Datsue-ba

Image of Datsue-ba. Datsue-ba (奪 衣 婆) is a character from Japanese Buddhist mythology. She is described as an old woman sitting on the banks of the Sanzu River in the Kingdom of the Narakas (Hell Buddhist), in which it has the function of hindering the passage and torturing the souls that pretend to cross it.

According to the folklore of Japanese Buddhism, especially the sects of the Pure Land and other congregations of purely Japanese origins, the souls of the dead must cross the Sanzu River. Traditionally it is considered that, when a person dies, he can cross the river for up to three places, depending on how they have lived their lives. Because children have not been able to accumulate experiences for it, their souls are unable to cross. At the foot of the river, dead children bump into the Datsue-ba. There, she takes off her clothes and orders them to gather a pile of rocks to climb to reach paradise. However, each time the tower reaches a significant height, the Datsue-ba and the underworld demons knock it down, causing them to start over. The only hope of these children is the bodhisattva Jizō, who is able to pass them to the other side of the river hiding them under his tunic. When the soul who wishes to cross is the soul of a sinful adult, the Datsue-ba forces him to undress, and his companion Keneo hangs his clothes on a branch of the shore in a way that reflects by his weight the gravity of his sins . If the adult arrives without clothing, the Datsue-ba strips him of his skin instead. At this level, the old woman subjects sinners to different tortures depending on their sins. Those who steal, for example, break their fingers, and then tie their heads to their feet with the help of Keneō.

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