seppuku

Seppuku, also known by the cruder term hara-giri 腹切 (literally: “belly-cutting”), is a form of ritual suicide that consists of slitting one’s own abdomen with a short sword. In many cases, a second individual performs an act of assistance known as kaishaku / 介錯, which involves decapitating the person committing seppuku when their agony becomes too great.

Seppuku is a pillar of the samurai code of bushidō / 武士道. Originally it was an alternative to surrender or defeat in battle. A samurai who faced impossible odds on the battlefield did not want to be slain by warriors he perceived as less “worthy” than himself. An even worse prospect was the humiliation of public execution. Therefore, seppuku was a way to maintain honor and dignity when death was inevitable.

Seppuku also became a means of atonement for defeat or failure. The samurai who had failed his liege lord would demonstrate the depth of his contrition by taking his own life. This use of seppuku gradually involved into an “honorable” form of execution. Samurai who committed capital crimes were often ordered to commit ritual suicide. This was effectively no different than a death sentence, but if the samurai was permitted to take his own life, at least his dignity was preserved.

In later years, seppuku became a radical form of protest. The samurai Suzuki Shigenari committed seppuku to protest the oppressive taxes that the government imposed on the peasants living in his district. After his repeated entreaties to ease the peasants’ tax burden were ignored, he committed ritual suicide to draw attention to the matter. (His protest accomplished its goal; shortly thereafter the taxes were indeed reduced.) In 1970, writer Yukio Mishima made world headlines by committing seppuku at a Japanese military base. He wanted to draw attention to the humiliating nature of Japan’s postwar relationship with the United States.

The extreme pain involved in committing seppuku led to some modifications in its practice. The assistance of the kaishaku was originally supposed to be given only after the person had actually slit his own belly, and then made a signal for his assistant to deliver the fatal blow. By the end of the samurai era, it was standard for the kaishaku blow to be delivered as soon as the doomed party picked up his dagger. Sometimes the dagger was even substituted with a non-fatal item, such as a fan or a scroll.

Samurai women sometimes committed ritual suicide, although they usually did not slit their own abdomens. A female samurai commit suicide to avoid capture by the enemy. When facing capture, samurai women sometimes stabbed each other. If a samurai woman had to commit suicide by herself, she would usually slit her jugular vein.

Note: In the Japanese language, the legacy of seppuku lives on in a colloquial expression that is common today. The phase jibara o kiru / 自腹を切る (“to cut one’s own belly”) is a reference to the old samurai practice. When a Japanese person uses this expression today, though, he or she is most likely not talking about ritual suicide. In modern times, jibara o kiru has come to mean covering an expense that isn’t your obligation. For example, if a businessperson travels for the company and pays some of his travel costs, then he may say that he has “cut his own belly” and paid for some of the business expenses that were in fact the company’s responsibility.


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	Are you traveling to Japan? See our Japan City Guide, our growing guide to travel in Japan. Learn about Japanese cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto Coming soon: special travel offers for visiting Japan / information about Japanese hotels and Japan tour packages. SEPPUKU 切腹 ritual suicide Seppuku, also known by the cruder term hara-giri 腹切 (literally: “belly-cutting”), is a form of ritual suicide that consists of slitting one’s own abdomen with a short sword. In many cases, a second individual performs an act of assistance known as kaishaku / 介錯, which involves decapitating the person committing seppuku when their agony becomes too great. Seppuku is a pillar of the samurai code of bushidō / 武士道. Originally it was an alternative to surrender or defeat in battle. A samurai who faced impossible odds on the battlefield did not want to be slain by warriors he perceived as less “worthy” than himself. An even worse prospect was the humiliation of public execution. Therefore, seppuku was a way to maintain honor and dignity when death was inevitable. Seppuku also became a means of atonement for defeat or failure. The samurai who had failed his liege lord would demonstrate the depth of his contrition by taking his own life. This use of seppuku gradually involved into an “honorable” form of execution. Samurai who committed capital crimes were often ordered to commit ritual suicide. This was effectively no different than a death sentence, but if the samurai was permitted to take his own life, at least his dignity was preserved. In later years, seppuku became a radical form of protest. The samurai Suzuki Shigenari committed seppuku to protest the oppressive taxes that the government imposed on the peasants living in his district. After his repeated entreaties to ease the peasants’ tax burden were ignored, he committed ritual suicide to draw attention to the matter. (His protest accomplished its goal; shortly thereafter the taxes were indeed reduced.) In 1970, writer Yukio Mishima made world headlines by committing seppuku at a Japanese military base. He wanted to draw attention to the humiliating nature of Japan’s postwar relationship with the United States. The extreme pain involved in committing seppuku led to some modifications in its practice. The assistance of the kaishaku was originally supposed to be given only after the person had actually slit his own belly, and then made a signal for his assistant to deliver the fatal blow. By the end of the samurai era, it was standard for the kaishaku blow to be delivered as soon as the doomed party picked up his dagger. Sometimes the dagger was even substituted with a non-fatal item, such as a fan or a scroll. Samurai women sometimes committed ritual suicide, although they usually did not slit their own abdomens. A female samurai commit suicide to avoid capture by the enemy. When facing capture, samurai women sometimes stabbed each other. If a samurai woman had to commit suicide by herself, she would usually slit her jugular vein. Note: In the Japanese language, the legacy of seppuku lives on in a colloquial expression that is common today. The phase jibara o kiru / 自腹を切る (“to cut one’s own belly”) is a reference to the old samurai practice. When a Japanese person uses this expression today, though, he or she is most likely not talking about ritual suicide. In modern times, jibara o kiru has come to mean covering an expense that isn’t your obligation. For example, if a businessperson travels for the company and pays some of his travel costs, then he may say that he has “cut his own belly” and paid for some of the business expenses that were in fact the company’s responsibility.