Japanese Dog Watcher (日本犬神)

It is very interesting to compare the Japanese occult practices with the Chinese ones as both of the systems utilize the use of animal spirits. Unlike the Chinese, some Japanese clans make use of dog spirits as their tribe protectors. It is believed that only a female family member is entitled to inherent this dog watcher.

 

According to Miko, this dog watcher can eliminate all competitors and redirecting enemies’ fortune to the owner. Proponents believe that when a person passing through the front door of this particular household, he/she should carry some sewing needles to ward off the attack of this dog watcher. In old days, if a family is believed to be in possession of a dog watcher; the whole household would be expelled from a village. So this practice is normally kept in secrecy.

 

There are many ways to get the service of this dog watcher, one of them is to purchase a dog bone from local witches; the other is to raise the dog watcher spirit through the below method:

 

First one should get a dog and dig a hole in the ground. It is best to choose an evil area such as a haunted place or an abandoned cemetery. The best timing is during the dark moon and during midnight.

 

After the hole is dug, the dog is buried in the hole with its head protruding out from the ground. Now some foods are then placed around this dog’s head; the dog must only be able to see the foods but it cannot touch the food.

 

When the dog has gathered sufficient desire on the foods, the spell caster will now concentrate on his/her enemy and think of what harm the enemy should be suffering. Then, with a full force, this spell caster should take up a samurai sword and chop down the head of this dog in a single blow. It is believed that by doing so, the dog spirit shall go to the enemy and kill him/her.

 

Other than seeking for revenge, this dog watcher can also be used to watch over one’s properties or to make troubles to the one he/she doesn’t like. In order to keep the dog watcher in a household, a piece of the dog bone will be collected from the dog’s burial ground after 100 days, or after the dog carcass has fully decomposed.

 

This dog bone should be worshipped in the master’s personal altar with incense and food offerings every day until he/she sees the shadow of the dog approaching him/her. For best effort, a conceived bitch would be the best choice but the master must be able to control its spirit and the doggie’s spirits too or these restless dog spirits will devour their masters.

 

Not many people would practise this type of ritual now days, but we will never know; perhaps someone will come face to face with this awful dog watcher one day. However, if you are staying somewhere around Kyushu, then you are likely to come into contact with one in rural areas.