A competition offering its participants the role of samurai writhing in pain after seppuku, a suicide ritual by disembowelment, has been canceled in Japan after coming under fire from criticism. Named “Seppuku Competition,” the event was to take place in December in the town of Matsue (west), known in the archipelago as an ancient town of feudal lords.
“Show us your incredible acting skills as you agonize for about a minute after cutting your stomach open with a plastic sword,” read the ad in a local newspaper last week. “The author of the strongest performance will win first prize,” she said.
The event quickly came under fire from multiple critics on social media, with some saying that death by self-evisceration should not be considered entertainment. The contest organizer, who only gave his last name, Ogawa, told AFP on Thursday that the contest had been canceled after “receiving numerous comments” that deemed it “inappropriate.”
“We thought this competition might encourage some people to become actors or even create something new in the weird festival genre,” the organizer said in an email.
While he had initially thought the event would simply be entertaining, he acknowledged that the term “seppuku” was “still largely associated with death and murder.” “We are sorry” for causing such emotion, he added.
The announcement also indicated that the performances were to take place in front of Matsue town hall, a detail which took city officials by surprise. “We knew nothing about it,” Tomokazu Honda, a city official, told AFP, explaining that the organizer had first proposed a “flea market”.
Shocked officials complained to the organizer that the competition was unsuitable for the venue and could “embarrass many people,” Tomokazu Honda said.
“Transforming the life and death of a person into a spectacle in a place such as a city hall is something questionable,” he said.
