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Revenge Is Also a Crime — Kenka Ryōseibai and Katakiuchi (aka Adauchi)

There is an old Japanese expression, kenka ryōseibai (喧嘩両成敗), meaning that both parties in a fight may be punished.

 

In medieval Japan, personal disputes could grow into conflicts between families and clans. One attack led to revenge, which led to another retaliation. Kenka ryōseibai developed partly to stop this cycle.

 

The principle was not necessarily that both sides were equally wrong. Even if someone else started the conflict, taking revenge into your own hands could make you responsible for your own actions.

 

But Japan also had katakiuchi (仇討ち)—revenge killing. Isn't that a contradiction?

 

Not necessarily.

 

Especially during the Edo period, katakiuchi was not simply permission to kill someone because you wanted revenge. Vendettas were subject to rules and, in recognized cases, were reported to or sanctioned by authorities. Revenge was being brought under social and governmental control.

 

The famous Forty-Seven Rōnin illustrates the complexity. Their revenge for their lord became celebrated as an example of loyalty, yet the shogunate still ordered them to die by seppuku because their actions violated the established order.

 

The lesson remains relevant today.

 

Someone doing wrong to you does not automatically give you the right to do wrong in return.

 

There is a difference between justice and revenge.

 

Perhaps the real wisdom behind kenka ryōseibai is not that both sides are always equally guilty. It is that individuals cannot simply appoint themselves judge, jury, and executioner.