To what extent, if any, was meifumadō an element of Japanese Buddhism or culture?


In the famous manga of Lone Wolf and Cub (子連れ狼), the protagonist walks the
path of meifumadō (冥府魔道), the road of hell, symbolized by the twin demons of
the bull and the horse, in his quest for revenge.

To what extent, if any, was meifumadō an element of Japanese Buddhism or
culture? Was this invented by the authors or is it a real philosophy?




I did some more research on this and apparently the mythology is pre-existing
in Buddhism and is pretty well known. Here is a description from a Buddhism
mythology web site:

**Rasetsu 羅刹天**  
... Bishamonten, the god who protects all places where the Buddha preaches, is
guardian of the north, and he is accompanied by two classes of demons called
Yaksha and Rasetsu. The Beasts of Buddhist Hell are also known in Japan as
"Gozu-Mezu" -- short for Gozu Rasetsu 牛頭羅刹 and Mezu Rasetsu 馬頭羅刹. With heads
resembling those of ox / cows (Gozu 牛頭) and horses (Mezu 馬頭), they are said to
torture and feed upon the flesh of the deceased (those who have committed sins
and are thus in hell). The Rasetsu might be particularly monstrous Yaksha, or
alternatively, the Yaksha might be Rasetsu who have pledged to serve the Deva
as guardians of forests, villages, and towns. The iconography is unclear.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vSCiS.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vSCiS.jpg)

Gozu and Mezu torture people in hell; from Taizong's Hell (1735), a Chinese
Buddhist scroll.




Completely invented. Meifu and madō are both real words (meaning, roughly,
"land of the dead" [= hell] and "way of evil", so not in conflict with the
movie/manga) but I'd be surprised if it could be shown that anyone had put
them together before that story.

