Hōsōshi
The ''fangxiangshi'' (Chinese: wikt:方相氏, 方相氏) was a Chinese ritual exorcist, the meaning of whose name is obscure but has been translated as "one who sees in all (four) directions", "he who scrutinizes for evil in many directions", and "one who orients unwanted spirits in the direction to which they belong". Ancient Chinese texts record that he wore a bearskin with four golden eyes, and carried a lance and shield to expel malevolent spirits. His primary duties were orchestrating the seasonal Nuo rituals, Nuo ritual to chase out disease-causing demonic possession, demons from houses and buildings, and leading a funeral procession to exorcize corpse-eating ''wangliang'' spirits away from a burial chamber. From the Han dynasty through the Tang dynasty (3rd century BCE to 10th century CE), ''fangxiangshi'' were official Wu (shaman), ''wu''-shaman specialists in the imperially sanctioned Chinese state religion; after the Tang, they were adapted into popular folk religion an ...
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