Ox-Head
nature_spirit underworld Chinese single tradition · 5
An ox-headed guardian or type of guardian of the Underworld in Chinese mythology.
↻ synthesized from 5 sources
When
- First attested
- 200 CE
- Attested period
- 200 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Appears in Chinese Buddhist funerary texts and art.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Penghou, Pratyangira, Set, Tikbalang, Tumburu, Varaha, Zhu Bajie, Mara, Izanami, Yanluo Wang, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, King Chujiang, Vajrapāṇi, Castor, Pollux, Janus, Jaya-Vijaya, Skanda, Lugal-irra, Meslamta-ea, Alexiares, Anicetus, Hebe, Ha, Heng, Om, Minotaur, Anubis, Cynocephalus, Bastet, Daksha, Ganesha, Hayagriva, Keibu Keioiba, Khnum, Maahes, Pakhet, Sekhmet, Tefnut, Nandi, Narasimha, Heracles
- serves
- Yama, Yanluo Wang
- sibling of
- Horse-Face
- allied with
- Horse-Face
- enemy of
- Sun Wukong
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“Ox-Head – An ox-headed guardian or type of guardian of the Underworld in Chinese mythology.”
#4721 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Yama, the king of the Underworld, as well as oni such as the Ox-Head and Horse-Face, are also considered a type of shinigami.”
#13757 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“In Japanese mythology, Ox-Head and Horse-Face are known as Gozu (牛頭) and Mezu (馬頭), respectively. Collectively, they are referred to with the yojijukugo Gozumezu (牛頭馬頭). They appear in classical Japanese literature such as the Konjaku Monogatarishū and Taiheiki”
#14571 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Ox-Head and Horse-Face, the fearsome guardians of hell, bring the newly dead, one by one, before Yan for judgement.”
#39431 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Ox-Head and Horse-Face”
#45672 · extracted by openai/gpt-oss-120b:free