Year: 2012 Source: Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry.(2012). 36(2):391-408. SIEC No: 20120085

For an overwhelming majority of commentators, including many anthropologists, ÔJapanese cultureÕ is still associated with a positive view of suicide. Western-language writings have contributed by feedback loop to perpetuate this stereotype. Besides the local Ôsamurai ethicÕ, Japanese Buddhism is also said not to prohibit taking oneÕs life. However, the most popular examples of heroic self-sacrifice, from the Edo period to WWII, are fraught with covert contradictions. From ancient times to the present religious practitioners of all sorts have maintained that suicide creates unhappy, resentful spirits who harm the living. This article discusses many examples of a diverse series of narratives, from spirit mediumÕs sŽances to drama to contemporary films, in which the anguished spirits of suicides are allowed to express themselves directly. After the figures rose alarmingly in the late 1990s various religious organisations have attempted to fight the stigma suffered by bereaved family members and have introduced new interpretations and new rituals.