'Secret teachings' about ritual Samurai beheading revealed in newly translated Japanese texts

[Still Waters]

Four texts that discuss how the samurai carried out Seppuku, a ritual death in which a fellow samurai would usually behead another, have been translated into English for the first time. While the popular imagination often has the samurai stabbing themselves in the stomach and taking their own lives, this rarely happened during the Edo period (1603 to 1868).

The texts were translated into English by Eric Shahan, a Japanese translator who specializes in translating martial arts texts and published in the book "Kaishaku: The Role of the Second" (self published, 2024). Shahan also holds a San Dan (third-degree black belt) in Kobudo and has translated many Japanese martial arts texts. In the introduction, Shahan notes that the word "kaishaku" or "second" is a person charged with assisting in the ceremony, and often performed the beheading. The four texts were written to help give instructions to the kaishaku.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/secret-teachings-about-ritual-samurai-beheading-revealed-in-newly-translated-japanese-texts

[Ell]

The culture and psychology of sociopaths is fascinating.