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The Conversation USA

The tools in a medieval Japanese healer’s toolkit: from fortunetelling and exorcism to herbal medicines

  • Written by Alessandro Poletto, Lecturer in East Asian Religions, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis
imageAn 'onmyoji,' an expert on yin and yang, performs divination with counting rods in an Edo-period illustration. Kyoto University Library/Wikimedia

“The Tale of Genji,” often called Japan’s first novel, was written 1,000 years ago. Yet it still occupies a powerful place in the Japanese imagination. A popular TV drama, “Dear...

Read more: The tools in a medieval Japanese healer’s toolkit: from fortunetelling and exorcism to herbal...

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