Journal of UOEH
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It is a well-known fact that women almost monopolize the field of fortune-telling in the present Japanese society--fortune-tellers and their customers (or clients) are mostly women. But once we view the relationship between women and fortune-telling in a general way, we can understand that fortune-telling is not necessarily monopolized by women. In other words, if we take for granted only the relationship between the two, we will overlook some sociological questions. ⋯ The feminization of fortune-telling is the process by which women's interests are channeled into fortune-telling and their monopolization of it. The purpose of this paper is to focus on this phenomenon--the feminization of fortune-telling'. By focusing on this phenomenon and analyzing its process, we can understand not only some aspects of the relationship between women and fortune-telling, but also bring up other questions regarding the image of Japanese women in the modern era.