Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in Japan

by William R. LaFleur

Why would a country strongly influenced by Buddhism's reverence for life allow legalized, widely used abortion? Equally puzzling to many Westerners is the Japanese practice of mizuko rites, in which the parents of aborted fetuses pray for the well-being of these rejected "lives." In this provocative investigation, William LaFleur examines abortion as a window on the culture and ethics of Japan. At the same time he contributes to the Western debate on abortion, exploring how the Japanese resolve their conflicting emotions privately and avoid the pro-life/pro-choice politics that sharply divide Americans on the issue.

Genres: Japan, Buddhism, Religion, History, Nonfiction, Anthropology

275 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter, but the author is a ghoul.

[M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book tries to argue, despite the author denying it, that mainstream Japanese Buddhism has the right approach to abortion figured out: first, it acknowledges abortion as homicide, but does not seek to ban it. Secondly, it provides rituals for women to mourn the baby, and this allows to heal and move on. Thirdly, it recognizes that sometimes "abortions are necessary", and therefore he thinks that this is the 'much needed' balance in the 'American' discussion of 'viability' vs. inviolability of life, 'freedom' vs. responsibility, 'pro-choice' vs. pro-life.

Many of his assessments of Christianity are wrong, and as scholar of things Japanese, he tends to be more objective in some passages and too enamoured by the subject he's dedicated his life to, to the point that every time you come across infanticide he'll soften it with "but just as a woman opens her legs to give birth, the midwife would also kill the baby by closing hers, so it's symbollically perfect.

He does good, however to show that Shinto, Confucianism and Buddhism did not coexist in some realm of "Oriental perfection and pacifism" but were at war, that the feminist movement has quite a liberationist view that does not acknowledge trauma from abortion or, in any case, minimizes it way too much. To think he spends pages and pages trying to prove that Japan's supposedly peasant endorsed maximization of quality of life is proper a proper conscietous objection to utilitarianism and that it differs from Malthus' and then he, in the last pages, brings overpopulation to the table is utterly laughable. He even matches most of the horridly commonplace talking points: 'still happens', 'what about the women', 'children are abandoned anyway', ' exclusively wanted children make a better society'...

In other words, madness. Read it for the information, but don't allow yourself to be swayed by yet another abortion enthusiast.

[Caelan Stafford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the content of this book, especially seeing the differences in how the Japanese and western cultures view life, death, and the differences in perception of a fetus/newborns' humanity (inherently human at conception vs earning humanity the longer they live in the human realm, etc).

However, the voice of the author is annoying and comes off as elitist. Using non-English and complicated words/phrasing that have a more easily understandable equivalent doesn't make you sound smart, it makes you sound like a prick. This book often reads like listening to someone who really likes the sound of their own voice and it pissed me off. The author's phrasal and word choice disrupts the flow of reading and convolutes the content of this book. Furthermore, so does the long paragraphs of the author arguing with imagined scholars about the ‘civility’ of Japanese society or unnecessarily bringing up Western philosophy. It is important to understand Western bias as it permeates most academic circles and discussions, especially those on religion, but one concise paragraph would’ve achieved the same more efficiently.

If anything, devoting so much space trying to disprove such stupid views can work to further legitimize them as a perspective worthy of discussion in the mind of the reader. Not only that, in a way the author is hypocritical for constantly bringing up Western philosophy to explain non-western phenomena! I get you want to draw comparisons and what not, but I don't need to learn about fucking Malthus to understand the practice of Mabiki, William! I doubt government officials in the Edo period were reading fucking Malthus when they came up with their reasoning, William!

[Mae Langston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book to read, especially with everything currently going on in the United States.
With so much debate occurring regarding abortion, this book provides a completely distinct interpretation. The Japanese and Buddhist perspective on abortion intertwines both religious beliefs and societal norms/ expectations. In a way, it was both reassuring and upsetting to read about how this topic is consistently controversial across countries. The concept of Mizuko specifically is addressed and highlights the understanding of life even prior to the birthing stage, and offers an interesting ethical and biological debate. In regards to the content of the book, this is an example of comparative religious studies that specifically highlights moral and social dilemmas. That being said, the structure of the book is challenging to follow. It is also expected that the reader must make broad connections across ideas, and boldly and consistently asserts the authors’ beliefs. This is interesting to read if you enjoy religious studies and/ or moral and ethical topics but otherwise is a quite dense and opinionated piece.

[maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5) This book gave a good look into the history of abortion in Japan, its roots in indigenous and Buddhist ideas, and how those factored into contemporary belief and action on the subject. Though its organization left some things to be desired and there seemed a tendency to sometimes stray towards subjectivity or tangents, the comparisons brought in between Japanese ideas on abortion and those of other religions and societies at different points in time did in most cases help illuminate the greater-scale point La Fleur wanted to make. In my opinion, the final section of the book did the best job of analyzing in detail the practices associated with abortion, mizuko and tatari. I also felt, however, that the book gave the impression that Shinto and Buddhism are much more separate in daily life than is the case. Although the presentation of information felt slow or unnecessary at times, the ideas presented in this book were interesting and, I feel, could be relevant in the modern world.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an interesting read especially because of how it connects to the abortion topic in recent news. The book takes the reader through a deep dive into the history of abortion in Japan and its connection to more modern thought on the topic. The writing was easy to follow and engaging. I thought the comparisons between the Western hemisphere and Japan’s opinion on abortion were insightful and have a place within the topic of abortion today. In the US, the debate over abortion has been reduced to the two sides arguing whether or not it’s “all good” or “all bad”. The practice of Mizuko kuyō recognizes that it can be a traumatic experience for a person, while also communicating that it was the right decision for them. I liked this book and I agree that other countries could benefit from learning more about the ideologies of Mizuko kuyō.

[Ziwen Guo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rather hard book to comment on, especially when the topic of abortion has been on the news for the past year or so, albeit mostly within the U.S., and the from the perspective of the westerners. I think this book has been informative: it has contained a lot of information that I would have otherwise never considered or even thought about, as I am not part of that culture. In fact, it might’ve been a bit too informative. It feels like the author has been constantly citing different scholars and, often opposing, opinions, and following the content of specific subtitles has been hard for me. To me, it feels like an enormous amount of information has been dumped on me, and it is my job to connect the dots through the comments the author made along the way, which made it hard for me to grasp, at times, the focus of some chapters.

[Joshua]

This book provides an interesting insight into a facet of Japanese society that I was not formerly aware of. The basis of the Japanese society on Buddhist values of life clashes in a fascinating way with the concept of abortion. It is interesting that the rituals discussed in the book take on the assumption that a fetus is, in fact, a separate individual and decide to honor it. As a westerner this is a very interesting take because I am used to seeing only two sides, those who thing abortion is wrong because it kills a person, and those who think it isn’t wrong because they believe a fetus is not a person yet. The idea that the people performing the rituals regard abortion as ending a life but decide to do it anyways is strange. The book provides an insightful look into these practices.

[Max Cioci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very detailed in the history of abortion in Japan and the attitudes around it. I learned a lot about a subject I had little prior knowledge of. A particularly interesting part was when La Fleur discussed the Buddhist rationalization of abortion, and how Buddhist beliefs can be used to justify their ethicality. I thought it was pretty relevant to the current climate around abortion in the US, where religious beliefs also often become entangled with opinions on abortion. Christian beliefs are commonly used to argue against abortion in the US, but reading this book made me wonder if Christianity could be argued somehow in its favor as well. Overall, a very informative and thought provoking read.

[Nicholas Williamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm very polarized when it comes to reading this.

For one, the book is rather informative on the subject matter. It's rather interesting but I suppose that personal bias does sway into the feeling that I have towards the whole book. Although being more accustomed to the western viewpoint of abortions, I would like to believe that I can branch out and see other viewpoints and take them into consideration.

I would like to say, informatively, it's a decent book, but if you're someone who is more leaning towards a pro-life sort of view, this might have some negative impacts in the way you perceive it.

[Maddie Nosek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Truthfully, I have never heard or seen anyone discuss, describe or depict abortion in any other way than the Western views. However, I found this book to be full of the authors biased opinions. I mean it is his book so he can write what he wants to, I just found him to be very objective in some sections. While his comparisons to other religions helped provide a better understanding of some of his points I found that some of his statements, specifically pertaining to Christianity, were just incorrect. The writing overall was easy, but at some points fell flat and was kind of boring. But I guess the point was to be informative not super interesting so…

[Elvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides an investigation into the Japanese perspective on the issue of abortion, with a focus on how Japanese religion, primarily Buddhism, reconciles different ethical views towards the matter and how these ideas can be incorporated into the American debate. Throughout the book there are comparative analyses between Japanese Buddhism and Christianity, Japanese and Western society, and the way these collectives view life, death, and the afterlife. The author provides a detailed overview and history of Buddhism and abortion in Japan, but at the same time he has a tendency to dwell on specific concepts and mention topics that are tangentially related at best.

[Lacee Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though the fight for safe, legal abortions has always been important, its prevalence within the US has skyrocketed with the threat of overturning Roe v. Wade. I’m very glad I was exposed to this book when I was, and I’ll be recommending it to others. This book allows one to get perspective on the matter of abortion from outside the Western narrative, making for a really interesting read. Though the writing can come across a bit pretentious at times, I personally had no problems getting through this book. The ideas were reflective of other aspects of Japanese culture that I’ve become familiar with, while also highlighting a very important issue.

[Nikko Sakakimori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a rather difficult book to read, given the way the author presents his arguments. The tone of some of his statements takes on a very opinionated theme, and can sometimes come off as somewhat arrogant. Still, however, the author provides a fair bit of information and background for the concept of abortion in Japanese society, if albeit, a little ham-fisted in his delivery, and provides the historical backdrop and context that can be helpful in engaging with a few of his statements. In all, though this book was a very interesting read for me, it may be very controversial and galvanising to certain parts elements of society, and thus I find it somewhat difficult to recommend easily.

[Sophia Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating.

[Sue Caulfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was actually surprised at how much I liked this book. I found it very interesting, and it even changed my perspective on abortion.