People dressed in ancient samurai warrior uniforms participated in a parade before a Yabusame horseback archery demonstration of samurai martial arts at Sumida Park in Tokyo this April. AFP
A controversial contest that challenged participants to mimic Japanese samurai in pain after 'seppuku'—ritual suicide—has been canceled due to widespread criticism that it was in bad taste. The 'Seppuku Contest' was scheduled to occur next month in the western Japanese city of Matsue, historically known as a feudal lord town.
An advertisement in a local newspaper last week read, 'Show us your incredible acting skills as you suffer for about a minute after cutting yourself in the belly with a plastic sword. The participant who delivers the most powerful performance will win the top prize!' However, the event faced rapid backlash on social media, with some arguing that self-disembowelment should not be trivialized as entertainment.
One user commented on X, 'I understand this is a performance, but are they really going to make a contest out of people dying in pain? This feels like making fun of the act of seppuku itself.' Another expressed an 'instinctive aversion to the idea of death being made light of.'
The contest organizer, who identified themselves only as Ogawa, informed AFP on Thursday that the competition had been canceled after 'receiving a lot of feedback saying it is inappropriate.' In an email, the organizer stated, 'We thought this contest could encourage some people to become actors or even create something new in the genre of bizarre festivals.' However, they acknowledged that seppuku is 'still largely associated with death and killing, and we feel sorry for causing trouble.'
The newspaper ad mentioned that the performances would occur on the terrace of Matsue's municipal office, a detail that took city officials by surprise. 'We had no idea' this was being planned, said Matsue official Tomokazu Honda, explaining that the organizer initially approached the city with a proposal for a 'flea market.' Shocked by the ad, officials complained to the organizer, deeming the contest 'unbefitting' of the venue and potentially 'causing discomfort to many people.' 'Turning a person's life and death into a performance at a place like a city hall is questionable,' Honda added.
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