Inugami

It is one of Japan's representative forms of possession, mainly in the rural areas of southwestern Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu. The person who used Inugami as a messenger or the house possessed by Inugami was called "Inugami-no-hana" or "Inugami-suji" (inugami possessor). When possessed by an inugami, the person would suffer from various ailments such as high fever and stomachache of unknown cause, or would have seizures and imitate a dog. In such cases, doctors could not cure them, and they had to ask a sorcerer to remove the possession.

犬神（いぬがみ）

日本の代表的な憑物のひとつで、主に中国地方西南部、四国や九州の農村地帯でいうものです。犬神を使役する者や犬神の憑いている家は犬神持ち、犬神筋などと呼ばれていた。犬神に憑かれると原因不明の高熱や腹痛など様々な病気になり、発作を起こして犬の真似をするなどといい。このような場合は医者では治すことができず、呪術者に頼んで憑き物を落として貰わなければならないという。