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为何日本人以自杀为荣
Japan’s attitude toward suicide is more complex than most. Like other nations, suicide rates are affected by mental health issues,economic decline and of course, cultural influences.But what is different about Japan is the persistent notion that suicide is a way to preserve a family’s honor.
日本对待自杀的态度比大部分国家更加令人费解。像其他国家一样，自杀率受精神健康状况，经济下滑影响，当然也和文化影响有关。但是日本与众不同的是，自杀是保存家族名誉的一种方式。
Dying with honor is a concept from 12th Century Japan. The military class known as the Samurai,would perform the act of seppuku or "stomach-cutting".Seppuku was a ritual suicide that was considered a last resort in battle to avoid falling into the hands of enemies. By and large the act of ritual suicide faded with Samurai culture and the practice was even outlawed in the late 19th century.
“光荣地死去”是12世纪日本一个理念。日本武士会切腹自尽。切腹自尽是战争中为了避免落入敌人手中的最后的办法。总的来说，这种切腹自尽的传统随着武士道文化消失了。到了19世纪末期，这种行为甚至被宣布为非法。
That was until World War Two, when Japan’s Imperial government resurrected many ideas from the Samurai’s ethos known as Bushido,putting particular emphasis on the virtues of militarized suicide attack. Perhaps the most famous of these attacks were orchestrated by Kamikaze pilots who flew their planes into Allied ships.
直到第二次世界大战，日本帝国政府从武士道中复苏了许多思想，重点强调了军队自杀袭击的本质。或许最著名的这种袭击就是神风突击队队员驾驶飞机前往盟军船只的自杀式袭击。
Seppuku also reemerged in modern times. In 1970, a world renowned Japanese writer named Yukio Mishima, protested the westernization of Japan by committing seppuku. He delivered a speech on top of a military building in Tokyo and then plunged a sword into his own stomach.
现代切腹自尽也开始崛起。1970年，世界著名的日本作家三岛由纪夫切腹自尽来抗议日本的西方化。他在东京军方建筑上发表了讲话，然后挥剑自尽。
So, how much of this history affects modern day Japan? Well, "The most common factor behind suicide in Japan is depression caused by a failure to cope with [social pressure], either because of poverty or the demands of work".Though it is still accepted that Japan’s romanticized view of suicide plays a significant role.
那么，这段历史对现代日本有什么样的影响呢？“在日本，自杀最常见的原因就是应对社会压力失败导致的抑郁，或者由于贫困或者要求工作。”然而，日本浪漫化的自杀观念仍然被认为发挥着重要作用。
While Seppuku isn’t practiced any more, the idea of dying honorably has evolved in parallel to the stresses of modern-day Japan. A large percentage of suicides are inseki-jisatsu or "responsibility-driven" suicides, whereby those who end their lives hope to clear their debts through a life insurance payout, alleviating any burden on family left behind. And in Japan,looking after your family as your final act,is likely to be perceived as dying with honor.
尽管不再切腹自尽，然而光荣的死去的想法仍然随着现代日本的压力而进化。大量自杀是由于责任导致的，结束自己生命的人希望通过人寿保险来偿还债务，减轻家人的负担。在日本，这种最后的保护家人的行为可能就被认为是光荣地死去。
