EP30 A License to Kill: Blood Revenge During the Edo Period

Until Kataki-Uchi, or blood revenge, was outlawed by the Meiji government in 1873, it had a long history in Japan. But it wasn't until the Edo period where, in a move possibly unique to Japan, it became highly regulated, and laws, requirements, and restrictions were put into place to regulate vengeance. In this episode we talk about how and why revenge became regulated, and what the requirements were for someone who wanted to apply for a "license to kill" in order to take vengeance on someone who had wronged them.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Mills, D.E. Kataki-Uchi: The Practice of Blood-Revenge in Pre-Modern Japan Modern Asian Studies Vol. 10, No. 4 (1976), pp. 525-542 http://www.jstor.org/pss/311761

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