Salvation by the Old Hag Datsueba in the Zenkōji Pilgrimage Mandala

• In Event: Staging Hope: Rethinking Scenes of Everyday Life in East Asian Painting

Abstract

The Buddhist folk deity Datsueba, often represented as an old hag, came to be recognized as part of the popular landscape of Japanese hell by the 16th century. She is unquestionably the most important female deity associated with death in Japan, similar in stature to the esoteric Indian goddess Dakini, who eats the hearts of the dead, and the Chinese goddess Meng-po, who erases memories of the deceased. Datsueba is said to reside by the Sanzu River which people cross after death, marking the passage from this world to the next. She takes the wet clothes of the deceased in order to estimate their deeds, which will determine their next level of rebirth.
This paper will examine the development of Datsueba’s character in the Zenkōji Pilgrimage Mandala, which replete with genre and etoki (picture deciphering performance) elements, portrays the experiences of commoners visiting Zenkōji temple in Nagano city, Japan. While the temple precinct is populated with pilgrims, religious practitioners, and beggars, the three gates to the main hall are marked by images of old women appearing in other religious and genre paintings: Datsueba, a weaving woman chasing a cow, and a woman being led by a child. Through the examination of these images, I will discuss how Datsueba’s early association with hell and death, together with everyday activities of old women, shifts to indicate a salvic role in which she aids worshippers in their quest for salvation in their daily lives.

Author

• Chihiro Saka, Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Kyoto