Who here believes in the power of superstitions? Here’s something that will get your mystical juices flowing. An interesting article about superstitions popped up in the New York Times. The article, entitled “In Defense of Superstition”, discussed how having superstitions can be beneficial to gain some sense of meaning in one’s life. They also give someone a big sense of self-confidence in doing certain tasks. One superstition came to my mind and one that is very relevant in anime and manga: sneezing.

In Asian culture, it is widely believed that someone who sneezes out of the blue is being talked about by other people not near them. If you sneeze once, someone is definitely saying something about you. If you sneeze twice, bad things are said about you. This superstition about sneezing has become a huge joke in anime and manga, where several characters talk about one character in one panel and then the next panel features the person being talked about sneezing (with some witty remarks and/or confusion). Sneezing blew its way through notable series such as Dragon Ball, Maison Ikkoku, InuYasha, Rurouni Kenshin, and Ranma ½.

Perhaps this superstition is helpful for others in terms of giving confidence that things are going to be just fine for them or an incentive to be more careful. Let’s say someone sneezes and he/she really believes that someone must be gossiping about them all of a sudden. That person can say to themselves, “Hmmm, maybe I should change my tune a bit.” or “Yes, someone’s talking about me! I feel important to someone!” That could give some meaning and motivation to alter their behaviors more positively. Of course, this can all backfire in a hurry, depending on the personality of the person sneezing. It is heavily argued that those who believe in superstitions tend to have a lack of control in their lives.

A great example of a “sneezing superstition” moment in anime/manga that stood out was in Rurouni Kenshin Volume 7, when the Kenshin-gumi spoke harshly about Saito Hajime. While at a soba stand, Saito sneezed repeatedly and even made a remark about how sudden sneezing is a result of ill will. He even goes on to say that it’s great that the Shinsengumi (his old troop) are still hated in the Meiji Era. You have to wonder if Saito’s comments were just a reassuring way of giving him more confidence to go and cause more mayhem since he doesn’t care what people think of him. The Wolf of Mibu’s mind is always a mysterious one, isn’t it?

So, what other Japanese superstitions do you think give people a sense of confidence? Feel free to share some crazy thoughts and let us have the wonderful moment of freaking out together.

Hope you didn’t just sneeze while reading this entry. :]

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