Seppuku & Samurai

If you've never read about Bushido, the code of the Samurai, it's a really fascinating and incredible study of a set of principles that comprise the unique mentality of feudal Japan's most revered warriors. I first read the book in my early 20s after it was recommended to me by a martial arts teacher. If you're not inclined to wade through a moral treatise urging you to meditate on death constantly, you could check out any of the countless classic Samurai movies directed by Japan's resident film master Akira Kurosawa to get a sense of how the code manifests in person. I'm personally partial to Seven Samurai, but all of his movies are pretty awesome. If you don't like foreign films you could even watch Jim Jarmusch's weird take on it, where Forest Whitaker stars in the quirky movie "Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai". It's hilarious and wonderful and really strange all at once. But I digress...
I bring up Bushido because I wanted to mention the practice of Seppuku briefly... It blows my mind, and I think it reflects profound insights into Japanese civilization, and how deeply these people believe in honor and character. Seppuku, or Harakiri, is a Japanese Samurai tradition of committing ritual suicide by disemboweling yourself with a blade. Samurais live by a very strict code of honor and discipline, and this form of suicide was practiced and endorsed if it became impossible for a Samurai to uphold his honor. Rather than living with the shame of defeat at the hands of an enemy, Samurai warriors would commit suicide by cutting their stomachs open with a blade. I've never come across any other culture with such an aversion to shame, or with such a willingness to embrace death if it sustains the honor by which one lived one's life. Have a look at the movie clip below. Not the best clip, by any means, and there are plenty of others on YouTube that are more focused on the ceremonial aspects of Seppuku, but this is a pretty dramatic visualization of it. There's something really compelling about Japan's history, and the ancestors of the people here who made this nation such a formidable power. I revere any people who hold themselves to higher standards, even if it means taking a blade to their own belly...