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Inugami (犬神 Inugami, lit. Dog Spirit) is the vengeful spirits of dogs or wolves that are usually summoned to cast curses upon targets.
Appearance[]
In The Great Yōkai War, Inugami is a large, bipedal, gray dog wearing a gray monk's robe. They wear a tall, black tokin, a black-furred neck and left sleeve tied with a brown rope.
Personality[]
The Inugami that appeared in the light novel is not very clever, easily falls into temptation, and easily loses his control. As Nezumi-Otoko's former accomplice, he looked up to Nezumi-Otoko like a big brother.
History[]
2018 Anime[]
At least until November 2017, Inugami was once Nezumi-Otoko's partner-in-crime when it comes to scamming humans. But because of his short temper, he would regularly attack anyone he didn't like, forcing Nezumi-Otoko to cut ties with him. Soon after, he would find employment under the Saru-Oni-Gumi. Just like his former partner, Inugami was also tricked by Sekiyō in the year prior to the event of Series 6 Episode 24.
The Great Yōkai War[]
Inugami, alongside thousands of other yōkai, appear in the Festival of Darkness near Yasunori Katō's base in Tokyo, which ends up inadvertently trashing some of his Kikai. He is first seen to the right of the Number 6 Kika, holding a stick with Shide on the top.
Powers and Abilities[]
He is described to be powerful.
Durability: In The Great Yōkai War, Inugami, alongside all the other yōkai in the Festival of Darkness, survive a large explosion caused by Yasunori Katō's defeat.
Legend[]
Inugami are yōkai that are dog spirits capable of possessing people. There are two known types of possession by an Inugami: those that occur suddenly and those that are passed down within families. When a sick person is possessed by an Inugami, they can't be cured by a doctor, so a priest must be brought in to exorcise them.
The legend of Inugami has been spread throughout the Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu regions, with legends from Kōchi and Tokushima being the most prominent. In a story from the Tokushima Prefecture, the Inugami was handed down from generation to generation only to women, with it being passed down from the mother to the daughter when they reach the age of 15. Another story from the Tokushima Prefecture tells of a man who became possessed by an Inugami because of a grudge he bore against a family that had an Inugami. He contracted rabies, and after telling the person who and why he was possessed in detail, he crawled away and eventually died. Those who died after being possessed by an Inugami have dog teeth marks somewhere on their bodies.
In the Ehime Prefecture, the Inugami is only visible to their host family and not anyone else, and the number of Inugami they have always corresponds to the number of family members.
There are many stories that explain an Inugami's origins. One story tells that when a dog was tied up, food was placed in front of a tied-up dog, and then the dog's head was cut off after its desire to eat was intensified, it became worshipped as an Inugami. Another legend tells that when a bad dog died after being abandoned on a rock at sea, its spirit would curse people.