I was watching Ultraman Taro when a kaiju, Enmargo, appeared that caught my attention. Bearing a sword and shield, his crown adorned with the kanji for King and his chestplate reading Great King, I immediately recognised the influence for this kaiju, King Yama. Of course, the only reason I recognised this in the first place was because of his prevalence in Japanese media. However, I thought that, at least in the West, knowledge of him was obscure enough that I should take a look at who King Yama is as well as some of his appearances in Japanese popular culture.
Let’s start by taking a look at who King Yama is. Yama has his origins in India, specifically within Hinduism, where he serves as the god of the dead. As Buddhism spread from India, he, along with numerous other deities, were similarly dispersed and reinterpreted by various regions and cultures. The Buddhist interpretation of Yama made him a dharmapala, a wrathful deity, who presides over Narakas, the Buddhist hells. When he reached Japan, he was named Enma, often King Enma or Great King Enma. As a result, his impact on Japanese culture with regards to the concepts of hell should not be overlooked.
For fans of anime, perhaps one of the most recognisable incarnations of King Yama comes from Dragon Ball Z. Called King Yemma in the series, he is the ruler of the Other World, Dragon Ball’s interpretation of the afterlife. As with most works of Akira Toriyama, he portrays the afterlife comedically with King Yemma in charge of an office which determines whether a person goes to heaven or hell. In contrast, a more serious interpretation of him in a shonen series would be in Yu Yu Hakusho where he rules the spirit world. His son, Koenma, is more prominent in the series and is portrayed far more comedically than his father.
As might be expected, King Yama makes an appearance in numerous Japanese video games. Ignoring video game adaptations of preexisting properties, it is not surprising to find King Yama represented in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, a series which draws from myths and religions from around the world. Interestingly, he also appears in the Yokai Watch franchise as an integral part of the story with his grandson, Lord Enma, serving as the lord of the Yokai realm.
Just as a version of King Yama appeared in the Ultraman franchise, other tokusatsu series have also drawn on him as inspiration. In the 1970s tokusatsu Spider-Man series, yes it does exist, he faces off against King Yama in one of the later episodes. Even as recently as 2022, the Super Sentai series, best known as Power Rangers in the West, featured him as the overarching villain of Avataro Sentai Donbrothers.
King Yama is a pervasive figure within Japanese popular culture and his iconic crown should be quite recognisable to fans, even subconsciously, at this point. As with most influences, learning more about the source enhances the experience of watching, reading or playing Japanese media. Let me know your thoughts on King Yama and his impact on Japanese popular culture, whether you were aware of his origins before, interesting appearances of his you’ve come across in Japanese media and any additional information you might have on the topic.
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