[Macrobiotics] Food Governs Your Destiny: The Teachings of Namboku Mizuno

Namboku Mizuno, Japan's greatest physiognomist and fortune-teller, taught that human destiny is largely determined by our daily food. In his own case, Mizuno's understanding of diet and destiny began as a teenager when he was jailed for fighting and stealing money for sake. On his release, a fortune-teller told him that his unlucky facial and bodily features indicated that he would die by a sword within a year. Seeking refuge in a Zen temple, Mizuno was allowed to stay only by promising to eat very simply for a year. Living on only barley and soybeans, Mizuno escaped his predicted fate. After wandering around Japan, fasting and meditating, and studying with a mountain sage, he received spiritual insight and power and began his own school of physiognomy.