Introduction: "Different meanings, different ends" -- "Carried with Jizō Bosatsu" : mizuko kuyō in Japanese-American communities -- "A shadow in the heart" : mizuko kuyō in convert American zen -- "We need to free ourselves" : adaptations of convert mizuko kuyō -- "Branching streams flow on in the dark" : rethinking American Buddhism in light of mizuko kuyō -- "Without biblical revelation" : rhetorical appropriations of mizuko kuyō by Christians and other non-Buddhist Americans -- "Thank you getupgrrl for giving me my mizuko" : therapeutic appropriations of mizuko kuyō by non-Buddhist Americans -- Postscript: "Where is Buddhism?"
Summary
Wilson discusses how Asian immigrants, convert Buddhists, pro-life and pro-choice activists, and ordinary women have imported Japanese rituals to deal with one of the most divisive public issues in American society: abortion. He analyses the implications of these varied appropriations for the Americanisation of Buddhism
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-254) and index