Essay on Samurais and Honorable Suicide - 1592 Words

Death, its such an unexpected thing that happens to everyone at some point in their life. Some people die old, some go young. Others go without warning, just disappear from our lives without explanation. No letter, note or goodbye, they just leave us to never return. Death, or in this situation suicide, where you may never know why they did it. Just left with loose ends that will never be tied up. For others its a glorious thing, they accept it as a way of life or something that has to be done to â€Å"save† them or their family. Suicide is looked at differently in a particular cultures compared to how other cultures do. The samurais see it as honor to them or their loved ones after dishonoring them. To them its not something to be feared but†¦show more content†¦This might seem absolutely outrageous to most people but in Japan this was a respected decision that Kenzo made. When the village found out kenzo had died they closed off his shop and covered his body. There was a ceremony held in his honor to remember him as the great man he was. Kenzo was respected for the decision to take his life, they understood why he did what he did and didn’t question a thing about it. The japanese are not like most people when it comes to suicide, they accept and understand the actions of that person. Larissa MacFarquhar gives a great example of how the Japanese view suicide in their culture: The idea there is that one can take responsibility for the situation of your life by committing suicide. If, say, you are the wage earner of a family and you are in unrecoverable debt, you can commit suicide, and the thought is that that is an honorable way out, that rather than evading your responsibility, youve taken responsibility. Youve admitted it is my fault, and Im going to punish myself for it. (Larissa MacFarquhar) This quote gives a very good description of how the japanese think when it comes to committing suicide. She explains that they think if theyre in a stuck position like being in debt that you can commit suicide and you will be seen as taking the honorable way out Honor has always been a big part of the japanese culture. Especially back in the days of theShow MoreRelatedBushido Shoshinshu ( Code Of The Samurai821 Words   |  4 PagesBushido Shoshinshu (Code of the Samurai) Seppuku (Harakiri): The Samurai Bushido, was the code of honor which these warriors lived and died by. Under the code of Bushido, Seppuku (Harakiri) was the manner by which a Samurai voluntarily committed a ritualistic suicide. If you have read or viewed â€Å"The Last Samurai† then you know that the context goes into explicit details of this ceremony. Essentially, when a Samurai is in danger of being taken by an enemy, has lost in battle and is shamed by defeatRead MoreThe Fine Art of Seppuku997 Words   |  4 PagesSeppuku is a Japanese suicide ritual. It is a â€Å"unique phenomenon only existing in Japan† (Li Jian-jun). â€Å"The word seppuku comes from the words setsu ‘to cut’ and fuku ‘abdomen’† (Kallie Szczepanski). This exquisite ritual was most common in the samurai, it gave the samurai an honorable death, and honor was the most important thing to a samurai. Samurai means â€Å"one who serves† and his main duty was to give faithful servic e to his feudal lord (Kallie Szczepanski). Seppuku is a stylized and strict ritualizedRead More The Samurai and the Bushido Code Essay1016 Words   |  5 Pages The samurai were à ©lite warriors in Japan during the 1200’s to the early 1700’s. Fifth century Japan saw conflicts with Korea and China, but Japan had a very untrained army, with a clumsy Calvary, and poor infantry men (Blumberg 1). The reason was that horses were seen as a burden and were never bred to be strong, fast, and large for war purposes (Blumberg 2). In the 6th and 9th centuries, a series of rebellions in Japan began from the Emishi people of the northern home islands; these country peopleRead MoreUnderstanding Attitudes On Suicide During The United States And Japan Among Youth898 Words   |  4 Pagesthis research project, I aim to better understand attitudes on suicide in the United States and Japan among youth (approx. 15-24 years). I hope to find an answer to the question of, how understanding the similarities and differences between both American and Japanese youth suicide can lead to a better understanding of how to combat this issue as a whole. Learning from both the successes and failures of each country’s history with suicide will also prove vital in understanding the environmental factorsRead MoreSuicide And The World War II2217 Words   |  9 PagesAbstract: Suicide is prevalent in many countries, but the majority of these cases are hidden away because of the stigmas associated with suicide. In other countries though, suicide has been and may still be revered as an honorable act, the sacrifice of oneself for an important reason. This self-sacrifice is most prevalent is the Japanese culture, where these ritualistic suicides were seen in the codes of samurai to the kamikazes of World War II. The rates of suicide have been increasing over theRead MoreThe Morality Of Suicide Throughout The Ages1697 Words   |  7 PagesThe Morality of Suicide Throughout the Ages â€Å"Every man has the right to risk his own life in order to preserve it. Has it ever been said that a man who throws himself out the window to escape from a fire is guilty of suicide?† This quote, by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, notes very clearly that suicide may be justifiable in certain situations, but society generally doesn’t define this type of act as suicide because of the stigma associated with the word itself. Suicide can be more than just killing oneselfRead MoreThe On People s Daily Lives1320 Words   |  6 Pageswould be promoting thrift during wartime, encouraging people to go to the hospital to visit the wounded soldiers, reminding people to keep healthy so that they could contribute more to the nation, glorifying Japan and its emperor, stressing the honorable legends of the Japanese nation, and instilling the Bushido, or â€Å"the way of the warriors† (Horner, 23) For example, kamishibai â€Å"Bokura no chikai† (â€Å"Our Promise†) and â€Å"O-rusuban† (â€Å"Home Alone†) depict how children should behave when they are left aloneRead MoreMusuis Story1612 Words   |  7 PagesStory is a samurai s autobiography that portrays the Tokugawa society as it was lived during Katsu Kokichi s life (1802 - 1850). Katsu Kokichi (or Musui) was a man born into a family with hereditary privilege of audience with the shogun, yet he lived a life unworthy of a samurai s way, running protection racket, cheating, stealing, and lying. Before we discuss how Musui s lifestyle was against the codes that regulated the behavior of the samurai, it is essential that the role of the samurai in JapaneseRead MoreThe Lie Of Bushido And The Hidden Blade1852 Words   |  8 Pagesof Bushido in The Hidden Blade Two samurai face each other, both bound by a code of honor to fight to the death. This code is Bushido the ancient honor system of the samurai. It emphasized eight important virtues that all samurai must live by. These virtues include Rectitude, courage, benevolence, politeness, honesty, honor, loyalty, and character. Any failure to follow these virtues resulted in the need to commit seppuku or Hara-kiri, which was honorable suicide. The Hidden Blade demonstrates theRead MoreHonor-Shame Code in The Tale of the Heike Essay1395 Words   |  6 Pagesopponent by exiling him, insulting him, or even taking revenge upon him. Because being defeated was shameful, warriors would kill themselves before being killed by the opponent. If a warrior failed in his duty, suicide would be the necessary measure taken to regain honor. Not only could suicide be a way to gain honor, it could also be a way to shame someone. If you prohibit your enemy from killing himself (exiling him) then you have shamed him. It was the warriors’ duty in Heike to fight, even if they