Parts of my humble research paper for "Rites of Passage" Class: 
It may be a curious sight for visitors of modern day Japan to see rows upon rows of little bald statues about 12 inches tall lining riverbanks, crossroads, and temple yards, each one wearing a red bib and crocheted hat, and accompanied by whirling pinwheels, money and other objects. As William Lafleur states in his book Liquid Life, there are in fact about 50,000 statues standing in rows at Hase-dera temple alone in Nara, Japan. These statues are a depiction of Mizuko-Jizo, the Japanese Buddha of compassion and cosmic caretaker of children. The statues are set up by the parents of babies lost during miscarriage, abortion or still-birth (Lafleur 1992; 4).
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In the cosmic crossroads, Jizo shepherds mizuko, or unborn babies (translated literally into ‘water children’) in the other world before rebirth (Lafleur 1992; 49). For the mizuko and its parents is a special rite of passage termed Mizuko Kuyo, about which Hardacre writes, the name literally means, “rite” (kuyo) for “water children” (mizuko) (1997; 2). During the ritual the parents must pay a lot of money to the temple for the mizuko service, and to buy a statue. Later, the parents "care for it" by dressing it, praying to Jizo and even leaving money for the child's "educational needs".
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It seems Japanese parents are going to Buddhist temples to perform Mizuko Kuyo in an attempt to be in right standing with the cosmos. The purpose of the rite appears to be for freedom from the guilt they feel for “sending back” the innocent mizuko. Mizuko Kuyo does help women lessen the pain and guilt of having an abortion temporarily, but the emphasis it places on fear counteracts any lasting benefits that would be possible through this ritual.
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Since ancient times the Japanese worldview is pluralistic. It is most evident in their common rites of passage. There is a popular saying about the Japanese: ‘born Shinto, married Christian, and die Buddhist’. Japanese worldview is an infusion of emerging New Age beliefs, Western Ideals and Neo-Shinto practices, all of which is mixed together in a combination uniquely Japanese.
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The mizuko kuyo rite itself reveals much of what lays between the complex layers of Japanese culture. So deep is the tradition and roots of Kuyo in Japan, that it is frequently done for even inanimate objects such as sewing needles, chopsticks, and old braziers; evidence that the Japanese emphasize expression of thanks quite emphatically. Some regions even hold a special Kuyo rite for eels during eel season, thanking them for their tastiness and nutritious attributes (Lafleur 1992; 144). But in Japanese culture thanks and apology are intimately intertwined. Kuyo discloses that Japanese seem to have a ‘when in doubt, apologize’ mentality for just about anything, whether it is discarding blunt needles, eating eels, and during conflict, even if the other person is at fault (Lafleur 1992; 146). In the loss of or “sending back” of a mizuko, the corresponding ritual allows the parents to apologize to the fetus, which is generally believed to be destined to birth within that set of parents and will be very angry about being “sent back”, causing harm to the parents or their current children (Lafleur 1992; 164, 168, 172).
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Some temples that offer the Mizuko Kuyo services such as that of Buddhist Archbishop Muira, voice adamant concern about the numerous accounts of “ill fortune…[reported by] those who had neglected to hold a memorial service for their mizuko” which is due to the “intricacies of the Buddhist concept of cause and affect”, called karma, and deem it necessary to strongly advise Mizuko Kuyo to counterbalance the bad karma committed by the parents. Lafleur later lists the twenty categories of an “unresolved mizuko problem” and points out that these are issues that most mothers are already very paranoid about, such as their toddlers having accidents, business going sour for the father, back and neck trouble for the mother, children’s violent behavior, depression for the parents, and so on (Lafleur 1992; 173-75). Hardacre writes, “Wider interpretations say that the mizuko can even target completely unrelated people, people who had nothing to do with their ‘deaths’ (Hardacre 1997; 2). If this is the case, that this fear has even spread to those in no way connected with the deaths, then who is to say when or if this fear will stop or ever be fully relieved?
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Lafleur asks some interesting questions, like whether Mizuko Kuyo would ever enter Japanese Christianity and if this ritual actually “accords with more generally human needs” (1992; 150). Lafleur mentions a debate about whether Japanese culture is a Shame versus guilt based society, but it seems the two are not very far from one another (Lafleur 1992; 151). In her article “Five Approaches to the Phenomenon of Shame”, Heller says that, “internalized shame is the feeling of guilt” (2003). She also says, “it is always difference that is put to shame”. There is another popular Japanese saying: “the nail that sticks its head up, pound it down”; ample evidence that Japanese value very much their societal duties and roles. So, why do the Japanese feel so much shame over something so highly promoted? Possibly because there is also a very long tradition of having heirs as the supreme duty of a Japanese couple to the Society (Lafleur 1992; 108). Westerners generally try to avoid guilt, but it seems in Japanese culture they glorify it, because it shows the Japanese have great compassion a Buddhist ideal (Lafleur 1992; 158).
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But to what extent does fear influence the ritual? How much is catered to superstition just as in other cultures that fear evil spirits? (such as the story of one Slavic woman forgetting to put on her crucifix and attributing that to her baby dying. There is also a lot to be said about the Old European tradition of devils being unbaptized or still-born children, who then have potential for becoming a demon-ghost on earth, constantly in limbo, not a part of community on earth, but not joined with the ancestors yet either (Ostling 2008; 7).
But to what extent does fear influence the ritual? How much is catered to superstition just as in other cultures that fear evil spirits? (such as the story of one Slavic woman forgetting to put on her crucifix and attributing that to her baby dying. There is also a lot to be said about the Old European tradition of devils being unbaptized or still-born children, who then have potential for becoming a demon-ghost on earth, constantly in limbo, not a part of community on earth, but not joined with the ancestors yet either (Ostling 2008; 7).
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Looking at a more sociological approach to understanding the apparent need for this ritual, it must be pointed out that the birth control pill was not legal in Japan until about a decade ago. Even now the pill is difficult to get, and abortion has become the main contraceptive procedure in Japan. Even “medical personnel sent from Japan to other countries are often ignorant of basic facts about contraception” (WEDO). That the pill is so reluctantly legalized in Japan is understandable when we look at Japan’s fast declining birth rate and fast increasing life expectancy rate which is causing quite a strain on Japanese society, especially in the long-run. Hardly any couples are having babies, and retirement pensions are dwindling without a work force to replace those who are retiring (consequently suicide rates are very high in Japan among the elderly and youth especially.) “According to Health and Welfare Ministry statistics, 343,024 [abortions] were performed in 1995 [in Japan], or one out of every 4 women had the procedure” (WEDO).
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It seems horrible to Western thinking that Japan has such high rates of abortion, but Ciampa points out that abortion is the most common surgery in the United States and that it carries some serious medical and psychological weight for women along with it (WEDO; Ciampa). It also sounds horrible to the Western feminist mind that the ‘menacing fetus’, as Hardacre terms it, is marketed to these women, catering to their desperation due to guilt and fear. But we have a bit of our own marketing to women here in the Americas “Manufacturers and promoters hope that by misinforming women about when pregnancy occurs, it will be easier for us to swallow their pill,’ said Foster” quotes Ciampa in her article “Protecting Women’s Health”. Ciampa also lists the anxieties that women who have had abortions experience and the lack for proper care for these women before during and after pregnancy.
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Lafleur would have us “explore the possibility that rituals…such as these for mizuko may have a positive therapeutic function” (Lafleur 1992; 217). So does this ritual "work"? Does it remove the guilt and fear? (Some might say it sure seems to work for the temple staff!) How would we know that the ritual works or does not work?
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We need to answer the question, ‘When exactly does life begin?’ Buddhists believe life should not be harmed in any way, and if life is harmed there are some serious consequences, leading to fear (Lafleur 1992; 10). It seems contradictory for Buddhists to endorse abortion. But the thing is, for them it is rational to send back a baby so it does not have to be entrapped in the torturous cycle of endless rebirths.
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There has been an ongoing battle in the West between pro-choice and pro-life. The Liberals on one side advocating a woman’s right to control when and if she will have children, and the Christians majorly on the other side arguing that human beings are “fearfully and wonderfully made”, “knit” together and intimately known by God in the womb and therefore that life should not be terminated (Bible; Psalm 139). Sometimes in its “crusade” for pro-life, the Church in America seems to have forgotten that a woman, for whatever reason, who has had an abortion (although it is hugely grievous to Him) is loved by God and He forgives her just as God freely forgives other women who have trespassed against His Law in other ways (not unlike the the gay/lesbian rights debate?). But in the important but exhaustive debates about the doctrines, ethics, and rights surrounding abortions, human beings are at the mercy of the debate!
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It is interesting, even in the Old Testament God’s grace is generous. He offers relief from guilt through offerings on the altar. However, each family must give a sacrificial offering to God each year to atone for their transgressions, so this offering only temporarily relieves their guilt. Can we not say the same about Mizuko Kuyo? It is an offering to Jizo Buddha and the Mizuko to relieve the guilt the parents feel. Guilt offerings are never prescribed in the New Testament but it does say in several places that God has made a provision for the trespass, God himself died once for all in the place of sinners while they were still sinning against Him (Leviticus 5:14-6:7, Colossians 2:13). Biblically the bad news is that everyone falls short of God’s perfect standards, but the good news is that Jesus’s deeds equal righteousness for sinners (Romans 3:23, Galatians 2:21).
It is interesting, even in the Old Testament God’s grace is generous. He offers relief from guilt through offerings on the altar. However, each family must give a sacrificial offering to God each year to atone for their transgressions, so this offering only temporarily relieves their guilt. Can we not say the same about Mizuko Kuyo? It is an offering to Jizo Buddha and the Mizuko to relieve the guilt the parents feel. Guilt offerings are never prescribed in the New Testament but it does say in several places that God has made a provision for the trespass, God himself died once for all in the place of sinners while they were still sinning against Him (Leviticus 5:14-6:7, Colossians 2:13). Biblically the bad news is that everyone falls short of God’s perfect standards, but the good news is that Jesus’s deeds equal righteousness for sinners (Romans 3:23, Galatians 2:21).
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**Please pray that the Japanese would be released from the fears that have got such a tight hold on their hearts and that the Good News would truly illuminate their hearts with Joy and that they may know true forgiveness and freedom!
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p.s. Thanks for reading all of that! And thank you for your prayers! The power isn't in our prayers, but in the One we are calling on, and He is Mighty to save that's for sure!
