Seppuku (切腹 “belly-cutting” or “Hara-kiri”) is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Part of the samurai honor code, seppuku has been used both voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies, and as a form of capital punishment for samurai who have committed serious offenses. Seppuku is committed by plunging a sword into the abdomen and making a left to right cut. It is still used in some parts of the old town Japan.
