Highway To (Buddhist) Hell: Osaka’s Hell and Redemption Park, Senko-ji T
Osaka is infamous for excess. Along the famed Dotonbori party street, there are gigantic Godzilla-sized advertisements/pop art of crabs, sushi, and anything your lack of impulse control desires. The iconic statue of this area is Kuidaore Taro, a celebration of one who commits “kuidaore” or “eating till you drop” or “going bankrupt due to excess indulgences.” Never fear, moralists. These revelers will be duly punished for sins of excess and others according to a Senko-ji Temple, a few train stations away from this heavenly den of sin.
When you first enter the temple, a sign warns that liars will have their tongues yanked out—always the best way of saying “Howdy.” Then, in the Hell Hall, Jigoku-do awaits in the distance with an evil wink that every death metal enthusiast will squeal with joy for the promise of burning paradise. You pay 100 yen and scan a QR code to enter eternal damnation. You take a quiz first to see if your life choices will land you in hell. I hate pop quizzes, so I failed twice.
Hell awaits.
Then, as soon as you enter the hall, you are confronted with Enma Daio, the Judge of the Dead. His ogre will yank your tongue out if you dare to lie to him, and Yamauba, a mountain “hag”, strips you of your clothes as soon as you enter Judgement Day (gotta buy me dinner first, Yamauba, if these clothes are to come off). The audiovisual portion commences as graphic depiction of sinners being sawed in half and other pleasantries are shown.
Next stop: Redemption.
But before that, you can stick your head inside a hollow rock to hear the supposed sounds of hell. I heard the kawaii-cutesy sounds of anime shops in the distance… maybe the actual sounds of hell?! Afterwards, you do a meditative stroll with a photo op with Buddha, where you connect with him with a neon red string, enter a reflective hall, and end with a mandala.
With many temples in Japan threatening to disappear due to low attendance, I give this 1,300 year old temple credit for adding hellish pizazz to lure in the curious. All this talk of burning made me hungry for some yakitori skewers as I did my meditative stroll back in Dotonbori looking for some sinful grilled meats.
