Hara-kiri - the spirit of Japan :: essays research papers

Almost one million people die in Japan every year. In other words, people die every 31 seconds. Some people die because of illness. Some people die because of car accident. Some people commit suicide. There are many kinds of death in this world. I believe most of those deaths are disconsolate and absurd. However, the honorable but unbelievable death existed in Japan in the middle ages. We call that hara-kiri. Hara-kiri is basically an act of killing your self by cutting open your stomach with a sword, performed especially by the warrior, to avoid shame or losing honor. Before I start talking about hara-kiri, I need to explain about the history of Japan. Japanese society has a history of only 120 years since shedding its feudal system. The origin of feudal system is more than 1,000 years ago, so it is still underlying thought of Japanese. Hara-kiri performed especially by the warrior called samurai as indicated above. The samurai were the members of the military class, the Japanese warriors. Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns, but their most famous weapon and their symbol was the sword. Samurai were supposed to lead their lives according to the ethic code of bushido ("the way of the warrior"). Strongly Confucian in nature, Bushido stressed concepts such as loyalty to one's master, self discipline and respectful, ethical behavior. There are many reasons to commit hara-kiri. For example, after a defeat, some samurai decide to commit hara-kiri rather than being captured or dying a dishonorable death. Japanese culture sometimes called â€Å"shame culture† as oppose to the Western â€Å"guilt culture.† According to this thought in western countries, the absolute moral standard of guilt is the principle of people’s behavior, but in Japan, the behavior is ruled by the external feeling of shame. Particularly for samurai in the feudal period, being put to shame in public was as good as being dead. These are examples of hara-kiri from Japanese history. In 1580, Bessho Nagaharu who governed southern part of Japan and his men were cut off from their food supply in a beleaguered castle by their enemy for 20 months. At last, Bessho ran out of provisions. The longer he stayed, the more men were starved to death, and it was a taboo to surrender at that period. However, there was one way to save his men and avoid shame of surrender.

Soccer Ritual

I had the passion to play soccer because of them and I was wanted to become as a famous player in Saudi Arabia Maxed Abdullah. From that moment my sibling and play it and like it very much. Also, we were fans to AY-Edited FCC as my father does because most of children want to become like their fathers. My father once bought for us a football, so my brother and I keep play with it and watch soccer matches to learn some skills. Furthermore, when we became good player, we start to play against my cousins and our neighbors.We won In all of games we took medallions. After that I was plan to win on my brothers and get the medallion from them to look a hero on my father eyes, so I started watch a lot soccer matches and soccer animation. I learn a lot of skills such as how to shoot by left foot, how to skip from the player, and how to pass the ball under the player and that happen when I was in second grade in elementary school. I start to collect my team from my cousins and my neighbors, so my oldest brother and I made a competition and we asked my father to Judge.So I won the game and my dad was surprised of the way I was played, so he gave me a hundred SIR is about $26 but in that time it value a lot because when my father gave us 5 RSI we feel like rich. Soccer is more than a sport; soccer player are a folk group with rituals and Informal tradition. In this research I will define a ritual and how is related to soccer. What Is a ritual? A ritual Is a particular type of tradition that many folklorist as a distinct category of folklore.Ritual are habitual actions, but they are more purposeful than customs rituals are frequently highly organized and controlled often ant to indicate or announce membership in a group. Most rituals are stylized, and highly conceptualized deeply symbolic activities that enable groups to acknowledge exemplify, and / or act out certain traditional ideas, values, and beliefs. Family and community celebrations scared and secular ceremonies, an d a variety of other structured performance include rituals.Rituals required a set of beliefs and values that group members accept and want to have reinforced. The ritual works to teach their importance by emphasizing even acting out these sales or belies like tradition in general. Rituals frequently employ symbols and metaphors to represent Important concepts. There are no clear records about who or whom Invited the soccer or the mime was, however the historian agreed that a kind of play ball was played for at least 3000 years, and that can see In China, Egypt, and Greece before modern one has developed in England.There are many rituals related to teams before they join first time. That was because they have a ritual before the game and they belief they can win the game. Especially Fabian Breather's shaved head before each game and hanging a towel on goal. Shatter is a soccer team in Khaki. Before they play the game they slaughtered a sheep to win games, however the animal rights g roup PETA .NET â€Å"strongly worded letter† to the FAA president. They do that because they feel the luck comes by this ritual.In many Muslim majority countries like Astrakhan, the ritual slaughter of a sheep is seen as bringing good fortune ahead of a major event. The meat is then often distributed among the poor. According to Shatter coach Smoky says, â€Å"Of course this tradition may have certain psychological impact on players that can help them to relax before the game. â€Å"(FOOTBALL) Slaughter a lamb has known from old centuries in many books and religions such as Islam, and Christianity. In holy Curran mention (e-*HCI 4439) that mean God command Abraham to sacrifice a sheep instead of his son Small (AY shaft 107).People sacrifice a sheep because they want to be placed by God or to forgive a sign, and some do it for the evil to make a bad thing. As Jewish and Muslim did the same thing when they have children. To be grateful to the God. Most soccer players have sup erstitions and rituals. They think they can success in their game. Superstitions can have variety things such as dirty socks, pre-game song, or a sort of pray. Also, there are funny operations like Christian Rolando has 7 1. On the bus Christian is sitting alone in the back row and he is the last one who leaves the bus 2. N the plane he sits always with Epee, and he is the first who leaves the plane 3. In the locker room at the halftime he must change his hairstyle 4. He must touch the ball before leaving the dressing room 5. In the Portugal national team he is the only Portuguese who is allowed to start off with a long-sleeve Jersey 6. On the pitch he always steps onto the right foot 7. When he scores the goal, first he is waving to his family (footballers). Sorcery Sorcery is a one of a taboo thing. Many clubs used sorcery to win the game.They used it before the game and some wear it or hang it. They do that that to blind the other team from scoring goals or they used devils to st op goalkeepers from follow the ball. According to AY hill FCC Ex player conference that he used sorcery in one of games by washing his face, and after the game he quit and went to Mecca to erase his sin. (sport kabob) In conclusion, soccer became a famous game in the world have it's on rituals and superstitions between the players, mangers, and fans. I

Marriage Not Always a Fairytale - 1068 Words

â€Å"I take you, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.† These traditional wedding vows conjure up images of true love and unfailing commitment. Although this unconditional love is beautiful, it was not always a reality. This fact became evident within literature of the late eighteen hundreds. â€Å"The Storm† written by Kate Chopin, â€Å"An Adventure in Paris† by Guy De Maupassant, and â€Å"The Lady with the Dog† by Anton Chekhov, are all prominent short stories that portrayed dissatisfied women involved in loveless marriages. For these women, lack of fulfillment and the†¦show more content†¦In this short story, Calixta never mentioned any dissatisfaction in her marriage. Calixta appeared to be pleased with her husband Bobinot, and her son Bibi. She was not searc hing for passion, but due to a fateful encounter, passion found her. When Alcee appeared at her door, his presence ignited all the infatuation she once felt for him. Before long, the two were in each other’s arms, and eventually in bed. Their fervent affair paralleled the rise, and eventual passing of the violent storm. â€Å"The generous abundance of her passion, without guile or trickery, was like a white flame which penetrated and found response in depths of his own sensuous nature that had never been reached† (Chopin 98). The steamy romance Alcee provided was one Calixta never knew she wanted. Unlike the women in â€Å"The Lady with a Pet Dog†, and â€Å"An Adventure in Paris,† Calixta stumbled into an unintentional affair. The women in â€Å"The Storm†, â€Å"Adventure in Paris†, and â€Å"The Lady with the Dog† were similar due to their cheating, but their affairs had vastly different outcomes. In â€Å"The Storm†, Calixta had a onetime intimate moment with Alcee, and she did not intend for anything to come out of it. Once their sexual encounter had ended, Alcee and Calixta went their separate ways. â€Å"So the storm passed and everyone was happy† (Chopin 99). This quote hinted the affair was kept a secret that would forever remain between them. â€Å"An AdventureShow MoreRelatedDoes Anne Sexton Want A Happily Ever After?1264 Words   |  6 Pagespeople start out with a very unfortunate life and then become very wealthy by some type of luck. A Cinderella story is a type of myth, or fairytale. Poems sometimes add details to famous myths to reveal a meaning that is deeper than what was originally intended. The meaning of a true Cinderella story is that hard work al ways prospers and that the underdog always comes out on top. 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