TY - JOUR T1 - Internet Accessibility of the Mizuko Kuyo (Water-Child Ritual) in Modern Japan: A Case Study in Weberian Rationality JF - Sociological Focus Y1 - 2013 A1 - Mieko Yamadaa A1 - Anson Shupea KW - Buddhist KW - children KW - infants KW - Japan KW - memorial service KW - mizuko kuyo KW - New Religious KW - religion KW - Ritual KW - Shinto KW - Spirituality KW - websites AB - The mizuko kuyo is a Japanese (Buddhist, Shinto, New Religious, other) memorial service for infants or young children who have died through some misfortune, including disease, miscarriage, and, increasingly, elective abortion. Indeed, abortion is the predominant form of contraception for many Japanese families. Here we consider, in Weberian terms of the rationalization of institutions, how Internet accessibility and its created virtual reality of the mizuko kuyo has driven its popularity along the dimensions of privatization, bureaucratization, and commodification in decisions to perform the ritual by Internet. We utilize a sample of Tokyo mizuko kuyo Web sites and the contexts of their advertisements and available services for mizuko kuyo, including fee structures and other advertising “lures,” to analyze this merging of traditional and modern technological paths of spirituality along Weberian theoretical lines. VL - 46 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00380237.2013.796833#.Ul1LyVCsim5 IS - 3 ER -