Comparing Lindemann's 'The Bee And The Architect'

After World War 2 a practice and ceremony developed among Japanese women called Mizuko Kuyo. Mizuko Kuyo or “water child memorial service” is a Japanese ceremony honoring fetuses that were aborted, stillborn, or lost during pregnancy; the Mizuko jizo. The Japanese ceremony originated from Japanese belief of liquid life. Liquid life is the idea that aborted or lost fetus return to the water and wait to rejoin the Earth. During the ceremony people, especially women, pray to and adorn small statues that resemble a child or a small monk. The chanting and praying during the ceremony helps women make peace with their lost child, show moral remorse, and gain closure. Although rooted in Buddhist beliefs of Mizuko jizo, leech child, and liquid life …show more content…
Lindemann would agree with the ceremony because it recognizes the fetus as a liminal being and it removes some of the moral remorse and social stigma of abortion experience in the United States. One of Lindemann’s main point in the chapter was the identity of a fetus. In Japanese culture fetuses, especially Mizuko jizo, are not labeled as babies. They are not giving the rights, soul, or autonym that a full child has. This is parallel to Lindemann’s idea of the fetus. Both the ritual and the Lindemann recognize that the fetus is a liminal being. Also, like Lindemann the ritual respect the fetus. Lindemann does not totally forget about the fetus or display it as only biology. The ceremony does the same by honoring the fetus through prayer and the statues. Lindemann would also appreciate the social ramifications of the ceremony. The Mizuko Kuyo ceremony creates less moral remorse for women who experience abortions or miscarriages. It also creates less of a stigma for abortion through cultural acceptance. This is also Lindemann’s goal by changing the conversation about abortion from a gender bias laws and ideas about