Hell is one of the six possibilities, the others being hun-
gry ghost, animal, asura, human, or deva. The wor-
shipper then moves around to the other side of the
grotto where he first encounters the promise of the
Pure Land, then the grim realities of hell. This hell
tableau includes Dizang and the Ten Kings set above
a chaotic grouping of eighteen hells. Engraved texts aid
the worshipper by both identifying the sins commit-
ted and providing the necessary ritual hymn to recite
in order to gain release. Unique to this hell grouping
is a sculpted section devoted specifically to admoni-
tions against alcohol consumption by, or sale to, the
clergy. Also unusual is a depiction of a Freezing Hell,
which is more common in Tibetan and Mongolian de-
scriptions of hell.
In Japan, the pains of hell, along with the Pure
Land’s rewards, may have been imported in the sev-
enth century from China, although extant hell imagery
dates mainly to after the eleventh century. King Yama
takes the form of Emma-O, being portrayed as a judge
in both painted and sculpted form. There are also sev-
eral twelfth-century versions of hell, collectively re-
ferred to as the Jigoku zoshi(Hand Scrolls of Buddhist
Hells). These painted works are distinctive in the im-
agery shown. Although they share characteristics with
Chinese hell imagery, such as the Hell of Feces and
Filth and the Hell of Grinding, the Japanese works also
include unique representations, such as the Hell of
Cocks, for those cruel to living things; the Hell of
Worms, for those who commit adultery or theft; and
the Hell of Pus and Blood, in which the damned are
tortured by being repeatedly stung by large wasps.
Hungry ghosts are often linked to hell imagery, al-
though technically they are not hell dwellers, but an-
other option on the six destinies of rebirth. The
best-known imagery depicting hungry ghosts is the
twelfth-century Japanese work entitled Gaki zoshi
(Hungry Ghosts Hand Scroll).Mulian
The last iconographic program is that of Mulian, one
of the ten chief DISCIPLES OF THEBUDDHA. Mulian goes
in search of his deceased mother only to discover that
she is not in a heavenly realm. The Yulanpen jing,col-
loquially referred to as “Scripture of Mulian Rescuing
His Mother from the Underworld” was represented in
a variety of media, including BIANWEN(transforma-
tion texts), which were used to propagate the Buddhist
faith among the uneducated, and their accompanying
BIANXIANG (TRANSFORMATION TABLEAUX), both of
which first appeared in late Tang dynasty China
(618–907). Celebrations of the annual GHOSTFESTI-
VALoften included theatrical productions of the Mu-
lian story as well. Murals of the Mulian story in Cave
19 at Yulin, near Dunhuang, depict his travels through
the hell regions. These works afforded worshippers ex-
plicit glimpses into the horrors of hell as Mulian
worked his way down to the Hell of the Iron Bed,
where his mother was being tortured for keeping alms
meant for the clergy. Hells seen along the way included
Knife Mountain Hell, where one was repeatedly sliced
open by knives while attempting to scramble out, orHELLS, IMAGES OFKsitigarbha (Dizang) Bodhisattva rescuing vicitms from the torments of hell, from a painting at Dunhuang. (Chinese, eighth century.)
© The Art Archive/British Museum/The Art Archive. Reproduced by permission.