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.
Archaic kanji form; the word is rare and primarily found in historical or Buddhist contexts.
Variant kanji form; equally rare and archaic.
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.