What Are Gozu and Mezu — The Ox-Headed and Horse-Headed Wardens of Hell

"What are Gozu and Mezu?" The monstrous demons with ox and horse heads seen in hell scrolls — the name may be familiar, but few know where they come from. This article traces the hell-wardens Gozu-Mezu from their reading and roots, to their scriptural sources, to how they were painted, and to a common mix-up worth correcting.

What Gozu and Mezu are

Gozu-Mezu are the wardens said to torment the dead in hell. The name refers to two beings: "Gozu," with an ox's head on a human body, and "Mezu," with a horse's head on a human body.

As subordinates of Lord Enma, they are said to seize the dead who have sinned and torment them. In the scriptures they hold a tessa — an iron trident, like a forked sasumata — with which they stab the dead and burn them. Though ranked among the lowest of hell's wardens, they appear again and again in hell scrolls and didactic tales as the archetypal fearsome guards.

The reading, and the Sanskrit roots

Gozu and Mezu each derive from Sanskrit. Gozu is said to render gośīrṣa ("ox head") and Mezu aśvaśīrṣa ("horse head"), both translated into Chinese characters.

In some scriptures they appear as Gozu-ki and Mezu-ki (the ox-headed and horse-headed demons), or as Gozu-gokusotsu and Mezu-rasetsu — the ox-headed warden and the horse-headed rakshasa. Rasetsu names a fierce spirit that harms people, and each such title stamps in their nature as beings who torment the dead without mercy.

Only Gozu came first — the pairing shaped in China

It is easy to overlook, but Gozu-Mezu were not a pair from the start. In Indian Buddhism, the warden of hell first spoken of was Gozu, also called Abo. As the belief passed into China, a sensibility that prized matched pairs is said to have added Mezu as a counterpart worthy of Gozu, shaping the two-figure form we know.

The pairing of Gozu-Mezu thus carries the footprints of a view of hell handed from India to China to Japan, changing shape with each land's sensibility. How a teaching from abroad took form through people's imagination — these two wardens are one vivid example.

In scripture and in hell scrolls

The names of Gozu-Mezu appear in scriptures such as the Shurangama Sutra and the Ten Kings Sutra, which sets out the judgment of Enma and the other ten kings. They enter as the wardens who torment the dead within scenes that depict hell.

In painting, too, Gozu-Mezu were indispensable. Hell scrolls such as the National Treasure Jigoku-zoshi often show ox- and horse-headed demons tormenting the dead with iron tridents. Why neither human nor beast? Depicting them in a form that is neither is thought to have burned the fathomless dread of an unworldly hell into the viewer's eye — and, at the same time, to have conveyed the lesson that evil deeds bring severe retribution even to those who could not read.

Not the same as Gozu Tenno — an easy mix-up

Because the names resemble each other, Gozu-Mezu are often confused with "Gozu Tenno," enshrined at Gion and other shrines. Gozu Tenno is a deity said to quell plague — utterly different in origin and role from the Gozu-Mezu wardens who torment the dead in hell. The shared character "Gozu" (ox head) makes them easy to mistake, so it is worth keeping the two apart.

Beings who uphold the judgment

If Lord Enma is the king who "judges" sin, Gozu-Mezu are the ones who carry out that judgment on hell's front lines. The one who judges, and the ones who enforce it — hell has been depicted as a world formed of many overlapping roles. On why Enma is said to pull out a liar's tongue, see also What It Means for Enma to Pull Out Your Tongue.

The wardens within Yurusen

Beings who uphold Enma's court live on in the world of the app "Yurusen" as well. At the deepest part of the codex stands Lord Enma, who binds together the root of every ledger of judgment, surrounded by wraiths and wardens of many types.

Like Gozu-Mezu, hell holds many beings who uphold the judgment. Yurusen is a place to quietly view the "type" of unforgivable person who hurt you as one of these wraiths. You can view the wraiths and wardens on the Wraith Codex page.