1.
seppuku, ritual suicide by disembowelment
A form of ritualized suicide practiced by samurai in feudal Japan, performed by cutting open the abdomen with a short blade. It was carried out as a form of atonement, to preserve honor, or as a form of capital punishment.
武士が切腹した。
The samurai committed seppuku.
殿様から切腹を命じられた。
He was ordered by his lord to commit seppuku.
赤穂浪士たちは討ち入りの後、切腹を命じられた。
The Ako ronin were ordered to commit seppuku after their raid.
Also known as 腹切り, though 切腹 is the more formal and respectful term. 腹切り is the same kanji in reversed order and is the term more commonly used in Western languages.
The practice was formalized during the Edo period and could be either voluntary (to preserve honor) or ordered (as punishment). A 介錯人 (second) would typically deliver a finishing blow.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 切腹する (to commit seppuku)
- 切腹を命じる (to order seppuku)
- 切腹を申しつける (to be sentenced to seppuku)