Key Points

- Datsueba strips spirits of clothing, or flesh if their is no clothing 

- Ken’e-ō hangs the clothes on branches of the Eryōju to judge the severity of their sins

Brief Bio 

Datsueba (奪だつ衣婆えば; lit. "old woman who strips clothes") is often depicted sitting by the Sanzu River (三さん途ずの川かわ; lit. River of Three Crossings) with Ken’e-ō in depictions of the Buddhist underworld.

First Datsueba will strip the spirits of their clothing, which Ken’e-ō then hangs on branches of the Eryōju. The deceased will be judged by the severity of their sins using the weight of their clothes and how much water they absorbed during the spirit's crossing. The more water that is absorbed, the more severe the sins are considered. If the spirit does not have clothes, Datsueba will strip the flesh instead