Ask John: What Does the Pentagram Mean in Japan?

Question:
While I was watching a few anime previews, and a few anime in their entirety, I noticed that the pentagram symbol seems to continually appear in anime. Almost always it’s involved with either fortune-telling or supernatural things. I know this isn’t too far from its meaning here in America, but it appears more often in anime than in American shows. Does the pentagram have a different meaning to the Japanese culture then to us over here?

Answer:
The pentagram, five-sided star, is actually a symbol believed to represent harmony and balance. In fact, Japanese Shinto religion has used the pentagram as a religious emblem for centuries. Dating back over a thousand years, Japanese “onmyouji,” shamanistic masters of ying and yang, have studied astronomy, astrology, geography and other natural sciences. The pentagram, or five pointed star symbolizing the five basic elements – tree, fire, soil, gold and water – is the mark of the onmyouji.

It is the inverted pentagram inside a circle which is considered a symbol of evil. As you’ve guessed, the inverted pentagram has relatively the same significance in Japan that it does in the West. While the inverted pentagram is considered a Satanic symbol in the West, the predominantly non-Christian Japan simply views it as a representation of evil, or a magic symbol of demonic power. In America especially, because of the inverted pentagram’s association with things Satanic, its use is relatively limited so as not to be offensive. Being a predominantly non-Christian country, Japan doesn’t have this taboo, therefore the more frequent appearance of the inverted pentagram. Since anime is, after all, first and foremost a visual medium, the inverted pentagram is useful as an instantly recognizable symbol of evil or magic power. Because it isn’t specifically associated with Satan, the inverted pentagram may be used in anime merely as a representation of tremendous power, such as the ultimate weapon of the Swordbreaker spaceship in Lost Universe, or an ultimate, final attack and capturing seal of the pre-teen monster hunter heroes in the Pokemon-style monster collecting series Shin Megami Tensei: Devchil.