of the god of the kitchen furnace. This will convert bad luck into good. The same result will follow if the kitchen furnace is approached by a man in woman's clothing, or by a woman dressed as a man.
If you see rats leave a ship, be careful not to take a passage by her. She will certainly suffer shipwreck.
To discover a thief. Calcine some kobu (edible seaweed) which has been offered to the Toshitokujin [the predominant deity of the year], put it into saké, and make the suspected person drink it. If guilty, his cheeks will swell up in a wonderful way.
To keep insects from injuring crops. Bury at each corner of the field a horse's hoof which has been cut off.
A fruit tree which has been planted in the first half of the month will thrive, if in the second, not.
Children should not point at the moon.
Sneezing on certain days has a special meaning. Thus on the day of the Rat it portends a revel, on the day of the Ox sorrow, on the day of the Tiger something strange, on the day of the Dragon a marriage, and on the day of the Cock a guest.
To be bold at night. Write with your finger on the palm of your hand the three Chinese characters meaning "I am a demon!"
To avoid danger in crossing a river. Write with a pen, with your finger, or with vermilion, the Chinese character for "Earth."
To bring back a runaway. Wrap a compass in paper, and place it in his garment or girdle. Then hang it in the well, and he will straightway come back. Or, if you nail his straw shoe in front of the kitchen furnace he will came back of his own accord.[1]
To cure intermittent fever. Take a pear, and, standing with your face to the south, draw in your breath once. Then repeat the following spell three times:—
"In the south there is a pond,
In the pond there is water,
In the water there is a fish,—
Three heads,—nine tails,—
It eats not human flesh,
Nor the fine kinds of grain,
But it devours the ague devil."
- ↑ Both the well and the kitchen furnace are domestic deities in Japan. [Suijin sama and Kojin.—Ed.]
