Someone had to accompany the deceased to the trial before Emma. The designer imagines them crossing the river, the barrier that separates them from the other world, not on a boat (an element which is also very common in universal iconography), but on the shoulders of four oni. Meanwhile, lotus petals fall on them and the architecture of the paradise of the West, of the Pure Land, can be seen.
The clouds refer to the other world one must reach. In traditional Buddhist painting the descent of Amida was represented with his companions, playing music and dancing among clouds. In this work, however, it is one of those dancers and actors of the kabuki stage who ascends to reach Paradise, where lotus petals are gently falling, a sign that Buddha is happy because a new soul has arrived in the Pure Land.
In this print, the actor appears surrounded by some characters, who could be identified as bosatsu (those who could have reached nirvana but renounce to it to help other men to reach it). These figures invite the actor to ascend, not to the stage, but to a lotus flower, to sit there and present himself as someone who has attained Buddhahood.
This brings to mind the belief that one who reaches excellence in his work will be able to achieve this reward.
In this image we see a step further, as the actor appears already seating on a lotus pedestal. He is surrounded by his audience, who are venerating his memory and celebrating his new position. Some of them are weeping, while others are joyful. At the base of the lotus flower, we see food offerings and incense tablets.
