| Publication |
2011.
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| Summary/Abstract |
A notable and markedly gendered development among Japanese fans of divination (uranai) and the occult is the increased desire for exotic tarot cards and other types of oracle card decks. This interest promotes new opportunities for the consumption of divination services, and fortune-telling experts offer extensive menus of card reading services in a wide range of settings. Consumers may buy beautiful, cute and novelty decks that cater to devotees of specific themes, manga, or anime, such as Hello Kitty, Evangelion, Little Twin Stars, and other adored characters. This essay understands divination cards anthropologically as a form of sensory contact between social actors that allows them to link the material world of objects with the abstract world of ideas, creating a shared universe of meaning. It looks at some of the newer forms of card divination, particularly borrowed, hybrid and reinvented practices that have emerged in recent years. I focus attention on an under-analysed girls' culture pastime that highlights the moments of physical and mental touching that transpires between tarot readers, clients and the cards themselves.
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