Shikigami
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (March 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2017) |
Shikigami (式神, also read as Shiki-no-kami, 式の神) is the term for a being from Japanese folklore. It is thought to be some sort of kami, represented by a small ghost.[1] The belief of shikigami originates from Onmyōdō.
Description
Shikigami are conjured beings, made alive through a complex conjuring ceremony. Their power is connected to the spiritual force of their master, where if the invoker is well introduced and has much experience, their shiki can possess animals and even people and manipulate them, but if the invoker is careless, their shikigami may get out of control in time, gaining its own will and consciousness and can even raid its own master and kill them in revenge. Usually shikigami are conjured to exercise risky orders for their masters, such as spying, stealing and enemy tracking. Shikigami are said to be invisible most of the time, but they can be made visible by binding them into small, folded and artfully cut paper manikins. There are also shikigami that can show themselves as animals.[1][2][3]
In the Izanagi-ryu (Template:Lang-ja) folk religion, the most elite onmyōji could also conjure an exceptionally powerful type of shikigami called a shikiōji (Template:Lang-ja) to ward off disasters or demons that cause sickness. Regular mystics could not attempt to summon it without risking losing control of it due to its oni-like nature.
See also
- Familiar spirit
- Wuxing
- Yin and Yang
- Katashiro
- Hoko doll
- Haniwa
- Zuijin
- Kokeshi
- Pelesit
- Poppet
- Totem
- Ushabti
References
- ^ a b Inoue, Nobutaka (2002). An Encyclopedia of Shinto. Tokyo: Kokugakuin University. pp. 84–90. ISBN 978-4905853084.
- ^ Avant, G. Rodney (2005). A Mythological Reference. Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse. p. 356. ISBN 978-1418492786.
- ^ Drazen, Patrick (2011). A Gathering of Spirits: Japan's Ghost Story Tradition: from Folklore and Kabuki to Anime and Manga. Bloomington, Indiana: Iuniverse. p. 224. ISBN 978-1462029426.