Reflections on a Certain Death
Kazuaki Yoshida's "Dazai Osamu is Mysterious" (Shakai Hyoronsha, 2008) is an attempt to destroy the myth of Dazai fans who try to sanctify Dazai Osamu, and at least this seems to have clearly destroyed the myth that Dazai was smiling when he died. However, for me, a reader of Dazai's works, not a Dazai fan or a mere follower of Dazai, the fact that Dazai's corpse was stubby is unimportant. Starting from this point, I would like to think about the wonder that such a simple fact is covered up by myths and the obvious fact is not conveyed.
I have repeatedly written that the speaker of Soseki Natsume's Kokoro, "I," is implied to be the reincarnation of K. However, this is not the case. However, this is only understood by about 300 people. I have also pointed out that one of the hidden themes of Kokoro is the issue of the death of Shizuko, the wife of General Nogi. It seems that only about ten people still understand this. As the professor reads General Nogi's will, he does not say aloud why General Nogi killed his wife. Instead, he keeps Shizuka alive. General Nogi's will is written on the premise that Shizuko will survive, leaving the Nakano household to Shizuko. The meticulous General Nogi would naturally have rewritten his will if his plans had changed. It is obvious that Shizuko was killed. General Nogi's will and records related to his wife Shizuko can still be viewed by anyone through Japan Search. Even if you are not a researcher, if you devote enough time, you will be able to reach the same question as Soseki Natsume.
According to Yuriko Miyamoto, when Mori Ogai heard the news of the martyrdom of Mr. and Mrs. Nogi, he became half-convinced and immediately wrote a series of novels about his martyrdom. While revising the manuscript several times, he insisted on the rule that "martyrdom is to be carried out in a place and at a time permitted by the lord, and not with the wife along for the ride. It may seem hard to believe that Ogai, who would later go on to write "Imperial Posthumous Records" and "Gengo Records," wrote that it was strange to martyr oneself to the emperor, but it is also true that the martyrdom of General and Mrs. Nogi was received with great surprise at the time.
However, even if I write these things again and again, if you go to Meiji Shrine or Nogi Shrine, you will feel as if there is indeed a god there. In any case, even if Shizuko's death is strange, it would be almost impossible to solve this mystery.
If you read Mitsuo Yamazaki's "The House in the Bush: Solving the Mystery of Akutagawa's Suicide," in which he argues that Ryunosuke Akutagawa's death was not caused by taking too many sleeping pills but by cyanide, you will understand how Ryunosuke Akutagawa focused on "dying off" while thinking about suicide for two years. For a suicide, not being able to die is terrifying. So what about Nogi and his wife? General Nogi himself, as a soldier, must have had the resolve and courage to die at any cost. However, even the most daring person does not die by cutting his stomach.
"Listen, Frenchmen! I will not die for you. I will die for the sake of my country. I am not dying for you. I am dying for the empire, and you can watch as Japanese men commit seppuku.
Minoura relaxed his clothes, took the dagger in his opposite hand, thrust it deep into his left side, cut down three inches, turned it to the right, and cut up another three inches. As the blade went deep, the wound was wide open. Minoura threw away his dagger, put his right hand into the wound, grabbed a large net and pulled it out while glaring at the Frenchman.
Baba drew his sword and cut the nape of his neck, but it was a shallow cut.
Baba drew his sword and slashed the nape of the neck, but the cut was shallow. What's the matter? Minoura shouted, "Baba-kun, what's the matter?
Minoura shouted, "Baba, what's the matter?" Baba's second sword cut the cervical vertebrae and made a cracking sound.
Minoura shouted loudly again.
Minoura shouted again, "I'm not dead yet. This voice was louder than before, echoing three times.
The French Minister, who had been watching Minoura's behavior from the beginning, was gradually surprised and awed. The French Minister, who had been watching Minoura's behavior from the beginning, was gradually struck with astonishment and awe. He was no longer at ease in his seat, but when he heard this unexpectedly loud voice at an unexpected time, he finally stood up and lost his way.
Baba crushed Minoura's head for the third time.
Nishimura, who was summoned next, was a mild-mannered man. His surname was Minamoto and his name was Ujiatsu. He lived in Enokuchi Village, Tosa County. He had a family stipend of 40 koku and was a horse driver. He was born in July of the second year of the Koka Era and was twenty-four years old at the time. He became the commander of an infantry platoon in August of Keio III. Nishimura arrived at the scene of seppuku wearing his military uniform, and carefully removed the button buttons one by one. Then he took a dagger and thrust it to the left, pulled it a little to the right, and thought it was too shallow, so he thrust it even deeper and pulled it loosely to the right. Kosaka, his aide, panicked a little and cut Nishimura from behind while he was still pulling to the right. His head flew off three times.
Next was Ikegami, who was interceded for by Kitagawa. Oishi, the next, was an outstandingly large man. First, he patted his belly a couple of times with both hands. Then he picked up his sword, stabbed his left side with his right hand, pushed down on the back of the sword with his left hand, put his left hand on his right hand, pulled the sword to the right, and when he reached his right side, he pushed up on the back of the sword with his left hand. When he reached the right side, he pushed the back of the sword with his left hand to cut it up. He then placed the sword on the right side of his seat, stretched out his hands, and shouted, "Mediation, please! Ochiai, the intercessor, failed to do so and crashed his head into the seventh blade. Oishi was the one who carried his sword smoothly and skillfully.
Sugimoto, Katsugase, Yamamoto, Morimoto, Kitashiro, Inada, and Yanase committed seppuku in that order. Among them was Yanase, who had once drawn his sword from left to right and then pulled it back again from right to left, causing his intestines to overflow from his wound.
The twelfth person, Hashizume, was next. By the time Hashizume had left and taken his seat, it was already dark around the four corners and the main hall was lit up.
The French Minister had been on and off in a state of unbearable anxiety. This anxiety gradually spread to the soldiers who were standing with their guns. Their postures all fell apart, and they began to wave their hands and whisper something to each other. Just as Hashizume was about to commit seppuku, the minister said a few words, and all the soldiers left the inspection table with the minister in the middle, and without bidding farewell to our royal family or the officials, they hurried out of the curtain. As soon as they had crossed the garden and left the temple gate, the soldiers with the minister in their arms moved into a trot and ran to the port entrance. (Ogai Mori, "Sakai Incident")
Even a samurai cannot die easily without an aide. When you read books such as Yukio Mishima's "Yuukoku," it is easy to see that a couple commits suicide, but if they are to die as martyrs, it would be strange for General Nogi to commit suicide without an intercessor. Moreover, it is almost a miracle that Shizuko was able to kill herself with a single thrust of her sword into her chest. Yukio Mishima had also learned how to commit seppuku, but he asked for help and was beheaded alive. We really don't know how Shizuko was killed, or by whom.
One day, as usual, I came home without thinking and found my brother lying on the futon with blood all around him. I was so startled that I threw out the bamboo bark wrapping and other things I had in my hand and went to his side and said, "What's the matter? Then my brother raised his pale face, which was stained with blood from both cheeks to his chin, and looked at me, but he could not speak. Whenever she breathed, there was only the sound of a heaving sound in the wound. I couldn't understand what was going on, so I said, "What's the matter? Did you vomit blood?" I tried to come closer to him, but he put his right hand on the floor and raised himself up a little. His left hand was pressing firmly on the bottom of his chin, but a clot of black blood was sticking out from between his fingers. My brother's eyes stopped him from moving closer to me, and he spoke up. 'I'm sorry,' he said, 'but I've learned to say things. 'I'm sorry. Please bear with me. It's a disease that's unlikely to go away anyhow, so I wanted to die quickly so my brother could have some peace of mind. I thought that if I turned off the whistle, I would be able to die quickly, but I couldn't because my breath just leaked out of it. I pushed deeper and deeper with all my might, and it slipped to the side. The blade didn't seem to spill. If you can pull this off, I think I will die. It's hard for me to say things. Please take my hand and pull it out,' he said. When my brother loosened his left hand, another breath escaped from it. I couldn't speak, so I kept quiet and looked at the wound in my brother's throat. I saw that he had taken a razor blade in his right hand and cut his whistle horizontally, but that wasn't enough to kill him, so he plunged the blade deep into his throat as if he were gouging. The handle is barely two inches from the wound. I looked at my brother's face without any thought of what to do. My brother was staring at me. I finally said, "Wait for me, I'll get a doctor. My brother gave me a resentful look, but then he pressed his left hand firmly on his throat and said, "What will the doctor do? I was at my wits' end and just looked at my brother's face. At times like this, it's amazing what the eyes can do. My brother's eyes were saying, "Hurry up, hurry up," and he was looking at me with a sense of bitterness. In my mind, it was as if a wheel was spinning around and around, but my brother's eyes never stopped urging me. But my brother's eyes never stopped urging me to do something, and the resentment in his eyes grew more and more stern, until they became hateful, as if he were glaring at his enemy. Seeing this, I finally decided that I had to do as my brother said. I said, "There's nothing I can do, I'll take it out. Then the color of my brother's eyes changed and he became radiant and even happy. I felt that I had to do everything I could to make him happy, so I leaned forward, hitting my knees. My brother let go of the right hand that had been poking him and lay down on the floor with the elbow of the hand that had been holding his throat. I gripped the handle of the razor blade tightly and kept pulling. (Ogai Mori, "Takasebune")
Then Shizuko was killed by General Nogi, and after witnessing this, General Nogi died on his own, which is clearly at odds with the suicide note. If Shizuko had not followed him, the will would have been rewritten. In the photograph taken on the morning of the day of his suicide, which Ryunosuke Akutagawa pointed out in "Shogun," there is General Nogi sitting on a chair reading a newspaper with his nose glasses, and Shizuko standing looking at him. I wonder if this was the scene after she fed her beloved horse sponge cake. I can't decipher what kind of resolve Shizuko has at this point in her life, but I think General Nogi's nose glasses look a little too fond for a commemorative photo on the day of mourning against Shizuko's defensive mood.
K had died in a single breath, slicing his carotid artery with a small knife. There was nothing that looked like a wound outside. I could see in the dim, dreamlike light that the blood on the paper had come from his neck muscles all at once. I looked at the mark again, clearly visible in the daylight. I was amazed at the sheer force of human blood. (Soseki Natsume, "Kokoro")
Jun Eto committed suicide in his bathroom by slitting his wrists with a small knife. in the seventh month of 1999, the Great Lord of Angolmoa attacked the human race in an attempt to destroy it, but thanks to Jun Eto, he survived. To keep him from becoming a blubbering mess, and to keep him from being swept away and lost, he was thrown into the Tama River in the middle of winter wearing a harness. Thrown in? I really almost died the other day, but I swear I'm not going to commit suicide yet. Because I have things to do before then. I can't die yet. I can't die now.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)