Almost one million people die in Japan every year. In other words, people die every 31 seconds. Some people die because of illness. Some people die because of car accident. Some people commit suicide. There are many kinds of death in this world. I believe most of those deaths are disconsolate and absurd. However, the honorable but unbelievable death existed in Japan in the middle ages. We call that hara-kiri. Hara-kiri is basically an act of killing your self by cutting open your stomach with a sword, performed especially by the warrior, to avoid shame or losing honor. Before I start talking about hara-kiri, I need to explain about the history of Japan.
Japanese society has a history of only 120 years since shedding its feudal system. The origin of feudal system is more than 1,000 years ago, so it is still underlying thought of Japanese. Hara-kiri performed especially by the warrior called samurai as indicated above. The samurai were the members of the military class, the Japanese warriors. Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns, but their most famous weapon and their symbol was the sword. Samurai were supposed to lead their lives according to the ethic code of bushido ("the way of the warrior"). Strongly Confucian in nature, Bushido stressed concepts such as loyalty to one's master, self discipline and respectful, ethical behavior.
There are many reasons to commit hara-kiri. For example, after a defeat, some samurai decide to commit hara-kiri rather than being captured or dying a dishonorable death. Japanese culture sometimes called “shame culture” as oppose to the Western “guilt culture.” According to this thought in western countries, the absolute moral standard of guilt is the principle of people’s behavior, but in Japan, the behavior is ruled by the external feeling of shame. Particularly for samurai in the feudal period, being put to shame in public was as good as being dead. These are examples of hara-kiri from Japanese history.
In 1580, Bessho Nagaharu who governed southern part of Japan and his men were cut off from their food supply in a beleaguered castle by their enemy for 20 months. At last, Bessho ran out of provisions. The longer he stayed, the more men were starved to death, and it was a taboo to surrender at that period. However, there was one way to save his men and avoid shame of surrender.
Men must face hardships. Men must face disease. Men must face each other [Parallel]. Men constantly pressure one another into perfection. Some men, however, crumble under the burden looming over their heads [FoS]. When some men cannot face themselves or those around them any longer, they choose a dangerous and deadly escape. They would rather commit suicide than face their hardships. In the japanese culture, society encouraged seppuku to end a life before a man brought dishonor to his family. In a world full of yearning for honor, young men learned that they must express courage through suicide to fulfill their honorable ancestors’ wishes. Gail Tsukiyama uses her novel The Samurai’s Garden to prove that only
Samurai's core value is not humiliating myself. They would even rather end their own lives if they had to put up with humiliation. For example, if their daimyo died or if they lost a battle, they committed seppuku “stomach- or abdomen-cutting”, which is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. They did this to die in honor. Furthermore, Samurai had to follow some rules called “Bushido”,which means “The way of the warriors”. The rules include fidelity, politeness, virility, and simplicity. While, knight's core value is not to commit a sin. Knights often believe killing himself is a sin, this is because of influence of Christianity. They would rather suffer being alive than to commit suicide. Knights also had to follow a set of strict rules called Chivalry, which puts emphasis on justice, loyalty, defense, courage, faith, humility, and nobility.
...h their swords. […] All lived by a code that valued death over defeat. They were the samurai, the elite warrior class who ruled Japan for nearly 700 years, leaving an indelible mark on a land [Japan][…].” (O’Neill 101) This quote taken from a National Geographic publication is one of many others that speak of the tenacity of the samurai. Noble and aggressive, the samurai wield their swords with killing intent, confident that a simple strike from their blades can cause certain death to their foes. This was the primary reason the Katana is made in such a way. It is to create a weapon of absolute destruction. An implement comprising of aspects that symbolize elegance and devastation, the Katana not only is the finest weapon ever made, it is also a beautiful work of art (Yumoto n.p.).
When looking at much of the world’s ethical views and morals today, many of its standards can draw back to that of the samurai. This warrior class of Feudal Japan contributed greatly to the development of social values that people today constantly follow. It is important to look to past events and cultures to enrich the future and the ideals of the samurai are ones that better people in self fulfilling ways. Whether it be to instill positive values to children or applied to become successful in the “real world”, the virtues and morals set forth by the samurai are invaluable teachings that will influence society for many years to come.
Seppuku was first developed in the 12th century as a means for samurai and soldiers to achieve an honorable death (Andrews). Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama is more heroic than his wife Reiko. Shinji’s internal conflict is between taking orders to kill his fellow troops and disobeying the orders from his superior officer. Shinji devotes his life to the Imperial Forces, and is willing to sacrifice his life for them. He struggles with his own personal morals in deciding in what he should do with his conflict. His bravery to go through with the ceremonialist act demonstrates that his actions speak louder than words. Committing suicide is the most honorable way to die.
The Edo Japan period, from 1603-1867, had a violent outlook towards the treatment of their criminals. The Tokugawa shogunate, the last feudal Japanese military government, maintained execution grounds for Edo, and also carried out many of the punishments inflicted on the perpetrators. The death penalty was a direct result of murder and arson. The shogun executed in various ways as seen in source a- these include boiling, burning, crucifixion, sawing, decapitation by sword and waist cutting, whereby you would cut the person in half at the waist. Prior to execution, a criminal would be paraded around the town and their head put on public display if they were executed by decapitation. However, punishments also existed for crimes requiring less severe punishments such as theft and brawls. These crimes were punishable by incarceration or flagellation. A punishment may be modified depending on which class of society you belong in.
Most American citizens remember December 7, 1941 and the significance that the incidents of that day had. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a shock to the United States of America and it engaged our country in the Second World War of that century (Pearl, 2009). Unfortunately, due to that incident, many Americans harbor many negative feelings and attitudes towards the country of Japan. While this is an understandable sentiment, it is unnecessary, because Japan is an influence on not on the United States but the entire world. Throughout this paper, we will look at the country of Japan as many have never viewed them before. Their actions of the past are just that, the past. Japan is a thriving and successful country within our environment and it is in our best interest to understand that country better. Japan, as a culture, is the
The movie shows Samurai as warriors in the Edo period, during the 1800’s. They used a sword called a Kataran and a wakizashi which is a smaller sword, much like a dagger, that was used as a samurai's "honour blade" and never left the samurai's side, this was to protect them from harm and they were all taught a martial art called koryū, (which the character’s practice and some are being taught the martial art) which is the way of the Samurai people. The harakiri is a form of ritual that involves suicide, which was shown in the final battle and the last samurai had to
Kawaii is a fast growing phenomenon worldwide. Kawaii by translation just means cute. This phenomenon first emerged in Japan. The cute culture is so surprising due to the fact that it is so different from the roles and the typical Japanese look which is that of the Japanese Salaryman. It is also extremely different from the lifestyle of the Salaryman. Other than the Kawaii look there have also been various subcultures that have recently emerged that aim to subvert the mainstream culture this include the Gothic Lolita which is the cute look mixed into a goth as well as the Ganguro girl which resembles a Malibu Barbie with light hair and extreme tans.
In Hagakure, a great emphasis is placed on the samurai's approach towards death. The relationship between death and the samurai can not be understated. Death is inevitable, and an honorable death is the most desirable thing a samurai could hope for. The samurai should live his life as though his body is already dead, and through this "he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling". If a samurai lives his life as though his body is already dead, he will have not have to worry about actually dying. Once you have conquered death, the most inevitable and unconquerable part of existence, then you can conquer anything. If a samurai can conquer this most fundamental thing, then he will be successful in reaching his goal. Death is all-encompassing in samurai philosophy, and by understanding this we can make comparisons between the samurai and another important denomination in Japan at the time, the Buddhists.
Many modern and ancient sources explain the Samurai’s view on death. Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a retired samurai scholar in the 18th century, wrote a book called Hagakure, which talks about the connection between the Bushido Code and the death of a Samurai. The book declared, “What is called Bushido is simply choosing death. In general, it means that when the moment of decision comes, you simply act so as to die quickly. There are no complications about it. Set yourself firmly, and dash forward” (Newman 57). It simply says that if the time comes, the Samurai must die for honor. He would either be killed by the other warrior during battle or by his own hand, which is called Seppuku, if he fails. A Samurai is vulnerable in the sense that he is always ready to die. He never knows when the time will come, but he knows that there is a possibility that he might die every time he goes into battle. Other sources also speak about the Samurai’s idea of death. Modern historian L. Frederic wrote a book called Daily Life in Japan at the Time of the Samurai that talks about the suicide of a Samurai. It states, “…defeated by the rebels. I am taking my own life to avenge the wrongs in the Beyond. Learn from my example how a true warrior dies by his own hand when Fate plays him false!” (Frederic 190). This expresses the idea of honorable suicide
Sonzai is constructed from 2 words; son and zai. Son means subjective self-subsistence or sustain over time. Zai means that the subject stays in the same places in which the word “places” refers to social places which consist of human relations, such as home, hotel, inn, etc. By putting these two words together, we get sonzai (human existence) which literally means self-sustenance of human relations. Although sonzai looks similar to ningen, they are quite different. Ningen refers to capability of being an individual and at the same time also being a member of a society. To sum up, ningen is mostly explaining about a person as an individual. Sonzai emphasizes the dynamic structure of human being, such as human relations which concerns about the relationship between one individual to others. However, sonzai can be said as the interconnection of the acts of ningen as sonzai describes what a person (ningen) does to others. According to Watsuji Tetsuo, we can combine both ningen and sonzai becomes “ningen sonzai” which refers to the subject, who is at once individual and social, and to society, who are at once singular and composite (Kalmanson, 2010).
At least 30,000 Japanese have killed themselves every year for the last fourteen years. These rates are significantly higher than those of other industrial countries. They normally are around 24 suicides per every 100,000 people, making it roughly double the rate in the United States, and three times that in the United Kingdom. (Traphagan).
There are many historical aspects of the Japanese, but the most interesting is the history of the Samurai. In Japans history war played a large role in the country. Controlling clans fought for parts of the land and overall control of the country. These clans were powerful families that resided in the country and who all wanted power and control of Japan for themselves. The families that would be in control were known as Shoguns. These shoguns would have warriors that fought for them if any of the other clan families would try to attack him in order to overthrow him and take his power from him. The Samurai followed a code that developed from Chinese beliefs when in battle. The Samurais code was known as the Bushido. This code was also known as “The Way of The Warrior” which was the main belief s...
I believe we can all agree that Japanese samurais and European knights are two of the most skilled and famous forms of warriors in history, right? Well both warriors began their trade at a very young age, and went through multiple stages of training throughout their lives. They both had a code of honor basically, but they differed from one another in quite a few ways. The big question is, “Were the similarities greater than the differences?”. Right off the bat I began to ponder the technicalities of the answer to this question. Before I get too scrambled up in the technicalities, let’s discuss some these differences and the similarities and figure out how this plays out. Before we conduct this discussion, let’s review our key terms. A clan is a group of close-knit and interrelated families. Feudalism was a political and economic system that flourished in Europe from the 9th to the 15th century, based on higher classes giving random services and items in exchange for something else. Knights were men who served their lord as a mounted soldier in armor. Samurai’s were members of a powerful military social class in feudal Japan. A shogun was a hereditary commander-in-chief in feudal Japan. Chivalry was the medieval knightly system with its religious, moral, and social code. Bushido was the code of honor and morals developed by the Japanese samurai.