1. zoupskim

    zoupskim Contributor Contributor

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    The presence of Y'golonac

    Seppuku variant.

    Discussion in 'Research' started by zoupskim, Jan 20, 2016.

    I was wondering if anyone knew if in Japanese culture there was a term for a 'dishonorable' suicide. I am familiar with Seppuku, which is best described as an honorable atonement for failure or a crime. I was wondering if there was specifically a term for a suicide meant to bring dishonor on the person, or to actually punish them. I have been researching for over ten minutes and can't find anything.
     
  2. Jack Asher

    Jack Asher Banned Contributor

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    Why would a person commit suicide to punish themselves? Suicide in an of itself is not a punishment, if it were a punishment for something it would simply be murder.

    What's more, seppuku isn't an atonement. The ritual started with a general who was faced with an force of forty or fifty that had come to capture him. Instead of letting them take him prisoner, he opted to stick a knife in his chest and kill himself at them. It's not an atonement, it's a giant "fuck you" to a society that wants you to pay for your crime in some other way.

    Latter (much latter) after glorifying the samurai cast, seppuku was seen as a "get out of dishonor" free card. But it was really only an option when faced with capital punishment for a crime. One wouldn't commit seppuku if caught stealing from an account for instance, or raping a woman in war time. It's only an option when the samurai would otherwise be dead in some other way.
     
    Frankee_thecat and zoupskim like this.
  3. zoupskim

    zoupskim Contributor Contributor

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    So it's taking your life on your terms, no one elses? The version we see in movies or read in some accounts are glorified versions of this?

    So, to my idea about dishonorable suicide. The closest idea that I can come up with is prisoner soldiers, used in WWII Germany, or by Syria in their recent civil war.
     
  4. Jack Asher

    Jack Asher Banned Contributor

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    Pretty much. Just a way to fuck with the guy trying to kill you. Of course the obvious caveat is, if he's not going to kill you, there isn't any point.
     

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