Why is it that most all of the truly strange or stupid events in pop or serious culture stand a good chance of coming from Japan as a point of origin? That unique country seems to have a special mojo that attracts weird incidents.This weekend it was revealed that a Japanese actor by the name Daigo Kashino was rushed to the hospital and later died after being stabbed in rehearsal by a samurai sword. This was a stage prop samurai sword being used in rehearsal. This is the second bizarre death of a performer this year. An actor in Italy was choked in a stage hanging scene and died earlier in February.
Officially, the police are saying that the actor was pierced in the stomach "with a sword like object" during a sword fight sequence that the actors were practicing. The police have stated they will investigate the incident to make sure it was an accidental death and that there was no criminal act involved. According to CNN, the other actors involved were at a studio in Tokyo working when they heard the man groan and then everyone turned to find the man hunched over and in pain. Everyone involved claims not to have seen anything.
According to Ksat, the actors were in rehearsal for a 'jidaigeki' drama, which are a big part of the Japanese cultural heritage. They are frequently found on television, on film and on stage, as well. These period dramas are concerned with portraying the lives of people during the Edo era in Japan. The lives of samurai are portrayed and those of such classes as farmers and merchants. These dramas were once a huge concern nationwide but in recent years their popularity has faded a bit. One of the biggest studios in Japan and Google Japan are cooperating together to to try an give the genre appeal among younger people. Whether the lead character is a samurai, farmer or merchant in these stories there is one common factor to all of it. A lot of sword fighting.
