6 Original Japanese Magic Manuscripts on Wooden Panels - Curses on deities, tombs and temples, erotic rivalry, revenge and jealousy, prophecies - 1620

6 original Japanese magical manuscripts on wooden tablets

Magical manuscripts on wooden tablets
Curses on the deities of the underworld

The locations are graves and temples,
erotic rivalry, revenge and jealousy, prophecies, burnings and executions

Size per wooden tablet: 7.5 cm x 5 cm x 0.5 cm

Cursed magical manuscripts are usually wooden tablets or lead sheets inscribed with inscriptions intended to influence people or other living beings through magical-ritual means or with the help of a deity, to deter them from their activities and to “restrict” them for a certain period, or to harm them mentally or physically, rarely even to kill them. The request was entrusted either to deities of the underworld who should carry out the curse, or the act was considered accomplished simply by the ritual handling of the tablet. For this purpose the inscribed lamellae were often rolled up, folded, or pierced with nails. Injuries to the medium were believed to be transferred to the cursed person as an analog magic spell.

Most of the specimens were buried in special places such as graves, temples, or ponds. In this hidden way, the messages were intended only to reach the invoked deities. Curse tablets were often used in legal disputes, but also against rivals in chariot races, in the theater, or in business. Erotic rivalry, jealousy, or erotically motivated revenge could also be the cause of the curses; some inscriptions were intended to attract the desired partner instead.

If the stolen goods mentioned on the tablets include clothing, jewelry, and cash, but also vessels, tools, and animals. However, capital crimes are not mentioned in the “prayers for justice” – they might have had a greater chance that the authorities would take up and investigate the crime.