Jigoku

Strechting from the 13th to 20th layer of The Abyss, Jigoku is the sinister homeland of the Oni, and the hell of the Jadanian faith, ruled over by the terrifying Oni Lords.
According to Jadanian believes, souls who are deemed unworthy of an afterlife in the realm of honor Tengoku find themselves in the worst afterlife of all - Jigoku.

Redemption

Because Jigoku is so terrible and the gods of the Jade Pantheon so merciful, the tortured souls in Jigoku are allowed a few more trials like the ones they received in Meido to see whether they can be released from Jigoku early or not—or at least have their existence “upgraded” to a less torturous one. On specific days, memorial services are held by the deceased’s surviving relatives. While the specifics of what exactly happens in Jigoku vary between different traditions, this is one explanation of the trials:

• 100 days after death marks the first trial in Jigoku. These trials are not so much judgments, as the soul is already being tortured. They are more like appeals, where the soul (and his or her still-living family) get to appeal to the gods for one more chance at salvation.
• On the 1 year anniversary of the death, the soul is once again brought to trial.
• On the 2 year anniversary of one’s death (the beginning of the third year after death), the soul is granted another chance for salvation by trial.
• The next trial occurs 6 years after death.
• Another trial occurs 12 years after death.
• The thirteenth and final trial occurs 32 years after death.

Those who fail all of these final tests, either through their own faults or from lack of prayers by their living relatives, are damned to remain in Jigoku for a very, very long time before they can find salvation.

Geography

Though it is described as one realm, Jigoku is not just one place. There are countless different hells, which are usually separated into eight hot hells and eight cold hells. These are further subdivided into many other smaller planes and demi-planes—more than 64,000 according to some counts—and each one has a uniquely specialized form of punishment and length of stay, tailor-made to the sins of its inhabitants. While there are many different levels of hell in Jadanian belief, the general term Jigoku usually refers to the eight hot hells, also known as the eight great hells.
The eight great hells are as follows:

• 1st Layer - Tōkatsu Jigoku - The reviving hell
• 2nd Layer - Kokujō Jigoku - The hell of black threads
• 3rd Layer - Shugō Jigoku - The crushing hell
• 4th Layer - Kyōkan Jigoku - The screaming hell
• 5th Layer - Daikyōkan Jigoku - The hell of great screaming
• 6th Layer - Jōnetsu Jigoku - The burning hell
• 7th Layer - Daijōnetsu Jigoku - The hell of great burning
• 8th Layer - Mugen Jigoku - The hell of uninterrupted suffering

Each of the hells is technically also a whole layer of The Abyss, but encapsulated inside the hellish world of Jigoku. Unlike many other layers of The Abyss, the levels of Jigoku are linked through portals and physical paths in ascending order from the 1st to the 8th layer. To travel from one layer to another requires to pass through a great gatehouse, separating the levels from each other. These gatehouses can take many shapes, sizes and forms and are usually guarded by a host of fierce Oni, stopping souls from leaving their designated hell.

Planar Category

Layer

Planar Alignment

Evil

Alternative Name(s)

earth prison

Type

Dimensional plane