Shinigami (死神, Shinigami) are gods or supernatural spirits that invite humans toward death, and can be seen to be present in certain aspects of Japanese religion and culture.
Origin[]
Although Japanese myth has long been filled with different types of kami as spirits of nature, Shinigami only entered Japanese folklore around the 18th or 19th century. Shinigami isn’t even a word in classical Japanese literature; the first known instances of the term appear in the Edo Period , when it was used in a type of Japanese puppet theater and literature with a connection to evil spirits of the dead, spirits possessing the living , and suicides incited by spirits.
It was around that time when ideas from the West, in particular Christian ideas, began to interact and mix with the traditional Shinto, Buddhist, and Taoist beliefs. Shinto and Japanese mythology already had a goddess of death named Izanami, and Buddhism had a demon called Mrtyu-Mara who incited people to death as well. But once Eastern culture met Western culture and the notion of a Grim Reaper, a whole new death god appeared - the Shinigami.
Description[]
Shinigami vary widely in appearance, with bodies built in ways that would seem impossible by Earthly standards, though they remain unseen and invisible to the majority of people, and can only be seen by those with a connection to death or who are close to dying. Even when Shinigami are seen, they never have the same look or shape, meaning that those who see a Shinigami may not recognize it as one. As death kami, the various forms Shinigami take symbolize the many ways one can die and pass on from this world to the next.
Trivia[]
- Shinigami have become popular characters for manga and anime, and make appearances in series such as Death Note, Bleach, Shinigami lovers, Full moon o sagashite, Naruto, Soul Eater and Kuroshitsuji.