Seppuku
Seppuku, (Japanese: “self-disembowelment”) also called hara-kiri, also spelled harakiri, the honourable method of taking one’s own life practiced by men of the samurai (military) class in feudal Japan. The word hara-kiri (literally, “belly-cutting”), though widely known to foreigners, is rarely used by Japanese, who prefer the term seppuku (written in Japanese with the same two Chinese characters but in reverse order).
What is seppuku?
Seppuku is a form of taking one’s own life that was considered honourable among the feudal Japanese samurai class. Traditionally, the act consisted of stabbing oneself in the abdomen with a short sword to ensure a slow and agonizing death. Seppuku was done to demonstrate one’s bravery, self-control, willpower, and sincerity.
Who committed seppuku?
Seppuku was committed by samurai who followed the Bushidō code in feudal Japan. Although rare after the 19th century, seppuku was notably done by author Mishima Yukio in 1970 to protest Japan’s declining martial culture.
When was seppuku practiced, and does it still exist?
Seppuku was legal and used as a form of capital punishment from the 15th century until its abolishment in 1873. Whereas seppuku is rare in modern times, some studies suggest that traditional cultural attitudes in Japan regard suicide as an honourable or noble act, especially when done in traditional ways, such as seppuku. In 2014 suicide was the leading cause of death among Japanese men aged 20–44.
What happens during a seppuku ritual?
During a seppuku ritual the abdomen would be cut with a short sword and turned upward. A second cut would be made below the sternum. Piercing the throat was considered exemplary. Sometimes, a second person, or kaishakunin, who was usually a relative or friend, would be present to decapitate the samurai in a method called kaishaku, a form of capital punishment.
Did women commit seppuku?
In the samurai class women committed ritual suicide called jigai. Instead of cutting the abdomen, as men did in seppuku, women would cut the throat with a dagger.
The proper method for committing the act—developed over several centuries—was to plunge a short sword into the left side of the abdomen, draw the blade laterally across to the right, and then turn it upward. It was considered exemplary form to stab again below the sternum and press downward across the first cut and then to pierce one’s throat. Being an extremely painful and slow means of suicide, it was favoured under Bushidō (warrior code) as an effective way to demonstrate the courage, self-control, and strong resolve of the samurai and to prove sincerity of purpose. Women of the samurai class also committed ritual suicide, called jigai, but, instead of slicing the abdomen, they slashed their throats with a short sword or dagger.
There were two forms of seppuku: voluntary and obligatory. Voluntary seppuku evolved during the wars of the 12th century as a method of suicide used frequently by warriors who, defeated in battle, chose to avoid the dishonour of falling into the hands of the enemy. Occasionally, a samurai performed seppuku to demonstrate loyalty to his lord by following him in death, to protest against some policy of a superior or of the government, or to atone for failure in his duties.
There have been numerous instances of voluntary seppuku in modern Japan. One of the most widely known involved a number of military officers and civilians who committed the act in 1945 as Japan faced defeat at the end of World War II. Another well-known occurrence was in 1970, when the novelist Mishima Yukio disemboweled himself as a means of protest against what he believed was the loss of traditional values in the country.
Obligatory seppuku refers to the method of capital punishment for samurai to spare them the disgrace of being beheaded by a common executioner. That practice was prevalent from the 15th century until 1873, when it was abolished. Great emphasis was placed on proper performance of the ceremony. The ritual was usually carried out in the presence of a witness (kenshi) sent by the authority issuing the death sentence. The prisoner was usually seated on two tatami mats, and behind him stood a second (kaishakunin), usually a relative or friend, with sword drawn. A small table bearing a short sword was placed in front of the prisoner. A moment after he stabbed himself, the second struck off his head. It was also common practice for the second to decapitate him at the moment that he reached out to grasp the short sword, his gesture symbolizing that the death was by seppuku.
Perhaps the best-known instance of obligatory seppuku is tied to the story of the 47 rōnin, which dates to the early 18th century. The incident, famous in Japanese history, relates how the samurai, made masterless (rōnin) by the treacherous murder of their lord (daimyo), Asano Naganori, avenged his death by assassinating the daimyo Kira Yoshinaka (a retainer of the shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi), whom they held responsible for Asano’s murder. Afterward the shogun ordered all the participating samurai to commit seppuku. The story soon became the basis of the popular and enduring Kabuki drama Chūshingura, and it later was depicted in numerous other plays, motion pictures, and novels.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray, Editor.Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
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