In Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese mythology

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

 an is a type of , similar to a familiar spirit

Familiar spirit

In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits were supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic...

, resembling, and usually originating from, a dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

, and most commonly carrying out vengeance or acting as guardians on behalf of the inugami-mochi, or "inugami owner". Inugami are extremely powerful and capable of existing independently, as well as turning on their "owners" and even possessing humans.

Origins

As in most cultures, the dog is viewed in Japan as a kind, bold, and nimble companion, who is ferocious toward its master's enemies. In Japanese folktale, dogs themselves are regarded as magical beings; one legend states that the dog could once talk, but lost the ability. The indigenous Ainu people

Ainu people

The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...

 of Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

 consider the dog a wily, dangerous and somewhat human animal.

The general belief is that an inugami is created by burying a dog up to its neck and placing food around it, which it cannot reach. It would take days for the dog to die, and during this time the dog's master would tell it that its pain is nothing compared to his own. When the dog dies, it would become an inugami; since its dying wish would have been to eat, the food placed around the corpse would act as a placatory offering, and thus make the spirit obedient.

A more specific legend states that an old woman who desired revenge against an enemy buried her treasured dog in the ground with only its head sticking out, and said "If you have a soul, do my will and I will worship you as a god." She then sawed the dog's head off with a bamboo saw, releasing the dog's spirit as an inugami. The spirit did as she wished, but in return for its painful death it haunted the old woman.

In the Oki Islands

Oki Islands

are a group of islands in the southwestern part of the Sea of Japan and belong to Japan.-Geography:The Oki Islands are situated between 40 to 80 kilometers north of the coast of Honshū.The islands are of volcanic origin and have a total area of 346,1 km2...

, the inugami takes on the function that the kitsune

Kitsune

is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume...

 (fox

Fox

Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

) holds in many other regions of Japan. It is believed that an inugami-mochi will be blessed with great fortune and success, and that favors granted by them will be returned with interest. However, in exchange the inugami-mochi are shunned by other people, and find it hard to get married; they must also be careful not to offend their inugami lest they receive its wrath, as unlike the kitsune, an inugami does not merely follow its master's wishes, but also acts on its own impulses.

Many small villages in Japan are considered to have at least one old lady with the power of the inugami-mochi.

Human possession

An inugamis original body stays behind when it leaves to follow its masters wishes; the buried corpse slowly withers and rots, and if the inugami returns after the body is no longer habitable, it may take control of its master's body, making it even more powerful. Possession by an inugami is said to cure sickness, or ill health; however, it also results in the possessed behaving like a dog.