Wednesday, June 01, 2011

What Can I say?

This little guy is called a Mizuko (水子) Water child. Which is a "fetus memorial service" for women who have under gone a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. This practice has become more popular since the 1970s with the creation of shrines devoted solely to this ritual.
The word mizuko (水子), is a term for a dead fetus or, archaically, a dead baby or infant. In the Edo period, when famine sometimes led the poverty-stricken to infanticide and abortion, the practice was adapted to cover these situations as well. It was believed that this ritual would put the mizuko's spirit at rest so that it would not return and reap havoc on the family from which it had been conceived. It was thought that if the spirit was angered it would bring bad crops, infestations of insects or bad health or death onto the mizuko's living siblings.
Today, the practice of mizuko kuyō continues in Japan, although it is unclear whether it is a historically authentic Buddhist practice. Now many temples offer Jizō statues (picture above) for a fee, which are then dressed in red bibs and caps, and displayed in the temple yard. The red bib wearing Mizuko may not be authentic but may offer something for curtain emotional needs of the people who attend the shrines. The picture above is an authentic Mizuko from Hasedera in Nara Prefecture. Note the Lilly and very real bib.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favorite justification appeared to be on the internet the easiest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while people think about worries that they plainly do not know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people could take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks

[url=http://remiaso.sws2011.com]instant payday loans[/url]

payday uk

Anonymous said...

simply dropping by to say hi