Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Iron Ants
Category: Insect
The Myth
Tetsugi are iron ants that inhabit particular regions of the Buddhist hells, where they torment condemned souls. These supernatural insects are described as deadly creatures capable of attacking the entire body, devouring flesh, drinking blood, severing tendons, breaking bones, and consuming the marrow and internal organs of their victims.
In the Shūchūshūchū Hell, one of the sixteen subsidiary regions of the Hell of Crushing, iron ants attack sinners while flames engulf their bodies. According to the Sūtra on the Right Mindfulness, people who committed sexual acts with sheep or donkeys during their lives and failed to respect the Buddha fall into this hell after death. There, the combination of burning fire and the relentless attacks of the iron ants subjects them to prolonged and terrible suffering. The condemned cry out in agony as the insects tear into their bodies.
Iron ants also inhabit Issaikonmetsu Hell, another subsidiary region of the Hell of Crushing. This realm punishes those who committed sexual acts with women through the anus. The condemned endure additional tortures imposed by the hell’s wardens, including being forced to drink molten copper liquid from a heated iron bowl and having white wax poured into their ears. Amid these punishments, iron ants and other black insects of iron, surrounded by flames, attack their bodies and devour their eyes.
Tetsugi represent the merciless creatures of Buddhist hell, where supernatural insects serve as instruments of punishment for the sins committed during earthly life. Their iron bodies and destructive feeding make them especially terrifying, as they inflict suffering by consuming not only flesh and blood but also the deeper structures of the body. In these hells, their attacks ensure that the condemned endure further torment alongside fire and the punishments administered by the wardens.
Sources
“Tetsugi.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1074589331.html