Ask John: Where Did the Anime Concept of Magical Contracts Originate?

Question:
By chance, do you know the origin of the concept of a character in anime either “entering into a contract,” or referring to a “contract”? Said concept has shown up in many different series; just to name a few, Cardcaptor Sakura, Soultaker and Silent Mobius. Is that concept of Eastern or Western origin, or some combination of both?

Answer:
I honestly don’t have a precise answer to this question, and I suspect that researching a clear answer could take years and a tremendous amount of effort. The concept of making a “contract” with a supernatural power seems like a variation of the idea of making a deal or pact with a supernatural power. In Western literature, that concept dates back at least to the Bible and the idea of Moses and Job trusting and being faithful to their relationship with God. In later literature, the idea of making a contract with the devil appears in literature such as Goethe’s Faust.

I’m not extensively familiar with Japanese or Asian literature, but I imagine that the idea of making an arrangement with a supernatural power is similar to Japanese fairy tales such as The Crane Wife, in which a man is promised a lifetime of wealth and happiness so long as he agrees to never spy on his wife’s work. His wife, of course, is a transformed magic crane who can only assist him as long as he respects his verbal contract. The idea of creating a contract to borrow supernatural power or ensure the assistance of a supernatural force seems distinctively Asian. The Japanese Shinto religion is based on a concept of intermingling of natural and supernatural, so it should come as no surprise to see or hear of stories involving Japanese humans working with supernatural forces or borrowing the strength or power of unseen forces.

I’m aware that this isn’t a very concise or definitive answer, but hopefully it’s at least partially accurate and somewhat able to provide some small degree of answer.