Shinigami, also known as Gods of Death, are popular creatures in japanese folklore.
These dark spiritual entities are the ones in charge of collecting souls and taking them
to the Yomi, the land of the dead.
The term Shinigami comes from the japanese “Shi” which means “Death” and “Kami”,
which means “God” or “Spirit”.
In western mythology it would be something similar to Death or The Grim Reaper.
In fact, Shinigamis start appearing around the 18th century, with the influence of the
western culture in shintoism, buddhism and taoism.
On the contrary to Death, the Shinigami doesnt only refer to one entity, but to a great variety
of ghostly beings.
There isn’t a precise description of their shape, they are invisible except for those
who are close to dying.
As recurring creatures in lots of manga and anime, they’ve had different representations,
from human shapes like Ichigo and Rukia from Bleach and Momo from Ballad of a Shinigami,
to cadaverous and deformed beings who like appels, like Ryuk and Rem from Death Note.
Same as many spirits associated with death, shinigamis are known for being evil.
Sometimes, they are represented as fallen angels or grotesque demons that threaten humans
lives.
In buddhism, the figure of Shinigami is the evil spectrum that takes control of your body
in order to soak from it its will to live.
The popular belief says that shinigamis are simple bridged between our world and the other
world.
They make sure each person dies when their exact time comes, and guide them to the underworld
to confront their final destiny.
The legend says that a man going through a hard economical situation didnt have any desire
to live and wanted to leave this world.
A Shinigami appeared, showed him a candle that reflected his life expectancy and convinced
him that it wasnt his time yet.
In order to solve his problems, he showed him an easy way to earn money.
The Shinigami said he could pretend to be a doctor and perform miracles, in exchange
for good money.
He gave him the ability to see other shinigamis and the power to make any god of death go
back to the underworld without taking the soul he was coming for.
The only thing he had to do was pronounce an old spell and the shinigami would disappear.
The only rule was that the Shinigami had to be on the bed legs and not on the headboard
of the sick human.
If this was the case, destiny would be inevitable and the person should die.
The man performed several miracles, extending many people’s lives in exchange for jewels
and money.
Everything was going great for him, he was famous and powerful, but it was never enough
for him.
One day, a family whose daughter suffered a serious illness came to him to work one
of his miracles.
When he went to the room where the dying girl was, he saw the shinigami that would take
her soul to the other world sitting on the headboard.
The Shinigami was looking with dark and spooky eyes to the body of the girl who would soon
be dead.
The man knew he couldnt save the young girl, but the family offered him a very generous
reward that his greed would let him say no to.
When the night came and the shinigami was sleeping, he changed the orientation of the
bed, so that the god of death was lying on the bed legs and not on the headboard.
Then, he said the spell and the shinigami disappeared.
He had broken the rule.
The God of Death that had given him this power came back to visit, very angry.
He showed him his candle, almost consumed, and said there would be consequences to his
actions.
The man, feeling sorry, asked for a second chance to continue his life and the spirit
said the only way to save himself was by trespassing the light from his candle to another one.
But this wasnt possible, the Shinigami was lying to him, each person has his or her own
candle, non-transferrable, and, once it’s extinguished, the person dies.
The man tried to do it, but the candle was put out and the Shinigami whispered with a
dark voice:
"Death will come to you, same as everyone, but when it does… nobody will be waiting"
The man died and his soul remained trapped, doomed to wander eternally with no stop.