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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Everything old is new again » » Oriental magic (0 Likes) Printer Friendly Version

Jerry
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Some where in Florida
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I have spent have the day searching for resources on the history of oriental magic - India, Japan, and Chinese with no success.
Absolutely nothing!

Can anyone tell if there are history books in English on this topic?

Are there magic books on oriental magic translated to English?
Real oriental magic, no westerners pretending they are Asian.
Anything at all?

Thank you.
Jerry
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Some where in Florida
1516 Posts

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This is a list of books I have currently on Oriental Magic.

Okito on magic - Bamberg
Oriental conjuring and magic - W. Ayling & S. Shape (I forgot I had this book)
Magic By Hoyam - W. Mayoh (From Mike Caveney library)
Illusion Builder To Fu-Manchu - D. Bamberg
The Amazing Miracles of Shigeo Takagi - R. Kaufman

Excluding magician Shigeo Takagi, all the books listed above are western authors about western magicians performing western magic re-dressed as oriental magic.

I am hoping to discover real oriental magic from the east.
RiffRaff
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716 Posts

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Eddie Joseph was a westerner, but he lived in India. He wrote a good deal about Indian magic.
P.C. Sorcar wrote a book about Indian magic.
There are a couple of books by/about Tenkai.
David Todd
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Richard Kaufman has published several books of magic from Japan. These are not books about the history of magic in Japan, but rather they document modern day Japanese magic.

https://www.kaufmanandcompany.com/collections/japan

The Indian magician and magic dealer, Sam Dahal, has a number of books and magazines he has edited, available from Lybrary.com as e-books. Dahal published the magazines 'Swami' and subsequently 'Mantra' . The magazines had contributions from some of the best magical creators of the period, and descriptions of Indian fakir magic that differentiated it from the usual magic magazines.

https://www.lybrary.com/sam-dalal-m-83982.html
Jerry
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Some where in Florida
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Sorry for the confusion. I posted in two different sections with the exact wording. I am throwing out a big net. And the topic is very important to me.
Again, thank you everyone for your response.

I don't know how I forgot PC Sorcor. He is a legend. But his magic is western style.
Same with the Kaufman book on Japanese magicians. Although very good.

I also forgot I had Swami/Mantra, thank you Mr. Todd.

Magic and Mysteries of India by Eddie Joseph, looks very promising. I will do a book review for anyone who is also interested on this subject.
Thank you RiffRaff.
motown
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Atlanta by way of Detroit
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Over its long history Genii magazine has published quite a number of issues that featured magic from various Japanese magicians. If you’re a Genii subscriber you can access all their past issues. If you do, I can provide you with dates.

There’s also Dr. Sawa’s book.

What area of magic are you looking for? Stage or Close-up?
"If you ever write anything about me after I'm gone, I will come back and haunt you."
– Karl Germain
Jerry
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Some where in Florida
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James Randi wrote an article "The State of Magic in Japan".
That they had adopted western style magic. So tradition Japanese magic fell out of favor and explains somewhat why source material currently is scarce.

Genii magazine 1963 Page 532
critter
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Spokane, WA
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If you want to see something fun that's related a bit the Penn & Teller Magic & Mystery Tour episodes, particularly the China one, are adorable.
Typhoon Tuck

"As soon as you have succeeded at making a sustainable fire, your thoughts should turn to how you are going to start your next fire"
~Mors Kochanski

"Work hard, study well, eat and sleep plenty. That's the Turtle Hermit way!"
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