Seppuku and hara-kiri are written with the same two characters. The difference is that seppuku is written as 切腹 (first comes the hieroglyph “cut” and then “stomach”, when reading, “one”, Japanese-Chinese readings are used), and hara-kiri is vice versa - 腹切り (the first hieroglyph is “stomach”, they use “ kunny, purely Japanese readings). In Japan, the word "hara-kiri" is a colloquial form and carries some everyday and derogatory connotation.
Essence of the rite
The code of samurai honor (Bushi-do) is formulated in Daidoji Yuzan's "Initial Fundamentals of Martial Arts". In general, the Bushi-do code boils down to five key principles that repeat and explain the basic dogmas of Confucian morality: loyalty, politeness, courage, truthfulness and simplicity.
Inextricably linked and closely adjacent to Bushido as part of morality is the history of the hara-kiri rite, which arose among the warrior class during the formation and development of feudalism in Japan. Samurai or other representatives higher strata Japanese society committed suicide (using the hara-kiri method) in case of insulting their honor, committing an unworthy act (dishonoring the name of a warrior in accordance with Bushido standards), in the event of the death of their overlord, or (at a later time, during the Edo period, when the rite was finally formed) - by court verdict as a punishment for a crime committed.
Harakiri was the privilege of the samurai, who were proud that they could freely dispose of their lives, emphasizing the strength of mind and self-control, contempt for death by performing the rite. Cutting the abdomen required great courage and endurance from the warrior, since the abdominal cavity is one of the most sensitive places in the human body, the focus of many nerve endings. That is why the samurai, who considered themselves the most courageous, cold-blooded and strong-willed people Japan preferred this painful form of death.
Literally translated, hara-kiri means "to cut the stomach" (from "hara" - the stomach and "kiru" - to cut). However, the word "hara-kiri" also has hidden meaning. If we consider the composite binomial "hara-kiri" - the concept of "hara", then we can see that he Japanese correspond to the words "stomach", "soul", "intentions", "secret thoughts" with the same spelling of the hieroglyph.
According to the philosophy of Buddhism, in particular the teachings of the Zen sect, as the main, central life point of a person and thus the seat of life is considered not the heart, but the abdominal cavity. Accordingly, the Japanese put forward the thesis that vitality, located in the stomach and occupying, as it were, a middle position in relation to the whole body, contribute to the allegedly more balanced and harmonious development of the Asian than the European, whose main vital center is the heart.
Despite the fact that in some works of European authors the idea of identifying Japanese understanding the category of "soul" with similar concepts among the ancient Greeks (who called the receptacle of the soul - "psyche" - the chest-abdominal barrier) and among the ancient Jews (the Hebrew prophets spoke about the location of the soul in the intestines), "hara" in Japanese sense is not the equivalent of the soul in the European sense. Here you can talk more about feelings and emotions. And it is no coincidence that in connection with this, the Japanese language has many expressions and sayings related to "hara". For example, a person who encourages another to be frank in a conversation uses the expression "hara o watte hanashimasho", which means "let's talk while sharing hara", or, in other words, "let's talk with our stomachs open". Such sayings as “haradatsu” (to rise to the stomach, get angry) are also characteristic; "haragitanai" (dirty belly, vile person, low aspirations), etc.
The Japanese also give an important place to the "art of hara" (belly) - "haragei", called
J. A. Coddry highest form internal communication. This “art” refers to the process of communicating people at a distance as a result of intuitive connection and understanding each other with the help of hints.
Thus, the Japanese consider the stomach as an internal source of emotional existence, and opening it by hara-kiri means, as it were, the discovery of one's innermost and true intentions, serves as proof of the purity of thoughts and aspirations. In other words, according to the concepts of the samurai, "seppuku is the ultimate justification of oneself before heaven and people" and it is more symbolic of a spiritual nature than simple suicide.
Origin of the rite
Speaking of hara-kiri as a phenomenon that developed and came to its logical conclusion on Japanese soil, one cannot but take into account that some other peoples East Asia and Siberia, earlier ritual actions were encountered that were similar and somewhat remotely reminiscent of the essence of Japanese seppuku. Stagewise, they can be attributed to an earlier time than the actual hara-kiri. This suggests that the rite of cutting the abdomen in early period history of peoples Far East had a wider distribution and was borrowed by the ancient Japanese, who had ethno-cultural contacts with representatives of these peoples.
First of all, attention should be paid to the rite of opening the abdomen among the Ainu.
M. M. Dobrotvorsky described one of the methods of suicide of the natives Japanese islands, which consisted in cutting the abdominal cavity (pere) and closely resembled the Japanese hara-kiri. Harakiri, as well as pere, often looked like passive protest and it was not done out of desperation; it had rather a connotation of sacrifice. Dobrotvorsky wrote down among the Ainu the word "ekoritokhpa", which means "sacrifice inau", or literally "cut the stomach". This suggests that initially it was an act of voluntary sacrifice, as a cleansing sacrifice, or a violent one.
The stomach of the victim could also be opened to obtain blood, which was sometimes considered as a cleansing agent. The Evenks, in particular, considered the blood of sacrificial animals to be a source of special power that could expel all evil. This, obviously, can explain the presence in the ancient burials of Siberia, as well as Japan, of ocher, which serves as a substitute for blood.
It can be assumed that the ideas and rituals associated with the human abdominal cavity were characteristic of many peoples of Asia and were generally similar. Perhaps these ideas refer to an ancient layer in the worldview of the population of the continent. It is difficult to say whether they spread with the carriers of certain cultures or existed convergently, and along what line their development proceeded. However, these performances and rituals reached their final completion only on Japanese soil, turning into a solemn act of opening the abdomen - the rite of hara-kiri.
The development of the rite and its ritual among the Japanese
IN ancient period In the history of Japan, the rite of hara-kiri was not common among the Japanese population of the archipelago. However, having already certain ideas about the stomach as the most important, in their opinion, point human body, the ancient Japanese, probably, could easily borrow the Ainu rite nepe, noted at the time by M. M. Dobrotvorsky. Actually, hara-kiri appeared relatively late among the military settlers of the northern provinces who fought against the Ainu, who later turned into the class of Japanese warriors.
It is quite natural that the rite began to develop among warriors - people who were in constant combat readiness and always carried weapons with them - a means for waging war and an instrument of suicide. Starting from the Heian era (9th-10th centuries), seppuku has already become the custom of bushi, in which they committed suicide by dying from their own sword. However, the rite was not yet mass phenomenon. Suicide by hara-kiri became widespread among samurai only in late XII century, during the struggle for power of two powerful families - Taira and Minamoto. Since that time, the number of cases of hara-kiri has been constantly growing; samurai made seppuku for themselves, most often not wanting to surrender or in the event of the death of their master.
Harakiri after the death of the master (“suicide after”) was called “oibara”, or “tsuifuku”. In ancient times in Japan at death noble person along with him, his closest servants, luxury items, etc. were buried in order to provide him with everything necessary in the afterlife. This custom was later called "junshi". Subsequently, in order to save people from a painful death when buried alive, they were allowed to commit suicide here, on the grave of their master. Emperor Suinin, who ruled at the beginning of our era, according to legend, banned junshi altogether, and ordered that the servants buried with the master around his grave (“hitogaki” - “fence of people”) continue to be replaced with anthropomorphic clay figures. However, the custom of death following the overlord, having been somewhat transformed, was preserved in feudal times and took the form of already voluntary deprivation of one's life by means of hara-kiri at the feudal lord's grave. In accordance with the norms of Bushido, the samurai did not put their lives in anything, giving themselves entirely to the service of only one of their masters, which is why the death of the overlord entailed numerous cases of oibara. Undertaking to "give their bodies to the master upon his death", usually 10-30 (or more) of the closest servants of the feudal lord killed themselves by making seppuku after his death.
During internecine wars, hara-kiri becomes widespread in the samurai class. Opening the abdomen begins to dominate other methods of suicide. As mentioned above, the bushi mainly resorted to hara-kiri in order not to fall into the hands of enemies when the troops of their daimyo (landowner) were defeated. With the same samurai, at the same time, they made amends to the master for losing the battle; they went away in this way from disgrace.
One of the most famous examples seppuku Masashige Kusunoki is a warrior who commits hara-kiri in case of defeat. After losing the battle, Masashige and 60 of his devoted friends performed the hara-kiri rite. This incident was considered by the samurai to be one of the noblest examples of devotion to duty in Japanese history.
Usually after opening the abdomen japanese warrior with the same knife he cut his own throat in order to end the torment and die faster. There were cases when samurai or military leaders disfigured their faces with cold steel before committing suicide so that the enemy soldiers could not use the heads of those who committed hara-kiri after their death as evidence of their “bravery” and military skill before the master and earn respect and honor for this lie. samurai of their own clan. So did Nitta Yoshisada, who fought against the Ashikaga clan. He, in order not to be recognized by the enemy, mutilated his face before the hara-kiri.
Another reason for seppuku was the desire to prevent a threatening punishment from the feudal lord or the government of the shogun for any act unworthy of the honor of the samurai, an oversight or failure to comply with an order. In this case, hara-kiri was committed at one's own discretion or by the decision of relatives.
Hara-kiri was also performed as a passive protest against any blatant injustice to preserve the honor of the samurai (for example, if it was impossible to commit blood feud), in the form of a sacrifice in the name of an idea, or when depriving oneself of the opportunity to use one’s professional skills as a warrior as part of a feudal lord’s squad (say, when loss of vassalage). In short, hara-kiri was a universal way out of any predicament that a samurai found himself in.
Often samurai committed hara-kiri for the most insignificant and insignificant reasons.
M. Khan described the case of seppuku of two samurai from the environment of the imperial family. Both samurai committed hara-kiri after a brief argument over their swords accidentally brushing against each other as the bushi passed up the palace stairs.
Such ease of depriving oneself of life was due to the complete disregard for it, developed with the help of Zen teachings, as well as the presence of a death cult among bushi, which created an aura of masculinity around the one who resorted to seppuku and made his name famous not only among those who remained alive, but also in future generations. . In addition, in feudal times, suicide by opening the stomach became so common among warriors that it turned, in essence, into a real hara-kiri cult, almost a mania, and an absolutely insignificant reason could become the reason for its commission.
Harakiri was performed different ways and means, which depended on the methodology developed by various schools. The samurai, plunging the weapon into the abdominal cavity, had to cut it so that others could see the insides of the seppuku doing and thus the "purity of thoughts" of the warrior. The abdomen was cut twice, first horizontally from the left side to the right, then vertically from the diaphragm to the navel. Thus, the end (suicide) was fully justified by the means (hara-kiri); after this terrible injury, it was already impossible to stay alive.
There was also a method of opening the abdomen, in which the abdominal cavity was cut in the form of the letter "x". The first movement was a cut from the left hypochondrium to the right - down. It was carried out by the samurai in a conscious state, carefully and with attention, when the bushi still had a lot of strength for this operation. The second incision was made already in conditions of a large loss of blood, with consciousness leaving from severe pain. He went from the lower left side of the abdomen up - to the right, which was easier for the right hand.
In addition to the cruciform opening of the abdomen, other methods were also used. The most common was the opening of the abdomen through an oblique cut from left to right - up, sometimes with a slight additional turn to the left and up, or in the form of two cuts forming a right angle. At a later time, the hara-kiri operation was simplified: it was enough to make only a small incision or simply introduce a small Samurai sword in the abdomen using your own body weight. Obviously, under the influence of this simplified method of opening the abdomen, a method of suicide by means of a shot in the stomach (teppobara) then developed.
The method of opening the abdomen depended mainly on the samurai himself, on the degree of his self-control, patience and endurance. A certain role here was also played by an agreement with a suicide assistant, who was sometimes chosen by a samurai to provide "assistance" in committing hara-kiri.
In rare cases, hara-kiri was made not with steel, but with a bamboo sword, which was much more difficult to cut through the insides. This was done in order to show the special endurance and courage of a warrior, to exalt the name of the samurai, as a result of a dispute between bushi or by order.
Seppuku was performed, as a rule, in a sitting position (meaning the Japanese way of sitting, when a person touches the floor with his knees, and the body rests on the heels of the legs), and the clothes lowered from the upper body were plugged under the knees, thereby preventing the body from falling after doing hara-kiri on his back, since falling on his back with such a responsible action was considered a shame for a samurai.
Sometimes hara-kiri was done by warriors in a standing position. This method was called by the Japanese "tatabara" - standing seppuku (in a natural position).
The stomach was opened with a special dagger for hara-kiri - kusungobu, which had a length of about 25 cm and was considered a family heirloom, which was usually stored in tokonoma (in Japanese architecture - a niche in the interior of the main room of a traditional residential building or tea pavilion, in which a painting or calligraphic scroll is stored and installed a vessel with a symbolic bouquet - ikebana) on a sword stand, or wakizashi - a small samurai sword. In the absence of a special tool for performing seppuku, which was extremely rare among samurai, a large sword could also be used, which was taken by hand on the blade wrapped in cloth for the convenience of the operation. Sometimes the blade of a small sword was wrapped in cloth or paper in such a way that 10-12 cm of the cutting surface remained free. At the same time, the dagger was taken already on the handle, and on the middle of the blade. Such a depth of cut was necessary in order not to touch the spine, which could be an obstacle to the further conduct of the ceremony. At the same time, according to the rules of seppuku, it was necessary to watch the blade, which could pass too shallowly, cutting only the muscles of the abdomen, which could no longer be fatal.
Harakiri (as well as weaponry) samurai began to learn from childhood. Experienced mentors in special schools explained to the young men how to start and finish seppuku, while maintaining dignity and demonstrating the ability to control oneself last moment life. This training, the huge popularity, distribution and glorification of hara-kiri in the feudal society of Japan yielded results: samurai children often resorted to performing the rite of opening the abdomen. A. Belsor, for example, described the case of hara-kiri of the seven-year-old son of a samurai, who committed suicide in front of assassins sent to his father, but who killed another person by mistake. When identifying the corpse, the young samurai, wanting to use this mistake to save the life of his parent, as if in despair, drew his sword and silently cut his stomach. The criminals, who believed in this peculiar deceit, withdrew, considering their work done.
For the wives and daughters of warriors, hara-kiri was also not something special, but women, unlike men, did not cut their stomachs, but only their throats or applied death blow dagger in the heart. However, this process was also called hara-kiri. Suicide by cutting the throat (jigai) was performed by samurai wives with a special dagger (kaiken), a husband's wedding gift, or a short sword given to each samurai daughter during the rite of passage of age. There were known cases of using a large sword for this purpose. The custom prescribed to bury those who committed hara-kiri with the weapon with which it was performed. Perhaps this can explain the presence of swords and daggers in ancient female burials.
In accordance with the rules of the Bushido code, it was considered a shame for a samurai wife not to be able to commit suicide if necessary, so women were also taught the correct execution of suicide. They had to be able to cut the arteries in the neck, know how to tie their knees before death, so that the body would then be found in a chaste pose.
The most important motivations for samurai wives to commit suicide were usually the death of their husband, an insult to pride, or a violation of the word given by the husband.
A set of ceremonies and rules for committing hara-kiri, developed over a long time, in in general terms was already formalized under the Ashikaga shogunate (1333-1573), when the custom of seppuku began to acquire the force of law. However, the complex ritual that accompanied seppuku finally took shape only in the Edo era, when seppuku began to be officially used as a punishment by a court sentence for bushi who committed a crime. An obligatory person in the performance of the official seppuku was the assistant of the samurai doing hara-kiri - the “second” (kaishaku, or kaishakunin), who cut off his head.
The history of seppuku has many examples, "when, after opening the stomach, the heroes found the strength to write a spiritual testament with their own blood." However, despite being raised in the spirit of Zen and self-control, a samurai could subconsciously lose control of his actions due to terrible pain and die “ugly”: with an expression of suffering, falling backwards, screaming, etc., thereby dishonoring his name . In this regard, kaishakunin was introduced - an assistant convicted of hara-kiri, whose duty was to end the torment of a samurai who opened his stomach by separating the head from the body.
Further, the Tokugawa authorities confirmed and clearly defined that death by hara-kiri is an honorable death for the privileged classes, but by no means for the lower strata of Japan's society. The legislation also thoroughly determined the strict sequence of the hara-kiri ceremony, the place of its holding, the persons appointed to conduct the seppuku ceremony, etc.
In the case of a samurai committing hara-kiri, seeking to prevent punishment from the authorities or the head of the clan, at his own discretion or the decision of relatives, the bushi family did not lose his property and income, and the suicide sought acquittal before the court of offspring and deserved an honorable burial. Performing the same hara-kiri as special kind punishment imposed for a crime entailed the confiscation of property.
Usually, an official came to the house of the guilty (before the master or authorities) samurai, who showed him a sign with a sentence to hara-kiri. After that, the official who brought the sentence, and the attendants accompanying him, could leave the condemned at home or put under the supervision of a daimyo who became responsible for the samurai sentenced to seppuku, and for the same to escape punishment by fleeing.
In accordance with the hara-kiri code, shortly before the suicide ceremony, there was an appointment of persons responsible for conducting the procedure for opening the abdomen and for being present at the act of seppuku itself. At the same time, a place was chosen for the performance of the rite, which was determined depending on the official, official and social status of the sentenced. Approximate shogun (commander) - daimyo, hatamoto and daimyo vassals who had a commander's baton - produced seppuku in the palace, lower-ranking samurai - in the garden of the prince's house, to whose care the convict was given. Harakiri could also take place in a temple. The premises of the temple or chapel were sometimes hired by officials to commit hara-kiri in the event that the order for seppuku came during the trip. This explains the fact that every traveling samurai has a special dress for hara-kiri, which the bushi always had with them.
For the ceremony, which took place in the garden, a fence was built from stakes with cloth stretched over them. The fenced area was to be approximately 12 square meters. m, if seppuku was performed by an important person. There were two entrances in the fence: the northern one - "umbammon" (the translation of its name - "the door of a warm cup" - remains unexplained so far) and the southern one - "the eternal door" (or "shugi-yomon" - "the door of exercise in virtue"). In some cases, the fence was made without doors at all, which was more convenient for witnesses who watched what was happening inside. The floor in the enclosed space was covered with mats with white borders, on which a strip of white silk or white felt was laid ( White color considered mourning in Japan). Here, too, they sometimes arranged a kind of gate made of bamboo wrapped in white silk, which looked like temple gates; they hung flags with sayings from sacred books, lit candles if the ceremony was performed at night, etc.
In preparation for the hara-kiri ceremony indoors, the walls of the room were draped with white silk fabrics. The same was done with outside the house of the convict - it was hung with white panels that covered colored shields with family coats of arms embroidered on them.
On the eve of the performance of the rite, if the convict was allowed to do seppuku in own house, the samurai invited close friends to his place, drank sake with them, ate spices, joked about the fragility of earthly happiness, thereby emphasizing that bushi is not afraid of death and hara-kiri is an ordinary phenomenon for him. It was this - complete self-control and dignity before and during the rite of suicide - that everyone around expected from a samurai.
The kaishaku was chosen by the representatives of the clan or by the convict himself. Usually acted as a kaishaku best friend, a student or relative of a person sentenced to hara-kiri, who could perfectly wield a sword. Initially, in ancient times, the term "kaishaku" was applied to the guardians of the masters or to persons who provided any assistance to others. As mentioned above, starting from the 17th century, more precisely from the Empo period (September 1673 - September 1681), the presence of kaishaku at seppuku, carried out by court order, becomes mandatory.
The "second" was supposed to cut off the head of the convict, who, due to spiritual weakness or fear, cut open his stomach only for show, or the samurai, who simply could not bring the hara-kiri to the end without having physical strength(as he fell into an unconscious state).
The samurai, invited to the seppuku ceremony as a kaishaku, had to express his readiness to be useful in this matter, but in no case should he show sadness on his face; this was tantamount to a refusal due to insufficient swordsmanship, which was seen as a dishonor to a warrior. The “second”, chosen by the convict, was obliged to thank him for his trust and high honor.
Kaishaku was not supposed to use his own sword during the seppuku, but took it from the convict, if he asked for it, or from his daimyo, since in the event of an unsuccessful blow, the wine for this fell on the owner’s sword.
In addition to the kaisak, the convict, as a rule, was helped by one or two more people. The first gave the sentenced on a white tray a small samurai sword - an instrument for committing seppuku, the duties of the second included presenting a severed head to witnesses for identification.
On the eve of the hara-kiri ceremony, a list of persons was compiled who, according to the rules, should have been present at the site of the seppuku. These were 1-2 chief advisers to daimyo (karo), 2-3 secondary advisers (yonin), 2-3 monogashira - approximate 4th degree, head of the palace (rusui, or rusuban), 6 minions of 5-6 rank (if convicted entrusted to the supervision of the prince), 4 samurai of the lowest rank, who put in order the place of execution of seppuku and buried the body (if the request of the relatives of the convict to give them the remains was rejected). The number of servants depended on the rank of the condemned. In the case of committing hara-kiri within the clan (that is, the samurai was condemned to hara-kiri not by the government of the shogun, but by his own master - the feudal prince), 2-3 servants helped the convict.
Public censors acted as witnesses, the main of which announced the sentence to the convicted person immediately before the actual hara-kiri and then immediately left the place where seppuku was to be done. The second censor remained to witness the execution of the sentence. Representatives of the authorities certified not only death, but also the strict observance of all ceremonies and formalities during the hara-kiri of the samurai. The smallest details were considered important, each gesture and movement was strictly defined and regulated.
In accordance with the ritual, the kaishaku and his assistants put on their ceremonial robes (in case of condemnation of the offender by the government), with the hara-kiri of a samurai from their own clan - only kimonos and belt clothes - hakama. Hakama before performing seppuku tucked. Under the hara-kiri of a high-ranking samurai, the “seconds” were required to wear white clothes.
The acolytes wore a hemp dress and also rolled up their hakama (originally in Japan it is a piece of cloth wrapped around the hips, later long pleated trousers, similar to a skirt or harem pants, traditionally worn by men in an informal setting, as a form in some martial arts. Hakama often worn by women at graduation ceremonies.The level of formality of the hakama depends on the fabric and colors). Before reading the sentence, the convict was brought on a large tray a change of dress, which was put on after reading it. During seppuku bushi was wearing white clothes without coats of arms and decorations, which was also considered as a funeral dress. It was called "shinisozoku" ("robe of death").
After the preparation and inspection of the hara-kiri site were completed, and the kaishaku and those present at the seppuku were examined for knowledge of the ceremonies, main point rite. The atmosphere of the hara-kiri required solemnity and had to be "beautiful". Those present were required to treat the convict with attention and respect.
The owner of the palace (house) in which the ceremony was held led the censors to the place where the sentence was read, while etiquette required that the witnesses be dressed in a ceremonial hemp dress and walk with two swords. Then the convict was brought, surrounded by those who accompanied him: monogashira walked in front, yonin - behind, six servants of 5-6 ranks - on the sides.
After everyone took their seats, the chief censor, without looking in the direction of the criminal, began reading the sentence, trying to do it in an even voice in order to give calm and firmness to those present. The convict was allowed to tell the main witness what he wanted, but if his speech was confused and incoherent, the clan censor (the main witness) made a sign to the servants, and they took the condemned away. If the convicted person asked for writing materials to state his last will, close daimyo had to refuse him, as this was prohibited by law. Then the chief censor left the place of seppuku, and immediately after reading the sentence had to be carried out, so that the courage would not betray the convict over time.
During the reading of the verdict, the servants sat to the right and left of the convict. Their duties included not only helping the samurai sentenced to hara-kiri in every possible way, but also killing him (chopping off his head or stabbing him) when trying to escape with daggers that the servants hid in their bosoms.
The convict entered the enclosed space (if the hara-kiri was performed in the garden) through the northern entrance and took his place to perform seppuku, sitting facing north. It was also possible to face the west with the appropriate design of the place where seppuku was performed. Kaisyaku with his assistants entered through south gate, stood to the left behind, lowered his ceremonial clothes from his right shoulder, drew his sword and laid the scabbard on his side, doing everything so that the condemned did not see this.
At that time, another assistant presented the convict with a dagger on a tray, and the attendant samurai helped to take off his clothes and expose his upper body. The perpetrator of hara-kiri took the weapon offered to him and made one (or more, depending on the method) incision in the abdominal cavity, trying to cut the muscles and intestines along its entire length. This operation should be carried out without haste, confidently and with dignity.
The kaishaku had to carefully watch the seppuku-producer and deliver the final blow to the dying man in time. Depending on the agreement and conditions for committing hara-kiri, several moments were allocated for cutting off the head: when the “second” leaves, placing a tray with a dagger in front of the bushi; when the convict reaches out his hand to take the tray (or, according to the ritual, raises the tray to his forehead); when a samurai, taking a dagger, looks at the left side of the abdomen; when the convict stabs himself with a dagger (or makes a slit in the abdomen).
In some cases, the kaishaku waited for the moment of loss of consciousness and only then cut off the head of the convict. It was especially important for the kaishaku not to miss the right moment to separate the head from the body, since it is very difficult to decapitate a person who has lost the ability to control himself. This was the art of kaishaku.
When performing the hara-kiri rite, attention was also paid to the "aesthetic" side of the matter. Kaisyak, for example, was recommended to inflict such a blow on the dying person, in which the head that separated immediately from the body would still hang on the skin of the neck, since it was considered ugly if it rolled across the floor.
In the case when the "second" failed to cut off his head with one blow and the convict made an attempt to get up, the samurai servants were obliged to finish him off.
When the head was cut off, the kaishaku moved away from the corpse, holding the sword point down, knelt down and wiped the blade with white paper. If the kaishaku had no other assistants, he himself took the severed head by the tuft of hair (mage) and, holding the sword by the blade, supporting the chin of the convict's head with the handle, showed the profile to the witness (left and right). If the head was bald, it was supposed to pierce the left ear with a kozuka (an auxiliary knife attached to the scabbard of the sword) and thus take it for examination. In order not to get dirty with blood, the "second" had to have ashes with him.
After witnessing the ceremony, the witnesses got up and went to a special room where the owner of the house (palace) offered tea and sweets.
At this time, lower-ranking samurai covered the body as it lay with white screens and brought incense. The place where the hara-kiri took place was not subject to purification (in rare cases it was consecrated with a prayer), it had to be constantly remembered; the squeamish attitude to the room, stained with the blood of the convict, was condemned.
In 1868, the Meiji Restoration (明治維新 Meiji Isin), also known as the Meiji Isin and the Meiji Revolution, took place, a series of events that led to significant changes in the Japanese political and social structure. The four-year period from 1866 to 1869, which includes last years the Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji period. The Meiji Restoration was a direct consequence of the opening of Japan to Western countries that occurred after the arrival of Commodore Matthew Parry's black ships.
With the beginning of the reorganization of the state system on the European model and the change in the whole way of life that began under the pressure of new ideas, the official use of seppuku was eventually canceled, and at the same time, its private use began to be withdrawn, but not withdrawn at all. Cases of seppuku were not uncommon in the 20th century, and each such case was met with the hidden approval of the nation, creating a halo of glory and greatness in relation to some persons who used seppuku of a more prominent position. One of these "heroes" was the famous Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, who committed suicide in 1970.
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In Japan, there is a kind of ritual murder, which has been elevated to a real cult in dramatic plays Kabuki theater, thanks to which she became known throughout the world.
In the West, such a rite is called "hara-kiri", which literally means “ripping open the stomach,” is a word that every samurai warrior should be ashamed of. The correct term for its name is "seppuku". For the Japanese, the word "seppuku" is filled with a special mystery, which is associated with the ancient idea of the stomach as the seat of the mind.
Therefore, by committing seppuku, brave men thereby cleansed themselves of sin, for which, in fact, they died. But although this ritual has brought Japan wide fame in the world, such ceremonies are observed throughout Asia, and Japan is only a small part of its vast territory. Some tribes in Eastern Siberia showed a surprising propensity for suicide, and the Samoyeds, for example, openly stated that suicide is "an act pleasing to God."
Shintoism, which later in its womb created such a rite as hara-kiri, flourished long before the Chinese brought Buddhism to Japan, as early as the 6th century AD. Such primitive Shintoism was based on the reverence of ancestors and nature. A millennium later, it almost completely disappeared due to the triumph of Buddhism everywhere. But Shinto has experienced a renaissance.
This was reflected in two cornerstone principles: mystical devotion to the emperor and the accumulation of high moral values and virtues left at the disposal of descendants by deceased ancestors. These two principles were, of course, interrelated, because moral values mainly depend on the cult of the emperor, who was considered not only the representative of God on earth, but also occupied, together with members of his family, a middle position somewhere between God and man.
According to the traditions of Shintoism, the emperor had no right to ever appear in public, and even among the privileged nobles who were allowed to hear his voice, only very few understood him, since he spoke on such occasions in an obscure sacred dialect of the ancient Japanese language. Such a relentless pursuit of virtues aroused contempt for this earthly life in a person, forcing him to deeply believe that he would certainly unite with his ancestors in paradise.
During the revival of the religion of Shinto, the samurai movement arose - a close-knit, well-organized society founded by the Tokugawa rulers - the shoguns, who first came to power in early XVII century and ruled Japan until 1867. Their reign is known in history as the "Edo period", it got its name from the capital of the country, which today is called Tokyo. Samurai ethics were based on two twin pillars of Shintoism: unquestioning worship of the emperor and a strict code of honor (busido).
The main thing in bushido is the frantic desire of a young warrior to sacrifice himself, but only after he himself has defeated as many enemies as possible. Samurai, who were distinguished from others by their hairstyle: a shaved forehead and a knot of hair on the top of their head, as well as an outfit - a kimono, on which the clan badge usually flaunted, devoted their whole lives to martial arts. They constantly carried two swords - one long, the other short. This weapon had a special mysticism.
A two-handed sword served them to perform legendary feats, and with a short one they decapitated enemies who fell on the battlefield - such a custom could also be a consequence ancient custom"Skull Hunt". Ultimately, the short sword also served the samurai for suicide, and each of them knew how to make hara-kiri for themselves - this skill was achieved by daily training.
This very gloomy form of suicide first appeared in the 8th century, and then it was included in the code of honor of all samurai, and Shinto served as the basis for it. The samurai was obliged to make himself hara-kiri, so as not to be captured by the enemy or to wash away the dishonor he had brought upon himself.
In its original form, the act of hara-kiri required tremendous courage and willpower, as it involved two traditional deep cuts on the abdomen and then the last fatal blow into the peritoneum. In practice, quite often the victim did not have enough strength to inflict a rather deep wound on himself and commit suicide, and a friend finished him off for him, who, as required by the ritual, stood nearby all the time while the victim cut his stomach. In this case, he cut off his head with a long sword.
In the Edo period, the victim with a short sword only ripped open his stomach from left to right, and such a cut was often shallow and did not lead to death. Then his comrade came to the rescue and cut off his death agony, cutting off the unfortunate head. At this time, warriors were even forced to commit hara-kiri for shameful misconduct.
However, for the Japanese main principle remained unchanged: if the ritual was observed as required, then such an act in any of its aspects was purely religious in nature and was, in fact, a religious sacrifice, regardless of whose initiative it was carried out - at the victim’s own request or was imposed on her from above , - the same name of the rite corresponded to both of its variants.
The rite of hara-kiri survived to modern Japan, which was formed with the arrival of foreigners there and the fall of the Edo regime in 1867. Although the samurai class was abolished as a relic of the former feudalism, ritual killings were still carried out on a number of occasions. The spirit of the samurai was still alive, and Japanese suicide pilots, kamikaze, in World War II also honored the bushido code.
British diplomat Sir Ernst Satow witnessed a hara-kiri ceremony in 1864. Japanese officer Taki Tsenzaburo was ordered to take his own life for dishonoring himself by opening fire on foreigners who had recently arrived in the country. One representative from each diplomatic mission was invited to the Buddhist temple. The messengers were even given the opportunity to speak with the victim.
The officer condemned to death entered the temple from the left aisle, accompanied by two "kaishaku", or "the most exemplary people", followed by two more. He squatted down on a small, red-covered platform. A sword was handed to him on a wooden stand, and he turned to all those present with a request to become eyewitnesses of his heroic death.
Then he took off his outer clothing, and tied the long sleeves of his shirt under his knees so as not to tip back during the act. Now he was naked to the waist. Taking the dagger right hand, as close as possible to the point, he first stabbed himself in the chest, and then plunged the dagger into the left side of the abdomen, quickly spreading it with a confident movement from left to right.
After that, he slowly leaned forward with his whole body, throwing his head back far behind his back so that the sword fell unhindered on his neck. One of the kaishaku that had accompanied him as he walked around the two rows of eyewitnesses now stood beside the bleeding victim, sword held high. Suddenly jumping up on the spot, he lowered his sword on the neck of the unfortunate with such a roar, as if thunder had been heard in the temple. The head rolled on the matted floor...
Taki apparently asked his comrade for a favor himself so that the ceremony of ripping open his own stomach would not be so painful. In other stories of such rituals, many dark, simply monstrous details are given. For example, sometimes samurai, burying their hands in the peritoneum, pulled out, tearing apart, their intestines.
In an earlier version of the hara-kiri rite, the victim, after ripping open his stomach with a sword, cut the carotid artery with it to hasten death. This method was used extremely rarely, but one such case was noted in 1912, when Emperor Meiji died. General, Count Nogi, hero of the siege of Port Arthur during Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905, decided to follow his master to the grave.
Nogi Maresuke - General of the Empire of Japan and third Governor General of Taiwan
He not only made a deep diagonal incision in the abdomen, but also cut the carotid artery, that is, he accomplished a feat that required special, unparalleled courage. His wife followed her husband's example by slitting her own throat with a dagger in exactly the manner that was prescribed in such cases for all female samurai spouses.
After the successful conclusion of the war between Japan and China in 1895, several people committed hara-kiri, not in order to celebrate victory in this way, but in protest against the terms of the peace treaty, which, in their opinion, were too soft, which voluntary victims considered dishonorable for themselves.
The last rites of hara-kiri took place in 1945 after the surrender of Japan, but then she took her own life small group Japanese, mostly senior officers.
Harakiri and seppuku - what is it? The difference between hara-kiri and seppuku, how do they differ
Seppuku is an ancient Japanese samurai ritual of suicide, performed according to certain rules.
The samurai did seppuku if he was dishonored, allowed the death of the owner - daimyo, or by sentence. Making seppuku, the samurai showed his disregard for death, courage and loyalty to his overlord.
Harakiri is a word that the Japanese use in colloquial speech. Seppuku and hara-kiri are written with the same two hieroglyphs, only swapped places. If seppuku assumed strict adherence to the rules, then hara-kiri means simple suicide without a ritual, ripping open the stomach. In other words, commoners did hara-kiri, and samurai did seppuku, although in fact it is almost the same thing.
How was seppuku performed? The process of the ceremony.
During the ritual of suicide, the samurai had to expose his stomach and in a special way cut it - in a cross, in two movements, first from one side to the other, then from the chest to the navel. Another way is to cut the abdomen with the letter X. In the most later times a less painful method became generally accepted - the samurai stuck the wakizashi into his stomach, leaning on the sword with his whole body.
When committing seppuku, the samurai was obliged to behave with dignity, not to writhe in pain, not to scream, not to fall, try to make his death beautiful. If a samurai lost control of himself during a suicide, it was considered a great shame. In order to avoid this, over time, seppuku began to be performed using a special assistant - kaishakunin, who cut off the head of a samurai who plunged a knife into his stomach.
seppuku photo
The timing of the decapitation could vary depending on the situation and prior agreements. It was desirable for Kaisyaku to cut off his head in such a way, in which the head remained hanging on a strip of skin, since otherwise it could roll on the floor, which was considered unaesthetic. After the ceremony, the kaishaku wiped the blade with white paper, the severed head was lifted by the hair and shown to the witnesses, after which the body was covered with a white cloth.
Seppuku was also common among women of the samurai class, but they, unlike men, plunged a dagger into their hearts or cut their throats.
Genre Samurai
Harakiri, or, as the Japanese themselves say, seppuku, is a method of ritual suicide adopted among the samurai class in the Middle Ages and practiced until the 20th century.
Seppuku is a tradition directly related to the relationship between the vassal and the sovereign, the samurai and his daimyo (prince). Therefore, seppuku is an element of power relations. Harakiri was performed only by samurai - this was the privilege of their class. ritual suicide committed in the following cases: if the overlord sentenced the samurai to such an execution, or if the samurai was slandered, accusing him of betraying the master, he could resort to seppuku as self-justification and thus prove his innocence and loyalty to the overlord.
As you know, seppuku is a procedure for ripping open the abdomen, extremely painful and painful. This ritual was closely related to the Japanese concept of vitality: they believed that the stomach is the most important part of the body, in which the vital center of the body is located. And by performing this ritual, you will eliminate this vital force.
In Japanese society, such an execution was considered honorable. Firstly, since the samurai took his own life - by his own will or by order of the master, and was not subjected to death at the hands of another. Secondly, such a painful death is a test that a samurai passes with dignity, dying with honor. If a samurai was sentenced to seppuku, his family was not persecuted, retained their surname and property. Unworthy was the execution by beheading, which was considered a great shame when the head of the criminal was put on public display and taken around the city.
Traditionally, two people took part in the seppuku ritual: in fact, the one who commits suicide, and his "second", an assistant. As already mentioned, the procedure of ripping open the abdomen is extremely painful and usually does not bring instant death. Therefore, the samurai chose an assistant for himself, who stood next to him, and after he cut open his stomach, the second had to cut off his head, thereby saving the samurai from further torment.
In European Christian culture, there is a strict prohibition against suicide, but in Japanese culture there has never been a ban on it. Christians believe that the human body does not belong to him, but to God, who created it. Depriving yourself of life man goes against the will of God, committing sin. In Japan, it was believed that your body belongs to your parents or master, and with your body you must serve them. The body of a samurai belongs to his daimyo.
It should be noted that there were actually not so many cases of committing hara-kiri in the history of Japan. Mass culture replicated the image of a samurai committing hara-kiri, so the viewer may get the impression that seppuku was an extremely common and even everyday practice of any samurai, but this, of course, is not so. This ritual was quite rare, and already in the 18th century this type of seppuku was banned, when, after the death of the overlord, the most devoted vassals committed suicide. In the Middle Ages, it was considered among the samurai class to die after their master. good tone. But already in early XVIII centuries, it was legally prohibited, and in connection with this, the number of hara-kiri committed has noticeably decreased.
Seppuku was finally banned in the second half of the 19th century after the establishment of permanent ties between Japan and Europeans. The latter considered hara-kiri a barbaric and inhumane way of killing, after which it was replaced by hanging and execution more familiar to Europeans. Nevertheless, cases of hara-kiri were recorded in the twentieth century. They were already rare, but caused a great public outcry - precisely because of their rarity. So, after the defeat of Japan in World War II, several military officials resorted to hara-kiri, and the most recent high-profile case was suicide. famous writer Mishima Yukio in 1970.
1603 - 1867), when the rite was finally formed, - by the verdict of the court as a punishment for the crime committed. Harakiri was the privilege of the samurai, who were proud that they could freely manage their lives, emphasizing the performance of the rite for strength of mind and self-control, contempt for death. Cutting the abdomen required great courage and endurance from the warrior, since the abdominal cavity is one of the most sensitive places in the human body. The center of many nerve endings. That is why samurai, who considered themselves the most courageous, cold-blooded and strong-willed people of Japan, preferred this painful type of death.
Literally translated, hara-kiri means "to cut the stomach" (from "hara" - the stomach and "kiru" - to cut). However, the word "hara-kiri" has a hidden meaning. In Japanese, it corresponds to the words "stomach", "soul", "intentions", "secret thoughts" with the same spelling of the hieroglyph.
According to the philosophy of Buddhism, in particular the teachings of the Zen sect, not the heart, but the abdominal cavity is considered as the main, central point of life of a person and thus the seat of life. In accordance with this, the Japanese put forward the thesis that the vital forces located in the abdomen and occupying, as it were, a middle position in relation to the whole body, contribute to a more balanced and harmonious development of a person.
Despite the fact that in some works of European authors the idea was cited of identifying the Japanese understanding of the category "soul" with similar concepts among the ancient Greeks (who called the receptacle of the soul - the psyche - the chest-abdominal barrier) and among the ancient Jews (the Hebrew prophets spoke about the location of the soul in intestines), "hara" in the Japanese sense is not the equivalent of "soul" in the European sense. Here you can talk more about feelings and emotions. And it is no coincidence that in connection with this there are many expressions and sayings related to "hara". For example, a person who encourages another to be frank in a conversation uses the expression "hara o watte hanashimasho", which means "let's talk while sharing hara", or in other words, "let's talk with our stomachs open". Such sayings as “haradatsu” (to rise to the stomach, get angry) are also characteristic; "haraginatai" (dirty belly, vile person, low aspirations), etc.
The Japanese also give an important place to the "art of hara" (belly) - "haragei". This “art” refers to the process of communicating people at a distance as a result of intuitive connection and understanding each other with the help of hints.
Thus, the Japanese consider the stomach as an internal source of emotional existence, and opening it by means of revealing one's innermost and true intentions, serves as proof of the purity of thoughts and aspirations. In other words, according to the concepts of the samurai, “seppuku is the ultimate justification of oneself before heaven and people,” and it is more symbolic of a spiritual nature than simple suicide.
Origin of the rite
In the ancient period of Japanese history, the rite of hara-kiri was not common among the Japanese population of the archipelago.. However, having already certain ideas about the stomach as the main point of the human body, they were probably able to easily borrow the Ainu rite “re”. Actually hara-kiri appeared relatively late among the military settlements of the northern provinces that fought against the Ainu, which later turned into the class of Japanese warriors.
It is quite natural that the rite began to develop among warriors - people who were in constant combat readiness and always carried weapons with them - a means for waging war and an instrument of suicide.
