Mourning the Unborn Dead: A Buddhist Ritual Comes to America

by Jeff Wilson and Jeff Wilson

Many Western visitors to Japan have been struck by the numerous cemeteries for aborted fetuses, which are characterized by throngs of images of the Bodhisattva Jizo, usually dressed in red baby aprons or other baby garments, and each dedicated to an individual fetus. Abortion is common in Japan and as a consequence one of the frequently performed rituals in Japanese Buddhism is mizuko-kuyo, a ceremony for aborted and miscarried fetuses. Over the past...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195371933
• ISBN13: 9780195371932
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.2"