There is a divination method popular in Japan that is similar to the Ouija board. The Kokkuri device is hand drawn each time it is used instead of using the pre-made cardboard one. Although the Ouija dangerously enters the participants into a contract with random and often deadly demons. The Kokkuri summons specific helper spirits from Shinto. The three pictograms in the word Kokkuri are Kok (狐 kitsune fox), Ku (狗 inu Dog), and Ri (狸 tanuki Badger or Japanese raccoon dog). The fox can be either a trickster or a teacher. The dog has the attribute of loyalty and the raccoon dog is a bringer of good fortune and luck. None of them is inherently evil. Like any form of fortune telling the Kokkuri format could be subverted and used to invoke something evil. That subject is the theme of manga, anime, movies.

To perform Kokkuri-san, at least three people are needed and a ten yen coin is used on the sheet of paper with the matrix of Kokkuri-san drawn out on it. Kokkuri – san contains numbers, a basic Japanese alphabet, yes, no, entrance, exit, and the torii gate of Shinto shrine.

The modern variation of this mysterious divine device is featured in popular Japanese television anime XXXHolic. The Kokkuri – san is also called Angel-sama and other names depending on the different areas in Japan. It appears in episode 3 of xxxHolic “Angel”.

Many manga and anime have had themes about kokkuri – san including the episode 4 of TV anime Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan, Ushiro no Hyakutarou (manga), and in Ghost Hunt “FILE 6: A Prohibited Game #2″ “FILE6″ the Shibuya team discovers the popular spirit-summoning game called ‘Orikiri-sama’ this time which may have propted a suicide, and resulted in many spirits inhabiting the school.

Kokkuri-san is also the title of a Japanese horror movie that was released in 1997 in Japan it was and in America with the title Kokkuri. The movie is a subtley made suspense chiller. The film demonstrates how a slice of life can reveal an occult side of what appears to be innocent. Without a musical score and only using natural sounds, with no special effects and realistic portrayals of the supernatural, the movie is an elegant red gem.