Mystical Angels

A question about Japanese symbols or perhaps culture or I don't know what..?

I've been reading "Madame Butterfly" recently, and there are questions I'd like to ask. "She had a sword in her lap <...> It would have been very beautiful to a Japanese, to whom the sword is a soul. A golden dragon writhed about the superb scabbard. He had eyes of rubies, and held in his mouth a sphere of crystal which meant many mystical things to a Japanese." Does it really mean anything? "Then she placed the point of the weapon at that nearly nerveless spot in the neck known to every Japanese, and began to press it slowly inward." Does such a spot really exist? Where is it and why is it nerveless? And..is it still known to every Japanese? I mean, are the traditions of "dying with Honour when one can no longer live with Honour" still taught and do they play some role in Japanese life? I know I'm being chaotic, but I really want to know. Thank you :)

Public Comments

1. Hmm.. i don't really know about the nerveless spot in the neck, but samurai's back then use to cut their stomach other wise known as 'Seppuku' if they've done something wrong, something to be ashamed of. And they rather slice themself that way as to die in honour rather than getting killed by their enemy.
2. Seppuku (to be impolite hari kari [literally "belly splitting"]) is an idea that is deeply rooted in Japanese culture (that's why suicide rates are so high in Japan) And that spot is a pressure point in the clavicle (where you feel the pulse in your jugular artery) isn't really nerveless but the jugular is only thinly protected. So when you stab it, you die relatively painlessly (as opposed to the traditional method of cutting the stomach)
3. My late wife became enthralled with the japanese history. She particularly enjoyed a book titled Shogun.