Okinawa.com: Can you tell us what a yuta in Okinawa is?

Tuthill: Yes a yuta is a fortuneteller, who is part of the religious structure in Okinawa. A yuta is sort of a psychic psychologist who serves as a spiritual guide to many people in Okinawa.

Okinawa.com: How did you learn about the yuta?

Tuthill: I am married to a lovely Uchinanchu woman named Mitsuko. Mitsu and I lived in Okinawa in the Kohatsu District of Nishihara-Cho for two years. During that time I became well acquainted with Okinawa culture and religion, and we had sessions with a yuta on a few occasions. We now reside in San Jose, California; but we try to return to Okinawa as often as possible, as Mitsu has her family there. It was the sessions with the yuta and becoming enthralled with Okinawa culture that inspired me to write my book "Gift of a Blue Ball".

Okinawa.com: Are yutas a lot like fotunetellers in the U.S.?

Tuthill: There is hardly any similarity. Most fortunetellers I’ve encountered give their divinings in very general terms and do not get specific with the people that they are having a session with. Whereas, a yuta will often get very specific and relate their client’s concerns to conditions set by the spirit of a relation.

Okinawa.com: Can you give an example of a yuta’s divining?

Tuthill: Well I personally have had sessions with three different yutas in Okinawa, two of them claimed to see spirits and the third did not, but used the I Ching for divination. All three were women and each got very specific about my personal concerns. For instance, one yuta was able to tell me that my problem was caused by the activities of my Great, Great Grandfather during his life. Specifically, a financial problem was due to the greed and accumulation of wealth of my ancestor. Also, my ancestor’s life was causing me health problems. Subsequent prayer with the yuta’s guidance helped to resolve the problem. I never had any encounter with a fortuneteller in the US that compared with that.

Okinawa.com: Are you saying that a yuta’s reading is real and a fortuneteller’s isn’t?

Tuthill: No, I am not Houdini, out to prove or disprove the accuracy of a fortuneteller’s divination. I am just giving you my personal observations on the differences between a fortuneteller and a yuta. A yuta was able to divine things about my family ancestry, things that I hadn’t even told my wife, and explain that as the cause of my personal concerns. I was so impressed with the accuracy of the yuta’s reading that it led to my research and ultimately writing my novel.

Okinawa.com: Why did you select to write a novel and not a non-fiction book?

Tuthill: Well, I really like to tell stories of fantasy using a lot of factual content and found the fantasy novel to be the best format. I built the story of a yuta in Okinawa based on research and my own observation, with the theft of the Ryukyu crown as a subplot. I hope that members of Okinawa.com will purchase a copy of my book and read it for themselves.

Okinawa.com: Have you written other books, or novels?

Tuthill: Yes, I have approximately five other books written mostly in the fantasy and science fiction vein; but this is the only one that I have published. I also have many poems published online, some of my poetry is also about Okinawa. I plan to share my Okinawa poems with the members of Okinawa.com.

Okinawa.com: Well Jeff, for your poetry submittals a Poetry section has been created under Forums on the Okinawa.com website. I want to thank you for taking the time to tell us about your book and your connection to Okinawa.

Tuthill: Thanks to you Art, and Okinawa.com for allowing me to speak about my writing and offering a vehicle to share some my work as well.