Summary of the December 19 Special Lecture
"Family Planning, Abortion and the Buddhist Cult of Jizoh.",
by Prof. R.J. Zwi Werblowsky
The Dutch Ambassador, Mr. Roland van den Berg, invited members to a special
meeting held at his residence to give them a chance to hear his house guest,
Professor R.J. Zwi Werblowsky. The lecture was arranged at very short notice
to take advantage of the presence in Japan of this eminent scholar from
Israel, and was announced at the regular December meeting and through the
newspapers.
Professor Werblowsky began by saying that in his study of new religions
he had now found a new one in Japan that cut horizontally across all segments
of society - that of "mizuko kuyoh", the placation of the souls
of aborted babies. Unlike many other nations, Japan is not concerned about
a population explosion, but rather has to face the problem of having a dwindling
working force supporting an aging population. The statistics showed that
after a steady growth in the population from 55 million in 1920 to 117 million
in 1980, there had been a marked falling off in the rate, to 121 million
in 1985, 123 million in 1990, and 124 million in 1991. And this was in spite
of the fact that, of the two million live births in 1920, there were 335,000
infant deaths, whereas in 1991 there were only 5,000 infant deaths out of
one million live births.
The decline in the birth rate is a clear reflection of family planning,
which in Japan takes a different form from that found in other developed
nations. In most countries, contraception is the rule, now based mainly
on the use of the "pill", but in Japan abortion is the usual method.
(Speaking personally, Professor Werblowsky said that he considered the former
the more moral method, and added that his comments on Japanese practice
must necessarily be subjectively coloured.) The prevalence of abortions,
of which some women might have four or five, was due to the fact that the
medical "mafia" had brain-washed the authorities into banning
importation of the pill as being dangerous. There was also an alarming increase
in abortions by college and high school girls, pointing to a lack of sexual
education. In this connection, he felt that the number of abortions showing
up in the official statistics probably only represented 10-20 percent of
the true number. Thus, whereas the number of spontaneous fetal deaths (miscarriages,
stillbirths) had fallen to 22,000 in 1991 from 100,000 in 1950, the artificially
induced deaths were reported as 110,000 in 1950 and 30,000 in 1991, though
in his view the latter figure should probably come out as something closer
to 200,000.
Where did religion come into the picture? Professor Werblowsky had noted
the recent affluence of the Buddhist temples as seen in the widespread rebuilding
taking place. Where did they get their money from? It could not be simply
from performing funerals, which was the traditional source of income. The
answer lay in the recent upsurge in the performance of "kuyoh"
(ceremonies for the repose of a soul) for aborted fetuses. (Traditional
forms of "kuyoh" are the "hashi kuyoh" and "hari
kuyoh" for old chopsticks and needles which are thrown away.) According
to Buddhist belief, the soul goes to "jigoku" after death. This
is usually translated as 'hell', but is in fact a 'purgatory', as the soul
only stays there until it is reincarnated (which may be a long time, if
a lot of purging is needed'). But there are also restless, wandering souls
who cannot be reborn, and these become vengeful spirits, who are believed
to bring misfortune upon the living. An early example of this in Japanese
history was Sugawara Michizane, who was exiled to Kyushu by the Fujiwara
family who dominated the throne. When Kyoto was struck by a series of disasters,
these were ascribed to his soul and a "kuyoh" was performed to
pacify his spirit (and he was elevated to a "kami", whereupon
the disasters ceased. The aborted embryos and fetuses, known as "mizuko",
are supposed to be similar wandering souls who will turn vengeful. The old
temple registers have records of "kuyoh" performed for "mizuko"
and at first Professor Werblowsky thought he had found evidence of the antiquity
of abortions in Japan. But a closer inspection revealed that the word "mizuko"
was used in the old days to mean any child dying young (including the stillborn);
it is only since 1960 that it has acquired its present limited meaning.
Under the "yuusei hogo hoh" (eugenic protection act) abortions
are not illegal in Japan, and in fact you find doctors advertising them.
So also temples now advertise "mizuko kuyoh", as a means of preventing
illness and misfortune striking the family. It is a kind of psychological
blackmail, preying on innumerable unfortunate women who have been traumatized
by having abortions, and it is giving temples a bad name for profiteering.
Another modern phenomenon is the erection of Jizoh statues for aborted fetuses.
Jizoh is the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, who is the guardian of children ("kosodate
Jizoh"), and also saves the wandering souls of the "mizuko".
Many Jizoh statues can be seen in the Zohjohji, for example, and until ten
years ago there were many "kosodate Jizoh" banners, but these
have now been taken away, as Jizoh is now specifically identified as the
saviour of aborted embryos and fetuses. The traditional form of statue shows
Jizoh with a staff in one hand and a jewel in the other, but Professor Werblowsky
had made the interesting discovery that in several temples there were now
pictures and statues of Jizoh holding a uterus containing an embryo instead
of a jewel. The number of reported abortions was going down, which might
perhaps point to a greater use of contraception. But judging from the number
of Jizoh statues and the medical advertising Professor Werblowsky supposed
that recourse to abortion was still disturbingly prevalent.
Adapted
from "The Asiatic Society of Japan Bulletin No. 1", January 1995,
and "The Asiatic Society of Japan Bulletin No. 2", February 1995,
compiled by Hugh Wilkinson.
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