, in

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

and

Japanese Buddhism Buddhism has been practiced in Japan since about the 6th century CE. Japanese Buddhism () created many new Buddhist schools, and some schools are original to Japan and some are derived from Chinese Buddhist schools. Japanese Buddhism has had a ...

, is the equivalent to the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

or spirit in

western culture Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

Japanese tradition

When a person dies, it is believed that their ''reikon'' will remain in a type of

purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...

until they are given proper funeral rites. After which, the ''reikon'' will join their ancestors in the afterlife and only returning to the living world every August for the

Obon Festival or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people retu ...

''Yūrei''

When a person dies in an unexpected, violent or traumatic way, the ''reikon'' remains amongst the living as a ''

yūrei are figures in Japanese folklore analogous to the Western model of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, (''yū''), meaning "faint" or "dim" and (''rei''), meaning "soul" or "spirit". Alternative names include , meaning ruined or depart ...

'', or

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

, who must complete an unfinished duty amongst the living or be given a proper ritual to ease its passing into the next world. A ''yūrei'' is thought to be produced by violent means such as murder or suicide. These tend to take on a fixed desire emotion such as revenge, love, jealousy, hatred, or sorrow while carrying out their hauntings.

Sources

Buddhism in Japan Ghosts Shinto {{Shinto-stub

Japanese tradition

''Yūrei''

See also

Sources