noun
Literary or formal word for a dark shadow or gloomy atmosphere, often with a figurative nuance of something ominous or hidden.
彼の顔に暗影が差した。
A shadow fell over his face.
事件の背後には何か暗影が潜んでいる。
Some dark shadow lurks behind the incident.
Compound of 暗 (dark) and 影 (shadow). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used in literary Japanese to express a dark, gloomy shadow or atmosphere.