Books on physiognomy and talismans too! Tono City Museum holds autumn special exhibition "Fortune Telling and Curses"

The Tono City Museum in Tono City, Iwate Prefecture, will be holding its Autumn Special Exhibition for Fiscal Year 2026 , "Fortune Telling and Curses," from November 1st, 2026 (Sunday) to January 11th, 2027 (Monday/National Holiday) .

This special exhibition showcases materials related to fortune-telling and magic in Iwate Prefecture, including explanatory books on physiognomy and talismans. Through these surviving documents, the exhibition traces the lives of people who used these methods to predict crop yields, weather, and fortune, and to entrust their various wishes to magic

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"Fortune-telling" and "spells" have become deeply rooted in the lives of people in Tono

What will the harvest be like that year? What will happen in the coming days? In Tono, various forms of divination have been practiced since ancient times to predict crop yields, weather, and fortune

On the other hand, "spells" involve influencing supernatural or mystical forces such as gods or spirits to fulfill a wish

This exhibition introduces the culture of fortune-telling and magic, connecting it with the folk world depicted in Kunio Yanagita's "Tono Monogatari" (Tales of Tono). It offers a glimpse into what people believed in and incorporated into their lives when they wanted to know the future or have their wishes granted

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The exhibition features materials from Iwate Prefecture, including books on physiognomy and talismans

One of the exhibited items is a "Commentary on Physiognomy" from the Tono City Museum

The book explaining physiognomy contains illustrations of human faces and various eye shapes, along with explanations written around them. It is a valuable resource that offers a glimpse into the divination practices of the time, where people attempted to interpret something from facial features

The exhibition will also feature "talismans" inscribed with characters and symbols. Through these materials related to magic and incantations, we can consider the wishes and beliefs that people have entrusted to unseen forces

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Guided tours of the exhibition by museum curators will also be held

Three guided tours by curators are scheduled during the exhibition period. If you would like to learn more about how to view the materials and the contents of the exhibition with explanations, please refer to this schedule

• Friday, November 20, 2026
• Friday, December 25, 2026
• Friday, January 8, 2027

Each session is from 1:30 PM to 2:00 PM, and no reservation is required

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• Source:Tono Tourism Management Board press release,Tono City official website,Tono City tourism information site "Tono Jikan"

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