ten kings ［十王］ ( jū-ō): Ten kings of the world of the dead described in the Ten Kings Sutra, popularly believed to take turns judging the dead from the seventh day after a person’s death until the second anniversary. These judgments occur once every seven days for the first forty-nine days (seven weeks), on the one-hundredth day, on the first anniversary, and on the second anniversary of the person’s death. Their true identities are said to be those of Buddhas and bodhisattvas; hence, though outwardly forbidding, they are actually compassionate. They are (1) King Ch’in-kuang (Chin), who judges the dead on the seventh day after their death; (2) King First Creek of the River, who judges the dead on the fourteenth day; (3) King Sung-ti (Chin), who judges the dead on the twenty-first day; (4) King Controller of the Five Sense Organs, who judges the dead on the twenty-eighth day; (5) King Yama, who judges the dead on the thirty-fifth day; (6) King Transformation, who judges the dead on the forty-second day; (7) King T’ai-shan (Chin: named after Mount T’ai), who judges the dead on the forty-ninth day; (8) King Impartial Judge, who judges the dead on the hundredth day; (9) King Imperial City, who judges the dead on the first anniversary; and (10) King Wheel-Turner of the Five Paths, who judges the dead on the second anniversary. The concept of the ten kings is Chinese in origin; the Ten Kings Sutra is regarded as having been written in China.