Mizuko kyuo

Jizo statues at the Zoyoi Buddhist Temple in Tokyo

Mizuko Kyu ( 水 子 供養 , literally “offering for a child of water”) is a Japanese ceremony for parents who have had a miscarriage , stillbirth, or abortion . The practice of mizuko kyё стала has become especially noticeable since the 1970s after the appearance of special places intended for this ritual ^[1] . The reason for the ceremony is parental grief from the loss of an unborn or dead child, a desire to calm the soul of the fetus, guilt for having an abortion and fear of retribution from the dead ^[2] .

The word "mizuko" ("child of water") is used in Japan to refer to a deceased child. Mizuko Kyuo is performed by Buddhist priests and is a sacrifice to Jizo, a bodhisattva who is worshiped as the protector of children. The historical rootedness of this ceremony in Buddhist practice is not traceable; it is a modern adaptation unique to Japan ^[3] . The details of the ritual vary from temple to temple, from school to school, from person to person. In the ceremony, performed once or repeated monthly and annually, both parents or one, not necessarily the mother, can take part ^[2] . During the ceremony, the priest looks at the altar and names various buddhas and bodhisattvas, recites mantras and sutras , and praises Jizo. As a rule, food, drinks, incense and flowers are sacrificed on behalf of the mourned. Temples often offer small stone statues of Jizo for a fee, which are dressed in red bibs and hats and are installed in the temple courtyard at the end of the ceremony ^[4] . Around these statues, grieving parents often pile stones, praying for help for the suffering soul of the child; there are statues of Jizo, from head to toe covered with such pebbles ^[3] .

A similar ritual is also found in modern Taiwan , where it penetrated from Japan in the mid-1970s ^[5] .