in buddhism, there is the mara that is concerned with death, the mrtyu-mara. it is a demon that makes humans want to die, and it is said that upon being possessed by it, in a shock, one should suddenly want to die by suicide, so it is sometimes explained to be a "shinigami". also, in the yogacarabhumi-sastra, a writing on yogacara, a demon decided the time of people's deaths. yama, the king of the underworld, as well as oni like the ox-head and horse-face are also considered a type of shinigami.