As a phenomenon, it took place to be exclusively in the context of the relationship between the samurai and his overlord. Harakiri due to family discord or depression - for a medieval Japanese, unlike a modern one, is an unprecedented thing. But to die for one's honor and the honor of the owner was the norm.

The very word harakiri has a deep meaning. It consists of two hieroglyphs for belly (“hara”) and cut “kiru”. The hieroglyph "hara" in Japanese is also denoted by the concepts of "soul", "intentions", "secret thoughts". And in turn, according to the philosophy of Buddhism, the main seat of the soul is not the heart, as is customary in the West, but the stomach. Therefore, ripping open the stomach in such a way that the insides fall out, the samurai demonstrated the purity of his thoughts and, as it were, exposed his soul.

Ritual steps
Harakiri appeared in the 12th century. And it was permissible only for samurai. However, the romanticization of the image of death in the name of honor led to the fact that lower-class Japanese began to commit suicide according to a scenario similar to the harakiri ritual.

But in the "real" harakiri, the key word is "ritual". The process of harakiri (in Japanese literature it is more often referred to as "seppuku") was strictly regulated and required the direct participation of several people and a certain number of witnesses.

1) An assistant (“kaishaku”) was chosen to perform seppuku. This could be an official or a friend and relative of the samurai. In fact, it was the kaishaku that took the life of the samurai: his task was to keep the body in a sitting position while the samurai rips open his stomach, and then cut off his head, but so that it does not roll off, but remains attached to the body on a thin strip of skin. The fall of the body to the ground, as well as the fall of the head, was considered a terrible shame.

2) For the ritual, the samurai had to be dressed in white clothes, symbolizing the purity of his thoughts. A table was placed in front of him and sake was poured, which he had to drink in two doses, each time taking two sips. It is such a number, since the sacred meaning of the number "four" in Japan is death.

3) In addition to sake, there was paper and writing materials on the table to write a farewell verse. The verse was supposed to be light and elegant and not contain a single mention of a future death. When sake is drunk, and the verse is written, the samurai took off the upper part of the robe and took his own life ...

Samurai as a social class disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century. But the idea of taking one's own life in order to protect one's own honor and devotion to the country continued to exist for a very long time. So in 1946, after Emperor Hirohito actually abdicated and recognized the defeat of Japan in World War II, hundreds of Japanese military officers of various ranks committed harakiri. Seppuku was officially banned by the government in 1968. However, suicide as a way to avoid shame remains very common in Japan today.

What do you think of this ritual?