What is Seppuku?
[[File:Seppuku.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Seppuku reenactment with ritual attire.]] '''Seppuku''' is a Japanese ritual suicide where a [[samurai]] kills himself by cutting into his belly. After one had done so, a second person would cut off his head. It was thought that seppuku was an [[honor]]able way to die. Sometimes, it is called '''hara-kiri''', which is translated from Japanese as ''belly-cutting''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Andrews|first=Evan|title=What is Seppuku?|url=https://www.history.com/news/what-is-seppuku|access-date=2021-10-04|website=HISTORY|language=en}}</ref> Seppuku first developed in the 12th century as a means for samurai to achieve an honorable death. Swordsmen performed the ritual to avoid capture following battlefield defeats, but it also functioned as a means of protest and a way of expressing grief over the death of a revered leader. Beginning in the 1400s, seppuku evolved into a common form of capital punishment for samurai who had committed crimes. In each case, it was considered an act of extreme bravery and self-sacrifice that embodied Bushido, the ancient warrior code of the samurai. There was even a female version of seppuku called “jigai,” which involved cutting the throat using a special knife known as a “tanto.” == Overview == Seppuku was a key part of [[bushido]], the honor code of the samurai warriors. It was used by warriors so that they would not fall into enemy hands and be shamed. It was possible also that a samurai received an order from his master to commit seppuku.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fusé|first=Toyomasa|date=1980-06-01|title=Suicide and culture in Japan: A study of seppuku as an institutionalized form of suicide|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00578069|journal=Social Psychiatry|language=en|volume=15|issue=2|pages=57–63|doi=10.1007/BF00578069|s2cid=25585787|issn=1433-9285}}</ref> Because seppuku was an honorable act, a warrior who was caught by the enemy was sometimes given the choice between seppuku and being executed. If he chose seppuku, he could protect his honor. Sam