Magic in East Asia
Taoist talismans, the I Ching and feng shui, onmyodo and the omamori, and the mudang of Korea. 308 entries on EveryJaadu so far.
Places of magic
Kyoto 5Beijing 3Edo 3Mount Tai 3Shikoku 3Akita 2Asakusa 2Guangdong 2Himeji Castle 2Kifune Shrine 2Kumano Sanzan 2Mount Hiei 2Mount Ōmine 2Mukden 2Nagano Prefecture 2Sado Island 2Sendai 2Seoul 2Shimane Prefecture 2Aikoku Station 1Aizu region 1Akishino-dera 1Amami Ōshima 1Amoy 1Anyang 1Aojiang 1Aomori prefecture 1Ariake Sea 1Asagaya 1Awaji Island 1
Rites of the region
Writing and burning a fu talismanJoss paper and the Hungry Ghost offeringKau cim and jiaobeiThe I Ching and the yarrow stalksFeng shui placementSetsubun bean-throwingHarai, the Shinto rite of purificationOmamori and ofuda renewalOmikuji fortune slipsGut, the Korean shaman rite
Countries
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreChinese dragon龍
A legendary water deity and imperial symbol in East Asian cultureBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGuanyin觀音 (Guānyīn)
The Bodhisattva of compassion, worshipped across East Asia as a listener to human sufferingBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKuji-in九字印
A system of nine syllables and hand gestures used for protection and spiritual alignment in Japanese esoteric traditionsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇯🇵 JapanGazu Hyakki Yagyō画図百鬼夜行
A 1776 Japanese woodblock book of yōkai illustrations by Toriyama SekienText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreJiang Ziya姜子牙
A historical strategist and war god who helped establish the Zhou dynastyFigure · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreOnomancy
Divination based on the letters, numbers, or written strokes of a person's nameOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanKamo no Yasunori賀茂 保憲
A Heian-era onmyōji and teacher of Abe no Seimei in Japanese esoteric artsFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Historical
🇰🇷 South KoreaJeoseung Saja저승사자
A Korean psychopomp who escorts the dead to the afterlife.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLuoshu Square洛書
An ancient Chinese three-by-three magic square linked to geomancy and numerologyTradition · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreBardo Thodolབར་དོ་ཐོས་གྲོལ (bar do thos grol)
A Tibetan Buddhist guide for navigating the intermediate state between death and rebirth.Text Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKūkai空海
Founder of Shingon Buddhism who brought Vajrayana esoteric practices from China to Japan.Text · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreTang-ki童乩 (tóngjī); 乩童 (jītóng)
A Chinese folk-religion medium whose body a deity is held to take overTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreQimen Dunjia奇門遁甲
An ancient Chinese divination system mapping time and space for strategic decision-makingOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreGe Hong葛洪
A Jin dynasty scholar and alchemist who wrote key texts on Taoist immortality and early medicine.Text · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇯🇵 JapanOnmyōdō陰陽道
A Japanese system of divination and calendar science rooted in yin-yang philosophyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Revived
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreBagua八卦
A set of eight trigram symbols from China used in divination, cosmology, and feng shui.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQi氣 / 气
A vital force in Chinese philosophy and medicine, believed to flow through all living things.Substance · Healing · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 ChinaWaidan外丹
An early Chinese alchemical practice focused on compounding mineral elixirs for immortalityTradition Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaChen Tuan陳摶
A Chinese Taoist sage known for internal arts and sleep cultivation methodsFigure · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇯🇵 JapanTsukumogami付喪神
Household objects that gain a spirit after reaching their hundredth year in Japanese folklore.Being · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese alchemy煉丹術
A Taoist pursuit of longevity through elixirs and internal cultivationTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇯🇵 JapanEn no Gyōja役小角
A legendary Japanese ascetic and founder of Shugendō mountain practiceFigure · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreZi Wei Dou Shu紫微斗數
A Chinese natal astrology system mapping stars across twelve life palacesTradition · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇯🇵 JapanKitsunebi狐火
Atmospheric ghost lights in Japanese folklore, often linked to foxes and natural phenomena.Belief · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇯🇵 JapanYōkai妖怪
A vast class of supernatural spirits and entities in Japanese folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreFan death선풍기 사망설
A South Korean urban legend that running a fan in a sealed room causes fatal suffocationBelief Fading
🇨🇳 ChinaElemental
Mythic beings linked to earth, water, air, and fire in Renaissance occultism.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreFuji扶乩
Chinese planchette writing: gods and ancestors reply through a stylus on sandRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreTennin天人
Heavenly beings in Japanese Buddhism, often depicted as beautiful women with feathered scarves.Being · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaPig dragon玉豬龍
A coiled Neolithic jade amulet from Hongshan culture, possibly an early dragon imageCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreCoin-sword辟邪劍 (bì xié jiàn)
A Chinese numismatic talisman made of cash coins strung on a rod to ward off evil spiritsCharm · Protection Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreTaoist coin charm道教品壓生錢
Chinese and Vietnamese numismatic charms used for protection and feng shuiCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLei Ting curse charm符咒钱
A numismatic charm invoking the thunder god to banish evil spirits.Charm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreHorse coin馬錢 (mǎ qián)
A Chinese numismatic charm depicting horses, used as game pieces or gambling tokensCharm · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreVault protector coin鎮庫錢 (zhèn kù qián)
Large Chinese numismatic charms cast to guard mint treasuries and attract wealth.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 (yuètù)
A mythical figure seen in lunar markings, pounding elixirs or rice cakes across Asia and the Americas.Being · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇯🇵 JapanAosaginohi青鷺火
A Japanese will-o'-the-wisp attributed to the glowing flight of herons at nightBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreMogwai魔鬼
A Chinese term for demons and evil spirits, borrowed from Sanskrit lore through Buddhism.Being · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanAkuma悪魔（あくま）
An evil spirit in Japanese folklore, later used for Satan in ChristianityBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaejongism대종교
A Korean faith system centred on the ancestral king Dangun and national identity.Tradition · Power and authority Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreThoughtography念写
A claimed psychic ability to imprint mental images directly onto photographic film.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaPill of Immortality仙丹
A legendary substance sought by Chinese alchemists to grant eternal lifeSubstance · Power and authority Historical
🇯🇵 JapanTosa Obake Zōshi土佐お化け草紙
An Edo-period illustrated scroll of yōkai tales from Tosa ProvinceText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇰🇷 South KoreaSeolmundae Halmang설문대할망
A giant creator figure from Jeju Island who shaped the land and its volcanoes.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇯🇵 JapanKyōka Hyaku Monogatari狂歌百物語
An 1853 Japanese picture book pairing yōkai illustrations with humorous kyōka poetryText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇯🇵 JapanKamikiri髪切り
A Japanese yōkai blamed for the sudden disappearance of human hairBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇧🇹 BhutanVajravarahiརྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ། (Dorje Pakmo)
A wrathful female buddha in Tibetan Buddhism, depicted with a sow head and dancing posture.Being · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreVerliokaВерлиока
A cross-eyed monster from East Slavic folk talesFigure · Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Elemental: No machine-readable author provided. Ragesoss assumed (based on copyri, Public domain, source
- Guanyin: JL Cogburn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Vault protector coin: 风之清扬, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gazu Hyakki Yagyō: Toriyama Sekien, Public domain, source
- Aosaginohi: Koikawa Harumachi ja:恋川春町 (1744-1789), Public domain, source
- Obake: Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞), Public domain, source
- Tennin: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Onmyōdō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bagua: TarcísioTS at Portuguese Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Pig dragon: Prof. Gary Lee Todd, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Waidan: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Lei Ting curse charm: Donald_Trung, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tsukumogami: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Horse coin: Etnografiska museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- En no Gyōja: Wmpearl, CC0, source
- Kitsunebi: Abasaa, Public domain, source
- Yōkai: Kyosai Kawanabe (河鍋 暁斎), Public domain, source
- Kūkai: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Taoist coin charm: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Moon rabbit: An artist, Public domain, source
- Mogwai: Gisling, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Daejongism: Berghendorf, CC0, source
- Ge Hong: Hannah, Public domain, source
- Vajravarahi: Foto: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, source
- Coin-sword: Etnografiska museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Tang-ki: Bunkichi Chang, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chinese alchemy: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Kamikiri: Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之, Japanese, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
- Chinese dragon: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Fuji: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Luoshu Square: An unknown Tibetan artist, Public domain, source
- Jeoseung Saja: National Folk Museum of Korea, CC BY 4.0, source
- Onomancy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Jiang Ziya: Wang Qi, Public domain, source