Tatarigami are cataclysmic demons from Japanese mythology, though accounts vary on details most envision these creatures as immensely destructive forces of nature with malevolent intent, fallen gods of hatred and strength : they are often considered among the most dangerous of Japan's many mythological spirits.
History[]
Tatarigami were considered brings of massive conflicts and calamities such as famine, plague, war, death, fire and any other imaginable evil upon the lands.
They could be born of fallen gods or even the spirits of particularly vengeful individuals.
Whenever a Tatarigami arose it was seen as a living disaster and only through appeasement could these monstrous spirits be prevented from tearing the world around them apart, as such many shrines and festivals arose to appease the Tatarigami and a number of these traditions lived on for a long time as part of traditional religious life.
Personalities[]
Tatarigami, regardless of origin, are universally hateful demons that despise the world and exist to inflict massive vengeance upon any and all in their path, they were said to often have an especially strong hatred of nobility but due to the large-scale destruction they would rain down upon the world they likely hated all life and were in essence living embodiments of pure hatred.
Despite this they could be appeased by having shrines built in their honor or having festivals, this was seen as the only sure way to stop Tatarigami.
Trivia[]
- Tatarigami roughly translates into "curse spirit" or "curse god".
- Taira no Masakado is still held in reverence to this day, having been blamed for disasters as recent as the 20th century and being reinstated as a deity as of 1984 to try and appease his spirit (which has said to have haunted the land since at least 940 CE)
- Japan has long had natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and other events which the Tatarigami have traditionally been blamed for, in many ways these fearsome creatures also embody these darker elements of nature (much as the Jotun in Norse mythology also embodied the harsh elements of nature itself).
- Tatarigami refers to a group of spirits rather than an individual, as such they are rather unique in that they can be demonic, divine or even human in origin - they all share the end traits of being highly destructive and difficult to contain.