Sanzu River
Mythological river in Japanese Buddhist tradition
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Mitsunobu_Sanzu_River.jpg/230px-Mitsunobu_Sanzu_River.jpg)
The Sanzu-no-Kawa ( 三途の川 , lit. "River of Three Crossings", or the "Sanzu River") is a mythological river in Japanese Buddhist tradition similar to the Chinese concept of Huang Quan (Yellow Springs) , Hindu concept of the Vaitarani and Greek concept of the Styx . [1]
Before reaching the afterlife, the souls of the deceased must cross the river by one of three crossing points: a bridge, a ford, or a stretch of deep, snake-infested waters. [2] The weight of one's offenses while alive determines which path an individual must take. It is believed that a toll of six mon must be paid before a soul can cross the river, a belief reflected in Japanese funerals when the necessary fee is placed in the casket with the dead. [3]
The Sanzu River is popularly believed to be in Mount Osore , a suitably desolate and remote part of Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan.
Similarly to the Sanzu-no-Kawa , there is also the Sai no Kawara ( 賽の河原 , lit. "Riverbed of Death") , a boundary by which the souls of children who died too early cross over to the realm of the Dead, with the help of Jizō , a Kami / Bodhisattva who helps the souls of children who died too early to avoid the attentions of the Oni and of Shozuka-no-Baba and Datsueba .
Real Sanzu Rivers in Japan
- in Kanra, Gunma 36°15′31″N 138°57′09″E / 36.258613°N 138.952444°E / 36.258613; 138.952444 (confluence with Shirakura River)
- in Chōnan, Chiba 35°25′22″N 140°15′54″E / 35.422747°N 140.264917°E / 35.422747; 140.264917 (confluence with Ichinomiya River)
- in Zaō, Miyagi 38°08′39″N 140°29′29″E / 38.144116°N 140.491333°E / 38.144116; 140.491333 (confluence with Nigori River)
- in Mutsu, Aomori 41°19′33″N 141°05′46″E / 41.325877°N 141.096083°E / 41.325877; 141.096083 (drains from Usori Lake)
See also
- Yomotsu Hirasaka
-
Yomi
- Yama
- Yama (Buddhism)
- Naraka
- Ne-no-kuni
- Meido
- Higan ( 彼岸 , lit. "Distant Shore" ) - The other side of the Sanzu River , opposite the Living World's side.
- Bardo - Buddhist mythology
- Gjöll – Norse mythology
- Hitpun - Mandaeism
- Hubur – Mesopotamian mythology
- Styx – Greek mythology
- Vaitarna River (mythological) – Hinduism and Buddhism
- Naihe Bridge - the entrance and exit to the underworld in Taoism and Chinese folk beliefs; the ghosts must pass over this bridge before they can be reincarnated.
References
- ↑ Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse ; Walter, Mariko Namba (2008). Death and the afterlife in Japanese Buddhism . Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. pp. 184 , 259. ISBN 978-1-4416-1977-8 . OCLC 657757860 .
-
↑
"River of Three Crossings | Dictionary of Buddhism | Nichiren Buddhism Library"
.
www.nichirenlibrary.org
. Retrieved
2019-12-07
.
{{ cite web }}
: CS1 maint: url-status ( link ) - ↑ "Meido: The Japanese Underworld | Matthew Meyer" . 2014-02-23 . Retrieved 2019-12-07 .
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