Text: Rui Zhiyue
Edited by Rui Zhiyue
Behind the seemingly contradictory behavior of the Japanese wandering samurai who had a unique view of life and death, they liked to slash others with a knife, but also chose to commit suicide with a knife when they were in self-denial, and behind this seemingly contradictory behavior was their deep understanding of tradition and faith.
Bushido is a belief in the bones of the Japanese, they believe that death is a glory, the highest reward for loyalty and courage, therefore, suicide by disembowelment has become a part of their lives, the ultimate expression of the spirit of bushido.
It is said that a samurai can survive for 6 hours and up to 3 days without outside intervention after seppuku. This pain is far beyond our imagination, and people may wonder why the Japanese are so obsessed with this method, even though it is full of pain and suffering.
01
History of seppuku
Historically, suicide by caesarean section has become a highly regarded form of suicide due to its strict and standardized rituals, but this method of death is not perpetrated by everyone, and there are strict rules for caesarean suicide.
Ordinary civilians were not eligible for this kind of criminal law, only the upper class samurai had it, and the specifications of caesarean section varied depending on the class.
The history of samurai caesarean section originated in 1156 A.D. during the Hogen Rebellion, and was continued in the actions of Minamoto and Iga Judge Mitsuki, among others, with Sato Tadanobu becoming the pioneer of the tradition of caesarean section, and Iga Judge Mitsuki, who created the honor of "serving belly".
Asano, the lord of the Ako Domain, committed suicide by disembowelment, sparking a shocking "epic of Tadada", in which 47 samurai determined to avenge Asano's revenge, and after killing all their enemies, all samurai committed suicide by disembowelment, an act that was praised by the Japanese as the "epic of Tadashi".
Not only men, but also Japanese women have left a strong footprint in caesarean sections, and records show that in the more than 100 years since the Meiji Restoration alone, more than 200 cases of female caesarean sections have been performed.
In 1372, Takeda Nobumitsu's daughter committed suicide by caesarean section for her husband's defeat, beginning the history of female caesarean section.
In Japanese history, many celebrities have left a deep mark on their caesarean sections, from the "chasing abdomen" in which Hojo Nakatoki led 432 people to caesarean section at the same time, to the caesarean section of General Nogi Noshinori and his wife in 1912 in front of the statue of Emperor Meiji, and then to the suicide of writer Yukio Mishima by caesarean section in 1970, these events are shining brightly in Japanese history.
Suicide by caesarean section was not common in Japan, but was a ritual performed among the samurai class, and in a rationalized system, the specifications of caesarean section were different depending on the status and status of the samurai.
This ritual was regarded as a solemn and noble act, and the common people were not allowed to accept the punishment of disembowelment, which also indicated the peculiarity of their status.
Suicide by caesarean section was both a solemn ritual in Japanese history and, to a certain extent, an aesthetic symbol, which was seen as "the purest act of aestheticism in Japan" because of its aesthetic expression, reflecting the intermingling of cultures and the times.
Records of suicide by caesarean section gradually dwindled until 2001, when Japan's former Tokyo Olympic judo heavyweight champion Ko Inokuma became the last known suicide by caesarean section, marking the end of an era.
Japan's tradition of caesarean has a rich and profound historical connotation, from the rituals of the samurai to the evolution of culture, and it has left a profound imprint on Japanese society.
02
Caesarean section during World War II
As time passed, the form of seppuku suicide gradually improved, no longer just suicide, and emphasized the sublimation of the soul, but also gradually took into account those who watched their own death.
In fact, seppuku is not as simple as we think, the first thing is to stab the knife into the stomach, and then the knife is stabbed from left to right, at this time, in fact, according to the previous tradition, it has already ended.
But generally at this time, people are not dead, and there are many rules before death, you must keep calm, let's say, it really proves the sentence "Death must face and live to suffer." ”
Although the samurai wanted to express their determination to end their lives through seppuku, in practice, they were still worried about the prolonged bloodshed and painful torture, so they added an "assistant" to the wrong person.
The existence of the wrong person has become the third step of seppuku, in order to make the person who commits suicide end the pain as soon as possible, but not everyone can be the wrong person.
It is necessary to have a good throat cutting technique, and when cutting the throat of the deceased by the wrong person, it is necessary to pay attention to the speed and accuracy of the deceased, but it is not possible to cut off the head, so the "wrong person" is an indispensable role in the seppuku ceremony.
Interestingly, some of these intermediaries were another comrade-in-arms of the samurai after seppuku, while others were family members, both to speed up the execution and to avoid humiliation by others.
During the war in Japan, the idea that a defeated samurai was allowed to cut his own belly was regarded as an honor bestowed by the enemy, and the book "Bushido" clearly stated that it was shameful to be defeated and captured, and that the samurai had a conscience and that only through seppuku could the shame be washed away, and this idea was deeply rooted in the samurai spirit, and this tradition has been preserved by Japanese soldiers until modern times.
Suicide by disembowelment became a symbol of the spirit of bushido in Japan, and many samurai regarded it as the highest honor, and in feudal times, samurai were more willing to choose disembowelment when they were executed, which was regarded as the most honorable way to die.
After the end of World War II, the Japanese general Anami Yukiji ended his life by disembowelment, becoming the first high-ranking general to commit suicide by seppuku after the war.
However, as time went on, the tradition faded away, and after the war, cases of samurai committing suicide by disembowelment became increasingly rare.
03
Pay attention to etiquette
During the Kamakura shogunate, samurai seppuku courses were compulsory, but the predecessors' horizontal sword was criticized by later generations for being too hasty.
In the eyes of people at that time, self-judgment was not only a suicidal act, but also concentrated and noble, so the samurai class stipulated that before seppuku must be groomed, bathed and changed, just like the ritual sense of the ancient royal family in the mainland before eating fast and reciting Buddha.
After all the preparations are done, it is not just a simple suicide when the laparotomy is completed, it is also necessary to have a fixed posture, and the body is slightly leaned forward during the caesarean section, so that the internal organs and blood in the stomach will not flow everywhere.
And it is important to stay conscious and keep your eyes closed when committing suicide, because in their opinion, only true warriors will not be afraid of death, and this cumbersome norms and etiquette make seppuku a highly ritualized bloody stage.
Caesarean section is not a simple suicide, but a ritual death performance, and the Japanese believe that caesarean section is a ritual act, and the different methods of caesarean section, knife techniques, and the help of "the wrong person" all reflect the solemnity and absurdity of this death ritual.
The Edo period witnessed the gradual completion of the caesarean section, and various Japanese documents have detailed regulations on the various aspects of caesarean section, and the elaborate procedures and the elaborate etiquette made the suicide process a highly ritualized expression, which also provided the stage for symbolic caesarean sections such as the "fan belly" in the future.
There are more than 60 words dedicated to suicide in Japan, which provide a glimpse of the unique moral evaluation of suicide in Japan, which reflects the complex attitudes towards suicide in Japan since ancient times, and the profound influence of this culture on Japanese society.
The tradition of caesarean section is a unique feature in the history of Japanese culture, and it is both a bloody tragedy and a solemn ritual on the stage of history.
04
The subtlety of thought
The samurai chose cross-shaped wounds for the sake of beauty, and the cruelty of this process can be imagined, but the spirit of bushido requires them to remain calm in the midst of pain and show a calm attitude towards death.
In Japanese culture, the human soul is believed to reside in the belly, and the samurai chose the simple and convenient way of disemboweling the soul to display it.
Even if the process was painful, for the samurai, the pain of the body was insignificant compared to the joy of the soul, and suicide by caesarean section became a form of expression of adherence to the spirit of bushido, a profound interpretation of the philosophy of life.
Samurai have a special identity in Japanese culture, and any mistake is considered a shame, and in order to save their self-esteem, they choose to commit suicide by disembowelment, showing this sense of honor to the world.
This return of self-esteem also became the only way to solve problems, and both samurai and commoners used the difference between life and death as the ultimate way to demonstrate loyalty and courage.
In the era of bushido, only dying on the battlefield was considered a samurai death, and in order to avoid being captured by the enemy, samurai chose to commit suicide by disembowelment.
In this way, they believed that dying on the battlefield with the highest etiquette showed the ultimate courage, and the act of disembowelment became a symbol of the samurai's loyalty to his master, a glorious declaration of the concept of life and death.
The Japanese concept of death was also deeply influenced by religious beliefs, with Buddhism and Shinto seeing life and death as part of the natural cycle of reincarnation, and death as liberation and the process of unification.
This religious roots have led the Japanese to have a unique quest for death, viewing the magnificent death as a form of eternal life, which is also deeply expressed in their cultural philosophy.