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Shinigami
() are that invite humans toward death in certain aspects of Shinto, Japanese religion and Culture of Japan, 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 (demon), 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 (Buddhism), Yama, the king of the Diyu, Underworld, as well as such as the Ox-Head and Horse-Face are also considered a type of . In Shinto and Japanese mythology, Izanami gave humans death, so she is sometimes seen as a . However, Izanami and Yama are also thought to be different from the death gods in Western mythology. Some forms of Bu ...
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Ehon Hyaku Monogatari
The , also called the is a book of ''yōkai'' illustrated by Japanese artist Takehara Shunsensai, published about 1841. The book was intended as a followup to Toriyama Sekien's ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' series. Like those books, it is a supernatural bestiary of ghosts, monsters, and spirits which has had a profound influence on subsequent yōkai imagery in Japan. The author's pen name is ; however, in the preface it is written as . According to the ''Kokusho Sōmokuroku'' (Iwanami Shoten) this is considered to be a gesaku author from the latter half of the Edo period, . It can be said that this is a kind of hundred-tale ''Kaidan (parapsychology), kaidan'' (ghost story) book popular in the Edo period, as "100 Tales" is part of the title, but rather than being tales with story titles, yōkai names are printed with illustrations of yōkai, so it could be said that this work is a fusion of kaidan book and picture book. This book is also known by the title ''Tōsanjin Yawa'' because th ...
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Izanami
, formally referred to with the honorific , is the creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother-husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the formation of heaven and earth. Izanami and Izanagi are held to be the creators of the Japanese archipelago and the progenitors of many deities, which include the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the storm god Susanoo. In mythology, she is the direct ancestor of the Japanese imperial family. In Shinto and Japanese mythology, Izanami gave humans death, so Izanami is sometimes seen as a shinigami. Name Her name is given in the () both as ''Izanami-no-Kami'' (伊弉冉神) and ''Izanami-no-Mikoto'' (伊邪那美命), while the (720 AD) refers to her as ''Izanami-no-Mikoto'', with the name written in different characters (伊弉冉尊). The names ''Izanagi'' (''Izanaki'') and ''Izanami'' ...
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Onryō
In Japanese traditional beliefs and literature, are a type of ghost () believed to be capable of causing harm in the world of the living, injuring or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact Revenge, vengeance to "redress" the wrongs it received while alive, then taking their spirits from their dying bodies. are often depicted as wronged women, who are traumatized, envious, disappointed, bitter, or just infuriated by what happened during life and exact revenge in death. These kinds of ghosts appear extremely vengeful, ruthless, heartless, brutal, cruel, deranged, egotistical, selfish, bloodthirsty, and cold-hearted. Emperor Sutoku, Taira no Masakado, and Sugawara no Michizane are called the because they are considered to be the most powerful and revered in Japanese history. After they died with resentment and anger, there was a series of deaths of political opponents, natural disasters, and wars, and the rulers enshrined them as and deified them in Sh ...
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Folk Religion
Folk religion, traditional religion, or vernacular religion comprises, according to religious studies and folkloristics, various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized religion. The precise definition of folk religion varies among scholars. Sometimes also termed popular belief, it consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of a religion; but outside official doctrine and practices. The term "folk religion" is generally held to encompass two related but separate subjects. The first is the religious dimension of folk culture (folklore), or the folk-cultural dimensions of religion. The second refers to the study of religious syncretism between two cultures with different stages of formal expression, such as the melange of African folk beliefs and Roman Catholicism that led to the development of Vodun and Santería, and similar mixtures of formal religions with folk cultures. In China, fo ...
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Bakumatsu
were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate Meiji Restoration, ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a Feudalism, feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the Empire of Japan, modern empire of the Meiji era, Meiji Government of Meiji Japan, government. The major ideological-political divide during this period was between the pro-imperial Nationalism, nationalists called and the shogunate forces, which included the elite swordsmen. Although these two groups were the most visible powers, many other factions attempted to use the chaos of to seize personal power. Furthermore, there were two other main driving forces for dissent: first, growing resentment on the part of the (or outside lords), and second, growing anti-Western sentiment following the arrival of Matthew C. Perry. The first related to those lords whose predecessors had fought against Tokugawa for ...
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Spirit Possession
Spirit Possession is an altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors which are purportedly caused by the control of a human body and its functions by Supernatural#Spirit, spirits, ghosts, demons, angels, or Deity, gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity,Mark 5:9, Luke 8:30 Judaism, Wicca, Haitian Vodou, Dominican Vudú, and Southeast Asian, African, and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American traditions. Depending on the cultural context in which it is found, possession may be thought of as voluntary or involuntary and may be considered to have beneficial or detrimental effects on the host. The experience of spirit possession sometimes serves as evidence in support of belief in the existence of spirits, deities or demons. In a 1969 study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, spirit-possession beliefs were found to exist in 74% of a sample of 488 societies i ...
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Tenpō
was a after '' Bunsei'' and before '' Kōka.'' The period spanned from December 1830 through December 1844. The reigning emperor was . Introduction Change of era * December 10, 1830 () : In the 13th year of ''Bunsei'', the new era name of ''Tenpō'' (meaning "Heavenly Imperial Protection") was created to mark the disasters of a great fire in Edo and an earthquake at Kyoto. The new era name was created from an hortatory aphorism: "Respect and worship the Ways of heaven. Eternally keep the Mandate of Heaven" (欽崇天道、永保天命). The Tenpō era is often described as the beginning of the end of bakufu government. Though the era accomplished much through its reforms, and also culturally speaking, the injury inflicted on the Tokugawa system of government during the Tenpō period was unparalleled. Public order and dissatisfaction with government was a main issue, but the bakufu was not entirely at fault for the stir amongst the people. For example, the failure of crops ...
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The Love Suicides At Amijima
''The Love Suicides at Amijima'' (''Shinjū Ten no Amijima'' or ''Shinjūten no Amijima'' 心中天の網島) is a domestic play ('' sewamono'') by Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Originally written for the ''bunraku'' puppet theatre, it was adapted into kabuki shortly after its premiere on 3 January 1721. It is widely regarded as one of his greatest domestic plays and was hailed by Donald Keene as “Chikamatsu’s masterpiece”. Adaptations The Japanese new wave filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda was a Japanese film director, whose career spanned over four decades and covered a wide range of genres and styles. He was one of the central figures of the Japanese New Wave during the 1960s and 1970s. He directed films for Shochiku Studio fro ... directed a stylized adaptation of the story as '' Double Suicide'' in 1969. Milwaukee, WI-based Dale Gutzman (book, lyrics) and Todd Wellman (score) debuted the musical adaption ''AmijimA'' in 2007. The Australian National Universi ...
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Hōei
was a after Genroku and before Shōtoku''.'' This period spanned the years from March 1704 through April 1711. The reigning emperors were and . Etymology ''Hōei'' comes from the Old Book of Tang (). Change of era * 1704 : In reaction to the Great Genroku earthquake in Genroku 16, the era name was changed to ''Hōei'' (meaning "Prosperous Eternity"). The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Genroku 17, on the 13th day of the 3rd month. Events of the ''Hōei'' era * October 28, 1707 (''Hōei 4, 4th day of the 10th month''): Great Hōei earthquake. The city of Osaka suffers tremendously because of a very violent earthquake. * December 16, 1707 (''Hōei 4, 23rd day of the 11th month''): An eruption of Mount Fuji; the cinders and ash fell like rain in Izu, Kai, Sagami, and Musashi. * April 28, 1708 (''Hōei 5, 8th day of the 3rd month''): There was a great fire in Heian-kyō. * May 20, 1708 (''Hōei 5, 1st day of the 4th month''): The shogunate introduces new c ...
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Bunraku
is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers), the (chanters), and musicians. Occasionally other instruments such as drums will be used. The combination of chanting and playing is called and the Japanese word for puppet (or dolls, generally) is . It is used in many plays. History 's history goes as far back as the 16th century, but the origins of its modern form can be traced to around the 1680s. It rose to popularity after the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653–1724) began a collaboration with the chanter Takemoto Gidayu (1651–1714), who established the Takemoto puppet theater in Osaka in 1684. Originally, the term referred only to the particular theater established in 1805 in Osaka, which was named the after the puppeteering ensemble of , an early 18th-century puppeteer from Awaji ...
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