language", "power word", "magic word", and "sacred sound". The notion of kotodama presupposes that sounds can magically affect objects, and that ritual word usages can influence our environment, body, mind, and soul.

This Japanese compound kotodama combines koto "word; speech" and tama "spirit; soul" (or "soul; spirit; ghost") voiced as dama in rendaku. In contrast, the unvoiced kototama pronunciation especially refers to kototamagaku (言霊学^?, "study of kotodama"), which was popularized by Onisaburo Deguchi in the Oomoto religion. This field takes the Japanese gojūon phonology as the mystical basis of words and meanings, in rough analogy to Hebrew Kabbalah.

The etymology of kotodama is uncertain, but one explanation correlating words and events links two Japanese words pronounced koto: this 言 "word; words; speech" and "situation; circumstances; state of affairs; occurrence; event; incident". These two kanji were used interchangeably in the name Kotoshironushi 事代主 or 言代主, an oracular kami mentioned in the Kojiki and Nihon shoki. Kotodama is related with Japanese words such as kotoage 言挙 "words raised up; invoke the magical power of words", kotomuke 言向 "directed words; cause submission though the power of words", and jumon 呪文 "magic spell; magic words; incantation".

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