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A ''kaishakunin'' ((日本語:介錯人)) is an appointed second whose duty is to behead one who has committed seppuku, Japanese ritual suicide, at the moment of agony. The role played by the ''kaishakunin'' is called ''kaishaku'' (''nin'' means person). Aside from the purpose of being spared prolonged anguish until death, both the condemned and those on hand to observe are spared the spectacle of the writhing death throes that would ensue. The most recent kaishakunin of the 20th century was Hiroyasu Koga, who beheaded the novelist Yukio Mishima during Mishima's seppuku. == The ritual == Still preserved in modern-day movements (''kata'') of the martial art, iaido, the ritual of performing ''kaishaku'' varies very little between Japanese fencing schools, but all of them are bound to the following steps to be performed by the ''kaishakunin'': #First, the ''kaishakunin'' sits down in the upright (''seiza'') position, or remains standing, at the left side of the person about to commit ''seppuku'', at a prudent distance but close enough to be reached with his sword (''katana'') at the appropriate time. #If seated, the ''kaishakunin'' will rise slowly, first on his knees, then stepping with the right foot while drawing the katana very slowly and silently and standing up in the same fashion (keeping in mind that the opponent (''teki'') is not an enemy, but rather a fellow samurai). If the ''kaishakunin'' was in a standing stance, he will draw his sword slowly and silently as well. In both cases, after the sword is out of the scabbard (''saya''), he will raise it with the right hand and wait for the ''seppuku'' to begin. Some classic (''koryū'') Iaido styles, like the Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū school, establishes this "waiting stance" as the ''kaishakunin'' having taken one step back with the right foot, ''katana'' behind his head parallel to the floor held with the right hand, left hand holding the scabbard in the proper (''sayabiki'') position; other styles, like Musō Shinden-ryū, establish that the ''katana'' is to be held vertically, parallel to the body, held in the right hand, the left hand resting at the ''kaishakunin'' side, feet together. In any case, the ''kaishakunin'' will always keep eye contact with the samurai performing ''seppuku'', and waiting for his cut (''kiri'') through his abdomen (''hara''). #When the samurai actually performs the ''seppuku'', and after he returns the dagger (''tantō'') blade back to the cut beginning, the ''kaishakunin'' steps forward, letting the ''katana'' drop straight through the back of the neck of the dying samurai. Just before making contact, the ''kaishakunin'' grips the handle (''tsuka'') with both hands, giving precision to the ''katanas blade and strength to the downward cut (''kiritsuke''). The final cut must be controlled in order for the initial cut to reach only half the neck of the samurai; the final cut, leaving the required skin to hold the head attached to the samurai's body, was performed by a single slashing/withdrawing motion of the ''katana''. The complete cut-slash-withdraw motion is called ''daki-kubi''. After the dead samurai falls, the ''kaishakunin'', with the same slow, silent style used when unsheathing the ''katana'', shakes the blood off the blade (a movement called ''chiburi'') and returns the ''katana'' to the scabbard (a movement called ''noto''), while kneeling towards the fellow samurai's dead body. When this is completed, the ''kaishakunin'' remains kneeling for a while, as a sign of deep respect to the fallen samurai who committed the ritual suicide, always in a state of "total awareness" (''zanshin'') before standing up and bowing (''rei'') to his body. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「kaishakunin」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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