In Japanese Buddhism, jikininki (Japanese: 食尸鬼, "man-eating ghosts") are the spirits of greedy, selfish or impious individuals who are cursed after death to seek out and eat human corpses. They do this at night, scavenging for newly dead bodies and food offerings left for the dead. They sometimes also loot the corpses they eat for valuables, which they use to bribe local officials to leave them in peace. Nevertheless, jikininki lament their condition and hate their repugnant cravings for dead human flesh. Japanese Buddhist priest c. ... A manufactured image of a ghostly woman ascending a staircase A ghost is an alleged non-corporeal manifestation of a dead person (or, rarely, an animal) and sometimes even sightings of ghostly vehicles have been witnessed by confused locals. ... Greed is often associated with death and disease. ... Selfishness is, at base, the concept and/or practise of concern with ones own interests; it is often used to refer to a self-interest that comes in a particular form, or above a certain level. ... Impiety is a lack of proper concern for the obligations owed to cult in its proper sense. ... Cadaver is a euphemism for a corpse or body. ...

Often, jikininki are said to look like decomposing cadavers, perhaps with a few inhuman features such as sharp claws or glowing eyes. They are a horrifying sight, and any mortal who views one finds himself frozen in fear. However, several stories give them the ability to magically disguise themselves as normal human beings and even to lead normal "lives" by day. Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ...

Jikininki wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

are preta of the 26th class in Japanese Buddhism. They are also sometimes considered a form of rakshasa or gaki ("hungry ghosts"). In the latter case, they may be freed from their deplorable existence through remembrances and offerings (segaki). A hungry ghost is a kind of ghost associated with hunger common to many religions. ... A rakshasa (Sanskrit: रक्षस, raká¹£asa; alternately, raksasa or rakshas) is a demon or unrighteous spirit in Hinduism. ... In Japanese Buddhism, Gaki (餓鬼, hungry ghosts) are the spirits of jealous or greedy people who, as punishment for their mortal vices, have been cursed with an insatiable hunger for a particular substance or object. ... The segaki (feeding the hungry ghosts) is a ritual of Japanese Buddhism, traditionally performed to stop the suffering of the gaki, ghosts tormented by insatiable hunger. ...

Jikininki is also the title of a feature film directed by Ted Geoghegan. Author Ted Geoghegan Author Ted Geoghegan was born in Beaverton, Oregon on August 10, 1979. ...

See also

• ghoul
• hungry ghost