Symbolic subject, subjected symbol: Mizuko Kuyo, gender and the social order in Japan
The term mizuko kuyo describes a relatively new (mid-19th century) Japanese ritual performed by women who have had abortions or have lost infants in childbirth. The ritual, which takes place in Shinto, Buddhist, new- and new-new-religious settings, involves propitiatory offerings to the bodhisattva...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Carfax Publ.
[1996]
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| In: |
Journal of contemporary religion
Year: 1996, Volume: 11, Issue: 1, Pages: 57-67 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | The term mizuko kuyo describes a relatively new (mid-19th century) Japanese ritual performed by women who have had abortions or have lost infants in childbirth. The ritual, which takes place in Shinto, Buddhist, new- and new-new-religious settings, involves propitiatory offerings to the bodhisattva Jizo, believed to be the protector both of the pregnancy-childbirth process, and of fetuses and infants themselves. This study classifies the existing literature on mizuko kuyo according to Robert Wuthnow's (1981) consistency-coherence typology. Following a re-examination of English-language primary source literature based on Caroline Walker Bynum's (1986) gendered structural-symbolic methodology, it offers a reinterpretation of the ritual process, which suggests that mizuko kuyo rituals do not signal a more egalitarian relationship between the sexes, but rather serve to reinforce traditional Japanese gender roles. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-9419 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of contemporary religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13537909608580755 |