Want to make a bit of money, improve your health or win big at pachinko? Then invest in a copy of comedian/fortune teller Shimada Shuhei’s new book: “The Definitive Countrywide Guide to Lucky Power Spots.” Being published Sept. 9 the book will tell you where to go in Japan to collect the spiritual energy necessary to achieve life’s more elusive goals. Shuhei’s book is the latest in a recent glut of publications on the power spot topic. A quick look at Amazon Japan reveals that this year has seen no less than 32 new books on the subject go into print.
The book that’s received the highest user rating so far is “This Power Spot is Amazing,” by guru Teruo Wakatsuki Yuu. To write the book, this spiritual master travelled from Hokkaido to Okinawa and carefully selected 79 energy spots. Wakatsuki Yuu’s other works include a book called “Become a Spiritual Leader,” a job he is evidently believes himself to be rather skilled at; his 8-day spiritual workshops cost a whopping ¥143,850 (around $1,710).
It’s unclear exactly what spiritual philosophy people like Shuhei and Wakatsuki Yuu are spouting, but that reflects the fuzzy logic of the movement itself. The belief that power spots are places where people can go to collect mystical energy is rooted in a pick 'n’ mix of Eastern and Western Mysticism: Feng Shui, Qigong and Shinto, with a bit of murky spiritualism thrown in.