Kodama (spirit)

A nihongo|kodama|木霊, 木魂, or 木魅 is a spirit from Japanese folklore, which is believed to live in certain trees (similar to the Dryad of Greek myth). Cutting down a tree which houses a "kodama" is thought to bring misfortune, and such trees are often marked with "shimenawa" rope.

Popular culture

* "Kodama" appear most famously in the animated film "Princess Mononoke", in which they are portrayed as small, white humanoids with large, rattling heads and mask-like features.
* Many video games such as the Shin Megami Tensei series and the Persona series feature "kodama".
* There is also a tiny ninja spirit in "Oh My Goddess!" by the name of Kodama.
* In the game of Magic the Gathering the Kodama are powerful spirits that live in the plane of Kamigawa. They are the Kodama of the North Tree, Kodama of the South Tree, and the Kodama of the Center Tree.
* In the Manga and Anime Shaman King, Yoh Asakura's Grandfather summons what seem to be Kodama spirits as his Guardian Ghosts.
* There is a song called Kodama on The Fabric by electronic musician [Post-Foetus] .

References

*cite book
last = Mizuki
first = Shigeru
authorlink = Mizuki Shigeru
title = Mujara 1: Kantō, Hokkaidō, Okinawa-hen.
date = 2003
publisher = Soft Garage
location = Japan
language = Japanese
id = ISBN 4-8613-3004-1
pages = p. 51

ee also

*Dryad