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Hara-kiri is a Japanese reading or Kun-yomi of the characters; as it became customary to prefer Chinese readings in official announcements, only the term seppuku was ever used in writing. So hara-kiri is a spoken term, but only to commoners and seppuku a written term, but spoken amongst higher classes for the same act.
Seppuku, also known as hara-kiri or harakiri, is the Japanese tradition of ritual suicide by disembowelment. Learn about the origins, methods, and examples of seppuku in feudal and modern Japan.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Seppuku is a form of taking one’s own life that was considered honourable among the feudal Japanese samurai class. Traditionally, the act consisted...
- Seppuku was committed by samurai who followed the Bushidō code in feudal Japan. Although rare after the 19th century, seppuku was notably done by a...
- 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 t...
- 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 t...
- 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...
Learn about the meaning, origin and ritual of seppuku (harakiri), the honorable suicide by disembowelment for samurai. Find out the etymological and historical differences between seppuku and harakiri, and how they are performed.
- Seppuku is honorable death or ritualistic suicide by disembowelment that can only be conducted by a samurai.
- The seppuku custom dates back to the 12th century as a means for the upper and samurai classes exclusively to atone for crimes, regain lost hono...
- Women who performed seppuku were often the wives of samurai or samurai themselves wishing to avoid capture or to atone for their mistakes.
- Harakiri refers to the action of cutting the stomach while seppuku represents the ritual and the traditional procedure of cutting the stomach. The...
- It is near impossible to survive seppuku, even if a cut to the stomach is not immediately fatal. One would either die of blood loss or by being beh...
Dec 3, 2023 · Learn about the history, meaning and ritual of hara-kiri, or seppuku, a practice of disembowelment by samurai warriors in Japan. Discover why they chose this honorable death over dishonor and shame, and see some notable examples of hara-kiri in history.
Jan 11, 2016 · Seppuku, also known as hara-kiri, was a form of honorable death for samurai who faced defeat, shame or punishment. Learn about the history, ceremony and examples of seppuku, and how it evolved from a warrior code to a capital punishment.
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Learn about seppuku, or hara-kiri, the practice of disembowelment by samurai in Japan. Find out the reasons, methods, and examples of voluntary and obligatory seppuku.
May 25, 2022 · Learn about the history, reasons, and symbolism behind hara-kiri, or seppuku, the formal suicide by self-disembowelment practiced by samurai. Discover how this ritual reflects the values of honor, stoicism, and reincarnation in feudal Japan.
