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Examples
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Apparently the word jikininki signifies here one of the Baramon-Rasetsu-Gaki, -- forming the twenty-sixth class of pretas enumerated in the old Buddhist books.
Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things Lafcadio Hearn 1877
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Know, reverend Sir, that I am a jikininki, [1] -- an eater of human flesh.
Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things Lafcadio Hearn 1877
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And because of this selfish impiety I was reborn, immediately after my death, into the state of a jikininki.
Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things Lafcadio Hearn 1877
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Sanscrit term, "Rakshasa;" but this word is quite as vague as jikininki, since there are many kinds of Rakshasas.
Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things Lafcadio Hearn 1877
whichbe commented on the word jikininki
In Japanese myth, jikininki are demons, corpse-eaters, who eat dead human bodies. These demons are often the spirits of dead men or women whose greed prevented their souls from entering a more peaceful existence after death. They continue a half-life by devouring corpses. A particular myth tells of a strong-willed priest called Muso Kokushi who once kept watch near the body of a deceased person. Suddenly a jikininki arrived to devour it, but the priest's prayers liberated the demon's soul. (From Pantheon.org)
July 31, 2008