Shikigami: No Single Historical Definition
Overview
Section titled “Overview”Canonical entry drawn from a single source layer in 17_AGGRESSIVE_ARCHIVE_SWEEP_II_v2_5.md.
Research layers
Section titled “Research layers”Layer 1: Shikigami: No Single Historical Definition
Section titled “Layer 1: Shikigami: No Single Historical Definition”Source file:
17_AGGRESSIVE_ARCHIVE_SWEEP_II_v2_5.md
Japanese: 式神 / 識神 etc.
Class: ONMYŌDŌ SPIRIT TECHNOLOGY / LITERARY CONSTRUCTION
Carolyn Pang’s specialist review shows that scholarship has interpreted shikigami variously as:
- a supernatural servant;
- a curse or magical operation;
- a concept connected with shikisen divination;
- a literary construction that changes across sources.
Critical correction
Section titled “Critical correction”The popular image of a universally defined paper-doll familiar is historically unreliable.
Encyclopedia protocol
Section titled “Encyclopedia protocol”Every shikigami claim must state:
- source text;
- date;
- spelling;
- whether being, technique, curse or metaphor;
- relationship to onmyōji;
- whether the source is ritual, literary or folkloric.