#ikiryo

Ikiryō - In Japanese folklore, a spirit that is born of evil thoughts and feelings harbored by a person. The ikiryō, energized by hatred, becomes powerful enough to leave its source and enter and possess the object of the person's hatred. Once inside, it kills the victim in a vampire-like fashion by slowly draining the person's energy. The ikiryō is extremely difficult to exorcize. Rites to drive it away include the reading of Buddhist sutras.

Reproduction (apparently part of the Shochiku costume collection) of the kimono worn by ikiryo (living ghost) Lady Rokujo on famous ukiyoe [焔 honô (the flame of passion)] by female artist Uemura Shoen.

Spiderweb in the wisteria is such a mysterious pattern really fitting its subject!

They happen to be capable of cursing and posession, but they aren't always evil. I read that they can leave their body to manifest around loved ones, friends, or acquaintances.

Furthermore, there was a time where this was considered an illness, or 'soul separation illness' and it says that upon seperating from the body, the soul/Ikiryo takes the shape and face of the person.

Yaşarken ruh, bedenden kaçabilir mi? Japon efsanelerinde bu soruya cevap verilmiştir.

İkiryo'yu Japon inancında, yaşayan bir kişinin görülen hayaleti olarak tanımlayabiliriz yani bedensiz bir ruhu temsil eder. Genellikle nefret, birisini öldürme arzusu gibi hisler intikam almak istenilen kişilere musallat olmak amacıyla ikiryo'ya neden olur, bu nedenle ikiryo'ya intikamcı ruh da denir. Ayrıca ikiryo'nun, aşk duygusu nedeniyle de ortaya çıktığıda görülür. Sevdiğine kendini gösterme, onun yanında olma arzusunun da musallat olmaya sebep olabileceği söylenir. Sevgi-aşk odaklı bu durum intikam odaklı olana göre genellikle ölmeden önce yaşanan bir durum olduğuna inanılır.

Ikiryō from Japanese folklore.

Vengeful spirits ( onryō) of the living are said to inflict curses (tatari) upon the subject or subjects of their vengeance by means of transforming into their ikiryō form. It is believed that if a sufficient grudge is held, all or part of the perpetrator’s soul leaves the body, appearing in front of the victim to harm or curse them.

Possession is another means by which the Ikiryō are commonly believed to be capable of inflicting harm, the possessed person thought to be unaware of this process.

However, according to mythology, the ikiryō does not necessarily act out of spite or vengefulness. In recorded examples, the spirit sometimes takes possession of another person’s body for motives other than vengeance, such as love and infatuation.

Sightings of ikiryō belonging to those whose deaths are imminent have been recorded from all over Japan. Stories abound of spirits that materialize to someone dear to them, such as immediate family. The recipient of the visit experiencing a metaphysical foreshadowing of this person’s death, before any tangible news of bereavement arrives.

During the Edo period, there was a belief that there was a condition called rikonbyō (“soul separation illness”), whereby the soul would not just separate from the body, but assume the shape and appearance of the sufferer.