Claim: Ikiryō in Japanese popular belief and fiction, refers to a disembodied spirit that leaves the body of a living person and subsequently haunts other people or places, sometimes across great distances. The term(s) are used in contrast to Shiryō, which refers to the spirit of those who are already decease, The popular belief that the human spirit (or soul) can escape from the body has been around since early times, with eyewitness accounts and experiences (hauntings, possessions, out-of-body experience) reported in anecdotal and fictional writings.
Evidence: Ikiryō, or shōryō, seirei, ikisudama (, lit. "living ghost," "eidolon"), in Japanese popular belief and fiction, refers to a disembodied spirit that leaves the body of a living person and subsequently haunts other people or places, sometimes across great distances. The term(s) are used in contrast to Shiryō, which refers to the spirit of those who are already deceased. The popular belief that the human spirit (or soul) can escape from the body has been around since early times, with eyewitness accounts and experiences (hauntings, possessions, out-of-body experience) reported in anecdotal and fictional writings.