The 47 Ronin
A lengthy Japanese propaganda epic first released in 1941, “The 47 Ronin,” is based on the 18th century tale of samurai whose loyalty to their master transcended his death. It was produced for the Japanese military government to instill Bushido virtues in men and boys for World War II.
In Feudal Japan, Samurai were indoctrinated to live according to Bushido which was an unforgiving, unwritten code of living that engraved skewed, suicidal moral principles and values in the minds of men and boys. Such a Bushido lifestyle is at the core of any explanation of why men and boys committed seppuku (ritual suicide) more than women and girls. Bushido defined masculinity for men and boys in such a way that it encouraged needless male deaths and needless male suffering. Men should define their own ethical masculinity which is “Masculinity Choice.” A guy needs to define his own ethical Masculinity Choice in order to live Beyond Gynocentrism.
Bushido has its origins in Zen Buddhism which shows how philosophical/religious thought can be weaponized to increase male suicide. Samurai were openly expendable in Feudal Japan. Samurai were indoctrinated to develop an abnormal relationship with death and were taught to think about it continually. According to the Bushido Shoshinshu written in the 17th century by Taira Shigesuke, a Samurai and military strategist of the Edo period:
“As long as you keep death in mind at all times, you will fulfill the ways of loyalty and familial duty. You will also avoid myriad evils and calamities, you will be physically sound and healthy, and you will live a long life. What is more, your character will improve, and your virtue will grow. If people comfort their minds with the assumption that they will live a long time, something might happen, because they think they will have forever to do their work and look after their parents-they may fail to perform for their employers and also treat their parents thoughtlessly. But if you realize that the life that is here today is not certain on the morrow, then when you take your orders from your employer, and when you look in on your parents, you will have the sense that this may be the last time, so you cannot fail to become truly attentive to your employer and your parents. This is why I say you also fulfill the paths of loyalty and familial duty when you keep death in mind.”
According to Bushido, if a samurai loses his honor as defined by the predatory ruling elites, he could regain it by performing seppuku, a form of ritual suicide. Whether chosen by the samurai himself or ordered as a form of capital punishment by a predatory ruling elite, seppuku was preferred to a dishonorable death at the hands of an enemy. It was also a demonstration of the power of the indoctrination that samurai were taught by a ruling class that needed expendable men and boys that would willingly die for the ruling elites of Japan. The effectiveness of the decades-old propaganda narratives of the ruling elites was constantly demonstrated when after the death of a Lord, loyal samurai might show their affection and grief for their Master by performing seppuku. Many samurai also committed seppuku as an act of protest against injustice or to get their Lord to reconsider an unwise or unworthy action.
The movie below, “The 47 Ronin,” was released during World War II in 1941 as a malevolent propaganda movie to encourage men and boys to go to war to sacrifice their lives and/or risk being violently butchered on slaughterhouse battlefields with horrible, painful wounds. The movie tells the account of a well-known part of real Japanese history. In the movie, the ronin avenge their master’s dishonor and death under the rule of a ruthless shogun. After avenging their master, they are sentenced to commit seppuku. In the movie they are shown to feel privileged to be able to commit suicide by seppuku and believe it is a way to regain their individual honor. The movie also glorifies a man and his adolescent son committing seppuku. “The 47 Ronin” glorifies the ritual suicide of both men and boys.
“The 47 Ronin” illustrates the worldwide Gynocentric Division of Labor that has existed since prehistoric times. Our Gynocentric Division of Labor is part of the malevolent social intelligence of Predatory Gynocentrism which has caused the needless deaths of millions of men and boys since primeval times. It has also caused needless male suffering when men and boys have had to do the backbreaking work, engage in the most dangerous occupations, and endure painful physical and psychological wounds on battlefields. One solution to end the needless male deaths and needless male suffering is for guys to start living Beyond Gynocentrism.
Note: The word “hara-kiri” is erroneously used as an appropriate English translation for “seppuku” in “The 47 Ronin” propaganda movie’s English subtitles.
Video: The 47 Ronin (English Subtitles)
