八蘭お役立ち選書『大学入試英語長文予想問題：≪Duel and Honor — A Comparative Reflection on Japan and the West≫』

Paragraph 1 Throughout history, the duel has served as a ritualized expression of conflict, a moment when personal honor outweighed life itself. Whether fought with swords in Edo Japan or pistols in eighteenth-century Europe, duels reveal how societies transform violence into ceremony. Beneath the surface of blood and pride lies a deeper question: What does it mean to defend one’s dignity? The Japanese duel, often shaped by the code of bushidō, and the Western duel, governed by chivalric or gentlemanly ideals, both sought to reconcile morality with aggression.

Paragraph 2 In Japan, dueling was never merely an act of revenge. It was a moral performance rooted in the samurai’s pursuit of meiyo—honor. The duel, or kettō, was not spontaneous but bound by etiquette. Before drawing swords, opponents exchanged formal words, sometimes poems, acknowledging mutual respect. Victory was not always the goal; sincerity and courage mattered more. A samurai who faced death calmly embodied the virtue of seppuku, the ultimate proof of integrity. Thus, the Japanese duel was less about triumph than about moral clarity.