ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I will attempt to show that a divination method involving the eight trigrams, known as hakke uranai 八卦占い, was among the most popular techniques used in Japan from the end of the sixteenth to the end of the eighteenth century. My goal here is to show how this mantic knowledge, derived in part from Daoist traditions transmitted from China, was passed on through a specific kind of manual while undergoing several transformations. These changes, far from being coincidental, may be linked to the inner evolutions of Japanese society and culture during the Edo 江戸 period (1603–1868). Therefore, such an inquiry should help us to gain a better understanding of the reciprocal informing relationship between mantic knowledge (correlative thinking) and people's general expectations and/or mentality. I will first present the nature of eight trigrams divination before tracking down how and by whom it was used. Finally, I will detail how its inner structure relates to the way the clients of the diviners viewed fate, time, daily life, and the world.
