noun
demon; man-slaying ogre
Archaic term for a demon or ogre that kills people. Not used in modern Japanese outside of historical or literary references.
昔話には、殺鬼と呼ばれる恐ろしい鬼が登場する。
In old tales, a terrifying ogre called a 殺鬼 appears.
noun
impermanence; transiency
Buddhist term for the impermanence of all things. Rare and specialized; compare with the more common 無常 (mujō).
See also: 無常
仏教では、殺鬼は諸行無常の理を表す語として用いられることがある。
In Buddhism, 殺鬼 is sometimes used as a term expressing the principle of the impermanence of all things.
無常 is the standard modern term for impermanence in Buddhism, while 殺鬼 is an archaic and rare synonym.
The exact derivation is uncertain. The kanji 殺 (kill) and 鬼 (demon/ogre) suggest a literal 'killing demon', which aligns with the first sense. The Buddhist sense may be a metaphorical extension or a separate homograph.