Mizuji - Mizuji

Japanese: 水字 - みずじ

This is a game in which you write letters or pictures on blank paper using alum dissolved in water, and when it dries and is then soaked in water, the letters or pictures appear. It is not clear when it became popular, but it was very popular among children during the Edo period. The Xiyou Xiaoran quotes the following passage from the Chinese book Kuiche Zhi (蝽蚀志): The wife of a certain Chen Zeng had her fortune read by Li Heng, and when Li Heng submerged a blank piece of paper in water, an image of two demons capturing a woman appeared on the paper. The wife was very frightened and told her husband about it, and the next day he called Li Heng and did the same thing.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

水でといたミョウバンで白紙に文字や絵を書き，かわいたのち水につけると，かいた文字や絵が現れてくる遊び。いつごろから流行したか明らかでないが，江戸時代に子どもにもてはやされた。《嬉遊笑覧》には中国の《睽車志（けいしやし）》の次の記事を紹介している。陳増というものの妻が李恒に占ってもらうと，李恒が水に白紙を沈めると，紙の上に2匹の鬼が女を捕えている図が現れた。妻はひじょうに恐れて夫にそのことを告げると，夫は翌日李恒を呼んで同じようなことをした。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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