Shinigami (死神?, "death spirit]") is the personification of death that evolved in Japan, having been imported to Japan from Europe during the Meiji period. This image of death was quickly adopted and featured in such works as the rakugo play Shinigami and in Shunsen Takehara's Ehon Hyaku Monogatari (One-hundred Story Picture-Book). The term shinigami may also be used more loosely to refer to any death deity. It seems to be a recent term, however, as it belongs to no specific Shinto deity and is rarely used in folklore. Perhaps the first appearance of shinigami in Japan was in a rakugo play titled Shinigami. It is thought that this play was based on the Italian opera Crispino e la Comare, which was in turn based on Der Gevatter Tod, a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. Today, the use of shinigami for any number of supernatural beings associated with death in Japanese manga and anime is common. [edit] Related deities The following are Japanese death deities but are usually not referred to as shinigami: -
- Enma, also known as Yama, is a deity from Buddhist and Hindu tradition who judges the dead with either reward or punishment in Jigoku (a world in the afterlife usually referred to in English as the Japanese "Hell").
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- A goddess in Shintoism, wife of Izanagi. Izanami is a goddess of creation who later became a goddess of death.
[edit] In popular culture | | This "In popular culture" section may contain too many minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivia references. (August 2009) | Shinigami characters often appear in modern Japanese popular culture. These characters are typically employed as psychopomps, bringing deceased souls to the world of the dead. Shinigami appear in the following fictional works: - In the manga Alive, the character Okada Gou has the special power to let a shinigami, a young girl in old black robes armed with a scythe, kill anyone who breaks a promise with him. Unlike other "powers" in the manga, the shinigami has feelings since she is seen mourning over Okada's dead body after he breaks a promise with her.
- In the manga As the Death God Dictates by Mimori Ao, the main character Ayumi is told she has one month left to live by the shinigami Shiro.
- In Ballad of a Shinigami, the main character is a shinigami whose job is to collect the souls of people at the moment of their death. However, she attempts to make a positive impact on the lives of the people who encounter death.
- In Bleach, shinigami, or soul reapers/death gods, are souls that protect the human world from Hollows and that lead people to Soul Society, a place reigned by souls in another dimension.
- In the Boogiepop series, Boogiepop is said to be a shinigami, appearing to protect humankind.
- In the Castlevania video game series, a character named "Shinigami" (Death in the US games) is a loyal servant to Dracula, working to hasten his master's revival and assisting him in creating a world of darkness.
- In The Dark One Saga, a horror tetralogy, shinigami watch over a person their entire life, serving the dual purpose of guiding them to limbo once deceased, as well as being a guardian angel.
- The protagonist of the anime Darker Than Black, codename Hei, is known by the nickname "Black Shinigami" for his skills at killing opponents during a war in South America ten years prior.
- In Death Note, shinigami live in another dimension and kill humans in order to extend their own lives.
- In Descendants of Darkness, the main characters are shinigami who work in a place called Meifu; their job is to make sure that everything goes well when human souls die and are reborn.
- In Dragon Warrior II and a clear data file of Dragon Warrior Monsters, the evil priest Hargon wishes to summon a shinigami named Sidoh (called Malroth in the original NES version of Dragon Warrior II). It is unknown whether or not Hargon wants Sidoh to help him rule the world, or destroy it.
- In Full Moon o Sagashite, shinigami ensure that a person dies at the moment they are fated to die by interfering with circumstances and events that would cause a death earlier or later than fate deems; they then act as a psychopomp. These shinigami were once people who committed suicide and now must collect souls as punishment.
- A shinigami character appears in Shigeru Mizuki's comic series Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro and Kappa no Sanpei. He has a skull-like head and likes watermelon.
- At least three characters from the multiple Gundam universes are called "Shinigami" as a nickname. These include Kyral Mekirel from G Gundam, Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing, and Terry Sanders Jr. from Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team.
- In the anime and manga Kuroshitsuji, the main characters occasionally come into contact with shinigami, who look at the lives of humans and judge whether they deserve to die. Relations between demons and shinigami are tense, as shinigami see demons only as the scavengers who undo all of their hard work. Grell Sutcliffe is a shinigami who uses a scythe to judge the souls of humans.
- In the anime and manga "Nabari no Ō" the character Yoite is referred to as the emotionless shinigami because of his use of his power "Kira" on people without remorse.
- In Naruto, the shinigami is a monster-like deity clad in a flowing white robe which can be invoked using a technique known as the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
- In the manga Nephilim, one of the main characters, Abel, is part of the race of people called Nephilim, who are also called shinigami. They are rumored to possess unimaginable beauty at night, and are said to be shape-shifters/gender-benders.
- In Omishi Magical Theater: Risky Safety, shinigami resemble small, cute versions of Death, and try to convince their victims to commit suicide. The title character, Risky, is a shinigami who attempts to use a miniature scythe to send the female protagonist to the land of the dead.
- In the Touhou Project game Phantasmagoria of Flower View, a playable character and possible opponent is Komachi Onozuka, a slacker shinigami who provides passage across the Sanzu River. As a Ferryman and not a Reaper, Komachi has a role akin to that of Charon of Greek mythology. She describes in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, however, that there are Reaper shinigami in the charge of collecting souls and bringing them to her.
- In Rumiko Takahashi's manga Rin-ne, both Rinne and his grandmother, Tamako, are shinigami. Rinne uses supernatural as well as psychological means to give closure to the souls of the departed so that they might find peace and move on to the next life.
- The Shin Megami Tensei games and their Persona spinoffs, a shinigami class of demons includes many death-related gods borrowed from mythology, such as Chernobog, Persephone, Ankou, Hades, Mot, and Thanatos.
- In the manga Shinigami Lovers, the character Sei is a shinigami who is chained to Mika's soul by the Thantos Lovers chains.
- In Soul Eater, Shinigami is the head of the Shibusen technical school for weapon meisters and weapons, whom he trains to hunt souls on his behalf. He posts those who need their souls harvested on his list. He is more like the Grim Reaper than a normal deity, since he used to actively devour the souls of wicked people.
- In The World Ends With You, Neku Sakuraba and his friends must win a week-long "Shinigami Game" administrated by a group calling themselves Shinigami under the threat of being removed from existence. The Shinigami use a stylized skull and crossbones as their insignia. The english version of the game refers to them as "Reapers".
- In YuYu Hakusho, the character Botan and other shinigami are represented as kimono-wearing girls that ride on oars. These girls guide departed souls to the Spirit World (Reikai), where they are judged by the deity Koenma.
- In Zombie-Loan the main character, Michiru Kita, has what are called "Shinigami Eyes". These allow her to see a faint ring around a person's neck, when this ring becomes completely black that person's death is near or that person is a zombie.
- In the manga Zombie Powder, the main character, Gamma Akutabi, is nicknamed the "black-armed shinigami", referring to the black armor he has grafted to one of his arms.
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