The Seventy-Two

In 1912 — the first year of the Taishō era; its compiler’s foreword says the Meiji emperor died just as the book was about to go to press — the publisher Zuishō Shoin issued a manual on the Chintaku Reifu, the “house-quieting talismans,” compiled under the name Kinkasanjin. Its central chapter presents seventy-two talismans, one to a trouble: a cooking pot that rings on its own, a dog that climbs onto the raised floor, a rooster crowing at night, earth spirits of the four directions disturbing the household’s wealth, silkworms that will not thrive.

Each talisman is printed with a title in classical Chinese and a short gloss in Japanese explaining what it was for. The list below gives each talisman’s classical title and page, with our English rendering of the title.

What the compiler said about printed talismans

The manual’s own instructions are frank. Just before the seventy-two, the compiler writes that he has never heard of anyone escaping misfortune merely by keeping at home a book in which talismans are printed — that he owns such books himself and has seen no effect from them. A talisman, he insists, works only when it is copied by hand under the proper conditions, with the proper rites.

We take him at his word. What we print is exactly what he says a printed talisman is: a faithful image of a form. The form is the point.

The collection

1. Talisman 1 of 72The Ringing Pot厭釜鳴狗上床斬火光一切鬼p. 131
2. Talisman 2 of 72Animals That Eat Their Young厭猪猫犬等自食子怪p. 131
3. Talisman 3 of 72Harm and Calamity厭除禍害之鬼p. 132
4. Talisman 4 of 72Blades, War, and Decline厭刀兵衰耗鬼p. 132
5. Talisman 5 of 72Dead Livestock厭牛馬六畜死傷鬼p. 132
6. Talisman 6 of 72Uncanny Wind and Fire厭除風火之怪p. 133
7. Talisman 7 of 72Fouled Water and Flying Lights厭水潦火光怪p. 133
8. Talisman 8 of 72Lives Cut Short厭不宜男女長命p. 133
9. Talisman 9 of 72Sudden Loss and Schemes厭橫損財謀害之鬼p. 134
10. Talisman 10 of 72Malign Spirits厭惡鬼p. 134
12. Talisman 12 of 72Quarrels and Harm厭除口舌惡事侵害p. 135
13. Talisman 13 of 72Violent Calamity厭除凶殃侵害之鬼p. 135
14. Talisman 14 of 72Spirits of Ill Omen厭鎭凶惡之鬼p. 135
15. Talisman 15 of 72Gold and Silver招金銀入宅富貴不逢殃禍p. 136
16. Talisman 16 of 72Thieves and Groundless Quarrels厭盜賊口舌無端之鬼p. 136
17. Talisman 17 of 72The Rooster at Night厭鷄夜鳴百怪之鬼p. 136
18. Talisman 18 of 72Unseasonable Weather厭時氣不和惡事滅p. 137
20. Talisman 20 of 72Silkworms That Fail厭除養蠶不成之鬼p. 137
21. Talisman 21 of 72Maddened Animals厭狂畜物損傷人之鬼p. 138
22. Talisman 22 of 72Bad Dreams and Fruitless Ventures厭惡夢經求無利息p. 138
23. Talisman 23 of 72Earth Spirit of the North厭北方土氣耗損之鬼p. 138
24. Talisman 24 of 72Earth Spirit of the South厭南方土氣害人口p. 139
25. Talisman 25 of 72The House Spirit厭除家鬼尅害人口p. 139
26. Talisman 26 of 72Earth Spirit of the West厭西方土氣損人口p. 139
27. Talisman 27 of 72Earth Spirit of the Center厭中央土氣移動鬼p. 140
28. Talisman 28 of 72Plans and Ventures此符大招經營遂意p. 140
29. Talisman 29 of 72The Flying Corpse厭飛屍鬼侵害人口p. 140
30. Talisman 30 of 72Office and Rank此符大招官職p. 141
31. Talisman 31 of 72Rank and the Restless Dead宜官職折伏屍爲禍p. 141
32. Talisman 32 of 72The Buried Corpse厭伏屍鬼損害人口p. 141
33. Talisman 33 of 72Thieves and Wishes盜賊不侵萬事稱意p. 142
34. Talisman 34 of 72Illness That Worsens Daily厭除日重疾病之災p. 142
35. Talisman 35 of 72When the Dragon Stays Away龍神非吊p. 142
36. Talisman 36 of 72Animals on the Roof厭犬雞狐狸鳴上屋p. 143
37. Talisman 37 of 72Riches Unbidden招金銀自入大富貴p. 143
38. Talisman 38 of 72Snakes and Insects厭蛇虫作諸怪祟p. 143
39. Talisman 39 of 72The Guarded Gate保宅舍門戶人口清吉p. 144
40. Talisman 40 of 72Shrine Spirits and Wild Sprites厭神祠精魅鬼p. 144
41. Talisman 41 of 72Baleful Stars厭殺星p. 144
42. Talisman 42 of 72Blossoms Out of Season厭除發狂萬物之精p. 145
43. Talisman 43 of 72Earth Spirit of the East厭東方土氣精耗鬼p. 145
44. Talisman 44 of 72Ghosts of the Prison厭除官刑獄鬼p. 145
45. Talisman 45 of 72Old Trees That Turn into Sprites厭老樹木作精魅鬼p. 146
46. Talisman 46 of 72Illicit Shrines厭除淫祠好惡之鬼p. 146
47. Talisman 47 of 72Sun, Moon, Stars, and Thunder三光百靈雷電不侵p. 146
48. Talisman 48 of 72The Year God's Plague厭除太歲疾疫之侵p. 147
49. Talisman 49 of 72Heaven Overturned, Barren Mares厭天反地復馬不生兒之鬼p. 147
50. Talisman 50 of 72The Urgent Summons厭官司呼喚火速事p. 147
51. Talisman 51 of 72Spirits Driven Out辟邪驅鬼復正保家p. 148
52. Talisman 52 of 72Plague and Lesser Spirits厭疫氣百雜鬼p. 148
53. Talisman 53 of 72Terrors in Sleep厭夢寐驚人鬼p. 148
54. Talisman 54 of 72The Afterbirth厭自焙男女胎衣血腥不淨鬼p. 149
55. Talisman 55 of 72Dead Livestock, Runaway Servants厭牛馬六畜死奴婢逃亡之鬼p. 149
56. Talisman 56 of 72Sudden Frights厭不時驚恐惱人之鬼p. 149
57. Talisman 57 of 72The Swollen Belly除腹脹飲食不下鬼p. 150
58. Talisman 58 of 72Houses on Old Graves厭丘塚伏屍疾病鬼p. 150
59. Talisman 59 of 72The Voice That Calls Your Name厭鬼怪不時呼人姓名p. 150
60. Talisman 60 of 72Menacing Robbers厭盜賊驚恐人p. 151
61. Talisman 61 of 72Spirits of the Living and the Dead厭伏屍生殺鬼p. 151
62. Talisman 62 of 72Failed Fields and Silkworms厭不宜田蠶疾病之鬼p. 151
64. Talisman 64 of 72Snakes, Rats, and Quarreling Spouses厭蛇鼠食蠶夫婦反目不和事p. 152
65. Talisman 65 of 72Fields, Silkworms, and Herds田蠶六畜蕃息p. 152
66. Talisman 66 of 72The Hundred Spirits厭除百鬼不得害人p. 153
67. Talisman 67 of 72Children and Grandchildren宜子孫大貴和睦長命p. 153
68. Talisman 68 of 72Lingering Illness厭除疾病連綿之鬼p. 153
70. Talisman 70 of 72Grave Illness and Short Life厭病患沈重滅福短壽之鬼p. 154
71. Talisman 71 of 72The Failing Household Trade厭產耗鬼不平尅害p. 154
72. Talisman 72 of 72Ill-Omened Births in the Herd厭不祥牛畜生產鬼p. 155

68 of 72 shown. The remaining titles are still being checked.