Shinigami (Japanese:死神,lit. 'kami of death') arekami that invitehumans towarddeath in certain aspects ofJapanese religion andculture.Shinigami have been described as monsters, helpers, and creatures ofdarkness.Shinigami are used for tales and religions in Japanese culture.[1][2]
InBuddhism, there is theMara that is concerned with death, the Mrtyu-mara.[3] It is a demon that makes humans want to die, and it is said that upon being possessed by it, in a shock, one should suddenly want to die by suicide, so it is sometimes explained to be a"shinigami".[4] Also, in theYogacarabhumi-sastra, a writing onYogacara, a demon decided the time of people's deaths.[5]Yama, the king of theUnderworld, as well asoni such as theOx-Head and Horse-Face, are also considered a type ofshinigami.[1]
InShinto andJapanese mythology,Izanami gave humans death, so she is sometimes seen as ashinigami.[1][2] However, Izanami and Yama are also thought to be different from the death gods in Western mythology.[5][6] Some forms of Buddhism do not involve believing in any deities, so it is sometimes thought that the concept of a death god does not exist to begin with.[5] Even though thekijin andonryō of Japanese Buddhist faith have taken humans' lives, there is the opinion that there is no "death god" that merely leads people into the world of the dead.[6] InPostwar Japan, however, the Western notion of a death god entered Japan, andshinigami started to become mentioned as an existence with a human nature.[5]
Generally, the word"shinigami" does not appear to be used in Japanese classical literature, and there are not many writings about them;[7] however, going into theEdo period, the word'shinigami' can be seen inChikamatsu Monzaemon's works ofningyō jōruri and classical literature that had themes on double suicides.
InHōei 3 (1706), in a performance of"Shinchuu Nimai Soushi", concerning men and women who were invited towards death, it was written "the road the god of death leads towards",[8] and in Hōei 6 (1709), in"Shinchuuha ha Koori no Sakujitsu", a woman who was about to commit double suicide with a man said, "the fleetingness of a life lured by a god of death".[9] It never became clear whether the man and woman came to commit double suicide due to the existence of ashinigami, or if ashinigami was given as an example for their situation of double suicide,[1] and there are also interpretations that the word"shinigami" is an expression for the fleetingness of life.[10]
Other than that, in Kyōhō 5 (1720), in a performance ofThe Love Suicides at Amijima, there was the expression, "of one possessed by a god of death". Since the character was seller of paper, the character who confronted death wrote "paper" (紙,kami) as "god" (神,kami),[11][12] but there are also interpretations that Chikamatsu himself did not think about the existence of ashinigami.[1]
In the classical literature of theEdo period,shinigami that would possess humans are mentioned. In theEhon Hyaku Monogatari fromTenpō 12 (1841), there was a story titled"Shinigami". In this one, however, theshinigami was the spirit of a deceased person and had bad intent. Acting jointly with the malicious intent already within people who were living, those people were led on bad paths, which caused repeat incidents to occur at places where there was previously a murder incident (for example by causing the same suicide at places where people have hung themselves before),[13] and thus theseshinigami are somewhat like apossession that would cause people to want to die.[7][14][clarification needed] Similar to this, according to the essay of theBakumatsu period titled"Hogo no Uragaki", there were theitsuki that made people want to commit suicide through various means, namely hanging, as well as things told throughfolk religion such asgaki-tsuki andshichinin misaki.[5]
In the later Edo Period, the essay"Shōzan Chomon Kishū" inKaei 3 (1850) by the essayist Miyoshi Shōzan, the one titled "upon possession by a shinigami, it becomes difficult to speak, or easier to tell lies" was a story where a prostitute possessed by ashinigami invites a man to commit double suicide,[15][16] and in thekabukiMekuranagaya Umega Kagatobi byKawatake Mokuami in Meiji 19 (1886), ashinigami enters into people's thoughts, making them think about bad things they have done and want to die.[17] These are, rather than gods, more likeyūki (meaningghosts andyūrei),[18] orevil spirits.[1]
In theSan-yūtei Enchō of classicalrakugo, there was a programme titled"Shinigami", but this was something that was not thought of independently in Japan, but rather from adaptions of the Italianopera theCrispino e la comare[19] and theGrimm Fairy Tale "Godfather Death".[20]
Shinigami are also spoken about infolk religion after the war. According to themores of Miyajima,Kumamoto Prefecture, those who go out and return to attend to someone through the night must drink tea or eat a bowl of rice before sleeping, and it is said that ashinigami would visit if this was ignored.[21]
In theHamamatsu area,Shizuoka Prefecture, ashinigami would possess people and lead them to mountains, seas, and railroads where people have died. In those places, the dead would have a "death turn" (shiniban), and as long as there is nobody to die there next, they shall never ascend even if they were given a service, and it was said that people who were alive would be invited by the dead to come next.[15] Also, it is ordinary to visit graves for the sake ofHigan during noon or when the sun sets, but in theOkayama Prefecture, visiting the grave for Higan during sunrise without a previous time would result in being possessed by ashinigami. However, once one has visited the grave in sunset, then it would become necessary to visit the grave again during sunrise, to avoid ashinigami possessing one's body.[15] With this background of folk belief, it is also thought that sometimes people would consider the ghosts of the deceased, who have nobody to deify them, to be seeking companions and inviting people to join them.[15]
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| Takamagahara mythology | ||
| Izumo mythology | ||
| Hyūga mythology | ||
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| Major Buddhist figures | ||
| Seven Lucky Gods | ||
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