Spirit away

For the film, seeSpirited Away.

InEnglish,to "spirit away"means to remove without anyone's noticing.

Tengudake

InJapanese folklore,spiriting away (Japanese:Kamikakushi(Thần ẩn し),lit. 'hidden bykami') refers to the mysterious disappearance or death of a person, after they had angered the spirits (kami). There are numerous legends of humans being abducted to the spirit world bykami.FolkloristKunio Yanagitarecorded several tales ofkamikakushiinTōno Monogatari( viễn dã vật ngữ, Tōno Tales, 1909).

InPhilippine folklore,spiriting away means disappearance of a person towards the land of theEngkantos(enchanted beings). One example isBiringan,a magical city rumored to be found inSamar.

Bible

Enochis referenced as being "no more; for God took him" (Gen 5:21–24).

Elijahdisappears when a chariot of fire appears and is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind.

Philip the Evangelistis taken away by theSpirit of the Lordafter witnessing to theEthiopian eunuch(Acts 8).

Modern fiction

In Japan

In theanimefilmSpirited Away,the main protagonist, Chihiro, is "spirited away" from reality to the spirit world after her parents angered the witch Yubaba by greedily eating their food.There, she meets friendly and aggressive spirits as she tries to return before forgetting her name.

In the seriesHigurashi When They Cryone person dies and one disappears mysteriously every year in Hinamizawa village. This is known as "Oyashiro-sama's curse," named after the villagekamiOyashiro.The first arc of the series “Onikakushi-hen” translates to "Abducted by Demons” or “Demoning away”.

In the novel andmangaMissing/ Spirited Awayby Gakuto Coda, the main character Utsume Kyoichi goes missing for a second time, in the company of his new spirit girlfriend Ayame.

In themangaRin-nebyRumiko Takahashi,heroine Sakura Mamiya disappeared for a week after being taken away by spirits, and she was brought back to this world by Rinne's grandmother Tamako. Sakura can't remember what exactly happened to her during these days, but as a consequence she gained spiritual powers that let her see ghosts, something that she wants to get rid of.

Kamikakushiis mentioned in a song "Madoite Kitare, Yuuda na Kamikakushi ~ Border of Death" byIOSYS.It refers toYukari's mystic abilities.

In thevideo gameseriesFatal Framemany of the characters get spirited awayby ghosts often leading them into a spirit world where they use the Camera Obscura, an antique camera-like device that captures images of spirits to either find a way out or save someone who has been spirited away.

In the JapaneseclassicfilmGoyokinbyHideo Gosha(starringTatsuya Nakadai),kamikakushiis mentioned after the inhabitants of a small fishing village all mysteriously vanish.

Other literature

In the 1820short storyThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow,when the main characterIchabod Cranevanishes after being pursued by theHeadless Horseman,he is rumored to have been spirited away by the specter.

See also

• Alien abduction
• Changeling
• Ijiraq
• Glossary of Shinto#K
• The Guardian (1990 film)
• Metsänpeitto
• Mo-sin-a
• Ōkami Kakushi
• Rapture
• Tengu
• Unexplained disappearances
• Yama-bito

References

• Blacker, C. (1967). "Supernatural Abductions in Japanese Folklore".Asian Folklore Studies.26(2):111–147.doi:10.2307/1177730.JSTOR1177730.
• Staemmler, Birgit (2005). "Virtual Kamikakushi: An Element of Folk Belief in Changing Times and Media".Japanese Journal of Religious Studies.32(2):341–352.JSTOR30234067.
• Sadler, A. W. (1987). "The Spirit-Captives of Japan's North Country: Nineteenth Century Narratives of the" Kamikakushi "".Asian Folklore Studies.46(2):217–226.doi:10.2307/1178585.JSTOR1178585.
• Staemmler, Birgit (2009).Chinkon Kishin: Mediated Spirit Possession in Japanese New Religions.LIT Verlag Münster.ISBN9783825868994.

External links

• The dictionary definition ofspirit awayat Wiktionary