Datsueba the Clothes Snatcher

Chihiro Saka, PhD (2019), Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Japan), is Project Research Fellow at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken). Her published papers include “Functions of Cloth in Datsueba Worship” (Japanese Religions, Spring and Fall 2018).

• ContentsAcknowledgementsList of FiguresIntroduction1 Toward a More Integrated Picture2 Theoretical Framework, Methodology, and Primary Sources3 Structure of the Monograph1 Conceptions of Hell in Asia: Related Texts and Imagery1 The Six Realms and Early Representations of Hell2 Chinese Adaptations and Visions of Hell3 Female Deities Related to Death: Indian Goddesses, Meng Po, and Datsueba4 Concluding Remarks2 Datsueba in Religious and Popular Texts1 Prototypes for Datsueba2 Datsueba in Accounts of the Ten Kings of Hell3 Datsueba-like Figures in Popular Stories4 Concluding Remarks3 Visual Representations of Datsueba: From Hell Scenes to the Popular Sphere1 Pictorial Representations of Hell Prior to Datsueba2 The Emergence of Datsueba in the Landscape of Hell3 Standardization and Modification of Datsueba Iconography4 Concluding Remarks4 Datsueba in Pilgrimage Mandalas1 Overview of Pilgrimage Mandalas2 Datsueba in Ise sankei mandara: Marking the Border between Sacred and Impure3 Datsueba in the Zenkōji sankei mandara: Bridging the Underworld and Pure Land4 Datsueba in Tateyama mandara: Manifestation of the Mountain Goddess Ubason and Symbol of the Entrance to Hell5 Concluding Remarks5 Venerating Datsueba: Beliefs and Worship Practices1 Sculptural Images of Datsueba: A Brief Overview2 Datsueba as a Marker of the Otherworld3 The Symbolism of Cloth in Worship Practices Devoted to Datsueba4 Datsueba, Other Old Female Figures, and Buddhist Attitudes toward Women5 Concluding RemarksConclusionChinese and Japanese Character GlossaryBibliographyIndex

"The concluding remarks give a comprehensive overview of the previous chapters and shed light on Saka’s intent to provide a complete understanding of the various facets involving Datsueba’s features and worship, different in each region and tradition. This volume is a must-readfor scholars interested in female deities and other-worldly imagery in East Asia." - Marzia Alteno, in: Religious Studies Review, 47/3 (2021) "...this is an impressive work, which makes an important contribution not only to our understanding of Datsueba, but also more broadly to the complex ways in which religious ideas and cultural practices came to be intertwined in Japan." - Rajyashree PANDEY, Japan Review 40 (2025).