SOOTHSAYERS IN JAPAN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 239, 9 October 1935, Page 17

SOOTHSAYERS IN JAPAN.

THE UNFAVOURABLE OMEN. TOKYO, September 4. Soothsaying is a very profitable profession in Japan. Many Japanese, even of the wealthy and educated classes, place implicit faith in the stars and in the art of divination, and refer every important decision, from a marriage to a purchase of stock, to the decision of a trusted soothsayer. However, tho art of prophecy has its perils, as was shown by tho recent experience of a- professional soothsayer, Sckiryu Tanaka, a specialist in the ancient Chinese school of Yi. A student and a girl to whom he was betrothed visited kanaka in order to learn about their matrimonial prospects. After examining their palms and referring to the instruments of his trade, the thin bamboo sticks, the wooden blocks and tho book of Yi, the soothsayer declared that the omens were unfavourable, whereupon tho student, flying into a violent rage, picked up an iron paperweight and fell on the soothsayer. Mr. Ta naka has lodged a complaint with the police.