Jikininki: The Japanese Ghost That Feeds on Human Corpses

Jikininki are a type of Preta, or hungry ghost, in Japanese Buddhist tradition. They are the spirits of people who lived selfish, greedy lives and are now cursed with endless hunger. Their main trait is a need to eat the flesh and bones of the recently dead.

Jikininki are considered a type of Yōkai in Japanese folklore. Still, their origins come from the Buddhist idea of the Gaki, or hungry ghost. For more on similar beings, see the Yōkai category.

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Key Takeaways

Attribute	Details
Names	Jikininki, Shokujinki, Rakshasa (in specific contexts), Human-eating ghosts
Title	Corpse-eating ghost
Region	Japan
Type	Buddhist demon, Yōkai, Gaki (Hungry Ghost)
Gender	Male, Female, or Ambiguous
Realm	Preta-gati (Hungry Ghost Realm) manifesting in the Human Realm
Obstacle/Threat	Desecration of the dead, psychological terror, spiritual stagnation
Associated Figures	Musō Soseki, Buddhist Monks, Enma-ō
Weapon/Item	Claws, Teeth
Weaknesses	Sutra recitation, Segaki rituals, Buddhist merit-transfer, Segaki-e
Associated Deity/Figure	Kannon Bodhisattva, Jizō Bosatsu
Pantheon	Japanese Buddhist/Shinto syncretism
Primary Sources	Ugetsu Monogatari, Konjaku Monogatarishū, Nihon Ryōiki

Who or What is Jikininki?

Jikininki are spirits punished for their past actions. In Buddhist belief, they exist between the living and the damned. Rather than being mere monsters, they are tragic figures suffering from past attachments. Unlike other demons that hunt the living, Jikininki scavenge the bodies of the dead.

At night, these spirits look for graveyards or homes where someone has just died. They eat the body in a ritual-like way, sometimes taking the burial offerings as well.

Even though they act like monsters, these creatures often keep a bit of their old human awareness. This makes them feel deep shame and self-hatred. Most people cannot see them, but they may appear to those with spiritual abilities or people near death.

“Jikininki” Meaning

The word Jikininki comes from Japanese kanji: shoku or jiki (食) means “to eat,” jin (人) means “human,” and ki (鬼) means “ghost” or “demon.” So, the name means “human-eating ghost.” In some old translations, it matches the Sanskrit word Rakshasa, but in Japan, it refers to corpse-eating Gaki.

As Pure Land and Zen Buddhism spread in Japan, the term Jikininki developed. While Gaki refers to all hungry ghosts, Jikininki came to mean those stuck in the world of the dead.

In some regions, people call them Shokujinki, but Jikininki is the term most commonly used in stories and research. The name highlights eating as their main trait, showing the Buddhist idea that greed in life leads to suffering after death.

How to Pronounce “Jikininki” in English

To say Jikininki in English, break it into four syllables, each with a short, clear vowel sound: “JEE-kee-neen-kee”.

• Ji: Pronounced like the word “gee” as in geese.
• ki: Pronounced like “key”.
• nin: Pronounced like the first syllable of the word “ninja” or the word “in” with an “n” at the start.
• ki: Again, pronounced like “key”.

The stress is usually on the first and third syllables. Every letter is pronounced clearly, with no silent sounds.

What Does Jikininki Look Like?

Jikininki look like decayed or skeletal humans. They usually have pale, thin skin stretched over their bones. Their eyes may glow yellow or red, showing their hunger. They have sharp, black claws for digging graves and big teeth for tearing flesh.

Many stories describe them as very tall but hunched, making them look animal-like. Their hair is usually thin and messy. Unlike Gaki in Mahayana sutras, who have big bellies and thin necks, Jikininki are shown as stronger and able to move around the human world.

In some Japanese stories, Jikininki can shapeshift a little, appearing as normal people or even priests by day to hide their curse. This split between their monster form at night and human form by day is a common theme in old Japanese tales.

Origins

Jikininki come from a mix of Indian Buddhist Preta ideas and Japanese ghost stories. The first records of them are in Setsuwa, or teaching tales, from the Heian and Kamakura periods. Monks used these stories to teach about karma and the risks of greed (mushin).

The most well-known origin story is about a corrupt priest who lived in luxury by charging high fees for funerals without real devotion. When he died, Enma-ō, the judge of the dead, sent him to the world of hungry ghosts.

Because he still had ties to the human world, he became a Jikininki. This change from priest to corpse-eater is a strong warning against spiritual hypocrisy. Over time, Jikininki stories moved from religious texts into popular Japanese ghost tales.

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Regional Variations

Jikininki are mainly found in Japan, but similar corpse-eating spirits appear in other Buddhist cultures. Their names and looks change depending on local stories and which sutras are important in each place.

Region/Tradition	Appearance	Role
Japanese Zen	Skeletal, decaying, glowing eyes	Punished monks, scavengers
Tibetan Buddhism	Blue-skinned, emaciated, fiery breath	Protectors of cemeteries or hungry ghosts
Chinese Folklore	Green-skinned, stiff-limbed (Jiangshi-like)	Vengeful spirits seeking life essence

Buddhist Cosmology

In Buddhist belief, Jikininki live in the Preta-gati, or Hungry Ghost Realm, which is one of the Six Realms of Rebirth. They are seen as ghosts that stay close to the human world, not far away in a hellish place.

This placement means they suffer like no other ghost: they are near food (corpses), but eating never satisfies them. Instead, it brings more shame and keeps the curse going.

Jikininki in Mahayana Sutras

While the specific Japanese term “Jikininki” is not used in the original Sanskrit Mahayana sutras, the Shurangama Sutra and the Sutra of the Past Vows of Earth Store Bodhisattva describe various classes of Rakshasas and Pretas that consume human remains.

Source	Quote
Shurangama Sutra	“There are those who are possessed by the ghosts of corpses, who consume the essence of the dead and dwell in the darkness of graveyards.”
Kshitigarbha Sutra	“Some ghosts eat the blood of humans, some eat the flesh, and some eat the essence of the bones of those newly deceased.”

Jikininki in Chinese or Korean Folklore

The Jikininki is not explicitly mentioned in the Jataka Tales, which focus on the Buddha’s previous lives. However, similar entities appear in Chinese and Korean “corpse-ghost” tales.

Source	Quote
Konjaku Monogatarishū	“The creature descended from the rafters, its skin the color of old ash, and began to devour the flesh of the deceased woman with a sound like a dog gnawing a bone.”

Powers and Abilities

Jikininki are seen as low to mid-level in power. They are strong and can cause fear, but they do not have the great powers of Devas or top Asuras. Their abilities are mostly physical and limited to their surroundings.

• Invisibility: They can remain unseen by ordinary humans, manifesting only when they wish to feed or when confronted by high-ranking spiritualists.
• Metamorphosis: They can assume the likeness of a normal human, often a monk or a traveler, to avoid detection during the day.
• Paralysis Inducement: Their presence can cause a “fear-paralysis” in humans, often described as a heavy pressure on the chest (similar to sleep paralysis).
• Enhanced Strength: Despite their skeletal appearance, they possess enough strength to dig through frozen earth and heavy stones to reach coffins.
• Regeneration: Being already “dead” or in a state of undeath, they are highly resistant to standard physical harm.

Jikininki Myths, Legends, and Stories

The Tale of Musō Soseki and the Jikininki

In a well-known narrative, the Zen master Musō Soseki was traveling alone through the mountains of Mino Province. Having lost his way, he came on a small, dilapidated hermitage where an old monk resided. The old monk refused to give him shelter but directed him to a nearby village.

After arriving at the village, Musō was welcomed into a house where the inhabitants were mourning. The head of the house informed Musō that his father had just died and that, according to village custom, all residents must leave the village for the night, as a Jikininki would surely come to devour the corpse.

Musō, being a monk of great resolve, decided to stay behind and perform funeral rites for the deceased. As he meditated on the body, a monstrous creature entered the room. It was tall and skeletal, moving with a grotesque fluidity.

Musō watched as the entity lifted the corpse and consumed it entirely, including the bones. The creature then turned to Musō but did not attack; instead, it spoke with a sorrowful voice.

The creature revealed itself to be the spirit of the old monk Musō, whom Musō had met earlier. He explained that in his life as a priest, he had cared only for the clothes and food he received for performing services, never truly feeling the words of the sutras.

Because of this greed, he was reborn as a Jikininki. He pleaded with Musō to perform a Segaki ritual to release him from his torment. Musō did so, and the creature vanished. The next morning, Musō returned to the hermitage, only to find a moss-covered grave marker where the old monk had stood.

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The Corpse-Eater of the Abandoned Temple

In an account from the Konjaku Monogatarishū, a group of travelers took refuge in an abandoned temple during a storm.

One traveler, unable to sleep, observed a pale, thin creature creeping into the main hall where a body was being kept for a funeral the next day. The entity began to eat the offerings first, then moved toward the body. The traveler noticed that the ghost was weeping as it ate, muttering about its unending hunger and the bitterness of its fate.

This story focuses on the psychological suffering of the Jikininki, who is conscious of the revolting nature of their own actions but is unable to stop due to the weight of their past karma.

Jikininki vs Other Buddhist Demons

Demon Name	Associated Obstacle/Role	Origin/Source	Key Traits/Powers
Mara	Temptation/Distraction	Pali Canon	Illusion, control over desires
Gaki	Hunger/Greed	Abhidharma	Bloated belly, needle-neck
Kumbhanda	Vitality draining	Mahayana Sutras	Shapeshifting, energy theft
Yaksha	Protection/Nature	Vedic/Buddhist	Superhuman strength, invisibility
Rakshasa	Violence/Consumption	Sanskrit texts	Man-eating, terrifying form
Oni	Punishment/Wrath	Japanese folklore	Horns, iron clubs, great strength
Preta	Unfulfilled desire	Six Realms	Invisible to humans, suffering
Dakin	Death/Transition	Vajrayana	Consumption of heart/essence
Asura	Pride/Warfare	Vedic/Buddhist	Multiple arms, combat prowess
Pishacha	Disease/Madness	Hindu/Buddhist	Possession, eating raw flesh
Vetala	Corpse possession	Sanskrit folklore	Reanimating dead bodies

Mystical Correspondences

Attribute	Details
Planet	Saturn (associated with decay and karma)
Zodiac Sign	Capricorn (structure and consequence)
Element	Earth (specifically cemetery soil)
Direction	North-East (the Demon Gate or Kimon)
Color	Ashen Gray / Bone White
Number	2 (representing the duality of priest and monster)
Crystal/Mineral	Obsidian (for grounding and protection)
Metal	Lead
Herb/Plant	Higanbana (Spider Lily – the flower of the dead)
Animal	Hyena or Jackal (scavengers)
Trait/Role	Gleaning / Karmic Retribution

Jikininki are linked to the border between the physical and spiritual worlds. They are connected to the earth, especially the grave soil. Their arrival is often marked by the smell of sulfur or decay. In spiritual practices, they symbolize the hidden greed within people that can block spiritual growth if ignored.

To calm or drive away a Jikininki, people often use the Segaki-e ceremony. In this ritual, food is given to hungry ghosts to ease their cravings and help them earn merit for a better rebirth.

Jikininki’s Items & Symbolism

Jikininki do not usually carry weapons because they use their claws and teeth to survive. Symbolically, they are linked to The Shroud, which stands for the thin line between life and death.

The most important ‘item’ for a Jikininki is the corpse, which shows that the body is not permanent (Anicca). By eating the body, Jikininki reminds us that our physical form is only a temporary vessel.

Another symbol is the broken rosary or torn robe, often shown when the Jikininki was once a monk. These items stand for broken promises and the loss of sacred duties.

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Frequently Asked Questions