Resource Tag: SEPPUKU

This article discusses the Japanese suicidal ritual of seppuku. Historical origins, types, methods & implications of seppuku for the Japanese psyche & religio-moral philosophy of death in Japan are presented. The author argues that seppuku is a culturally approved & reinforced means of safeguarding self-esteem & honor. (14 refs) (SC)

This paper first discusses the inefficiency of sociologistic model factors such as feudalism & nihilism, for the purpose of explaining Mishima’s suicide, & then explains it by psychosocial factors such as narcissism & limited life experiences. With the combined factors of alienated self-conception & attitudes favourable to suicide, suicide often occurs. Mishima’s attitudes toward suicide […]

Discusses the life history of Y. Mishima from a psychological perspective, focussing on the relationship between depression and guilt and between depression, death imagery, and suicide.

Anthropological & archaeological data indicate that adaptation to nature & de-emphasis of the self form the basis of Japanese life & death philosophy. Various forms of suicide (junshi, shinju, and seppuku (harakiri) are described. Significant historical periods are reviewed in terms of the epidemiology of suicide rates & agents. The development of research since WWII […]

This article analyzes the Japanese suicidal ritual of Harakiri. An explanation of its’ origins & functions in traditional Japanese society is provided. Contemporary rates of Harakiri & suicide from sharp objects are presented. The issue of imitative suicide in relation to this ritual is discussed. (SC)