Harakiri is a Japanese term used to define a kind of suicide ritual, which consisted of gutting. This practice was very common among samurai who preferred to die by their own hands before living a disgraced life. However, originally this ritual was only for the nobles, then it was extended to all social classes.
The word harakiri was not used frequently, since in Japan this word was considered vulgar. The correct word to define this ceremony was " seppuku ".
Harakiri means "cutting of the belly" and it was a ceremony that began in feudal Japan, when it was performed by samurai and noble warriors, in order to avoid the dishonor of being captured and tortured by their enemies. Then over time this practice became a means of execution, by which the emperor sent a message to any nobleman, communicating that his death was necessary for the good of the empire.
In many of the cases of obligatory harakiris, the official message or communication was accompanied by a very well decorated dagger, which was to be used as a tool for suicide. The ceremony consisted of the guilty or transgressor dressed in a white kimono standing on his knees, uncovering his chest to the waist, covering his hands with sheets of rice paper (this was to avoid staining his hands with blood, since was considered dishonorable) and then proceed to plunge the dagger into the abdomen. The dagger was embedded on the left side and cut to the right, then returned to the center and made a vertical cut towards the sternum, exposing its viscera. It is important to note that before committing suicide, theoffending subject drinks some sake (Japanese drink) and writes a kind of farewell poem.
One of the characteristics of this ritual is that its practice was exclusively for men. If a woman took her own life, it was not considered harakiri, but a simple suicide (jigai in Japanese).
This form of suicide was abolished in the year 1868.
