What's the difference between 呪術【じゅじゅつ】, 魔法【まほう】, 奇術【きじゅつ】, and 魔術【まじゅつ】?


Is there any difference between these nouns?

Is this like the difference between 'magic' and 'sorcery' in English?

Is 魔法【まほう】 used most often?




**奇術【きじゅつ】** : Illusion or stage magic, which has tricks and is performed by
real magicians all over the world. A person who does this is called マジシャン or
奇術師. But in this sense, the most common word is katakana マジック. Table magic is
often called 手品【てじな】, too.

**魔法【まほう】** : Supernatural kind of magic. Typical 魔法 is what you can find in
_Harry Potter_ franchise or various fantasy role-playing games. Basically used
only in fictions.

**呪術【じゅじゅつ】** : Ritual magic, performed by real people in order to [invoke
rain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainmaking_\(ritual\)), curse someone, etc.
It frequently appears in serious anthropological contexts, but it's used in
fictions, too.

**魔術【まじゅつ】** : This is similar to 魔法, but is an ambiguous word which can refer
to everything above. Many sport players are nicknamed ～の魔術師.




**奇術【きじゅつ】** : Illusion or stage magic, which has tricks and is performed by
real magicians all over the world. A person who does this is called マジシャン or
奇術師. But in this sense, the most common word is katakana マジック. Table magic is
often called 手品【てじな】, too.

**魔法【まほう】** : Supernatural kind of magic. Typical 魔法 is what you can find in
_Harry Potter_ franchise or various fantasy role-playing games. Basically used
only in fictions.

**呪術【じゅじゅつ】** : Ritual magic, performed by real people in order to [invoke
rain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainmaking_\(ritual\)), curse someone, etc.
It frequently appears in serious anthropological contexts, but it's used in
fictions, too.

**魔術【まじゅつ】** : This is similar to 魔法, but is an ambiguous word which can refer
to everything above. Many sport players are nicknamed ～の魔術師.

