Hitodama.html
 
| ca | de | en | es | fr | it | nl | no | pl | pt | ru | ro | fi | sv | tr | vo |


 

The hitodama as illustrated by Toriyama Sekien.

Hitodama (人魂? "human soul") are believed in Japanese folklore to be the souls of the newly dead taking form of mysterious fiery apparitions. The word hitodama is a combination of the Japanese words hito, meaning "human", and tama (short for tamashii), meaning "soul". These flames supposedly appear as pale blue, some times green, spheres with long tails and are believed to be tricksters originating from fluorescent gases that can sometimes be seen above human graves.

Contents

In folklore

Hitodama are usually said to be found near graveyards and in gloomy forests in summer time, where they are said to live. They are alleged sometimes seen close to a sick dying person as an apparition of the soul leaving the body before going to the other side. Most hitodama fade away or fall to the ground shortly after being spotted.

The tricks they are known to play on people most is leading travelers off track and thereby making them lost. Some Japanese myths consider hitodama a trick of the kitsune, employing their "fox-fire" (kitsune-bi) to lead travelers astray.

Ghostly fires in Japan may also be called onibi (鬼火? "demon fire"). In Chinese they are called guǐ-huǒ (Pinyin) or gwäe-fo (Cantonese). Hitodama is the Japanese counterpart to the English "Will o' the wisp".

In popular culture

  • In the manga and anime Dragonball Z, hitodama are seen frequently as Goku (and many other characters) traverse through "The Otherworld" and Hell.
  • The Tecmo horror series Fatal Frame shows hitodama being released from spirits that the player manages to successfully exorcise.
  • Hitodama is an ally of the main character Kinu Himuro 氷室 キヌ (Himuro Kinu?) in the Ghost Sweeper Mikami anime and manga.
  • The characters Youmu Konpaku and Yuyuko Saigyōji in the Touhou Project computer games are accompianied by hitodama. Youmu is described as a half-ghost, with her ghostly half residing outside of her human body and taking the shape of a large hitodama; whereas Yuyuko, a ghost princess, is usually seen with several small hitodama.
  • In the Shaman King series, some spirits appear sometimes in a Hitodama-like form, most notably Amidamaru.
  • In the series Inuyasha the re-animated priestess, Kikyo, is sustained by Hitodama which are harvested for her by special "soul carrier" demons.
  • They are usually used as face faults in many anime, usually indicating depression.
  • In the video game Legend of Mana a creature named Hitodama is a boss fought in the Underworld

See also

Sources
All Right Reserved © 2007, Designed by Stylish Blog.