Having beans thrown at you, being glared at while sitting in a flower…what horror!
So, Hell. It’s supposed to be a scary, not-so-cool place, right? All that fire and torture and eternal suffering are supposed to be the ultimate punishment for not acting like a good person during your life. Makes sense that it would be depicted as a pretty miserable place in artwork then, right?
Well not according to one early Meiji-era (1868-1912) publication: The Hell Picture Book (or Hell Picture Scroll if we’re translating literally). Some of the illustrations seem like they’re meant to make the reader laugh out loud rather than instill any fear in them.
▼ The very first illustration on the scroll: a goofy-looking skeleton playing a shamisen.
I didn’t know Hell was supposed to look like an elementary school haunted house.
▼ Oh, the horror! The horror of…uh, being weighed for eternity?
▼ “So what are you doing in Hell?”
“Eh, just hanging out.”
But before you think that all Japanese depictions of Hell are so lenient, here are two pictures from around 700 years earlier belonging to another depiction of torment in the afterlife, the 12th century Hell Scroll, in which people are beaten into flames…
▼ …and also suffering in a lake of boiling blood! Yikes!
But when we go back to the Hell Picture Scroll we see…
▼ …people having beans thrown at them by demons…
▼ …and being poked while sitting in a flower.
Oh the minor inconvenience of it all!
But the torture doesn’t end there! There’s this, uh, picture of a demon showing the word “evil” to some guys…
…and these two people who appear to be fanning a demon. Scary stuff.
The demon looks downright sympathetic in this one, like he’s about to say: “Hey, do you need some help carrying that?”
Here’s one of the few actually tortuous ones, but even here the expression on the demon’s face is something like: “I wish I didn’t have to do this, but a job is a job….”
And even after that, it’s back to playing cat games with the silly little humans.
But perhaps the most hilarious/horrifying torture of them all: being forced to listen to some guy read stuff to you. Although the big dude and the one guy on the ground look like they’re sharing a laugh together.
I don’t know about you, but these images of Hell don’t exactly have me shaking in my shoes. Maybe that was the intent of the original work, as a parody of the more serious images that came before it? Or perhaps the artist simply wanted to reassure himself that the afterlife wasn’t as bad as others had said.
Either way, we’re just glad to see that the human tradition of not taking things seriously was just as strong over a hundred years ago as it is today.
Source: Waseda University Library via CuRAZY
Images: Waseda University Library
Meiji-era vision of Hell is not at all frightening, actually kind of cute
Classic Japanese painting “Picture Scroll of a Fart Battle” is exactly what it sounds like
Senkoji: The Japanese temple that’s more like a theme park to heaven and hell
Japan has a new cute and clever sunblock for cat lovers
Japan’s izakaya pubs closing at record pace, failing to attract foreign tourists
Japanese vending machine find introduces us to a new drink you can’t get anywhere else
Starbucks Japan hoping fans will go bananas for its new mottainai banana affogato Frappuccino
The story of our reporter P.K. Sanjun’s heart attack
Super! Eel Bread takes Japanese sushi into uncharted territory
7-Eleven Japan releases their second lineup of upsized foods from a muffin to bukkake soba
Tokyo’s life-size Gundam anime mecha statue will be removed this summer
Kanji ice cream becomes a sell-out hit in Japan
McDonald’s Japan adds curry French fry flavor, regional-taste burgers to its menu with Gotochi Mac
Ichiraku Ramen-inspired ramen sets from Naruto anime pay homage to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
Hundreds of rose bushes in bloom at Tokyo’s off-the-beaten-path, next-to-the-tracks flower street
This Tokyo Station sweets sensation sells out daily, but we finally got our hands on it
161-year-old Kyoto confectionary maker releases new edible Pokémon lineup
Studio Ghibli’s president is leaving the company. Will it change how they make anime?
7-Eleven Japan is releasing Greedy chocolate chip and whipped cream sandwiches
Let’s hike a Japanese mountain (that isn’t Mt. Fuji) – Mt. Tsukuba[Photos]
The average age of Japan’s hikikomori shut-ins is getting older, survey shows
Japan enters Golden Week vacation period, survey shows one in three plan to ride it out at home
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
New Kyoto Converse sneakers celebrate Japan with traditional kimono fabrics for your feet
Japan’s new Pokémon jackets give you the look and powers of the Kanto starter trio
Japan now has gyoza doughnuts, and they taste like no other doughnut we’ve tried before
Studio Ghibli launches huge new anime movie T-shirt collection with special design details
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa