Flowing initiation

One of the rites for the dead. As the song goes, "If I die in childbirth, I'll be in the bloody pond of hell, please give me water, Mizusegaki," this is a curse-like event based on the Buddhist teaching that the spirits of women who die in difficult childbirth fall into the bloody pond and suffer. It is also called "washing and drying" or "water-sprinkling memorial service," and involves setting up four stakes or bamboo poles at the water's edge, stretching a cloth over it, and having passersby pour water over it with a ladle. It is said that the spirit of the deceased will attain nirvana when the red color of the cloth or the characters of the sutra written on the cloth disappear. There are also cases where ropes or cloths are thrown into the river. Kanjo was originally a ritual of rebirth from a layperson to a clergyman, similar to Christian baptism, by pouring water on the head. There are also water-sprinkling ceremonies and weddings, and each rite of passage has the meaning of rebirth into the next stage. Death at birth is an unpredictable misfortune, but by incorporating Buddhist rituals and the rebirth magic that is the basis for these rituals, and adding several additional elements, this is an act that seeks to resurrect the deceased in paradise.

[Shoji Inoguchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

死者儀礼の一つ。「産で死んだら血の池地獄、あげておくれよ水施餓鬼(みずせがき)」という歌があるように、難産で死んだ女性の霊は血の池に落ちて苦しむという仏説に基づき、その霊を救済しようとする呪(じゅ)的な行事。洗い晒(ざら)し、水かけ供養などともいい、水辺に4本の杭(くい)や竹を立てて布を張っておき、通りがかりの人に柄杓(ひしゃく)で水をかけてもらう。赤い布の色や、布に書いた経句の文字が消えると、死者の霊が成仏(じょうぶつ)するという。川に縄や布を流す例もある。灌頂は本来、頂(いただき)（頭）に水を灌(そそ)ぐことで、キリスト教の洗礼と同じく、俗人から聖職に生まれ変わる儀礼であった。成人式や婚礼にも水祝儀(しゅうぎ)などがあり、通過儀礼の折々に次の段階に生まれ変わる意味がある。産死は予測できない不幸であるが、仏教儀礼やその元になった再生の呪術を取り込み、さらにいくつかの要素を加えて、極楽浄土(ごくらくじょうど)に再生させようとする行為である。

［井之口章次］

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