Seppuku

Seppuku was a key part of bushido, the code of the samurai warriors; it was used by warriors to avoid falling into enemy hands, and to rid oneself of shame. Samurai could also be ordered by their daimyo (feudal lord) to commit seppuku. In later years, disgraced warriors were sometimes allowed to commit seppuku rather than be executed in the normal manner.

Given enough time, comitting seppuku involved a detailed ritual. Dressed ceremonially, with his sword placed in front of him and sometimes seated on special cloths, the warrior would prepare for death by writing a death poem. His selected attendant (kaizoe 介添え, his second) standing by, he would open his kimono, take up his wakizashi (脇差, short sword) and plunge it into his abdomen, making first a left-to-right cut and then a second slightly upward stroke. On the second stroke, the kaizoe would behead him with one stroke of his sword.

To distinguish the decapitation from a common execution, a trusted and skilled samurai was chosen to strike the blow, from behind, leaving the head attached to the body by a flap of skin at the front of the neck. The second was usually but not always, a friend; e.g. if a warrior had fought honourably and well but lost, an opponent who wanted to salute his bravery would volunteer to act as his second.

Samurai women could also commit ritual suicide, but this was usually done by slashing the throat with a small knife.

Seppuku was traditionally used as the ultimate protest when one's own morals stood in the way of executing an order from the master. It was also permissible as a form of repentance when one had committed an unforgivable sin, either by accident or on purpose. Finally, in the feudal period (1190-1867) it was the form of punishment preferred in cases where the subject required an honourable, but necessary, death sentence, such as the 47 Ronin.

There is a great deal of ritual associated with seppuku, particularly when it was done as a protest, or as an honourable punishment. In such cases it might be performed in a spiritually clean temple or similar location, but other locations (e.g. on the field of battle, for members of the losing side) were also common.

Seppuku was officially abolished during the Meiji Restoration in 1868, but did not completely die out. Dozens of people are known to have committed seppuku since then, including a large group of military men who committed suicide in 1895 as a protest against the return of a conquered territory, to China; by General Nogi and his wife on the death of Emperor Meiji in 1912; and by numerous soldiers and civilians who chose to die rather than surrender at the end of World War II.

The last known people to commit seppuku were famed author Mishima Yukio (also known as Yukio Mishima) and one of his followers, who committed public seppuku at the Japanese Self-Defence Forces headquarters after an abortive coup attempt in 1970. Mishima committed suicide in the office of General Kanetoshi Mashita. His second, a 25 year-old named Morita, tried three times to ritually behead Mishima but failed; his head was finally severed by Hiroyasu Koga. Morita tried to follow Mishima in committing seppuku; although his own cuts were too shallow to be fatal, he gave the signal and he too was beheaded by Koya.

See also

• Kamikaze
• Yukio Mishima

Further reading

• Jack Seward, Hara-Kiri: Japanese Ritual Suicide (Charles E. Tuttle, 1968)

Referenced By