Citation

Picone M. Cult. Med. Psychiatry 2012; 36(2): 391-408.

Affiliation

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris, France, marypicone@hotmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11013-012-9261-3

PMID

22549663

Abstract

For an overwhelming majority of commentators, including many anthropologists, 'Japanese culture' is still associated with a positive view of suicide. Western-language writings have contributed by feedback loop to perpetuate this stereotype. Besides the local 'samurai ethic', Japanese Buddhism is also said not to prohibit taking one's life. However, the most popular examples of heroic self-sacrifice, from the Edo period to WWII, are fraught with covert contradictions. From ancient times to the present religious practitioners of all sorts have maintained that suicide creates unhappy, resentful spirits who harm the living. This article discusses many examples of a diverse series of narratives, from spirit medium's séances to drama to contemporary films, in which the anguished spirits of suicides are allowed to express themselves directly. After the figures rose alarmingly in the late 1990s various religious organisations have attempted to fight the stigma suffered by bereaved family members and have introduced new interpretations and new rituals.

Language: en