Back in the samurai days the japanese got their balls cut off. Is this true?

Question

My uncle told me that....... remember, they still had their penis. So they could pee. but is is true?

Answer 1

its called castration. i dont know if its true, but i wouldnt be surprised if it was. i was once told that monks used to be, since they were supposed to be celibate anyways. i never believed it, but hey, it sounds like a great idea for sex offenders

Answer 2

My specialty is Japanese history (kind of hard to dodge that because of upbringing) so here's the answer:

The Japanese never, ever in their history have ever used castration to create eunuchs, or as a form of officially sanctioned punishment. During what you call the "samurai days" (which to most Westerners is either the Warring States Period or the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate) the most commonly sanctioned form of official execution was either beheading (to put the head on display, usually at bridges for public view) or crucifixion (where two spears would be thrust under the armpits). Voluntary physical mutilation or body modifications of any sort have met with disapproval for centuries because it was until after the Second World War, considered disrespectful to alter the body given by your parents and ancestors in such a drastic manner.

As others have already stated, castration was a Chinese dynastic phenomenon. Thanks for the question; I haven't had a good chuckle over here in Iraq for a while. Have a good day.

Answer 3

It wasn't the samurai that had their testicles cut off but all the males administrators, bureaucrats servants and slaves that worked and lived in the Forbidden City (now central Beijinj). Their testicles were placed in porcelain or ceramic containers and stored for safe keeping .

This was done by order of the Emperor to keep his wives and mistresses faithful.

When the servants, slaves and government workers left the service or the Emperor of they (and the slaves died) their testicles were returned to them so they could be buried as whole men.

Answer 4

Locate and read the following:
Bushido: The Way of the Samurai
By Tsunetomo Yamamoto
In eighteenth-century Japan, Tsunetomo Yamamoto created the Hagakure, a document that served as the basis for samurai warrior behavior. Have a look;
http://books.google.ca/books?id=qt_e-oYG3UEC&dq=Bushido+The+Way+of+the+Samurai&pg=PP3&ots=vAXl4jkz46&sig=4ZtiRLyVfG8dcO4EOBylUlH54JI&prev=http://www.google.ca/search%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3DBushido%2BThe%2BWay%2Bof%2Bthe%2BSamurai%26meta%3Dcr%253DcountryCA&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=1

Answer 5

many countries and civilazations practiced that barbaric act. Any person who was employed as a guard in the houses of concubines or harems was a eunich in most places. I'm not sure it still doesn't happen in places that have harems today.( muslim countries) However, Samurais probably did not, since it would reduce the hormones they needed to hone their skills(testosterone and progesterone)

Answer 6

It sounds unlikely. Eunuchs tend to gain weight... which would affect their physical abilities. And without the testicles they would have lower levels of testosterone, taking the competitive edge off a warrior makes no sense.

Answer 7

The Chinese emperors had castrated "eunuchs" in the palace. More information in Wikipedia.

Answer 8

If your uncle told you to jump off the vesuvius cauldron would you?

Answer 9

No That would end their testosterone production and they would become very much weaker and much more emotional as the dominant sex hormone would then be estrogen.

Answer 10

If that were true, the race would have died out completely as they would not have been able to reproduce.