The Japanese Emperor's Suicide and the Samurai's Suicide

This paper examines how the mass suicide of the Heike family in the Battle of Dannoura at the end of ancient times was accepted and altered in medieval and modern literature. The mass suicide of the Heike family, pictured in Heikemonogatari, is not a suicide of their own choosing, but rather a suicide that took place in an atmosphere of insistence on suicide. The presence of a gaze that condemns Munemori, who is unable to act out of fear of death, symbolizes that the suicide of the Heike family is a typical altruistic suicide. Niinoama committed suicide by jumping into the sea with a sword while holding the young emperor. In particular, her songs express death as a journey. Her Sasega transforms the death of Emperor Antoku into a voyage of allegiance to her subordinates, escorted by her subordinates, who depart for the Dragon Palace at sea. The suicide of the Emperor, who disappeared into the Dannoura waves, is transformed into a new narrative. Tomomori commits an honorable suicide with his subordinates. Tomomori's remarks show the attitude that a general should take when he loses a fight. In Noh, Tomomori absorbed the images of Noritsune, Norimori, and Tsunemori. Tomomori's image as the epitome of Samurai continued in Kabuki.