vessel for a spirit; medium
In Shinto and folk religion, a child or doll used by a shaman or miko as a vessel for a spirit invoked during rituals. The term is specialized and not used in everyday conversation.
The miko invoked the deity into the spirit vessel.
この人形は憑坐として使われていた。
This doll was used as a vessel for a spirit.
Standard kanji form for this term.
Variant kanji form.
Rare variant kanji form.
Rare variant kanji form.
The term よりまし is composed of より (寄り, 'drawing near') and まし (坐, 'seat' or 'vessel'), referring to something that a spirit draws near to and occupies. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the kanji spellings reflect this concept.