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Let’s Talk About Japanese Magic Spells

By Yae Apr 27, 2018

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When you were a kid, did you ever hear any magical spells from your parents or grandparents? Each country has its own magic spells and so does Japan.
What are the major magic spells in Japan that most Japanese people learn when they’re kids?
Let’s find out the Japanese version of “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!” in this article.

The Magic Spell for When You Get Hurt

Do you have any bruises or still have a scar that you got when you were a kid? It’s a natural thing that most kids fall easily since they have bad head to body balance.
Kids’ moms often say a magic spell when they see their kids fall down as follows:

“Pain, pain, go away!”.

It’s a very interesting and amazing thing but if moms tell this magic spell to the crying kids, kids suddenly stop crying. Why would kids stop crying after these words?
Maybe it’s because kids don’t focus on hurting after this magic spell and think about something else but one true fact is, moms may be the best doctors for kids, through their true love. Totally agreeable?

The Magic Spell for When You See Thunder and Lightning

Japanese moms tell their kids a magic spell when they see the thunder and lightning such as follows:

“If you don’t hide your belly button during the thunder and lightning, it will be taken away by the thunder god. Quickly hide your belly!”.

Why do Japanese moms tell their kids such a thing? This is one of their strategies to stop their kids’ stomach get cold since kids often bare their belly buttons and may get a stomachache easily.
Japanese moms warn their kids to warm their stomach this way since children sometimes don’t listen to their parents’ opinions first.

The Magic Spell for When You’re Nervous

Are you good at giving a presentation in front of everyone? Some people get nervous when standing in front of many people to do a speech and their voices become shaky sometimes.
To make a successful speech in front of everyone, Japanese moms tell their kids the magic spell such as follows:

“Write the word “人 (human in Japanese)” 3 times on your palm of the hand and have the gesture to swallow the word ‘人’”.

By doing this gesture, people believe they can relieve anxiety and feel calm after all.
Writing “” on the palm is very effective to pressure points of the palm to feel relaxed.
Kids have the opportunity to do presentations in front of the class while at school so Japanese moms are working very hard trying for their kids to get used to it and wishing “YOU CAN DO IT!”.

The Magic Spell to Grow Regular Adult Teeth

Do you remember the time when your baby teeth fell out and adult teeth grew in their place when you were kids?
The timing to pull out baby teeth is very important in order to have regular teeth without any orthodontic support.
Japanese parents often tell their kids the magic spell such as follows:

“If your upper baby teeth fall out, bury them deep under the ground. If your lower teeth fall out, throw them very high on the roof.”

This is the magic spell to have all the kids’ regular adult teeth come through safely. Japanese people believe that if they bury their upper baby teeth under the ground, the upper adult teeth come in properly and it’s the same logic for lower baby teeth as well.

It may depend on the dentist, but it costs about 800,000 yen-900,000 yen for getting braces in Japan. No one wants to pay such an expensive fee, right?
Having regular teeth is everyone’s wish and Japanese parents try to teach their kids by saying the magic spell to have regular teeth.

The Magic Spell to Check Your Romantic Success

When was your bittersweet first-love? Not only adults or teenagers but kids in elementary school or kindergarten sometimes have their first romance. Especially Japanese girls want to know if they have mutual feelings with the boys they love or not.
Simple and fast way to check if feelings are mutual as following:

“Picking flower petals in order saying, does he like me? He doesn’t like me. Does he like me?…….until they get to the last petal. The last petal would be the answer to the question.”

Instead of asking the boys they love, Japanese girls check their feelings by pulling off the flower petals. Very cute, don’t you think?

The Magic Spell to Enforce Manners After Hand-Washing

When you were kids, did you normally carry your hand towel or handkerchief all the time outside?
Normally parents keep an eye on their kids when they need to wash their hands and dry them. Some Japanese parents teach their kids not to shake their wet hands with the following magic spell:

“Do not shake the wet hands and splash tiny drops of water to other people. The people who get wet will suddenly die. Also, you can’t be present when your parents pass away.”

This magic spell is one of the strategies to keep good manners after washing hands and to dry hands properly either using hand towels or a hand drier at the bathroom.
The reason why people who get tiny drops of water may die comes from the tradition of Japanese people splashing tiny drops of water on dead people to call back the soul.

 

Did you find some similar Japanese magic spells compared to those from your home countries?
It depends on whether you believe each story as facts or superstition but isn’t it interesting and worth knowing about the ancient legend?
What if the magic spells are from long ago before you were born?

It all depends on you what to believe.

YAE
Japan