Ten Judgements of Hell: The Eighth Court

This vertical scroll painting depicts the Eighth Court of the Ten Judgements of Hell. In the upper register, a king sits behind an elevated desk within a pavilion, presiding over a trial with attendants standing nearby. Below, in a rocky, outdoor landscape, several figures with demonic features—some with animalistic horns or wild hair—are actively tormenting the deceased. One demon forces a person into a large stone mortar or mill, while others stand nearby holding instruments of punishment. The scene is rendered in muted earth tones, with the architecture and figures set against a backdrop of stylized trees and swirling clouds typical of Buddhist narrative scrolls.

This scene represents the eighth of the Ten Kings of Hell, King Dushi (Urban), responsible for punishing those who have committed crimes involving filial impiety and moral neglect, rooted in the 'Sutra of the Ten Kings', a foundational text for Chinese Buddhist eschatology and funerary rites.