Kiri-sute gomen
Kiri-sute gomen (斬捨御免 or 切捨御免) is a Japanese expression regarding the
Etymology
Kiri-sute gomen translates literally as "authorization to cut and leave [the body of the victim]."
Conditions
This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. (October 2023) |
Because the right was defined as a part of
Some professions, like doctors and midwives, were not eligible targets for kiri-sute gomen while at work or heading to their workplaces, as their jobs often required them to push the boundaries of honor. This exception was called torinuke gomen (通り抜け御免, "authorization to pass first").[4]
In any case, the samurai performing the act had to prove that his action was right. After striking down his victim, the user was required to report the incident to a nearby government official, give his version of the facts and provide at least one witness who corroborated it, and he was expected to spend the next 20 days at home as a proof of contrition. The last one applied even after favorable verdict, although it is unclear whether it applied to the physical author of the death or his superior in case the kill was performed by proxy. Moreover, the homicidal weapon could be confiscated if an investigation was necessary or as a warning for a kill whose justification was feeble, and it was only given back after the 20 days.[1]
Performing kiri-sute gomen without justification was severely punished. The guilty party could be destituted from his job and could even be
History
Samurai visiting
Notable incidents
A popular incident tells how a commoner bumped into Saiheiji Tomo, treasurer of the
The Namamugi Incident (sometimes known as the "Kanagawa incident" or "Richardson affair") was a political crisis that followed the 1862 murder of British merchant Charles Lennox Richardson, who was killed by the armed retinue of Shimazu Hisamitsu, regent of the Satsuma Domain, on a road in Namamugi near Kawasaki. Europeans protested that the incident violated their extraterritoriality in Japan, while the Japanese argued Richardson had disrespected Shimazu and was justifiably killed under the kiri-sute gomen rule. British demands for compensation and failure by the Satsuma to respond resulted in the Bombardment of Kagoshima (or Anglo-Satsuma War) in August 1863.[6]
Another happening features a nobleman named Kuranosuke Toda, whose
An instance of Kiri sute gomen is described in the story of the Hōgyū Jizō statue. A boy, whose father was killed by Kiri sute gomen, made 100 stone statues in later life, in Kumamoto.
See also
- Deadly force
- Honour killing
- Licence to kill (concept)
- Private war
- Summary execution
- Tsujigiri
Notes
- ^ a b c d Kirisute-gomen - Samurai World
- ISBN 4-7674-2015-6
- ^ a b Mako Taniguchi, Kiri-sute Gomen, Yamakawa, 2005
- ^ Katsumi Nakae, Oedo no Bushi no Igaina Seikatsu Jijo - Ishokujū kara shumi shigoto made, 2005, PHP Bunko
- ^ Mikito Ujiie, Edo Hantei Monogatari, Chukoshinsho, 1988
- ISBN 978-0-9568798-0-6
- ^ Shigeaki Asahi, Bunka Kagaku
References
- John Pierre Mertz, "Tokugawa Cultural Chronology", (version 2008.01.30; www4.ncsu.edu/~fljpm), page 2. Retrieved on 2008-08-16.