Shikigami

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Shikigami (式神) are a kind of spirit summoned to serve a practitioner of Onmyōdō, much like a western familiar. Shikigami cannot be seen by most people, but according to the Heian period onmyōji who were said to control them, shikigami often looked something like a child-sized oni demon. Although invisible, shikigami supposedly could, at the onmyōji's command, take a variety of human or animal forms, possess or bewitch people, and even cause bodily harm or death.

The famous onmyōji Abe no Seimei was believed to be particularly skilled at manipulating shikigami, and even had them performing odd jobs around the house. The Twelve Heavenly Generals were said to be among the shikigami that he employed.


[edit] References

[edit] References in anime and manga

  • In manga series such as Yami no Matsuei, Mahou Sensei Negima and many others, shikigami are depicted as magical servants made from folded or cut paper. This is possibly related to ofuda, Shinto talismans made from paper, but it is also a play on the word "shikigami" itself. The second character of "shikigami" (神, which means "god" or "spirit") is pronounced in the same way as 紙 (which means "paper"): thus, "shikigami" could also mean "paper servant" if written with different kanji.
  • In the anime OVA Doomed Megalopolis (adaptation of the novel Teito Monogatari), the evil Onmyoji, Kato Yasunori, is constantly seen summoning hundreds of black shikigami to perform his bidding. In this series, the evil Shikigami are represented as blob-like monstrosities which can morph from one shape to another, or even be sliced in half and still continue functioning as two separate beings.
  • In the anime series Shaman King, Hao Asakura owns two shikigami, Zenki and Kouki, who is later on used by Anna Kyoyama after she is able to tame the two. Zenki and Gouki are giant shikagamis; one of them wields an axe, has one eye and is red, the other blue one is holding a shield and has five eyes.
  • Both Subaru Sumeragi and Seishirou Sakurazuka, onmyōji from Tokyo Babylon and X/1999, employ shikigami as summoned spies and also to spiritually attack opponents. Subaru's shikigami takes the form of a three headed white crow while Seishiro's is a bird of prey.
  • Kikyo of InuYasha creates three shikigami when she is poisoned and needs to bide time to find a way to recover. Two of her shikigami take on the form of two girls, Kochō and Asuka, which are powerful enough to create entire barriers. They are also able to fly and serve as Kikyo's messengers. Kikyo creates a third shikigami in her image called "Hijiri-sama" (or the Saint) who serves to distract and derail the plans of the antagonist of the story. Also, Tsubaki (Inuyasha), creates several shikigami as well; which she uses to curse Kagome by utilizing a portion of her stolen life force to taint the Shikon Jewel. Kururugi from the video game Inuyasha: The Cursed Mask uses shikigami as weapons, to heal, and to defend. They often appear as varied creatures summoned from a pentagram and take various forms.
  • Maggie Mui in the anime Read or Die: the TV, the middle sister of the 3 Paper Sisters, creates paper monsters to act as weapons and tools; they are sometimes referred to as shikigami--possibly based on the "kami" pun, above.
  • Sarina (Mizuchi Saiou) of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX plays a deck supported by cards based off shikigami.
  • Chin Yisou, a character of the anime and manga Saiyuki, turns himself into a shikigami by placing a mahjong tile in an open wound before being killed by Cho Hakkai, and consequently is able to return later in the story as an enemy.
  • In Volume one of DNAngel, Yukiru Sugisaki added an extra story titled N for Nishiki in which an eight-year-old girl named Kokoro Nagahara and her older brother Kodama had to summon shikigami in order to protect them from demons. Two shikigami were featured, Kujo, a female shikigami, looked after the house and acts like a mothering figure to both Kodama and Kokoro, while the younger Nishiki is summoned subconsciously when a pupil at Kokoro's school is possessed and tries to kill her. Both take on a human form (Kujo appearing as a woman and Nishiki as a boy a little older than Kokoro) although Nishiki takes the form of a stuffed toy rabbit.
  • The anime Onmyou Taisenki revolves around the use of Shikigami as spirits or fallen deities summoned to fight each other. The main character, Riku Tachibana, has a Shikigami named Byakko no Kogenta, a white tiger spirit.
  • The Atlus game Persona 2: Eternal Punishment includes an onmyouji celebrity and fortuneteller named Chizuru Ishigami. Her main shikigami is a black cat named Shiki, which she uses to lead the heroes around for a time, and she uses both robed creatures simply named "Shikigami" and clones of herself to assist in battle.
  • In Japanese anime and manga Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Rokudou Meiko (六道 冥子), a sweet and innocent but extremely powerful teenage girl, directly controls 12 Shikigami: Indara, Ajira, Kubira, Basara, Shindara, Sanchira, Haira, Makora, Shôtra, Anchira, Bikara, and Mekira. Normally they are under control, but whenever Meiko's feelings are disturbed, her "pets" destroy anything or anyone within their reach. Meiko is sensitive, weak-willed and easily hurt. In one episode, she uses her 12 Shikigami to fight a man with only one Shikigami to determine if her arranged marriage to him should be followed through.
  • In the video game, Shin Megami Tensei: Noctourne Shikigami appears as a monster, it retains the appearance of a long flat sheet of white paper with eyes.

[edit] Other literary references

  • In several of Laurence Yep's books (most notably the Tiger's Apprentice series), the antagonists use monsters that, when killed, turn into paper dolls.

Japanese Mythology
Stories and Myths:
Kojiki | Kwaidan | Nihon Shoki | Otogizōshi | Yotsuya Kaidan
Divinities:
List of divinities in Japanese mythology | Kami & Megami | Seven Lucky Gods
Legendary Figures:
Abe no Seimei | Hidari Jingoro | Kintaro | Kuzunoha
Momotaro | Nezumi Kozo | Tamamo-no-Mae | Tomoe Gozen | Urashima Tarō
Mythical and Sacred Locations:
Horai | Mt. Hiei | Mt. Fuji
Rashōmon | Ryugu-jo | Suzakumon | Takamagahara | Yomi
Religions | Sacred Objects | Creatures and Spirits
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