[PDF] Hara Kiri eBook

Author : Jack Seward
Publisher : Tuttle Publishing
Page : 120 pages
File Size : 24,48 MB
Release : 2012-07-17
Category : History
ISBN : 1462907628

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Hari-Kiri is a definitive text on Japanese ritual suicide, also known as suppuku. To the average westerner, the word hara-kiri conjures up an image of excruciating, self-inflicted pain; of a deep, fatal incision. To the Japanese, this kind of suicide embodies the best qualities of courage, honor, and discipline. Through extensive research, author Jack Seward brings to the English-speaking public a dissertation on the subject that is thoroughly enlightening. Fluent in speaking, reading, and writing Japanese, he was able to glean information from ancient documents—many of them scrolls in the Japanese archives—that few foreigners have seen. The earliest writings on hara-kiri (known more formally as seppuku) are thus revealed, as are the intricate rituals surrounding the ceremony. "The major purpose of this book," says the author, "is to clarify the historical and sociological significance of a unique method of self-destruction." In fulfilling this purpose, author Seward has come up with a definitive work that is sure to arouse interest both as a scholarly effort and as simple, fascinating reading.

Author : Andrew Rankin
Publisher : Kodansha USA
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 15,14 MB
Release : 2012-11-20
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 1568364482

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The history of seppuku—Japanese ritual suicide by cutting the stomach, sometimes referred to as hara-kiri—spans a millennium, and came to be favored by samurai as an honorable form of death. Here, for the first time in English, is a book that charts the history of seppuku from ancient times to the twentieth century through a collection of swashbuckling tales from history and literature. Author Andrew Rankin takes us from the first recorded incident of seppuku, by the goddess Aomi in the eighth century, through the "golden age" of seppuku in the sixteenth century that includes the suicides of Shibata Katsuie, Sen no Rikyū and Toyotomi Hidetsugu, up to the seppuku of General Nogi Maresuke in 1912. Drawing on never-before-translated medieval war tales, samurai clan documents, and execution handbooks, Rankin also provides a fascinating look at the seppuku ritual itself, explaining the correct protocol and etiquette for seppuku, different stomach-cutting procedures, types of swords, attire, location, even what kinds of refreshment should be served at the seppuku ceremony. The book ends with a collection of quotations from authors and commentators down through the centuries, summing up both the Japanese attitude toward seppuku and foreigners’ reactions: "As for when to die, make sure you are one step ahead of everyone else. Never pull back from the brink. But be aware that there are times when you should die, and times when you should not. Die at the right moment, and you will be a hero. Die at the wrong moment, and you will die like a dog." — Izawa Nagahide, The Warrior’s Code, 1725 "We all thought, ‘These guys are some kind of nutcakes.’" — Jim Verdolini, USS Randolph, describing "Kamikaze" attack of March 11, 1945

Author : Acie Cargill
Publisher :
Page : 84 pages
File Size : 21,13 MB
Release : 2019-07-19
Category :
ISBN : 9781081535032

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Yukio Mishima, one of Japan's best writers of the 2oth century, was deeply attracted to the patriotism and martial spirit of Japan's past, which he contrasted unfavourably to the materialistic Westernized people and the prosperous society of Japan in the postwar era. Mishima himself was torn between these differing values. Although he maintained an essentially Western lifestyle in his private life and had a vast knowledge of Western culture, he raged against Japan's imitation of the West. He diligently developed the age-old Japanese arts of karate and kendo. He formed a controversial private army of about 80 students, the Tate no Kai (Shield Society), with the aim of preserving the Japanese martial spirit and theoretically helping to protect the emperor (the symbol of Japanese culture) in case of an uprising by the left or a communist attack.On November 25, 1970, Mishima and four members of his militia entered a military base in central Tokyo, took the commandant hostage, and tried to persuade the soldiers at the base to join them in supporting the emperor and overturning Japan's pacifist Constitution. When this was unsuccessful, Mishima committed suicide by seppuku. It seems that this was his original purpose, a ritual suicide in the samurai tradition. He had written his closing letters and got all his affairs in order before they went on their mission. He left enough money for his assistants to have a legal defense.

Author : Franco Borgogno
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 330 pages
File Size : 19,89 MB
Release : 2018-03-08
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 042992089X

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This book bears witness to the author's psychoanalytic journey from the years 1994-1995 to the present, and as such is a completion and a continuation of his previous Psychoanalysis as a Journey of 1999. The book is divided into two parts: one clinical and the other theoretical. The two parts are connected to each other, since the concepts and authors on whom the second (theoretical-clinical) part are focused make up the "tools of the trade" that the author utilizes in the first part to describe his work with patients. In particular, th author describes his work with "M," who is the protagonist of many of these pages. The first (clinical) part contains the text, more or less unmodified, of the analytic paper that the author presented fifteen years ago in order to be appointed a training and supervising analyst.

Author : Ben Hubbard
Publisher : The History Press
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 21,45 MB
Release : 2014-06-02
Category : History
ISBN : 0750957255

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The true nature of the Japanese samurai warrior is an elusive and endlessly fascinating enigma for those in the West. From their inauspicious beginnings as barbarian-subduing soldiers, the samurai lived according to a code known as bushido - or 'way of the warrior'. Bushido- advocated loyalty, honour, pride and fearlessness in combat. Those who broke the code were expected to perform seppuku, or suicide through stomach-cutting. By its very design, seppuku aimed to restore honour to disgraced warriors by ensuring the most painful of deaths. However, the bushido- virtues of loyalty and honour fell into question as the samurai grew powerful enough to wrest control from the emperor himself. Accompanied by vivid colour illustrations, The Samurai offers a complete, concise account of samurai history and culture. It tells the story of the rise of the samurai as a martial elite, the warriors' centuries long struggle for power and their long slide into obsolescence.

Author : Craig DiLouie
Publisher :
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 26,41 MB
Release : 2018-06-14
Category :
ISBN : 9781720648048

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Charlie Harrison finally achieves his dream of commanding the Sandtiger, leading her able crew on a war patrol to the Philippines in September 1944. Along the way, he faces the challenges of command, a malfunctioning boat, and a patrol area that appears devoid of enemy ships. When a massive fleet materializes on the horizon, he identifies it as Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet. America is invading the Philippines to cut off Japan from its colonial resources. The Japanese Combined Fleet responds, culminating in the largest naval battle in history and Charlie facing the ultimate test.

Author : Inazo Nitobe
Publisher : Arcturus Publishing
Page : 89 pages
File Size : 35,54 MB
Release : 2017-09-21
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1788880382

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This classic text by Inazo Nitobe defining the moral code of the warrior class or Samurai has had a huge impact both in the West and in Japan itself. Drawing on Japanese traditions such as Shinto and Buddhism, and citing parallels with Western philosophy and literature, Nitobe's text is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the culture and morals of Japan.

Author : Nils Retterstøl
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 284 pages
File Size : 44,55 MB
Release : 1993-06-17
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780521420990

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A sensitive and enlightening account of the problem of suicide and attempted suicide in today's societies.