In an evening of May 1891, a young Japanese woman committed suicide in front of the Kyoto Prefectural Hall. Before taking that action she had posted some ten letters addressed to both the Japanese and Russian governments. In the same month, a police officer had attempted to assassinate a Russian Prince who was visiting Japan. The wounded Prince's decision to return home without completing the original itinerary prompted the woman to write to the two governments and kill herself publicly.

Why did she do so? Taking this incident as a starting point, the paper explores the distinctively Japanese way of dying for one's country, thereby highlighting an aspect of Japanese patriotism and discussing what dying means for the Japanese.

Speaker: Professor Takashi Shogimen