or Tōdō is a Japanese divination

Divination

Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...

 (fortune telling) method, created by Yokoyama Marumitsu

Yokoyama Marumitsu

was a Japanese late Edo period samurai and founder of the Tōkyūjutsu divination and self-improvement method. He lived in Edo . His real name was Yokoyama Okitaka , and he was also known as Sannosuke , Shunkisai , Kiosanjin , , , and other pen names....

 in the 1830s (Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

). It was developed from tengenjutsu

Tengenjutsu (fortune telling)

Tengen-jutsu is a Japanese fortune telling method. It is based on yin and yang and the five elements, and uses a persons birth date in the sexagenary cycle and physical appearance to predict ones fate. Tengen-jutsu originated in various Chinese practices, but was first systemized by the early Edo...

, a system with origins in China and was well established at the time. Tōkyūjutsu teaches that ones personality and character can be determined by factors such as the date of birth and facial features. Good fortune is allegedly achieved by finding and understanding this inner self that has been obscured.

Marumitsu gained many followers from the upper and middle classes of Edo

Edo

, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

. In 1848 they were forbidden from taking disciples and holding meetings by the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

, but Marumitsu was not exiled like many other leaders of groups outside the Shinto

Shinto

or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

 and Buddhist institutions. The group survived underground and revived after the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

. Today Tōkyūjutsu is practiced by an organization called Tōdōkai.