Emma - o, King and Judge of Hell

Buddhists believe in reincarnation, but many schools of Buddhism hold that a sinful person is punished for a period of time between death and rebirth in one of several levels of Hell. Emma-ō, a powerful and fearsome figure, decides the fate of the deceased, sometimes singly and sometimes as part of a group of ten Hell Judges. The image of Emma-ō is a focus for prayers from the living, who ask for leniency for their recently departed loved ones.