This
is a vinyl serie dedicated to unborn babies...just a delicate prayer
for their souls...
AVAILABLE |
TOR LUNDVALL
: MIZUKO JIZO
(MJ01) aug./2008 - 7" LTD. 350 numbered copies in luxury
manually silk-screened packaging and violet vinyl |


One of
the most beloved of all Japanese divinities, the MIZUKO JIZO
Buddha takes care of and represents stillborn, miscarried and
aborted foetuses. Unique to Japan, the ceremonies surrounding the
jizo were created and developed by women. Over the centuries, the
image of the mizuko jizo has changed, from a dignified, adult
figure, to a serene looking monk-child with a Buddha smile. The jizo
has a double purpose. The image both represents the soul of the
deceased infant/foetus, and is also the deity who takes care of
children on their otherworld journey. The ritual of honouring the
foetus or stillborn is called mizuko kuyo. The word mizuko means
"water child," or "deceased infant/foetus," and kuyo means "memorial
service."
In Japan, water is both an acknowledgement of death and an
expression of faith in some kind of rebirth. When the foetus or
newborn dies, it goes from the warm waters of the womb to its former
liquid state, in which it prepares itself for an eventual rebirth.
Historically, mizuko were buried beneath the floorboards of houses,
where they were thought to mingle with the water of natural springs,
which then carried them to larger bodies of water beneath the
surface of the earth, which held special significance as receptacles
of life.
The most common days for mizuko kuyo are during the three
traditional holidays when offerings are made to ancestors: bon in
the summer, and at the spring and summer equinoxes. The mizuko kuyo
can be performed in different ways. Many Buddhist temples in Japan
have special sections where a woman who can afford to may buy a tomb
for her mizuko. The tomb consists of a stone, on top of which stands
a carved figure of a jizo, generally wearing a red bib, and carrying
a staff with rings or a stick with bells on top (which he uses to
help the mizuko who can't yet walk). On the stone is written a
kaimyo - a name given to a person after death.
These sites are not somber graveyards. In fact, they are often quite
"happy" places. Some of the cemeteries are equipped with playgrounds
for children. While the children play, women (and sometimes men)
bow, observe moments of silence, and ladle water over the mizuko
jizo in an act of ritual cleansing. At times they may light a candle
or a few sticks of incense, decorate the tombs with flowers,
pinwheels and other toys, drape garments over the jizo, and even
erect umbrellas over his head to keep off the rain.
In Japan, abortion is seen as a necessary sorrow, a painful social
necessity, and a means for protecting what are felt to be "family
values." Some Buddhists worry that abortions could become
trivialized, which would lead to a hardening of people's hearts. The
mizuko kuyo serves a positive, therapeutic role, keeping people in
touch with their emotions and their loss.


|