English Version
In the first half, I wrote about the onmyoji I met when I was around 17 or 18, and the strange events that happened at the time. Now we’ve reached the final installment.
Did you notice something in the previous story? The onmyoji and I never had a single conversation.
I touched on it briefly, but to be blunt, it felt less like we simply didn’t talk and more like he was avoiding me. As I wrote before, he would not meet my eyes. He would not speak to me. That was the attitude.
I was young then, and honestly, I wasn’t exactly dressed like a clean-cut, serious young man. But the same was true of my coworkers.
As far as I can remember, this onmyoji came to a certain company in Tokushima Prefecture about four times in one week. And I, Occult Tomato, was probably the only person there who never exchanged a single word with him.
I’ll say it one more time, so please don’t back away from the screen.
I was told, through someone else, that I had a seriously dangerous inugami attached to me.
Why the onmyoji avoided me
Let’s just start with the answer.
After the onmyoji had left, the company president told me why the man had refused to speak to me, or even look at me.
He said something like this:
“Occult Tomato, apparently you’ve got an inugami on you. And a really powerful one, too. That onmyoji has a tanuki with him, so if he talks to you or even gets close, your inugami would attack his tanuki.
“That’s why he couldn’t talk to you at all. He even told me he’d rather you not be there if possible. Hahaha!”
…This was not a “hahaha” situation.
After spending this whole series explaining how feared and avoided inugami have been, and how they have appeared in old stories, I now have to say this:
Apparently, I have an inugami attached to me.
Of course, I have no idea what the truth is. This was around 15 years ago, so I don’t know whether it is still there now. But according to that onmyoji, the reason he never spoke to me had nothing to do with my clothes or attitude.
It seems he was afraid of the inugami he could see attached to me.
A different kind of inugami
Naturally, I was curious after that, so I asked the president for more details. What he told me was a little different from the usual image of an inugami in folklore.
According to what the onmyoji told the president:
Occult Tomato has an inugami attached to him. A powerful one.
He also said that every human being is born with one of four kinds of animal presences attached to them. The ones I remember are inugami, tanuki, and Inari, meaning fox. I’m sorry, but I really can’t remember the fourth one.
These four animals are, in a sense, like spiritual “attributes.”
Inugami and tanuki have extremely bad compatibility.
Inugami and Inari are relatively close.
The animal that has bad compatibility with Inari was the fourth one I forgot.
Depending on the case, a tanuki can be stronger than an inugami. But to this onmyoji, my inugami was apparently on a completely impossible level.
That was the rough outline.
Throughout this series, I’ve introduced several interpretations of the inugami. But the idea that everyone has an animal presence attached to them was something I heard from this onmyoji through the company president.
In other words, the onmyoji and I had terrible spiritual compatibility.
To go into a little more detail, he apparently said that spiritual compatibility and human compatibility tend to be fairly close.
For example, there are people in life you simply cannot get along with, no matter what. People you instinctively feel you cannot accept.
According to this explanation, those feelings are often unconsciously picked up through the compatibility between each person’s attached animal.
And for the sake of Occult Tomato’s honor, let me add this.
There is a saying that people with inugami become wealthy and prosperous.
I am neither wealthy nor prosperous. I also do not suddenly start howling.
What I’m trying to say is that the idea of an inugami I heard from a modern onmyoji was completely different from the inugami usually described in folk belief.
If I really were “inugami-possessed” in the old sense, I should already be rich, living in a mansion, disliked by the neighbors, and doing whatever I want with whoever I like.
That said, as ridiculous as it sounds, this is a true story from my own experience. So I’ll also introduce some of the other traits of inugami that I heard from this modern onmyoji.
What a modern onmyoji said about inugami
That’s enough of my personal flashback for now. Let’s return to the explanation.
According to the onmyoji, the habits of an inugami are not all bad.
First, there is apparently no direct relationship between the likes and dislikes of the person the inugami is attached to and the influence the inugami has on others.
In my case, that means my own feelings of liking or disliking someone do not directly control what the inugami does.
In other words, it is like an uncontrollable berserk mode.
On the other hand, even if I have a strong inugami, that does not mean I can dominate everyone with a weaker inugami. Apparently, that is not how it works either.
The inugami protects its person, apparently
This is only what I was told, so I’ll keep saying “apparently.”
As one of its traits, an inugami is said to act as a guardian spirit for the human it has attached itself to.
The idea seems close to a protective spirit. Since it lives with that person, it sees them almost like its own child.
Apparently, my spiritual “parent” is incredibly strong, so ordinary problems are not much of a concern. I was also told that if I lose something because of some cause or incident, the inugami may give me something greater in return.
Lucky me, I suppose.
The inugami judges for itself, apparently
That does not mean an inugami has no effect on the people around it.
But as I wrote above, the judgment is not made by me. The inugami makes its own decisions as an individual presence.
The modern onmyoji also told the president about its effect on other people. Apparently, if the inugami itself judges someone to be an enemy, that person’s level of happiness may drop.
On the other hand, if the inugami judges someone to be an ally, that person’s happiness may increase.
Here, “happiness” does not mean physical harm or health. It seems to involve things like money, romance, and personal connections. It is not as if the inugami bites people.
Maybe the idea is closer to divination or fortune-telling.
No purification was necessary, apparently
When someone suddenly tells you that an extremely powerful inugami is attached to you, of course it is shocking. So I seriously asked whether I needed a purification ritual.
The answer was that this was not the kind of presence that could be changed through purification.
Even today, I’ve heard that some shrines in Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture, offer prayers and rituals. If you visit shrines or sacred sites in Japan, please go only during public hours, follow posted rules, and be respectful of local worshippers.
But in this case, the onmyoji apparently said there was no need for me to do anything in particular, and no reason to worry.
That said, because he himself was likely to be seen as a spiritual enemy, he did not want to get close to me from beginning to end.
Bloodlines and inugami are separate, apparently
This was another point that differed from the usual stories about inugami.
The onmyoji said humans are born with one of four animal presences attached to them, and that this is decided while the person is still in the womb.
I did not ask how it is decided. But this onmyoji said the idea that it comes from bloodline or family lineage is false.
So, in his view, even family discord can happen after birth. If the animals protecting different family members have bad compatibility, cracks can form in their personalities and relationships. He said it is normal for family members to fall out with one another for that reason.
Strictly speaking, he also said the animal presence and a guardian spirit are separate things. But I never got to ask about my guardian spirit, because he did not want to come near me in the first place.
Apparently, to see someone’s guardian spirit, he needed to hold that person’s hand, just as he had done when searching for my coworker’s family member.
And since he didn’t even want me in the same room, there was no way he was going to hold my hand and look at my guardian spirit.
Everyone has a different idea of the inugami
This brings the five-part “Lineage of the Inugami” series to an end.
In conclusion, folk beliefs, regional traditions, and personal interpretations all differ. I no longer feel that the existence called an inugami can be simply defined as “evil.”
Just as local faiths and onmyodo have different schools and lineages, ideas about inugami seem to have changed depending on the era and the region.
At the same time, there is also a history in which inugami were treated as tools of curses, including in older periods such as the Heian era. There may also be connections to discrimination based on medical or social issues.
For that reason, customs that openly label certain families as “inugami bloodlines” may be fading away.
Likewise, the idea of an “inugami family” may continue to weather and disappear as time moves on.
Japanese Language
前編では私が17歳～18歳の頃に出会った陰陽師さんと、当時の摩訶不思議な出来事について紹介しました。そして、いよいよ最終話になりますが。前編で、 私と陰陽師さんが一切会話していない ことにお気づきでしょうか？。一応さらっとは触れたのですが、ハッキリ言ってむしろ避けられたと言っていいです。前回も書きましたが、 目も合わせない、話もしない。そんな感じの態度です。私自身も若い頃だったので、正直真面目な好青年みたいな格好ではありませんでした。しかし、それは他の同僚も同じです。
おそらくですけど僅か1週間で4回ほど。徳島県のとある会社に来たこの 陰陽師さんと一言も話さなかったのは唯一私、オカルトマト だけでした。もう1回だけ書いておきます。引かないで下さい。陰陽師さんに人伝に言われたヤバい犬神。はい。もう答えから入りましょう。陰陽師さんが私と一切話さなかったこと、むしろ目も見なかった原因は陰陽師さんが帰った後に社長から聞きました。「オカルトマトな、お前犬神憑いてるらしいぞ？それもかなり力の強いやつ。陰陽師さんは狸を持ってる人やからな、お前と話したり近づくだけで犬神が狸を襲うらしいわ。
やから全然話せん。出来ればあの子はおらんとってくれとまで言われたんやけどな。はははー爆笑」 。・・・・。「はははー爆笑」じゃないでしょと笑 。ここまでさんざん、忌避された存在であることや、過去の起こりを解説してきてなんですが、。私、犬神が憑いてるらしいんです。。もちろん真相は謎ですし、15年前くらいなので今もいるかは分かりません。。ただ、当時唯一出会った陰陽師さんが私と話さなかった理由は、私自身の格好や態度がどうこうではなく。この陰陽師さん曰く見える私に憑いた犬神に畏怖していたみたいです。
。しかし、この後流石に気になったので社長にもう少し詳しく話を聞いたところ、 一般的に言われている犬神とはまた少し違う解釈の存在 でした。やばい犬神の正体。陰陽師さんが社長に話した内容をそのまま書くと。オカルトマトには犬神が憑いてる。それも強力な奴。陰陽師さん曰く、 人間には最初から4種類の動物がそれぞれ憑いている （犬神、狸、稲荷（キツネ）もう1つはどうしても思い出せないです。すいません汗） この4種類の動物はある意味属性で 「犬神」と「狸」は相性が非常に悪い。
「犬神」と「稲荷」 は比較的近く、稲荷と相性が悪いのは失念したもう1つの動物。場合によっては「狸」でも「犬神」より強いけど、 陰陽師さんでもオカルトマトの犬神は無理ゲーレベル。ざっと挙げるとこんな内容です。犬神の解釈を色々と紹介してきましたが、誰にでも動物が憑いていることについては、この時に社長を通じて陰陽師さんから聞かされた話です。つまり、 私と陰陽師さんは非常に相性が悪い ということですね。さらに細かく言うと、いわゆる 霊的な相性と人間的な相性は比較的近くなる そうです。
例えば、 人間関係で本当にどうしても仲良くなれない人 っているじゃないですか？いわゆる 生理的に無理と感じる人 のことらしいのですが。そういう関係 は大体その人の動物の相性によって無意識下 で本人に伝えて感じ取っているそうです。ついでに言わせて頂きたい。オカルトマトの名誉の為に。。「犬神憑きは富栄える」・・・。。私は富もないし栄えてもないです。あと、いきなり遠吠えとかもしないです。。何が言いたいかと言うと。私自身が現代の 陰陽師さんから聞いた犬神という概念と、よく民間伝承で伝わっている犬神の在り方が全く違う んですよね。
もし、仮に私が犬神憑きであれば富み栄えているので、とっとと豪邸を建てて周囲から嫌われながら好きな人と好きなように暮らしているはずです←。っとまあ、 冗談のような本当の話 なんですけど、他にも現代の陰陽師さんから聞いた犬神の特徴について紹介しようと思います。現代の陰陽師に教わった犬神の習性。。私自身の過去回想はこの辺りにして、再び解説に戻ります。陰陽師さんいわく 犬神の習性は悪いことばかりではない そうです。まず、犬神が憑いている本人が「好き・嫌い」という判断と犬神が周囲に与える影響に関係性がないとのこと。
つまり、私の場合であれば、私が好きだとか嫌いだという感情を持つことと、犬神が影響を及ぼすことについては直接的に関係させられない。いわば 制御不能の暴走モード です。逆に言えば、私に強い犬神がいるからと言って、弱い犬神を持つ人を全員支配下におけるか？というとそこもまた違うようです。犬神は憑いた人間を守る（らしい）。あくまでも私が聞いた話なので”（らしい）”とつけさせて頂きます。犬神の習性 として、 自分が憑いた人間に関しては守り神として働く そうです。
いわば守護霊のような考え方に近いと思うのですが、自分が宿っている=自分の子として見るそうです。私の霊的な親？は物凄く強いらしいので、そんじょそこらの問題では苦にならないとのこと。また、何かしらが原因で何かを失った場合には、それ以上の物を与えてくれるそうです。（ラッキー）。犬神は自己判断する（らしい）。犬神が周囲に影響を与えないかというと、やはりそうではありません。ただし、先に書いたように 私自身が判断するのではなく、1個の存在として犬神自身が判断をする そうです。
他人への影響についても社長を通じて現代の陰陽師さんは教えてくれましたが、 犬神自身が敵だとみなした相手の人はやはり幸福度が落ちる ようです。逆に、 犬神が仲間だと判断した人は幸福度が上がる のだそうです。ここで言う「幸福度」は身体的な問題ではなく 「金銭」「恋愛」「人脈」 に関わるらしく相手を噛んだりする訳ではないとのこと。いわゆる易のような考え方に近いのかも知れません。お祓いもしなくて良い（らしい）。こんなに強い犬神が憑いているとかいきなり言われてしまうと、流石にビックリしますから真剣にお祓いについても聞きましたが、結果から言えば 「お祓いで代わる存在ではない」 とのことでした。
現在でも徳島県三好市の神社では 祈祷をしているそうですが、陰陽師さんにも流派的なものがあるのですかね？特にそういったことをする必要や心配はない と言っていたそうです。。※ただし、自分自身（陰陽師さん）は霊的に敵対される可能性が高いため、最初から最後まで近づきたくはなかったそうですが・・・※ 。血筋と犬神は別物（らしい）。これもまた一般的に言われている犬神とは違う特徴です。陰陽師さんは人間には最初から4種類の動物が憑くと言っていたのですが、それはいわゆる受胎状態（赤ちゃんとして母親のお腹にいる段階）で決まるそうです。
どうやって決まるのかまでは聞いていないのですが、血筋や家系は嘘だとその陰陽師さんは言っておられました。ですから、家族間の不仲なども後天的なもので、 守護している動物の相性が悪いと人間性には亀裂が生まれることから家族の間でも仲違いする ことは普通にあるそうです。厳密に言えば、動物が憑くことと守護霊は別の存在であることも言っていたのですが、守護霊についてはそもそも近づきたくないから聞けてもいないです。※守護霊を視るには、同僚の家族を探した時のように手を握る必要があるそうです※ 。
そりゃ、その場に居てほしくないと思われてたほどなので守護霊を視るなんてことは出来ないですね笑。犬神の概念は人それぞれ違う。全5話でお送りしてきた犬神の系譜シリーズもこれで終幕となります。結論から言えば、やはり民間伝承や地域の特徴、考え方はそれぞれ異なっており端的に 「犬神」という存在＝「悪」 ではないような気もしています。土着信仰や陰陽道にも流派があるように、犬神に対する考え方も時代や地域によって変化しているようにも思えます。ですが、平安時代などには実際に呪詛として扱われてきた歴史や、医学的な問題での差別問題への繋がりがある可能性もありますので、あまり声高に「犬神筋」だと言う風習は薄れつつあるのかもしれません。
同様に、犬神家という概念も、さらに時代が進めば風化していく可能性もあるかもしれません
