Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: In’gami, Irigami
Category: Dog
The Myth
Inugami are powerful dog spirits said to serve human masters. They are known throughout western Japan, especially in Kyūshū and Shikoku, and are most often connected with wealthy or influential families.
To ordinary eyes, an inugami may appear as nothing more than a common dog. Its true form, however, is far more unsettling. It is said to exist as the mummified head of a dog, preserved and hidden within a secret shrine in the house of its owner. From this hidden vessel, the spirit carries out the will of the family it serves.
Inugami are loyal and obedient, performing tasks much like a living dog. They may bring prosperity, protect the household, or carry out secret commands. Families said to possess such spirits, known as inugami-mochi, treated them almost as members of the household. The spirits were believed to pass down through generations, so that each family member would have their own inugami.
Yet these spirits were not without danger. If mistreated or angered, an inugami could turn on its master with violent fury. They were also known for their power of possession. An inugami might enter a person’s body, settling inside and bringing suffering. Those possessed were said to feel strange pains, intense jealousy, or uncontrollable hunger, and some would bark like a dog. Removing such a spirit required another sorcerer and could take great effort and expense.
The creation of an inugami was believed to involve a dark and terrible ritual. A dog would be driven into extreme desperation through hunger and suffering, and at the height of that torment its head would be severed. The spirit born from that fury would become a powerful and vengeful entity. The head was then preserved and enshrined so that the spirit could be bound and commanded.
Because of the fear surrounding these practices, families suspected of keeping inugami were often shunned by others. Even the accusation of using such spirits could force a household into isolation.
Thus the inugami were remembered as loyal yet dangerous dog spirits — protectors, servants, and sources of both fortune and ruin, bound to families by dark rites and hidden shrines.
Gallery
Sources
Foster, M. D. (n.d.). Inugami. In yokai.com, from https://yokai.com/inugami/
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive