Japanese culture is very different from the culture that many Americans also use. The differences, some big, some small, really need to be looked at closely. In Japanese culture, the idea of ​​suicide is often embraced in an effort for enlightenment. When Chikamatsu creates a work of art full of tragedy, he shows the duel between a society unwilling to change and an individual who changes and leaves the path of the social norm. Chikamatsu's work is an art, the majority of his work being that of a puppet show, when it comes to a puppet show it is, imaginably, difficult for the audience to see how the characters change and leaves little room for the character to do so. develops both mentally and physically, however, Chikamatsu is able to penetrate into the true nature of things and give the audience the feeling that what is happening is real. That being said, Chikamatsu is able to take the audience on a journey, through scenes where the reader feels the characters' grief, pain, love and is able to identify and empathize with the characters in which he watches it develop. Chikamatsu forces the characters to their final demise by depicting their struggle against human nature against their social and personal obligations. Suicide is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the act of killing oneself because you do not want to continue living.” However, Chikamatsu gives it a very different meaning. Yes, in essence that is still how it is defined in the dictionary, but the reason behind it carries much more weight. According to the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), 76% of Americans consider themselves part of the Christian faith. According to the Roman Catholic Church, suicide betrays...... middle of paper...... April 2, 2014. .Gerstle, C. Andrew. “I love suicides in Amijima.” Circles of Fantasy: Convention in Chikamatsu's plays. Cambridge, MA: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1986. 136-54. Print.Heine, Steven. "Tragedy and salvation in the floating world: the drama of Chikamatsu's double suicide as a millennial discourse." The Journal of Asian Studies 53.2 (1994): 367-93. JSTOR. Internet. March 30, 2014. Kosmin, Barry A. and Ariela Keysar. “American Religious Identification Survey.” Summary report. Trinity College, March 2009. Web. April 16, 2014. “Suicide.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, nd Web. April 24. 2014. .