If the head belonged to a person of great importance, it may be presented more formally. Sometimes the severed heads would be presented in a pile, and other times they were hung in trees on display.
It represents life coming full circle when it comes to an end. This may sound gruesome, but it is considered an act of respect to a fellow warrior.
If they lose a battle, it is tradition for the opposing team to gather their severed heads and present them to their ruler.
Samurai must be expected to die at any time. Samurai are sometimes referred to as “Bushi” because of this oath. Samurai warriors took an oath known as Bushidô, which loosely translates to “Way of the Warrior.” Seppuku and Namakubi have their origins in the warrior class of Feudal Japan- a Namakubi, however, involves removing the head entirely. The assistant, (known as the kaishakunin) leaves the head attached at the collarbone, so that it hangs on the body. In this tradition, a disgraced Samurai voluntarily disembowels themselves.Īfter completing this task, an assistant will finish the job by slicing through the Samurai’s neck.
You may have seen references to Seppuku in a number of pieces of entertainment, including The 2013 film The Wolverine, the classic opera Madame Butterfly, and even on your TV screen on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Seppuku has been portrayed in both American and Japanese pop culture for a long time, so it is familiar to many people. Many people get Namakubi mixed up with the Japanese Samurai tradition of Seppuku, also known as Harakiri. Is generally less shocking and more acceptable in civilisations with a longer So, while death is a sad occasion worldwide, it The light, airy, delicate petals serve as a reminder of the beauty of life and the inevitability of death.Ĭompare this to the European image of the grim reaper, or the popular American symbolism of the skull and crossbones. One need only look at the revered image of a cherry blossom to see this romantic approach.Ĭherry blossoms only bloom for a very short period in the spring, so they are often used to represent the fragility of life. Though every culture has their own funeral rites,Īnd it is natural to be sad at someone’s passing, many traditions embrace deathĪttitudes and rituals around death are changing in modern Japan, but there tends to be a romantic attitude toward someone’s passing. In the West, there are constant medical advances made to extend life and to keep people alive, even when they are very ill. It is a fairly modern, western thing to see death as tragically as it tends to be portrayed. To understand why someone would get a tattoo of a severed head, you must first understand ancient Japanese battle fields, and the Eastern way of looking at death. The Namakubi tattoo is an incredibly popular choice all over the world, despite its grisly appearance. There are those who may see these tattoos without understanding their backstory and assume they are meant to be for pure shock value.Īs with most traditional Japanese tattoos, there is far more than meets the eye when it comes to this design. Namakubi roughly translates to “freshly severed head.”Ī Namakubi tattoo is exactly that- an image of a freshly severed head.