Hara-Kiri: Japanese Ritual Suicide Read Online Free Page A

self-mortification of Zen.
    According to Zen doctrine, Buddha-hood is achieved only after acts of austere self-mortification. It is a state that must be actively pursued and won by the individual. Thus, the ordeal of seppuku would give high merit toward the attainment of Buddha-hood.
    Proof that the condemned man could endure severe hardships would further contribute toward alleviating the gravity of his offense in the eyes of the public and of posterity.
    Finally, the samurai attached great importance to the manner of dying and to the moment of death. According to their code, the death sentence of simple decapitation brought eternal shame to the memory of the warrior. In seppuku, however, the samurai died of his own accord, at least in the ritual sense, and this was a fitting end to a valiant life.

    Kinds of Seppuku
    There are several classifications of seppuku, based on the motive for the act, its method of execution, and the degree of severity of the offense. For example, when the act of seppuku was motivated by a sense of loyalty to the daimyo or lord, it was called chugi-bara. Chugi means loyalty and bara is a contraction of hara-kiri (pronunciation of the word hara often changes in a compound). Chugi-bara included both self-immolation on the death of one's master (junshi) and for the purpose of remonstration (kanshi).
    The custom of self-immolation that became fashionable during the Edo Period makes us aware of the tight, cruel bonds of the feudal system. In the case of Otani Sampei, the sandal carrier, his strong reluctance to die is most touchingly expressed in his farewell verse which said, "I am reluctant to die, indeed I am. This being my lot, I regret that my lord was so gracious to me." Here, the self-immolation was prompted by strong social pressures. There certainly might have been some people who gladly immolated themselves; on the other hand, some might have been compelled to do so by the auto-suggestive vainglory of Bushido; or, as was the case with Otani Sampei, some were no doubt urged on to reluctant deaths by the opinion of society.
    In some cases, the lord and his principal retainers may have encouraged such immolators under the concept that, the more immolators, the greater and stronger the clan. Mass psychology is contagious. Among many retainers the thought prevailed that it was better to die by immolation than of old age and, in so doing, to improve the standing of one's children. All through the eras of Genki, Tensho, and on down to Keicho, this spell-binding practice increased. After the death of a lord, from three or four to as many as twenty vassals often died and this fashion held sway for over 70 years!
    Junshi was inspired by the affection and loyalty for their lord in the retainers who protected them and their descendents. This doleful custom had once been abolished in the early stages of Japanese history. When the Empress Hihasu-hime passed away in A.D. 3, Nomi-no-Sukune, the most favored vassal of the court, counseled the Emperor to condemn the traditional custom of self-immolation on the part of the deceased's retainers. The conscientious servant had asked 100 potters from his home province of Izumo to make clay dolls resembling men and horses and offered these to the Emperor. Pleased with Sukune's wisdom, the Emperor issued an Imperial edict prohibiting self-immolation by retainers and ordered that these clay dolls, called haniwa, be substituted for the human beings and animals that had been buried with deceased nobles up to that time. In recognition of his suggestion, Sukune was awarded a name of honor, Haji-no-Omi, and the edict put an end to the unpleasant practice for several hundred years.
    The custom of immolation, once stopped by Nomi-no-Sukune, seems to have passed into the nebulous world of legend. But the rise of the samurai class during the furious strife between the Genji and Heike clans again called the ancient, quiescent custom to life in a different form, that is, self