Later, disgraced warriors were sometimes allowed to carry out seppuku rather than be executed in the normal manner. Samurai could also be ordered by their daimyō ( feudal lords) to carry out seppuku. Seppuku was used by warriors to avoid falling into enemy hands and to attenuate shame and avoid possible torture. The first recorded act of seppuku was performed by Minamoto no Yorimasa during the Battle of Uji in 1180.
Silver, Illustrated by Native Drawings, Reproduced in Facsimile by Means of Chromolithography, London, 1867 Illustration from Sketches of Japanese Manners and Customs, by J. If the cut is deep enough, it can sever the abdominal aorta, causing a rapid death by blood loss. The ceremonial disembowelment, which is usually part of a more elaborate ritual and performed in front of spectators, consists of plunging a short blade, traditionally a tantō, into the belly and drawing the blade from left to right, slicing the belly open. As a samurai practice, seppuku was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies (and likely be tortured), as a form of capital punishment for samurai who had committed serious offenses, or performed because they had brought shame to themselves. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa period (particularly officers near the end of World War II) to restore honor for themselves or for their families.
'abdomen/belly cutting', a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku ( 切腹, 'cutting belly'), sometimes referred to as