Since I wrote this essay, my attention was drawn by Ellis Amdur to a piece by Fred Little on Kotodama, written around 1995. When I read it, it seemed strangely familiar and then I also recollected Fred sending it to me a few years ago (previous to one of several computer crashes--which is why I no longer had it). Fred stresses the links between kotodama and Shingon Buddhism. In the case of Morihei Ueshiba's kotodama and kototama gaku, I believe that the influence of Shido Yamaguchi and Onisaburo Deguchi is very strong, so the Shingon influence came via an indirect route.

Hachiman Shoten is a Japanese publisher specializing in Deguchi, kotodama, and kotodama gaku and there is much material in Japanese, including hand-written pieces by Deguchi himself. They are listed in the Reading section.

PAG