View source for Shikigami

{{Short description|Term for a being from Japanese folklore}}
{{distinguish|Shinigami}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
{{Expand language|topic=|langcode=ja|otherarticle=式神|date=March 2020}}
[[File:Fudo-Rieki-Engi 01.jpg|right|thumb|240px|[[Abe no Seimei]] and his {{Transliteration|ja|shikigami}} (bottom right) before an assembly of god-like demon spirits]]

{{nihongo||式神|'''Shikigami'''}} (also read as {{nihongo||式の神|Shiki-no-kami}}) is the term for a being from [[Japan]]ese [[folklore]]. According to the [[Shinto]] scholar [[Inoue Nobutaka]], it is thought to be some sort of {{Transliteration|ja|[[kami]]}}, represented by a small [[ghost]].<ref name="Inoue">{{cite book|last1=Inoue|first1=Nobutaka|title=An Encyclopedia of Shinto|date=2002|publisher=Kokugakuin University|location=Tokyo|isbn=978-4905853084|pages=84–90}}</ref> The belief of ''shikigami'' originates from ''[[Onmyōdō]]''. According to the tradition of ''Onmyōdō'', ''shikigami'' is a symbol of ''[[onmyōji]]''{{'}}s power because ''onmyōji'' can freely use ''shikigami'' with magical powers. It has been associated with "curses" since the 1000s of the [[Heian period]], and was often depicted as a bird or a child in [[Japanese literature]] and ''[[Emakimono]]''.<ref name='hokkaido'>{{Cite web |url=http://s-ir.sap.hokkyodai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/123456789/9590/1/sap-kokugo-22-01.pdf|title=陰陽道の式神の成立と変遷 文学作品の呪詛にも触れつつ|pages=1|author=Wakako Nakajima|publisher=[[Hokkaido University of Education]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218111057/http://s-ir.sap.hokkyodai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/123456789/9590/1/sap-kokugo-22-01.pdf|accessdate=6 February 2021|archive-date=2020-12-18}}</ref>

==Description==
''Shikigami'' are conjured beings, made alive through a complex 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.<ref name="Inoue"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Avant|first1=G. Rodney|title=A Mythological Reference|date=2005|publisher=AuthorHouse|location=Bloomington, Indiana|isbn=978-1418492786|page=356}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Drazen|first1=Patrick|title=A Gathering of Spirits: Japan's Ghost Story Tradition: from Folklore and Kabuki to Anime and Manga|date=2011|publisher=Iuniverse|location=Bloomington, Indiana|isbn=978-1462029426|page=224}}</ref>

In the ''Izanagi-ryū'' ({{langx|ja|いざなぎ流}}) [[folk religion]], the most elite ''onmyōji'' could also conjure an exceptionally powerful type of ''shikigami'' called a ''shikiōji'' ({{langx|ja|式王子}}) 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.

==In popular culture==
Within the realm of the manga and anime series ''[[Jujutsu Kaisen]]'', shikigami play a pivotal role in the arsenal of jujutsu sorcerers, notably [[Megumi Fushiguro]]. The supernatural entities are conjured through the manipulation of cursed energy, typically facilitated by talismans and summoning magic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yehia |first=Ahmed |date=2024-02-06 |title=Jujutsu Kaisen: What are Shikigami? |url=https://gamerant.com/jujutsu-kaisen-what-are-shikigami/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=Game Rant |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Dogū]]
* [[Familiar]]
* [[Haniwa]]
* [[Hōko (doll)]]
* [[Kokeshi]]
* [[Paper doll]]
* [[Pelesit]]
* [[Poppet]]
* [[Spirit animal (disambiguation)]]
* [[Totem]]
* [[Ushabti]]
* [[Voodoo doll]]
* [[Zuijin]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Japanese folklore long}}

[[Category:Japanese folklore]]
[[Category:Japanese ghosts]]
[[Category:Shinto kami]]
[[Category:Onmyōdō]]