Hara-Kiri: Japanese Ritual Suicide

by Jack Seward

  The foregoing account is a typical example of seppuku in its most honorable form, imposed as a sentence of death. Inasmuch as a criminal is actually executed, it is, significantly, a form of the death penalty. The criminal, however, is permitted to take the initiative and to strike the first blow toward his own death. As such, seppuku is also a form of self-punishment and expiation and was granted only to those who, though violators of certain codes or regulations, were nonetheless worthy of the respect of those determining the penalty. On occasions, the condemned man was regarded with warm sympathy and his regrettable but necessary passing was honored by a solemn ceremony such as the one witnessed by Lord Redesdale.

  The events in the foregoing narrative by Lord Redesdale occurred, as noted, in 1868, when feudalism was beginning to give way to the modern era. Yet, for the most part, the feudal system was still intact and at its most highly developed stage. Accordingly, the seppuku seen by Lord Redesdale was perhaps the penultimate point of the formalized ceremony itself. Although practiced at the beginning of the Tokugawa Era 268 years before the Meiji Restoration in 1868, seppuku was not nearly as stereotyped and rigidly ceremonialized then as in the case witnessed by Lord Redesdale.

  Changes in Methods of Execution

  In ancient Japan, we do not find any evidence of decapitation as a method of execution. One piece of indirect evidence is that the sword of this period was straight and designed for piercing, not for cutting. It was during the Gem-Pei strife that the slightly curved sword with a cutting edge was first used in battle on a large scale. Even as late as the beginning of the period of Gem-Pei fighting, there is the example of Minamoto-no-Tametomo who, defeated in battle and desperate, plunged his short sword into his stomach and then, still alive, withdrew the blade and stabbed himself again, this time cutting into his spinal column. Had the custom of kaishaku (assisting at seppuku) been developed then, he would not have had to make the second and fatal cut himself. With the Gem-Pei Period, more efficient methods of execution and self-destruction began to develop in Japan. Prior to that, strangulation and burning were probably the common modes of execution and of suicide.

  Breaches of Tradition

  The samurai was devoted to the code of chivalry and lived for the cause of honor, according to his own lights. To have his own name—his escutcheon—besmirched was the supreme stultification to the warrior. As he tried to live with honor, so his superiors tried to accord him an honorable method of death when his crime, though proscribed, was not a dishonorable one. There were, however, exceptional cases where contemptuous and insulting methods of execution, though generally condemned, were applied to samurai.

  There was the time when Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Regime, captured an enemy general and, instead of permitting him to commit seppuku, ordered him decapitated. Historians record this unusual breach of tradition as a stain on the reputation of this great administrator.

  Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who preceded Tokugawa Ieyasu as the de facto ruler of Japan, also committed a similar breach when he ordered Ishikawa Goemon, an infamous bandit and the son of a samurai, boiled to death in oil. In this instance, however, the punishment was meted out to Ishikawa as a bandit and his near-samurai status availed him naught.

  Too, during the early Tokugawa Era, Catholics were often crucified, regardless of whether they were samurai or commoners. This persecution can be attributed more to fear of rumored Spanish political and military inroads than to dislike of this alien religion.

  In spite of the rare exceptions, however, cruel and unusual methods of execution were seldom meted out to samurai.

  II

  ORIGIN & TYPES

  Beginnings of Sacrifice

  THE ORIGIN of immolation is hidden in a nebulous prehistoric time when primitive men believed that a form of human life extended beyond the grave. In their belief, the spirit of the deceased was very desirous of gathering the beloved ones left behind unto himself. Hence, the spirit was often exceedingly feared by ancient Japanese. The ancients, therefore, put huge stones on the burial spot so that the spirit would not come out to haunt the living in a dream or in the shape of a ghost. The custom of immolation originated at such a stage in civilization. Beloved wives, concubines, servants, and even horses were buried with the deceased, so that he might keep on "living" peacefully and comfortably in the nether world, which was called in Shintoism, yomi.

  The custom of immolation was later transformed into a type of self-immolation called hito-bashira, which means a "human pillar." When a bridge was washed away in a flood, when a new bridge was found most difficult to build, or when a large structure such as a castle was feared for its weak foundation, the ancient people speculated that it was due to the displeasure of deities of the water or earth. In that event, a human sacrifice or a "human pillar" was sometimes made. Later it became an established custom. Just whom to choose and by what method formed the basis of many tragic stories.

  More than 30 years ago breaks were discovered in the inner wall of the Imperial Palace, the former Tokugawa Edo Castle, near where a tower is located. A thorough excavation was made in connection with the repairs and workmen found ten human skulls and accompanying bones.

  There is an old legend in Japan about a certain village chief whose name was Iwafuji. The villagers had to select a man to become a "human pillar" in building a bridge which was washed away frequently and which caused the village much distress. Iwafuji hit upon a capital idea. It was this: the first man who happened, the next morning, to pass the spot where the bridge stood in ruin would be offered as a sacrifice to the deity of the river. The village elders agreed. As Iwafuji was very excited with his own idea, he came out early the next morning to see who would be the victim. The village elders came soon thereafter and contended unanimously in loud voices, "Ye, Iwafuji, shalt offer thyself, because ye hast come the first."And so it was.

  Early Documents on Seppuku

  In the sixth year of Meiwa (1769), a short composition concerning seppuku was indited by Taira Teijo, who also called himself Ise Anzai. According to him, there is no record of seppuku in Japan's oldest chronicles, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. In these chronicles and in other histories immediately following them there are, however, frequent references to suicides, which were usually accomplished by self-strangulation or burning one's self to death by setting fire to one's house.

  In the Hogen Monogatari (Tales of the Hogen Civil War in 1156), there is recorded an account of Minamoto-no-Tametomo who, at the age of 28, disemboweled himself after furious fighting on behalf of a lost cause, leaning against a pillar in his house. Since death was slow in coming, he hastened its advent, before the enemy could catch and abuse him, by cutting into the nerve centers of the spinal column. This is probably the first example of seppuku found in Japanese chronicles.

  Whereas the Hogen Monogatari was written between 1185 and 1190, when seppuku was already known among many samurai, some scholars say that there might be an anachronism in this narrative. However, considering that there was an interval of more than twenty years between the occurrence and the writing, it is not difficult to imagine that such a valiant warrior as Tametomo might have desired to show his valor by utilizing seppuku and that it was practiced with increasing frequency over the following twenty years. His ignorance of the easier method to finish seppuku by cutting the carotid artery, as was learned later, rather than the excruciating cutting into the spinal nerve center, may well serve to indicate that his act of seppuku, if not the very first, was at least one of the first such cases, since it was carried out in such a primitive fashion.

  Another example in the Tales of the Hogen Civil War is the narrative about Naiki-no-Heita who committed seppuku in the following manner: When Minamoto-no-Tame-yoshi was killed in the Hogenfighting,Otowaka, his child of thirteen, and three other children were beheaded the following day. The youngest of these children was called Tenno, and was seven years of age. Right after the decapitation of this child, his guard, Naiki-no-Heita,
clasped the child's headless body to him in a fit of passionate grief and committed seppuku, saying how painful it would be to live on—remembering his young master's fate—and that he had better die to follow his master.

  In a painting of a scene from the Go-Sannen-Gassen (Three-Year War, 1086-89), there is an incident of seppuku depicted. Yamano Shotaro, in his book on the subject of suicide, comments that it is possible that the artist included the seppuku scene in view of the established custom in his own time rather than in the time of the War. The conclusion of the Go-Sannen-Gassen was 67 years prior to the Hogen Civil War. Therefore, the picture's scene would be considerably older than Tametomo's seppuku.

  Ten years after Tametomo's suicide, Minamoto-no-Yorimasa, wounded and defeated in battle, entered Byodoin Temple (in Uji, south of Kyoto) to execute the same deed. Sitting on his fan and leaving a poem of farewell, he pressed the point of a long sword to his abdomen, and, leaning forward, forced the blade into his body. This method of seppuku became the acceptable style soon thereafter.

  During the so-called Yoshino Era, furious battles were often fought between the cliques of the two reigning Emperors. This era lasted from 1336 to 1392. When the Hojo military regime (which succeeded the Genji) was overthrown by an army sent by Emperor Godaigo, it seemed that peace had come to the Kyoto Regime, centered, as it was, around the Emperor. But, with the rebellion of Ashikaga Takauji, the Emperor had to flee to Yoshino, south of Kyoto, where he established a government that administered the neighboring areas and vowed eventually to extend its sway over the entire country. On the other hand, Ashikaga enthroned a new Emperor, chosen from among the kinsmen of the Imperial Family. Thus two Emperors reigned simultaneously. The regime in Kyoto was called the Hoku-cho, or North Court, and the one in Yoshino was called the Nan-cho, or South Court.

  In a 40-scroll chronicle called Taiheiki, stirring stories are recounted about samurai who ended their lives bravely by seppuku during numerous encounters between the adherents of the two courts:

  Toki-no-Juro. Cutting his abdomen, he turned toward the north* and then succumbed.

  Murakami Yoshiteru. Realizing that his master, Prince Morinaga, must either escape from their desperate last stand or commit suicide, Murakami determined to sacrifice himself for his master. He climbed to the top of a tower of the citadel and shouted down to their foes below, "Behold, I am Prince Morinaga.Watch with your eyes what I do!"

  Removing his outer garment, he made a deep straight cut across his abdomen from left to right. Then, pulling out a handful of his intestines, he flung them against the wooden side of the tower and putting his short knife point-first into his mouth, fell forward on his face.

  Kusunoki Masashige. When Kusunoki, a devoted adherent to the cause of Emperor Godaigo, lost a battle against the overwhelming forces of the Ashikaga at Minatogawa (Kobe) in 1336, he and his brother, Masasue, committed mutual suicide by piercing each other with their long swords.

  Kusunoki Masatsura. When Masatsura, son of Kusunoki Masashige, lost the battle at Shijo-Nawate against the powerful army of the Ashikaga and immolated himself for the cause, 32 faithful retainers followed him in seppuku.

  Seppuku in the Feudal Penal Code

  The death penalty down to the time of the Ashikaga was carried out by two methods, strangulation and decapitation. Late in the Ashikaga Period, seppuku was added to honor the condemned. Other judiciary documents at that time, however, make no discernible mention of seppuku and suggest that the custom as an honorable method of execution was only in the formative stage toward the end of the Ashikaga Period.

  With the advent of the Tokugawa Period, the government decided to formalize all phases of the social system and the following five grades of penalties were instituted for the samurai class:

  1. Hissoku —Contrite Seclusion. This penalty was subdivided into three parts: restraint, circumspect prudence, and humility.

  2. Heimon —Domiciliary Confinement. This was subdivided into two: 50 days and 100 days.

  3. Chikkyo —Solitary Confinement. This was subdivided into three: confinement in one room, temporary retirement, and permanent retirement (till death).

  4. Kai-eki— Attainder. Permanent removal of the name of the offender from the roll of the samurai.

  5. Seppuku

  Why the Abdomen Was Chosen

  The word hara or abdomen has a common root with the word hari which means tension. Ancient Japanese associated tension in the abdomen with the soul. The abdomen is the place where the soul resides; the more vital the action, the greater the tension. At the same time, it is the physical center of the body; hence they were led to look upon the abdomen as the cradle of one's will, thought, generosity, boldness, spirit, anger, enmity, etc.

  There are many Japanese idioms that are associated with the word hara. For example:

  hara ga tatsu, literally, "the stomach stands up," meaning to become angry.

  hara o watte hanasu, "to talk over a matter with an open stomach," meaning to have a frank talk.

  hara no okii hito, "a person with a big stomach," meaning a generous man.

  hara-guroi hito, "a person with a black stomach," meaning a sly man.

  kare no hara o yomenai, "I cannot read his stomach," meaning "I do not understand what is in his mind."

  hara o kimeru, "to determine one's stomach," meaning to make up one's mind.

  The reference to the abdomen in such expressions is not a monopoly of the Japanese. In Greek we have phren, primarily "diaphragm," also "seat of passions and affections"; hence, "heart," "mind," "understanding," or "reason."

  In French ventre (abdomen) is often associated with coeur (heart, mind). Entrailles means both intestines as well as feelings, tenderness, heart, or pity.

  In English, we use idioms like "he has no stomach for the task," "intestinal fortitude," or "the pit of one's stomach," etc.

  In Hebrew, the word rahmim in the plural means the intestinal part of the body, or womb, and also has the meaning of affection. For example, in Genesis 43, we find, "His [Joseph's] heart yearned toward his brother." In the original Hebrew, this is given as "His bowels grew hot toward his brother."

  In still other verses as Proverbs 12: 10, Amos 1: 11, First Kings 3: 26, the same term is used to designate "pity," "grace," or "favor."

  Still, it was the Japanese who devised a manner of suicide that cuts into the soul or the center of the emotions, and their peculiar cultural philosophy found justification in the act.

  Considering the interpretation of the abdomen as the soul-center, it would seem the most proper place of the body for suicidal purposes, expiating the crime as well as purging the shame.

  Too, seppuku being a very painful method of suicide, commoners would likely refrain from it and only persons of great determination would undergo the ordeal. Judging from the fact that the Zen sect of Buddhism suddenly emerged to gain the favor of the samurai class from the Kamakura Period on (that is, from the beginning of the feudal age), there is good reason to infer that the act of seppuku was associated with the austerities and self-mortification of Zen.

  According to Zen doctrine, Buddha-hood is achieved only after acts of austere self-mortification. It is a state that must be actively pursued and won by the individual. Thus, the ordeal of seppuku would give high merit toward the attainment of Buddha-hood.

  Proof that the condemned man could endure severe hardships would further contribute toward alleviating the gravity of his offense in the eyes of the public and of posterity.

  Finally, the samurai attached great importance to the manner of dying and to the moment of death. According to their code, the death sentence of simple decapitation brought eternal shame to the memory of the warrior. In seppuku, however, the samurai died of his own accord, at least in the ritual sense, and this was a fitting end to a valiant life.

  Kinds of Seppuku

  There are several classifications of seppuku, based on the motive for the act, its method of execution, and the degree of severity of the offense. For
example, when the act of seppuku was motivated by a sense of loyalty to the daimyo or lord, it was called chugi-bara. Chugi means loyalty and bara is a contraction of hara-kiri (pronunciation of the word hara often changes in a compound). Chugi-bara included both self-immolation on the death of one's master (junshi) and for the purpose of remonstration (kanshi).

  The custom of self-immolation that became fashionable during the Edo Period makes us aware of the tight, cruel bonds of the feudal system. In the case of Otani Sampei, the sandal carrier, his strong reluctance to die is most touchingly expressed in his farewell verse which said, "I am reluctant to die, indeed I am. This being my lot, I regret that my lord was so gracious to me." Here, the self-immolation was prompted by strong social pressures. There certainly might have been some people who gladly immolated themselves; on the other hand, some might have been compelled to do so by the auto-suggestive vainglory of Bushido; or, as was the case with Otani Sampei, some were no doubt urged on to reluctant deaths by the opinion of society.

  In some cases, the lord and his principal retainers may have encouraged such immolators under the concept that, the more immolators, the greater and stronger the clan. Mass psychology is contagious. Among many retainers the thought prevailed that it was better to die by immolation than of old age and, in so doing, to improve the standing of one's children. All through the eras of Genki, Tensho, and on down to Keicho, this spell-binding practice increased. After the death of a lord, from three or four to as many as twenty vassals often died and this fashion held sway for over 70 years!