The other world - Anoyo

Japanese: あの世 - あのよ

The words "other world" and "this world" correspond to the Buddhist terms "other shore" and "this shore," and in that sense "other world" refers to paradise, pure land, or hell. In general, the terms are used more vaguely to mean a world after death, a place separate from this world. According to Kunio Yanagita, Japanese people do not have the idea that the dead go to another, distant country, but rather have a strong belief that the spirits of the dead remain in nearby mountains and come down to the village as ancestral spirits at each turn of the farming season. In oral literature, as seen in the Hidden Village Legend, the Mouse Pure Land Tale, and the Dragon Palace Tale, there is a belief that there is another utopia on the other side of the mountains, under the sea, or at the bottom of the earth.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

あの世･この世は仏教でいう彼岸･此岸に対応する語であり，その意味であの世は極楽･浄土または地獄をさす。一般にはもっと漠然と死後の世界，この世とは別の場所の意に用いられる。柳田国男によると，日本人の観念には死者が別の遠い国に行くという考えはなく，死者の霊は近くの山にとどまって，祖霊として，農耕の折り目ごとに里に下りてくるという考えが強いという。また隠れ里伝説，鼠浄土譚，竜宮譚などに見られるように口承文芸の中には，山の向こう側，海中，地の底に別世界のユートピアがあるという考えがある。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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