Sanzu River - Wikipedia

This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Sanzu River" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Sanzu River (Japanese: 三途の川, Hepburn: Sanzu-no-kawa), or River of Three Crossings, is a Japanese Buddhist tradition and religious belief similar to the Greek concept of the River Styx. It is believed that the dead must cross the river on the way to the afterlife, a belief reflected in Japanese funerals when six coins are placed in the casket with the dead.

The Sanzu River is popularly believed to be in Mount Osore, a suitably desolate and remote part of Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan.

Real Sanzu Rivers in Japan

in Kanra, Kanra, Gunma36°15′31″N 138°57′09″E / 36.258613°N 138.952444°E / 36.258613; 138.952444 (confluence with Shirakura River)
in Chōnan, Chōsei, Chiba35°25′22″N 140°15′54″E / 35.422747°N 140.264917°E / 35.422747; 140.264917 (confluence with Ichinomiya River)
in Zaō, Katta, Miyagi38°08′39″N 140°29′29″E / 38.144116°N 140.491333°E / 38.144116; 140.491333 (confluence with Nigori River)
in Mutsu, Aomori41°19′33″N 141°05′46″E / 41.325877°N 141.096083°E / 41.325877; 141.096083 (drains from Usori Lake)

River systems and rivers of Japan

Rivers of Hokkaido

Sea of Japan	Ishikari River Chitose River Toyohira River Makomanai River Anano River Yūbari River Koetoi River Rumoi River Shiribeshi-Toshibetsu River Shiribetsu River Teshio River Zenibako River
Sea of Okhotsk	Abashiri River Shibetsu River Shokotsu River Tokoro River Yūbetsu River
Pacific Ocean	Akan River Kushiro River Mitsuishi River Mu River Niikappu River Saru River Shizunai River Tokachi River
Rivers of Hokkaido on Commons

Rivers of Honshu

Tōhoku region	Abukuma River Arakawa River Iwaki River Kitakami River Komagome River Koyoshi River Mabechi River Mogami River Natori River Ōhata River Oirase River Omono River Takase River Yoneshiro River
Kantō region	Arakawa River Edo River Fuji River Kanda River Kuji River Naka River Sagami River Sumida River Tama River Tone River Tsurumi River
Chūbu region	Agano River Shinano River Seki River Hime River Kurobe River Jōganji River Jinzū River Shō River Oyabe River Tedori River Kuzuryū River Fuji River Abe River Ōi River Sakawa River Tenryū River Toyo River Yahagi River Shōnai River Kiso Three Rivers Kiso River Nagara River Ibi River Kushida River Miya River Kita River Minami River
Kansai region	Choshi River Ibo River Kako River Kinokawa River Kumano River Kuzuryu River Maruyama River Muko River Yamato River Yodo River Yasu River Katsura River Kamo River Kizu River Dōton River Yura River
Chūgoku region	Asahi River Ashida River Gōnokawa River Hino River Hii River Ōta River Oze River Saba River Sendai River Takahashi River Takatsu River Tenjin River Yoshii River

Rivers of Shikoku

Rivers of Kyushu

Kyushu	Arie River Chikugo River Kikuchi River Kuma River Mimi River Ōno River Ōyodo River
Yaeyama Islands	Kokuba River Nakama River Urauchi River