however, izanami and yama are also thought to be different from the death gods in western mythology. some forms of buddhism do not involve believing in any deities, so it is sometimes thought that the concept of a death god does not exist to begin with. even though the kijin and onryō of japanese buddhist faith have taken humans' lives, there is the opinion that there is no "death god" that merely leads people into the world of the dead. after the war, however, the western notion of a death god entered japan, and shinigami started to become mentioned as an existence with a human nature.