Shinigami, The ‘Grim Reaper’ Death Gods Of Japanese Myth
Public DomainA page from Ehon Hyaku Monogatari, a 19th-century work that described shinigami.
In Japan, the primary gods of death are known as the shinigami. The shinigami are believed to lead people to their death, sometimes as mere guides — and sometimes as spirits with more devious intentions.
Shinigami are often depicted with long, white hair and wearing dark kimonos. Sometimes they’re described as being small and childlike, and other times they’re more like tall, skeletal women.
The word — which comes from kami, meaning god, and shi meaning death — was first used in the 18th century, when it appeared in puppet plays (ningyō jōruri). In these early plays, the shinigami led characters to their deaths, often to suicide. However, it’s debatable if the shinigami caused the deaths or simply accompanied the characters on a premeditated path.
In the 19th century, the depiction of the shinigami was far darker. A short story in Ehon Hyaku Monogatari (1841) described shinigami as cruel trickster gods who lured humans with dark thoughts toward suicide or otherwise tricked them into harming themselves.
Though based in centuries-old folklore, the idea of the shinigami has endured. These death gods play an important role in the manga series Death Note and the anime series Bleach.
Death, it seems, is an entirely fascinating subject for writers and artists.
