Seppuku: Japanese ritual suicide.
Samurai were honor-bound to commit seppuku if captured. It was an honorable death.
In 1970, Yukio Mishima, one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century, shocked the world by committing seppuku. On November 25th, he sliced open his stomach inside a government building. Why did Mishima kill himself?
History says he committed seppuku to make a political point. However, his friend, John Nathan, indicates he had been planning his suicide for nearly two years. Was his suicide intended to make a political point, or was it something else?
In 1968, his mentor beat him out for the Nobel Prize in Literature, after 2 earlier nominations and losses. He realized it was unlikely that he (or any other Japanese author) would be considered for the award in the near future. Was his suicide a reaction to failure?
Have you created seppuku as a result of your failures? Have you failed one too many times and given up creating? Do you fear the dishonor of failure?
Let me propose that the more honorable thing would be to keep creating. Don’t kill your creativity. Keep fighting the creative fight and restore your honor.
