The characteristics of the fortuneteller--the trend towards the 'voluntary-knowledge' type of fortuneteller in contemporary Japanese society

Abstract

Fortunetelling is being practiced throughout contemporary Japanese society. The fortunetelling is, so to speak, one of 'social facts'. Though we usually see such a scene, we do not understand it from the viewpoint of Sociology. To find a clue in the sociological study of fortunetelling, the fortuneteller is one of the important elements. That is, the fortuneteller is an expert who controls the art and knowledge of fortunetelling. In order to analyze fortunetelling sufficiently, we first need to clarify the characteristics of the fortuneteller. The purpose of this paper is to show what characteristics the fortuneteller has, in terms of two distinctions: the first parameter of distinction is the 'ground' which legitimatizes fortunetelling; and the second is the 'opportunity' which channels people into fortunetelling. The 'ground' rests on either 'inspiration (revelation)' or 'body of art and knowledge (hereafter knowledge)'. And the 'opportunity' rests on either 'voluntary' or 'compulsion'. In analyzing the fortuneteller according to 'inspiration'/'knowledge' and 'voluntary'/'compulsion', the type of fortuneteller who has the characteristics of both 'knowledge' and 'voluntary' is prominent. Why is such a type prominent? I answer this question by analyzing the relationship between the characteristics of the fortuneteller and the social structures.