Seppuku, Hara-kiri

Seppuku
Seppuku is a Japanese word that refers to ritual suicide and literally means “Cutting the stomach”. In English, Seppuku is better known as Hara-kiri. It is one of the key parts of bushido, which is the code of conduct of the samurai warriors. This code, bushido, is a set of rules that is said to have virtues such as loyalty, honour, obedience, duty, filial piety and self-sacrifice.

Committing Seppuku is involved a detailed ritual. The samurai is dressed ceremonially, with his sword placed in front of him and sometimes seated on special cloths. Now, the warrior will prepare for death by writing a death poem.

A death poem written by Ota Dokan, minutes before his death in 1486 goes like this: Had I not known
that I was dead
already
I would have mourned
my loss of life.

For the ritual, the samurai has selected a second person to stand by his side called a kaizoe. This is usually but not always, a friend. It can also be the one that defeated the samurai if he thinks that he fought honourable and well but lost and wants to salute his bravery. Then the samurai opens his kimono and takes up his wakizashi and plunge it into his belly. First he cuts left-to-right and then a second slightly upward stroke. On the second stroke, the kaizoe will behead him with one stroke of his sword.
A wakizashi is a short sword and a part of the samurai’s uniform, mostly used for seppuku but also used in fights if needed.
After cutting the stomach, a trusted and skilled samurai is 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.

A warrior named Takemata Hideshige wrote a poem for his Seppuku just after being defeated Shibata Katsuie in fight. Shall Ashura
subdue a man like me?
I shall be born again
and then I'll cut the head
off Katsuie...

I think Katsuie had been selected to do the last part of the ritual where you cut off the head for saluting his bravery he showed in their fight. Takemata wants to be reborn so he can return to Katsuie and win the fight so he can cut his head of instead.

Samurai women could also commit ritual suicide, but their rituals were nothing like the men. Usually it’s done by slashing the throat with a small knife.

There is a great deal of ritual associated with Seppuku mostly when it was done as a protest, or as and honourable punishment. In such cases it might be performed in a spiritually clean temple or similar location, but other locations, like on the field of battle, were also common.