The 'HARA KIRU.'
Although we have long been aware of the existence of this peculiar
mode of suicide, the exclusive policy of the Japanese has placed
insuperable difficulties in the way of obtaining accurate information
concerning it.
A more enlightened policy is now gaining ground in the country. The
chromo-lithographs that illustrate these 'Sketches' are fac-similes of
paintings by native artists, selected from a series lately published
at Yeddo, and sold to foreigners with the connivance, if not by
permission, of the authorities; for the spy system in Japan is so
perfect, that illicit dealings are next to impossible.
As Japanese punishments entail disgrace on every member of the
culprit's family, the 'Hara Kiru,' or 'happy dispatch,' which is the
only exception, is regarded as a great privilege by the classes
entitled to avail themselves of it These consist of the nobility,
military, and official of a certain rank holding civil appointments.
It seems to be a prevalent idea that this sacrifice is reserved for
political offences; but this is not the case, as crimes of all
descriptions are condoned by it.
A simple act of suicide does not constitute the 'Hara Kiru.' To render
the act legal, and to ensure the heir and family of the person
performing it against disgrace and loss of property, an order for its
performance must be issued by the Tycoon, or by the suzerain prince of
the culprit.
[Illustration: THE TYCOON'S MESSENGERS READING THE SENTENCE.]
The Japanese, being a high-spirited and patriotic people, consider
that death under any circumstances is preferable to dishonour; and the
privileged classes always carry about with them when they travel the
paraphernalia used at the performance of the 'Hara Kiru,' in token of
their readiness to prove their patriotism, or to die rather than
disgrace their family.
The dress consists of a robe and 'harakama,' or 'winged official
dress,' of coarse white cloth--white being the funeral colour of the
country--which is undistinguished by the crest or any sign of the rank
of the owner. There is also the disembowelling knife, the blade of
which is about eight inches long, and very sharp.
When the sentence of the 'Hara Kiru' is awarded, or the humble request
of a defeated politician to perform it is acceded to, a formal
document is made out and duly signed by the competent authorities. It
is then delivered to two commissioners, by whom it is conveyed to the
culprit.
Should the proposed victim be a Daimio of importance, and sufficiently
powerful to set the Tycoon at defiance, the delivery of the imperial
mandate is likely to be attended with unpleasant results, as the
bearers are sometimes waylaid and murdered by retainers of the doomed
prince, and have frequently to resort to stratagem to accomplish their
task. But when once the mandate is delivered, the prince must submit,
or he would lose caste even with his own followers, so strongly are
the Japanese imbued with respect for the ancient customs of their
country.
The accompanying illustrations represent the different formalities
that are observed at the performance of the 'Hara Kiru' by a Daimio.
On receiving the official intimation of his sentence, he orders the
necessary preparations to be made, and informs his friends and
relatives of it, inviting them to share in a parting carouse with him.
On the appointed day, after taking a private farewell of his family,
he receives his friends. He is habited in his white robes, and
supported by two of his relatives or ministers, similarly attired.
When the time arrives (which is previously arranged with the
commissioners) he takes leave of the guests, as on any ordinary
occasion, and enters the screened enclosure, accompanied by his
supporters. It will be noticed, that the retainers guarding the
exterior and entrance are barefooted, which is a mark of respect in
honour of the rank of the culprit, and of the solemnity of the
occasion.
The Tycoon's messengers then read the imperial mandate, which
proclaims that, in accordance with the ancient custom of the country,
the Daimio is permitted honourably to sacrifice himself for its
benefit, and thus to expiate in his own person the crime or offence he
has committed against the welfare of the state. In the illustration,
the two officials charged with this disagreeable office are sitting
opposite the Daimio and his friends, reading the fatal document, their
suite surrounding them in respectful attitudes.
The whole party wear the official dress, which intimates at once the
respect due to the victim and the official nature of the ceremony.
The second scene shows the Daimio on the point of performing the
sacrificial ceremony. His forelock is reversed, as a sign of
submission to his fate, and to assist the executioner, who, as soon as
his master goes through the form of disembowelling himself with the
knife on the stand, will, with one blow of his razor-edged sword,
complete the sacrifice by decapitation. Only the two chief
commissioners appointed by the Tycoon, and the sorely-tasked
supporters of the victim, remain to witness the last act of the drama.
The rest of the party await its completion in the adjoining
compartment of the enclosure, which is expressly constructed for that
purpose.
The funeral procession, which is the subject of the next scene, is
accompanied by all the pomp indicative of the high position of the
deceased. The mourners wear robes of white cloth, and all the feudal
paraphernalia are draped with the same material; which, as before
mentioned, is used in Japanese mourning. The coffin is carried near
the head of the procession; it is a square box of resinous wood,
covered over with white, and the body is placed in it in a sitting
posture.
[Illustration: THE SACRIFICE.]
[Illustration: A DAIMIO'S FUNERAL.]
[Illustration: CREMATION OF THE BODY.]
[Illustration: RELATIVES COLLECTING ASHES.]
All the members of the family attend the funeral, either on foot or
in norimons. If the wife and the heir be absent in Yeddo, they are
represented by the nearest relations. In this instance both are
present, from which it may be inferred that the sacrificial act has
taken place in the neighbourhood of Yeddo.
Although the Japanese sometimes bury their dead, they generally
practise cremation. Repulsive as this custom is to European ideas, it
must be remembered that the Japanese are not singular in preferring
it, as several of the most civilised nations of antiquity considered
it the most honourable mode of disposing of the bodies of the dead.
While the body is being reduced to ashes the priests tell their beads
and chant prayers for the soul of the departed, as the followers of
almost every religious sect in Japan believe in a state of purgatory.
The last scene shows the wife and son of the victim of the 'Hara Kiru'
collecting his ashes and depositing them in an earthenware jar. This
is afterwards sealed down and conveyed to the cemetery, or temple,
which contains the remains of his ancestors.
Some of the Japanese cemeteries are very extensive; and they are
generally situated in secluded, picturesque spots, in the
neighbourhood of the towns and villages.
The graves are small, round, cemented receptacles; just large enough
to receive the jar containing the ashes. If the body is buried (which
only happens when the deceased is friendless, or too poor to pay the
expenses of cremation), the head is always placed pointing to the
north. The tombstones are ordinarily about three feet high; and are
either square or circular in shape, resting on square pedestals, in
which small holes are cut to contain rice and water. The supplies of
these are replenished from time to time, generally by the women of the
family, lest the spirit of the deceased should revisit its grave and
imagine itself neglected. Sometimes flowers are placed before the
graves, and flowering sprigs of peach and plum are stuck in the ground
about them.
Like the Chinese, the Japanese burn joss-sticks to propitiate the
deities in favour of their departed relatives; and the neighbourhood
of a graveyard may generally he detected by the peculiar aromatic
odour emitted during the burning of these. For some time after a
funeral the relatives daily visit the tomb and intercede for the dead,
holding their hands up in the attitude of prayer, and rubbing the
palms together as they mutter their monotonous orisons.