Sebastian Weinberg wrote in reply to Richard Lawson in reply to Sebastian
Weinberg:

Other people have commented on this as well.  It's again something I
can't help; I just can't imagine someone going "Oh, she killed 
herself, how honorable.  Are we doing lunch?"  I'm exaggerating for
effect, I know, but I can't help that feel that suicide is a bad
thing, no matter where you're born.  I acknowledge that this may 
be a cultural bias on my part.  I sometimes wonder if the reverse
isn't true, however:  we *perceive* suicide in Japan to be less
onerous than it is here; I wonder if that's really the case.  I'd
sure like to find someone who was raised in Japan who could speak to
this.

I think a compromise is possible between these two viewpoints.  According
Tatewaki's comments to his sister, Kodachi was quite young when her mother
died. Most children who lose a parent to any sort of death have strong
feelings of abandonment.  Since Kodachi was very young and then grew up in
such an unsupportive environment, her feelings of abandonment were never
resolved, and fester into a growing instability.  Eventually she goes nuts.
If she blames her mother for dying, then she can display the bitterness
Richard has written.  

Elizabeth