古くから日本では山や川、風などの自然に神が宿っていた。遠い昔、人間の自然破壊により一部の名の無い神々は居場所や力を失い、異形化し「神影」と呼ばれた。神影はその恐ろしい姿ゆえに人々に討ち払われ、姿を消した。その出来事は歴史の中で語り手を失い多くの人々の記憶から消え去ってしまった。

しかし神影の記録は一部の人間によって現代まで密かに集められ、保管されていた。

近年山間部や人里近くで記録に残る神影に似た未確認の存在が目撃されている。彼らが何のために現れ、どのような意図を持つのかは分かっていない。忘れられた神の嘆きの姿なのか、自然が人間に向けた怒りの化身なのか。その声を読み解くための密かに続いていた記録こそが『神影録』である。

 

In ancient Japan, it was believed that gods, or Kami, resided within nature—mountains, rivers, the wind, and more.

Long ago, the destruction of nature by humans caused some of these nameless gods to lose their homes and their powers. Twisted and transformed, they became known as Shinei. Due to their terrifying appearance, they were hunted down and driven away by humans, after which they ceased to show themselves before people.

The event lost its storytellers to history and eventually faded from the memories of many people.

Yet, records of the Shinei were secretly collected and preserved by a select group of people, continuing to be passed down into the present day.

In recent years, unidentified beings resembling the Shinei recorded in these ancient documents have been sighted in mountainous regions and even near human settlements. Why they have appeared, and what intentions they may hold, remains unknown.

Are they the sorrowful forms of forgotten gods? Or incarnations of nature’s anger toward humanity?

The record that has been secretly maintained through the ages to decipher their voices is the “Shinei Roku.”