will-o'-the-wisp; ghostly fireball
In Japanese folklore, a floating ball of fire believed to be the soul of a dead person. Often appears in graveyards or at night.
I heard a story about someone seeing a ghostly fireball in a graveyard at night.
Rare or archaic use; the more common modern word for meteor is 流星 (りゅうせい).
See also: 流星
In the past, people sometimes called shooting stars 人魂.
Standard kanji spelling for the folkloric fireball.
Mixed kana-kanji spelling; may be used for readability or when the kanji 魂 is less familiar.
Compound of 人 (ひと, person) and 魂 (たま, soul/spirit). The reading たま for 魂 is an older form; the modern reading is たましい. The word reflects the folk belief that the souls of the dead can appear as floating flames.