The Sanzu, also known as the River of Three Crossings, is a the river that connects to the afterlife in Japanese Buddhism, and can be considered similar to the Hindu river Vaitarna and the Greco-Roman river Styx.
Description[]
Before reaching the afterlife, the souls of the deceased must cross the river by one of three crossing points: a bridge, a ford, or a stretch of deep, snake-infested waters. The weight of one's offenses while alive determines which path an individual must take. It is believed that a toll of six mon must be paid before a soul can cross the river, a belief reflected in Japanese funerals when the necessary fee is placed in the casket with the dead.
Overview[]
The Sanzu River is popularly believed to be in Mount Osore, a suitably desolate and remote part of Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan. Similarly to the Sanzu-no-Kawa, there is also the Sai no Kawara ("Riverbed of Death"), a boundary by which the souls of children who died too early cross over to the realm of the Dead, with the help of Jizō, a Kami/Bodhisattva who helps the souls of children who died too early to avoid the attentions of the Oni and of Shozuka-no-Baba and Datsueba.