In Japanese, muen kuyo refers to spiritual aid generated in situations where the deceased no longer has any living relatives to provide him or her offerings, as well as to mourning and consolatory practices made on behalf of those who are perceived to have met violent deaths in war, accidents, natural disasters, and other acutely unfortunate circumstances. It is widely known and applied in situations where the spirits of the dead are thought to be suffering (kurushimu shisha). Viewed as a unique, dynamic soteriological system that emerged in East Asia and spread throughout all levels of society, the practices collectively referred to as shisha kuyo ("spiritual aid for the dead") are characterized according to two aspects: A) a focus on filial piety and ancestral duties, and B) concern with spiritual relief for those who have died with lingering regrets or animosity. It is the latter-spiritual relief for suffering spirits, of which muen kuyo is the primary manifestation-that has provided the driving force behind this system as a whole. Building upon a thorough consideration of the structure and historical development of muen kuyo, this paper argues that its inherent musha (unlimited) and mushu (unaided) organic dynamism has provided shisha kuyo practices with the momentum necessary to penetrate greater society.
