Shinigami

thumb|Statue of [[Yama (Buddhism)|Yama]]

() are that invite humans toward death in certain aspects of Japanese religion and culture. have been described as monsters, helpers, and creatures of darkness. are used for tales and religions in Japanese culture.

Japanese religion

In Buddhism, there is the Mara that is concerned with death, the Mrtyu-mara. 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 . Also, in the Yogacarabhumi-sastra, a writing on Yogacara, a demon decided the time of people's deaths. Yama, the king of the Underworld, as well as such as the Ox-Head and Horse-Face, are also considered a type of .

thumb|Izanami and Izanagi Creating the Japanese Islands by [[Kobayashi Eitaku (Izanami to left)]]

In Shinto and Japanese mythology, Izanami gave humans death, so she is sometimes seen as a . 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. however, going into the Edo period, the word can be seen in Chikamatsu Monzaemon's works of and classical literature that had themes on double suicides.

In Hōei 3 (1706), in a performance of , concerning men and women who were invited towards death, it was written "the road the god of death leads towards", and in Hōei 6 (1709), in , a woman who was about to commit double suicide with a man said, "the fleetingness of a life lured by a god of death". It never became clear whether the man and woman came to commit double suicide due to the existence of a , or if a was given as an example for their situation of double suicide,

Other than that, in Kyōhō 5 (1720), in a performance of The 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 as , but there are also interpretations that Chikamatsu himself did not think about the existence of a . and thus these are somewhat like a possession that would cause people to want to die. Similar to this, according to the essay of the Bakumatsu period titled , there were the that made people want to commit suicide through various means, namely hanging, as well as things told through folk religion such as and . and in the kabuki by Kawatake Mokuami in Meiji 19 (1886), a enters into people's thoughts, making them think about bad things they have done and want to die. These are, rather than gods, more like (meaning ghosts and ), or evil spirits. and the Grimm Fairy Tale "Godfather Death".

Folk religion

are also spoken about in folk religion after the war. According to the mores 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 a would visit if this was ignored.

In the Hamamatsu area, Shizuoka Prefecture, a 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" (), 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.

Japanese religion

Folk religion

See also

References

Bibliography