in the later edo period, the essay "shōzan chomon kishū" in kaei 3 (1850) by the essayist miyoshi shōzan, the one titled "upon possession by a shinigami, it becomes difficult to speak, or easier to tell lies" was a story where a prostitute possessed by a shinigami invites a man to commit double suicide, and in the kabuki mekuranagaya umega kagatobi by kawatake mokuami in meiji 19 (1886), a shinigami enters into people's thoughts, making them think about bad things they have done and want to die. these are, rather than gods, more like yūki (meaning ghosts and yūrei), or evil spirits.