There have been several instances of the use of
seppuku or suicide that is _called_ seppuku in
fanfics. However, IMO, some of these attempts have
lacked a certain authenticity and are too "Western" in
conception and execution. Suicide is viewed
differently in Japan than in the West.(though "modern"
Japanese seem to have changing views). Following are
some URL's linking to information on the subject as
well as an excerpt from:
"IAI, The Art of Drawing the Sword." by Darrell Craig
ISBN 0-8048-7023-3
p 90-95
Many Westerners . . .feel that the act of seppuku was
committed in a drugged or drunken state. . . .At no
time were those men committing seppuku under the
influence of any drugs or drink . . .their minds were
as clear as crystal and knew what they were doing
every minute.
. . .If a member of your family committed a capital
crime and was executed, you would be reluctant to
discuss the death socially. On the other hand, if the
relative committed suicide in a very brave and
dramatic way before being arrested for the offense,
his death tends to elicit social compassion and
sympathy rather than the disdain shown a convicted
murderer.
. . .only samurai were allowed to practice this
manner of suicide. The act of seppuku had as many
formalities as would a White House State Dinner for
visiting nobility.
. . .First it was necessary to select witnesses, then
find a place for the condemned man to wait. Next, a
location for the ceremony had to be determined and
then seconds had to be selected. A second was one of
the most important men in the ceremony ; he had to be
chosen very carefully and usually agreed to by the
condemned man. A samurai who acted as second. .
.kaishaku was required to be of sound mind and body.
He was to show neither his like nor dislike for the
office given him. . . .wore formal dress called
hempen, with the hakama tucked under the belt. . .
.must not wear his sword but should have a small knife
hidden upon him somewhere. . . .three seconds in the
ceremony, the head kaishaku, his assistant and a lower
class kaishaku. It is the duty of the head second to
cut off the condemned man's head and this is the most
important position in the ceremony of seppuku. The
assistant kaishaku carries the severed head to
witnesses for identification. The third man . . .cut
off the head if something should happen to the other
two men.
. . .not allowed to use his own sword, but must use
the condemned man's own weapon. . . .if a mishap in
the beheading occurs, it can be blamed on the victim's
sword and not on the kaishaku.
. . .job to decapitate with one blow . . .the head
had to be cut off, except for one little piece of skin
which was to keep the head from falling off the
platform and touching the ground.
. . .condemned man bathed, fixed his hair, put on his
white formal clothes, and said his good-byes to his
close friends, he was lead out to the mats where the
ceremony was to take place.
At the time, according to his rank he might ask
for pen and paper to write his farewells. . . .the
second should be to the left and out of sight of the
condemned man. The condemned . . .faced west . .
.second faced north. . . .condemned . . .put his
writing implements down, the second made himself
ready. . . .condemned . . .stripped himself from the
waist down, tucking his upper clothing under his knees
and legs tightly so as to support his body . . .would
fall forward . . .condemned . . .grasped . . .small
knife. . . .inserting it in his stomach with both
hands, he drew it across his stomach from left to
right, twisting the knife and pulling it up to the
solar plexus, by following the lower rib. . .
withdrew . . .laid it down. Not a sound is to be heard
from the condemned man or anyone else at the ceremony.
The second then stepped to the left and placed
himself in position to strike the final blow. The
condemned man leaned forward and extended his neck.
The kaishaku . . .raises his katana . . .removes the
head from the body(all but a tiny piece of skin under
the chin)
Seppuku URL's:
http://www.loyola.edu/maru/studies.html
http://www.on.rim.or.jp/~jn2o-ksy/seppuku.html
47 Ronin
http://www.kto.co.jp/japanese_culture/1996_Dec_jap0011.html
Seppuku and jisatsu
http://www.utexas.edu/depts/grg/ustudent/gcraft/fall97/brown/essays/seppuku.html
"Suicides in the texts of modern Japanese literature,
according to Alan Wolfe in his essay "From Seppuku to
Jisatsu: Suicide as a
National Allegory," take on two distinctive forms.
The first of these forms is the traditional ritual
suicide called seppuku. Yukio Mishima,
who not only wrote about seppuku but also performed
it, recently glamorized this type of suicide. Seppuku
is a ritual death rite with an
ancient history in Japanese culture. The opposing
type of suicide is the modern, intellectual suicide
referred to as jisatsu. In Japanese literature, the
best known of this type of suicide is committed by the
sensei in Natsume Soseki's Kokoro. Jisatsu is a
result of alienation
and the fragmentation of society caused by
modernization. Both seppuku and jisatsu are two
differing suicide forms separated by motive and
process, yet the distinction between the two is
unclear due to anachronistic persuasions caused by
conflict between modernization and the legacy of the
Emperor.
http://www.webberpro.com/gu/seppuku.html
http://www.town.pvt.k12.ca.us/NTP/student/SAMURAI/SEPPUKU.HTM
http://www.kyushu.com/gleaner/editorspick/seppuku.shtml
=====
"When I get a little money, I buy books;
And, if any is left, I buy food and clothes."-Erasmus
"A man is a small thing, and the night is large
and full of wonders." -Lord Dunsany
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