science

Kotodama

Kotodama is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kotodama rather than just read about it. In short: Kotodama or kototama (言霊, sometimes written as 言魂; 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".

Key takeaways

Kotodama belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kotodama to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kotodama from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kotodama or kototama (言霊, sometimes written as 言魂; 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 affect objects, and that ritual word usages can influence the environment, body, mind, and soul. Some interpret the belief as the discovery of commands words that can affect physiology and the mind.

Basis This Japanese compound kotodama combines koto 言 "word; speech" and tama 霊 "spirit; soul" (or 魂 "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 a way that is roughly analogous to Hebrew Kabbalah.

Etymology 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 事 "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".

Mythology Kotodama is a central concept in Japanese mythology, Shinto, and Kokugaku. For example, the Kojiki describes an ukei (or seiyaku) 誓約 "covenant; trial by pledge" between the sibling gods Susanoo and Amaterasu, "Let each of us swear, and produce children." Uttering the divine words of the Shinto divination ritual known as ukehi supposedly determines results, and in this case, Amaterasu giving birth to five male deities proved that Susanoo's intentions were pure.

Martial arts Kototama or kotodama is also fundamental to Japanese martial arts, for instance, in the use of kiai. Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido and a student of Deguchi, used kototama as a spiritual basis for his teachings. William Gleason says Ueshiba "created aikido based on the kototama principle," and quotes him that "Aikido is the superlative way to practice the kototama. It is the means by which one realizes his true nature as a god and finds ultimate freedom." Mutsuro Nakazono, a disciple of Ueshiba, wrote books on the importance of kototama in aikido, such as The Kototama Principle in 1983.

Equivalences While other cultures have parallels to kotodama, such as mantra, yanling, mana, and logos, some Japanese people believe the "word spirit" is unique to the Japanese language. One of the classical names of Japan is kototama no sakiwau kuni (言霊の幸わう国; "the land where the mysterious workings of language bring bliss"), a phrase that originated in the Man'yōshū.

See also Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul § Ren (name, identity) Cledonism Dōongo / Dōon Igigo (同音語 / 同音異義語, lit. "Like-Sound Utterance" / "Like-Sound Different-Meaning Utterance")—Homophones, while not a-part of Shinto-in-&-of-themselves, occur in many things that are considered lucky are considered-so because they are homophones of things that are lucky (i.e. Jū Nana meaning, both 'great wealth'/'prosperity' and the number #17), and, likewise, many things that are considered unlucky are considered-so because they are homophones of things that are unlucky (i.e. Shizan meaning, both, 'stillborn' and the number #43). See also Tetraphobia, Japanese superstitions and Onomatopoeia. Linguistic relativity Law of contagion Magic word Mantra Norito Om Om mani padme hum Shabda Sympathetic magic True name

References

External links

Kotodama, Encyclopedia of Shinto KOTODAMA, Encyclopedia of Aikido Kotodama: The Power of Words, A Videogame that teaches Japanese, Carnegie Mellon

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kotodama

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kotodama claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kotodama before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kotodama ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kotodama

In research: Kotodama appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kotodama in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kotodama is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Japanese mythology, Japanese words and phrases, Language and mysticism, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kotodama outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kotodama in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kotodama means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kotodama out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kotodama in simple terms?

Why does Kotodama matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kotodama?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kotodama.