by Manjit Handa
Ever wondered if suicide could be respectful? Seppuku, (pronounced Sape-puu-kuu) the Japanese formal language term for ritual suicide Hara-kiri (pronounced Har-rah-kee-ree), was an integral aspect of feudal Japan (1192-1868).
It developed as an integral part of the code of bushido. Bushido refers to the moral code principals that developed among the Samurai (military) class of Japan, on the basis of a national tradition influenced by Zen and Confucianism. The first use of the term apparently came into being during the civil war of 16th century and its precise content varied historically as Samurai standards evolved. The one unchanging ideal however was the martial spirit that included athletic/military skills and a fearless confrontation of the enemy in battle. Apart from that frugal living, kindness and honesty were highly looked upon. Like Confucianism, Bushido required filial piety; but, originating in the feudal system, it also believed that the supreme honor was to serve one's lord unto death. If these obligations were unfulfilled, the Samurai was bound by loyalty to his lord in spite of the suffering he might cause to his parents.
The final validation of the Bushido thought occurred during the Tokugawa period (17th century), when Yamaga Soko (1622-85) equated the Samurai with the Confucian "superior man" and qualified that his essential function was to set an example of virtue to the lower classes. Without disregarding the basic Confucian virtue of benevolence, Soko emphasized a second virtue, righteousness, which he interpreted as "obligation" or "duty". According to this strict code of honor, obedience to authority was stressed, but duty came first even if it entailed violation of law. In such an instance, a true Samurai would prove his sincerity and expiate his crime against the government by subsequently ending his own life.
By the mid-19th century, Bushido standards had become a general ideal, and the legal abolition of the Samurai class in 1871 made Bushido even more the property of the entire nation. With the emperor replacing the feudal lord, the authority demanding loyalty and sacrifice, Bushido became the foundation of ethical training. As such, it contributed both to the rise of Japanese nationalism and the strengthening of wartime civilian morale up to 1945.
Common to Bushido and the discipline of the Samurai warrior class, Hara-kiri, which literally means "stomach cutting”, is a particularly painful method of self-destruction. Prior to the emergence of the Samurai as a professional warrior class, it was totally foreign to the Japanese.
The early history of Japan reveals quite clearly that the Japanese were far more interested in living a good and pleasant life rather than dying a painful death. It was not until after the introduction of Buddhism, and its emphasis on the transitory nature of life, or the glorification of death, that such a development came into being. To a Samurai, seppuku, whether received as an order and punishment or chosen in preference to a dishonorable death at the hands of an enemy, was an unquestionable manifestation of honor, courage, loyalty, and moral character.
When collective Samurai were on the battlefield, they often carried out acts of hara-kiri rapidly and with very little formal preparation. But on other occasions, particularly when it was ordered by a feudal lord, seppuku or hara-kiri was a formal ceremony, requiring certain etiquette, witnesses and considerable preparation.
Not all Japanese Samurai or lords believed in the custom although most of them followed it sincerely. The great Ieyasu Tokugawa, founder of Japan's last Shogunate dynasty in 1603, eventually issued a proclamation forbidding hara-kiri. The custom was however so deeply ingrained, that it continued, so finally in the year 1663, at the urging of Lord Nobutsuna Matsudaira of Izu, the Shogunate government issued another proclamation, prohibiting ritual suicide. This was followed by stern punishment for any lord who allowed any of his followers to commit hara-kiri or seppuku. The practice declined considerably as time went by.
Honor for the Samurai was dearer than his life and in many cases, self destruction was regarded not simply right, but as the only right course. Disgrace and defeat were atoned by committing hara-kiri or seppuku. Upon the death of a daimyo (during the long Tokugawa Shogunate (1616-1867), Japan was divided into fiefs which were presided over by feudal lords known as daimyo (pronounced as dime-yo) which literally means, "great name"), loyal followers could show their grief and affection for their master by committing hara-kiri. Other reasons for which a Samurai committed seppuku included showing contempt for the enemy, protesting against injustice and consequently as a means to get their lord to reconsider an unwise or unworthy action and finally as a way to save the progeny.
The ritual for disembowelment was to be performed unflinchingly. The condemned man received a jeweled dagger from the authorities and he plunged the dagger into the left side of his abdomen, drew it across to the right, and made a slight cut upward; his second (the most conspicuous participant, other than the victim, was the kaishaku (pronounced kie-shah-kuu) or the assistant, who was responsible for cutting off the victim's head after he had sliced his abdomen open, generally a close friend or an associate of the condemned) then beheaded him with one stroke and the dagger was returned to the authorities. If condemned to death, it was held to be a privilege to execute the sentence on one's own body rather than being a disgrace and die at the hands of the public headsman.
The location of an officially ordered seppuku ceremony was equally important. Often the ritual was performed at a temple, in the garden/villas and inside homes. The size of the area available was also important, as it was prescribed precisely for a Samurai of high rank. All the matters relating to the act were carefully prescribed and carried out meticulously.
Obligatory hara-kiri might have been abolished long back but its voluntary form persisted for ages. It was performed by 40 military men in 1895 as a protest against the return of a conquered territory of the Liaotung peninsula to China by General Nogi on the death of Emperor Meiji in 1912. It was also performed by numerous soldiers as an alternative to surrender in World War II. Hara-kiri was much discussed in recent years in connection with the death of Mishima in 1970, a well-known novelist and a rightist political leader.
Although suicide is deplored in Japan today, it does not have the same sinful overtones as they are interpreted in the west. People still kill themselves when they fail in business, get entangled in love triangles or even fail in examinations. Death is still a better choice than losing one’s honor.
