Suicide in Japan

topic that has been disputed for quite some time is which country the ninja originated from. Some say the ninja hails from ancient Japan, but they would only be partially correct. The first fully fledged ninjas were documented and accounted for in Japan, and even ninja culture in the West came to…

Japan has faced many transitions in its long, rich history. From learning to cast bronze from their Chinese neighbors, to its unification of states after years of turmoil, Japan always rises to the challenges presented by international forces and pressures of future generations. As transitions from period to period occur, it’s often difficult to fully characterize the emotional mindset of those within the culture. Natsume Soseki's novel Kokoro captures this process as Japan moves into its…

mother. However, when K, Sensei’s university friend, came to live with them, he didn’t realize that he would be competing with his friend for the love of his life. This competition and K’s family situation caused him to go overboard, and he committed suicide. This drove Sensei into isolation; he blames himself for K’s death even though no one says Sensei killed him. Ojosan believed, that because she was part of the problem between the two of them, Sensei hated her which drove a small wedge…

Furthermore, like the samurai of Japan as time went on, success required more than brawn: it required loyalty to his liege-lord in society as well as strategy and ingenuity on the battlefield. Born of Noble blood and birth in the time of Charlemagne, in the 9th and 10th Centuries of France, and his successors. The knight emerged from the cavalry of…

could code the codes emperor systems”. Sakaguchi was against the acts of the chief and termed the acts of emperor marrying the virgins as moral decadence. He further emphasizes on the significance of starting from the bottom and raising a prosperous Japan that embraces proper cultural and moral values (Sakaguchi, p.4). The character confirms with at the thought of moral decadence because he is acting contrary to the cultural and societal moral principles. The emperor was working towards…

For example a samurai should act fearless until death. Japan had cultural expectations of men and women. Both men and women shared expectations: loyalty and courage. Men were expected to be loyal to their lords while women were to be loyal to their family and husband. Masago getting raped her loyalty to her husband was broken. The ascension of the Samurai code changed the place of women in Japan. Before the advent of the Samurai, Japanese society had been ordered largely on…

Gail Tsukiyama's The Samurai's Garden tells the story of Stephen Chan, a young Chinese man who is sent away from his family to live in Tarumi after being diagnosed with tuberculosis who finds it hard to fit in. He is cared for by the caretaker of the family house, Matsu, a solemn man who has lived alone in the house for many years. Stephen then meets Sachi, a woman diagnosed with leprosy and sent to Yamaguchi, a colony for those with leprosy. Stephen and Sachi initially feel isolated, but upon…

In the article “Mega Marketing in Japan” Ethan Watters describes the tragic issue of suicide in Japan, while in “The Nature of Stress”, Selye describes the idea of stress and the misconceptions society has had about stress. These two articles significantly correlate to one another as one progresses through the readings. It becomes evident that the reason behind the consistent suicide issue in the Japanese society was due to their misconceptions of stress. The key to depression is the…

next room, people in countries like Japan are unsure of when help will come and therefore commit suicide. The reason for their suicide is not related to any form of physical illness but rather an emotional illness that in relation to the American conception is known as depression but in translation to Japanese would be thought of as something rare. The notion of depressed is heavily discussed in Ethan Watters’ essay, “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan,” in a conversation he has with Dr.…

were taken and imperial aggression revived samurai military traditions ("World War II (1939–1945)"). The value of death before dishonor and contempt for defeat motivated soldiers to ruthlessly defend Japan (Deal). During October of 1944 towards the closing stages of WWII, the Japanese launched suicide missions as a desperate measure, and a large majority of young men voluntarily joined in this piece of the fight…