Inugami - Dog God

It is a dog spirit that is said to possess humans, and is the same species as fox spirits and raccoon dog spirits. It is widely distributed in the Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu regions, and is called "Inugame," "Ingame," or "Irigami" depending on the place. It is far from being a real dog, as it is as small as a mouse, and some people can see it but others can't. When it possesses a person, it causes a sudden illness and imitates a dog. It also causes pain all over the body and various illnesses both physical and mental. It is said that women are the most likely to be possessed, and that there are two types of inugami that possess humans and livestock. It is usually believed that it is not the work of the inugami itself that causes possession, but rather the "inugami user" who controls it. It is said that such spiritual powers are not limited to individuals, but extend to the entire family, and are passed down to descendants, and there were certain families called inugami-mochi, inugami-tsuki, and inugami-suji. It is also believed that the Inugami can be passed on to other families through marriage, and there are stories of people placing Inugami in their dressers when getting married. Inugami are extremely loyal to their family members, and keeping one as a pet or worshipping it as a young shrine or yashikigami (house god) will bring them wealth, but it is also said that if they are not kept or worshipped properly, they will quickly fall into ruin.

Once possessed, if a person becomes ill, doctors cannot cure them and there is no way to exorcise them other than through the services of a priest or ascetic. As a result, people who possessed inugami were greatly feared and disliked, and there was a strong tendency to avoid any kind of contact with their families, especially intermarriage. From the Middle Ages to the early modern period, the Hosokawa domain in Awa and the Chosokabe domain in Tosa had difficulty dealing with inugami, and sometimes executed those involved, but this did not seem to have been effective. As for its origin, there was a trend in ancient China where dog spirits were called kenko and were feared, and this was also recorded in the Sojinki by Gan Bao of the Jin dynasty, and there is a theory that this was introduced to Japan. There are also various other legends, such as that inugami was a dog that was buried in the ground, with only its head sticking out and not given food, and that it was killed when it became extremely hungry and then enshrined, or that inugami spread from a talisman with the character for "dog" given to it by Kobo Daishi.

[Takeda Dan]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

人間に依(よ)り憑(つ)くとされるイヌの霊で、キツネ憑きやタヌキ憑きなどと同種。中国、四国、九州地方に広く分布し、所により「いぬがめ」「いんがめ」「いりがみ」となまってよばれる。その正体はネズミぐらいに小さいとか、人により見える・見えないなど、ともかく実在のイヌとはほど遠い。これが人に憑くと、ひっくり返るような病症を呈したり、イヌのまねをしたりする。また、体のあちこちが痛んだり、心身にさまざまな病気を引き起こす。憑かれるのは女に多く、人間と家畜に憑く2種の犬神があるともいう。憑くのは犬神自身の働きではなく、これを操る「犬神使い」があるからとするのが通例である。そうした霊力をもつのは個人にとどまらず、その家族全員に及び、しかも子孫に継承されるといい、犬神持ち、犬神憑き、犬神筋(すじ)などとよばれる特定の家が存在した。また婚姻によって他家にまで伝えられると信じられ、嫁入りのときたんすの中に犬神を入れていくといった話もある。犬神はその家人にはきわめて忠実で、これを飼い、あるいは若宮、屋敷神に祀(まつ)れば富貴をもたらすが、飼い方、祀り方を誤るとたちまち零落するともいわれる。

　いったん憑かれて病気になると、医者では治らず祈祷師(きとうし)や行者(ぎょうじゃ)などに落としてもらうよりほかに方法はない。したがって「犬神持ち」は非常に恐れられ、嫌われて、その家とはもろもろの交際を避け、とくに通婚を忌む風潮が強かった。中世から近世にかけて阿波(あわ)の細川領、土佐の長宗我部(ちょうそがべ)領などでは、犬神対策に困り、関係者を極刑に処したこともあったが、効果はあがらなかったようである。なお起源については、古代中国に犬蠱(けんこ)とよんでイヌの霊を恐れる風があり、晋(しん)の干宝(かんぽう)の『捜神記(そうじんき)』にも載せられており、それが日本に伝来したとの説もある。また、イヌを土に埋め、首だけ出して食物を与えず、飢えが極まったときに殺したのを祀ったのが犬神だとか、弘法(こうぼう)大師のくれた「犬」の字の御札(おふだ)から犬神が広まったなど、各種の俗伝がある。

［竹田　旦］

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