Dead spirit - Shirei

Japanese: 死霊 - しれい

The spirits of the dead. Generally, the living are often afraid of the dead, and it is believed that the dead will curse people depending on how they are treated. It is believed that the soul leaves the body when a person dies, but in Japan, when a person takes their last breath, a ritual called Tamashii Yobai is performed to call the dead spirit back to the body. This involves climbing onto the roof and calling the name of the deceased, and only after this is performed is the death confirmed. It is said that the spirit of the dead remains on the roof for 49 days even after leaving the body. For this reason, funeral rites have a magical element to prevent the spirit of the dead from returning. When the coffin is taken out, a temporary gate is made, and after the coffin is taken out from there, it is destroyed so that the spirit of the dead does not know where it left the house. Similarly, the route to and from the funeral is changed. It is generally believed that the spirits of those who died with resentment in the world and those who have no one to worship them curse people. It is said that the spirits of those who died of starvation in the mountains become hungry ghosts and possess people. It is also said that the spirits of people lost at sea appear as funayurei (funa-yurei) and ask for water; if they are not given a ladle with a hole in it, they will be turned into a water boat and sink. Meanwhile, after 33 to 50 years of death, the deceased are considered to be a kind of god, as they are ancestors. In other words, the spirits of the dead are believed to lose their individuality and merge with the ancestral spirits. In some areas of Saitama and Shizuoka prefectures, they become earth gods at this time. Since ancient times, it has been believed that the spirits of the dead go to the underworld, or tokoyo. In Okinawa, a sacred place called Niraikanai, across the sea, is said to be this tokoyo.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

死者の霊魂のこと。一般に生者は死霊に対して恐怖心をいだくことが多く，その扱いによってはなんらかのたたりをなすものと信じられている。人が死ぬと霊魂は肉体から離れるものと考えられているが，日本では息を引取ると死霊を再び肉体に呼戻すために，魂呼ばいを行う。これは屋根に上って死者の名を呼んだりするもので，これを行なったのち初めて死を確認するが，死霊は肉体を離れても 49日間屋根棟にとどまっているといわれている。そのため葬式の儀礼には死霊が再び帰ってこないようにする呪術的な要素がある。出棺に際して仮門を造り，そこから棺を出したあと，それを破棄して死霊にどこから家を出たかわからないようにする。同様に野辺送りの行きと帰りの道を違えたりする。一般に死霊のなかでも，特に現世に恨みを残して死んだ者や祀り手のない者の霊はたたると考えられていた。山野に餓死した者の霊は餓鬼となって人に取付くといわれる。また海で遭難した人の霊は船幽霊となって現れて水を求め，その際穴のあいた柄杓 (ひしゃく) を渡してやらないと，水船にされて沈んでしまうといわれる。一方，人の死後 33～50年たつと死者は祖先として一種の神のように考えられた。すなわち死霊は個性を失い祖霊に合一するものとされた。埼玉県や静岡県ではこのとき地神となるという地域がある。死霊は古代から黄泉 (よみ) の国，常世の国に行くものとされていた。沖縄では海のかなたのニライカナイという聖地がこの常世の国にあたるとされている。

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