Guest lecture by Takuro Okada / German-Japanese Society Erfurt e.V.

Kotodama - the belief in words in Japanese culture Takuro Okada "What someone says literally actually happens." Japanese people latently believe that words have a mind of their own. This belief is called the kotodama belief, which Japanese philologists understand as the element that symbolizes the entire nation alongside the Tenno imperial court. The Japanese have always known that the spell of words can bring both blessings and curses. The social behavior of the Japanese is very complicated and incredibly implicit. He says "let's open it!" at the end of a party because the word "close" doesn't sound good. A community in Tokyo used to be called "Kamenashi (no-turtle)", which is now called "Kameari (fellow-turtle)" because it's just nicer. "I'm doing something rude" is one of the most polite ways to greet someone.

Japanese people apologize so frequently and often for strange reasons. It is probably only in Japan that you see a wife apologizing in public because of a man's affair. When the Japanese apologize, there is a special meaning. This shows his inner need to respect the emotional sensitivity of others. The Japanese try to take into account that affect spreads very quickly among people, and therefore they see it as social when they express careful compassion to each other. Why were words given to people? There is something mysterious about words that makes people "human". Why do people live? What can man leave to the world? When we come to terms with the truth of words, we can see a mysterious fact of life.

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