19 What is seppuku? (Part 2)

<p>On this episode of <em>Ichimon Japan</em> we finish off the discussion on seppuku that we started in episode 18 with two very interesting examples of people cutting themselves open.</p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Topics Discussed<br /></strong></h2> <ul> <li>General Maresuke Nogi</li> <li>The death by (kind of sanctioned?) seppuku of General Nogi Maresuke</li> <li>The cork-sized plugs found in General Nogi's rectum</li> <li>Nogi Shrine in Tokyo</li> <li>The story of Matsudaira Tadaaki, a samurai who should not have fallen asleep near his swords</li> <li>And more!</li> </ul> <p><strong>Note/Kind of a spoiler</strong>: In the episode Ryan asks if the two plugs General Nogi used to prevent anal leakage were used only by General Nogi or by General Nogi and his wife. The footnote in <em>Seppuku</em> by Andrew Rankin makes it clear that two plugs were found in General Nogi's rectum. It makes no mention of what was found in General Nogi's wife's rectum.</p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Support on Patreon<br /></strong></h2> <p>If you enjoy <em>Ichimon Japan</em> and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $2 a month you'll get access to exclusive content and our eternal, profound, and undrying gratitude.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32280122">Support on Patreon</a></li> </ul> <h2 style="padding-left: 40px; text-align: center;"> <strong>Sources, Links, Videos, Etc.</strong></h2> <p>The vast majority of the information cited during this episode came from the book <em>Seppuku: A History of Samurai Suicide</em> by Andrew Rankin. It is a very well-researched, informative, and fun to read book that has a whole lot more information than what we were able to cover in this episode. If you would like to get a copy of the book for yourself, please consider using the Amazon affiliate link below. It won't cost you anything extra and it will help support what we're doing here at Japankyo.c