The Hara-Kiri Essence
The hara-kiri rite, or as it is also called seppuku, is closely related to the bushido samurai philosophy. This custom originated in the early period of Japanese feudalism. It was the benefit of the samurai only who were proud to have free control of their lives, to have the moral courage and show contempt for death with seppuku.
The word hara-kiri is literally translated from Japanese as “cutting the stomach”, where “hara” is the abdomen and “kiri” is to cut. The Japanese chose the stomach because, according to Zen Buddhist philosophy, it is the human’s central area and the seat of life. Thus, for the Japanese, the stomach was an area where they existed emotionally and, by cutting it, the samurai showed the honesty of their intentions, thoughts and aspirations. For the samurai, seppuku was an excuse for themselves before heaven and people and had more spiritual sense, rather than suicide.
When the Rite Emerged
The disemboweling rite was found among some peoples of Siberia and East Asia, one of them was the Ainu people who lived in the northeast Japanese islands. The Japanese fought with the Ainu people for lands for a long time and eventually adopted the rite from them. However, the Japanese changed its meaning. Among the Ainu and other peoples, it was sacrificial, they cut their stomachs voluntarily to sacrifice to the gods.
Originally, hara-kiri was not common among the Japanese. It began to develop among the military settlers who lived on lands from the Ainu people and eventually evolved into a samurai class. And it is quite natural that this rite began to develop among people who constantly bore weapons and were always on alert.
In the 9th century, starting from the Heian period, the seppuku became the samurai’s custom, and by the end of the 12th century, during the Taira-Minamoto War, hara-kiri became widespread. Since then, the number of suicides continued to rise.
When Hara-Kiri Was Performed
There were several reasons for the samurai’s suicidal rite. This could be punishment for disobedience or non-fulfillment of orders of their shoguns or feudal lords, as well as for acts disgraceful to the samurai.
The samurai often used hara-kiri as a sign of protest to show that they disagreed with the impossible orders of their master or some other injustice affecting the samurai’s honor.
The samurai could also perform hara-kiri in the wake of their master’s death. Initially, it was called “oibara” or “tsuifuku”, and later, this custom was renamed “junshi”. This suicide goes back to ancient Japan when, together with a deceased man of family, his servants were buried. This custom was then abolished, and the servants were replaced with clay figurines. Over time, this custom however was transformed and became popular among samurai again. The samurai could voluntarily take their lives following their masters by performing the hara-kiri rite.
It was not only the samurai who committed suicide but also their wives. The reason for hara-kiri could be their husband’s death, if their husband went back from their words, or if their husband’s pride was hurt. It was considered a shame if the wife could not perform hara-kiri if necessary. However, unlike the samurai, their wives committed suicide not by cutting their stomachs. They slit their throats or stabbed them in their hearts with a special dagger called kaiken which was given as a wedding gift by their husbands. They could also use a short sword, which was given to each samurai’s daughter on the day of the majority.
Samurai and their daughters were taught to commit suicide from their childhood. Instructors in special schools showed and explained how to start and complete seppuku, how to cut a stomach or how to cut the neck vein and stab yourself in your heart correctly.
How the Seppuku Rite Was Performed
The rules and the ceremony of the seppuku rite were developed over a long time. It was formalized and legitimized during the reign of the Ashikaga shogunate from 1333 to 1573. The rite was finally formalized, complicated and began to be applied officially by the court as a punishment for the crime committed by a samurai during the Edo period.
During this period, the rite also involved a second who had to always witness the official seppuku ceremony. The second had to cut off the samurai’s head after he had slit his stomach, thereby sparing the samurai pain. The head was also cut off so that the samurai, being in mortal agony and losing self-control, would not start screaming or fall on his back, thereby disgracing his name.
As per the code written during the Tokugawa shogunate reign, there were persons appointed to officiate the seppuku ceremony. They arranged the ceremony and attended it. The Tokugawa authorities decided that death by seppuku is honorable and that this benefit is available to the samurai only.
The location for the seppuku rite was chosen according to the samurai’s status in society. For the shogun’s friends, it was performed in the palace, for the lower-ranked samurai, it was performed in the garden of the house of the ruler who took care of the samurai who committed suicide. Hara-kiri could also be performed in the temple if a samurai decided to commit suicide during his journey.
Seppuku was usually performed when sitting, while clothes were placed under the samurai’s knees so that the samurai would not fall on his back. Then the performing samurai cut his stomach with a special knife called tanto which was considered a family value and was kept at home on a sword stand. If the knife was not available at the moment, then the rite was carried out using the second small sword called wakizashi. Sometimes, the samurai used a katana; they took it by a blade wrapped in paper.
The direction and number of cuts depended on the school and the samurai who committed hara-kiri. They could cut their stomachs from left to right, from left to right and upward, X-like, upward and to the left, etc.
Previously, a samurai performing seppuku had to slice his stomach so as to show his intestines to those present. Then the ceremony was simplified and the samurai only had to cut their stomachs and the second cut off their heads. All those who performed the suicidal rite were buried together with the weapon that the rite was performed with.
How Hara-Kiri Differs from Seppuku
Hara-kiri and seppuku mean the same. Their only difference is the following: The word hara-kiri was used in everyday life and carried out by samurai in solitude. And the word seppuku was the official name of the rite, specified in the documents and was performed when officials and a second are around.
See also
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Okayama Castle
According to a number of accounts, the earliest fortifications on the site of present-day Okayama Castle appeared as early as the 14th century and were built by the Nawa clan. The Asahigawa River was used as a natural defensive barrier, protecting one side of the fortifications.
In the early 16th century, the Kanamitsu clan constructed a new castle here, which at the time was known as Ishiyama. In 1573, it came under the control of the Ukita clan, after which Ukita Naoie (1529–1582) launched large-scale reconstruction efforts. He did not live to see the work completed, and construction was continued by his son Hideie. -
Nagahama Castle
Hashiba, later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, received Odani Castle and the surrounding lands from Oda Nobunaga after the defeat of the Azai clan. However, Odani Castle was located high in the mountains, which made it poorly suited for the effective administration of the territory. For this reason, in 1575 Hideyoshi began constructing a new castle in the village of Imahama on the shore of Lake Biwa. Taking the character naga from Nobunaga’s name, he renamed both the village and the new castle Nagahama.
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Kokura Castle
Kokura Castle is traditionally considered to have been founded by Hosokawa Tadaoki (1563–1645), although by the time the Hosokawa clan came to control these lands, the fortification had already existed since at least 1569 and was most likely built by members of the Mori clan.
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Ikeda Castle
In 1334, Ikeda Noriyoshi built a small fort on this site, which over time was repeatedly expanded and rebuilt. During the Ōnin War of 1467–1477, the Ikeda clan supported the Western Coalition. As a result, Ikeda Castle was attacked and captured by the forces of the Eastern Coalition, but it was soon recaptured, allowing it to avoid serious destruction.
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Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle
Aizu-Wakamatsu is the most powerful and at the same time the oldest castle in the Tōhoku region in the north of Honshu Island. Its history begins in the 14th century and is closely connected with the Ashina clan, whose members claimed descent from the legendary Taira family.
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Maruoka Castle
Maruoka Castle is located in the central part of the former city of Maruoka, which is now part of the city of Sakai. This area lies in the northeastern part of Fukui Prefecture. The castle was built on the bank of the Kuzuryu River, on the side opposite Fukui City, which once served as the administrative center of the former Echizen Province. Thanks to its location, Maruoka held significant strategic importance, as it controlled two major routes at once: the Hokurikudo highway leading from Kaga Province and the Mino Kaido road connecting these lands with Mino Province.
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Marugame Castle
Marugame is part of the so-called “Authentic Dozen,” a group of twelve castles whose donjons have survived to the present day without major reconstructions since the Edo period.
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Iyo Matsuyama Castle
Historically, the center of Iyo Province—corresponding to today’s Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku—was the city of Imabari, while the Matsuyama area was regarded as an agricultural hinterland with broad plains and low hills. During the Muromachi period, the central part of the province was governed by the Kano clan from Yuzuki Castle. With the onset of the Sengoku period, however, this clan lost its former influence and was forced to survive in the shadow of the more powerful Mori and Chōsokabe clans. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s forces conquered Shikoku in 1587, the northern part of Iyo Province was granted to Fukushima Masanori, one of the so-called “Seven Spears of Shizugatake.” In 1595, Masanori was transferred to Kiyosu Castle, and the lands around Matsuyama were given to another of the Seven Spears, Katō Yoshiaki, who received Masaki Castle and an income of 60,000 koku of rice.
