The Ancestor of Ouija and Glass Spirit: Japan's 'Kitsune-Inu-Tanuki' and an American Ship

Many people played Ouija or Glass Spirit during their school days. There are two theories about where they came from, and they are quite different.

One theory is that it's native to China. China has an ancient practice called fuji, where two people hold a T-shaped frame and write on a sand tray; it existed as early as the Song Dynasty to ask gods for answers. Later, it was simplified into pens and plates.

The other theory is that it came from Japan. Japan has a game called 'Kitsune-Inu-Tanuki'—three words meaning fox, dog, and tanuki (raccoon dog). It became hugely popular in Japan around 1884. Some say its origin was American sailors at Shimoda Port playing 'table-turning,' where several people place their hands on a table and the table moves. The Japanese learned it, replaced the table with three bamboo sticks, and invoked the spirits of the fox, dog, and tanuki.

At the time, Japanese newspapers reported on it continuously, with some people going insane from playing it, and the government even advised people not to play. The philosopher Inoue Enryo even wrote an article studying this game, saying it wasn't spirits but a psychological effect of humans. Later, it became a fixed urban legend in Japanese schools.

As for the Ouija played by Chinese students, there is no definitive answer on whether it was transmitted from Japan. More people say it has been passed down from generation to generation in schools, and no one knows who started it.

The phenomenon where people's hands tremble and things on the paper move is called 'ideomotor action' in English—it's when people unconsciously push things to move without realizing it. In 1853, the British physicist Faraday specially made a device where people put their hands on a table, and the device would show the force applied by the hand, proving that the table turned because the hand was pushing it unconsciously.

#Paranormal #网络转载 #Folklore