After committing evil deeds in the world of the living, a person falls into hell. Almost all Japanese were taught this by their father or mother. By the way, do you know what hell is? What kind of punishment would we receive there? You can find the real world of the Buddhist levels of hell with a miniature diorama set in this Shokanji Temple in Tokushima. I’ve been there twice because the figures and diorama were so elaborate.
It is located in Mugi and appeared in Roadside Japan. I visited there in the spring of 2002 on my motorcycle for the first time. The miniature levels of hell were built in a reinforced concrete building like a large garage. When I reached the front of the entrance, the shutter was pulled down at that time. I was so upset that I couldn’t find the doorbell to call a monk. Finally, I found it and a young monk opened the shutter. He introduced me to the facility with a figure of the Great King Yama in the background. This miniature world was designed for the purpose of educating the supporters of this temple, especially for children to understand that committing evil deeds will ultimately not be worth it. After the questions and answers session, the hell tour began.
Level one: “Tohkatsu-Jigoku” is hell for murderers where they are torn into pieces and revived over and over. A person who committed theft in addition to murder will fall into the second level of hell: “Kokujo-Jigoku.” In this place, sinners will be cut with a large saw repeatedly. The third level of hell is “Shugou-Jigoku” for people who committed indecent sexual acts and not the former two crimes. A big iron elephant or mountain will squash you again and again. The fourth level is for drinkers. Wow! If drinking alcohol is a crime, almost all Japanese should be thrown into this level of hell! Please don’t worry, a person who commits the former three crimes in addition to drinking will be on the fourth level. Okay, I will finish the sequential explanation of hell because this isn’t a Buddhism instruction blog. If you want to know more about Buddhist hell, please drop by the following website:
https://www.buddhism.link/single-post/2018/10/16/The-Eight-Great-Hells
Anyway, our tour started at the riverside of the Styx. After crossing the river, I found many ogres as the gatekeepers of hell whose hands and feet were moving by compressed air. First, I went into level one of hell and found brutal scenes where many ogres were stabbing criminals in the chest or abdomen and there was blood splatter everywhere. In the next room, two fierce-faced ogres stood on each side of a large saw and were sawing through a sinner slowly. On the other hand, some criminals were being eaten alive by human-faced bulls or dogs in other rooms. In the corridor, I found a murderer being forced to drink boiling oil by an ogre. I couldn’t recognize what level of hell I was in. There were so many bizarre dioramas of excellent quality. Finally, we reached heaven with just one Buddha statue in a small room. I think that the builder of this hell was less enthusiastic about making heaven.
Unfortunately, taking photos has been totally prohibited since 2009 because some bloggers and TV programs teased this facility just for kicks. On the contrary, a monk said to me, “Yeah, you can take photos freely and introduce us to everyone”, when I visited there in 2002 and 2008. What a bummer! But happily, this hell is still open to you now! Rush to Mugi, Tokushima!
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