Kotodama/Kototama
The Japanese have a theory that they call Kotodama which is heavily involved with Aikido, a from of martial arts. From what I understand, each word has power and that once the word is spoken the power is released into the world to spread. Like a physical force, it affects every thing around it moving outward like bad gossip, or if you want to stick to orientalism, like ripples in a pond, reaching out and then bouncing back, again and again until there is no more power to the word spoken.
Okay, so, duh! Words move men and armies, so of course they have power. Say family and you get warm fuzzies, beloved and you turn into a sap. It’s just the way it goes. But words only have the power people give them. You can only be hurt by an insult if you believe it or it comes from someone important to you, but from a stranger… meh. Let them talk, after all it’s only words.
The words hold power, and every word of every story I tell is true and real according to this theory. No, words of power. The belief alone will kill you. The belief in the strength of the words that are spoken drives the speaker and the listener.
Hash for May 01, 2009
15 years ago
In response to that last part in particular I have two movie references that, while you don't need to use them, can act as branching off points. Oh, and I guess these are technically spoilers but whatever. In Dune (the first film version) they have a device called a "Weirding Module" that amplifies spoken words into sound weapons. This is the more literal power of words. In "The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen" the baron tells one of his stories but is interrupted by invaders attacking the city. The bulk of the film follows him as he tracks down his former comrades and returns to defeat the invaders, it then turns out that all of this adventuring was part of his storytelling (though everyone who was part of the story has a look of shock when the real world is revealed). The big inexplicable twist is that when the city gates are opened, their enemy has been defeated. Even though the defeat took place in a fictional story, its effects came true in the real world. Sorry to go off on my own things, but I thought they related.
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