| 1 | %% |
| 2 | %% The examples on this page have been put into alphabetical order. |
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| 4 | %% Please add new examples in the correct order. |
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| 7 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/seppukuS.jpg]] |
| 8 | [[caption-width-right:300:Image by [[https://commons.marymount.edu/en204fa13/2013/10/28/wole-soyinka-death-and-the-kings-horseman/seppuku-2/ Kunikazu Utagawa]]]] |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ->''"A dead silence followed, broken only by the hideous noise of the blood throbbing out of the inert heap before us, which but a moment before had been a brave and chivalrous man. It was horrible."'' |
| 11 | -->-- '''Algernon Mitford''', ''Tales Of Old Japan'' |
| 12 | |
| 13 | You're a {{samurai}} and you're either very depressed, very pissed off, or both. You've been pigeon-holed into choosing between [[MyMasterRightOrWrong obeying foolish or evil orders]] or abandoning your [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warrior ideals]]. [[MortonsFork Either way, you're screwed]]. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Time to send a message. Those ''gaijin'' may say it with flowers, but samurai say it with bowels--their own bowels, to be precise. For a true Samurai WarriorPoet, this is the ''only'' [[TakeAThirdOption third option]] you can take to [[HonorBeforeReason preserve your honor]]. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | ''Seppuku'' is a centuries-old Japanese rite of suicide -- literally, "stomach cutting". ''Harakiri'' (often misspelled as "hari-kari" or worse) is a more in-speech term for the same thing but refers very simply to the act of stomach cutting, while "seppuku" is the term for the proper ceremony. Many people have incorrectly believed that ''harakiri'' is a more vulgar term, but it is not true. The words actually share the same kanji, albeit in reverse: "seppuku" is the on-yomi[[note]]Sino-Japanese, borrowed from the Middle Chinese words ''tset'' (cut) and ''pjuwk'' (belly)[[/note]] reading of those kanji (with the part meaning "cut", read ''setsu'' alone, first), while "harakiri" is the kun-yomi[[note]]Native Japanese[[/note]] reading with the part meaning "belly" (''hara'') first. To perform harakiri is to simply perform the stomach cutting on one's own, and to perform seppuku is to perform the full ceremony with proper clothing, knife, posture, and sheet/platform, with witnesses and decapitator present. How and why seppuku is to be performed, what it means, and so on depends on the historical era, gender, and context. TheThemeParkVersion, however, is this: |
| 18 | |
| 19 | After a period of meditation, the samurai walks out before a number of witnesses and sits ''seiza'' on a white sheet or platform. He'll be wearing white, a color associated with death and burial in Japan (and on which [[WhiteShirtOfDeath blood stands out so well]]). A special knife is set before him, and a stern-looking dude stands behind him with a raised sword. The samurai says whatever the drama necessitates, then rams the knife deep into his abdomen, curving up into his chest cavity, and slowly pulls it from left to right. The stern-looking dude is a ''kaishakunin'', or "second"; he is expected to be a sport and cut off the samurai's head before he loses his composure (after all, it's just bad suicide etiquette to show ''pain'' while you're disemboweling yourself). How soon this happens depends on the ''kaishakunin'''s respect for the samurai in question; too early, and he shows contempt by not giving the samurai a chance to show his honor, but too late, and he forces the samurai to endure the entire ritual. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Contrary to popular belief, the ''kaishakunin'' isn't actually supposed to decapitate a person during ''seppuku''; doing so often led to the severed head bouncing off the samurai's body in a very undignified fashion, which defeats the whole purpose of ''seppuku'' (and also causes huge cleanup issues, because corpses were considered unclean and any bit of ground the head touched would have to be dug up and replaced). Instead, a proper ''kaishakunin'' cut is to leave the head attached to the body by a bit of skin and neck muscle (''à la'' "[[Franchise/HarryPotter Nearly Headless Nick]]"). The difficulty of making this cut -- and the importance of doing it correctly the first time -- meant that being a ''kaishakunin'' was a huge responsibility. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | It should be noted that in many cases (perhaps the majority), seppuku was effectively a form of capital punishment for the samurai caste -- they weren't killing themselves willingly, but rather under orders from their lord. In cases where it was thought the samurai might waver, or couldn't be trusted with a weapon of any kind (there were cases where, when presented with the dagger, samurai attempted to free themselves), a ritualized process was used. Rather than using a knife, the samurai in question would touch their stomach with a paper fan, at which point the ''kaishakunin'' would make the fatal cut. Seppuku manuals written during the Edo period even suggest where young children or teenagers are concerned, to convince the victim that the act is merely a rehearsal. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | There was a different process for women called ''jigai'',[[note]]Literally "suicide", so in Japanese it can refer to any form of suicide in general, regardless of who does it or how it's done.[[/note]] as disembowelment is considered unladylike. A suicidal woman sits ''seiza'' with her legs tied up so that they won't fall open scandalously after she dies, and then she [[SlashedThroat slices her jugular vein with a knife]]. It's a variant of the common trope of a woman facing invasion or military defeat killing herself to avoid becoming a prisoner of war or [[RapePillageAndBurn a spoil of war]]. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Another similar practice is ''kanshi'', an act of ''seppuku'' by a retainer to protest an act by his lord, whom it would otherwise be dishonorable to challenge or contradict. A variant known as ''kagebara'' is a common dramatic device in Japanese theater. A character comes on stage, tells a lord [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech why he sucks]], and then opens his robe to reveal that he's ''already'' slit his belly (binding the wound to painfully extend his brief life) and "punished" himself for his treasonous act. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | And ''seppuku'' still happens in modern Japan, although it's not as common as it once was. Japan is known to have a much more permissive attitude to suicide than other developed countries, and some of that can be traced to rituals like ''seppuku''. Disgraced officials, politicians, and other authority figures might kill themselves as an apology for screwing up, albeit usually not according to ritual. Celebrities occasionally do this as well, and dedicated fans will often follow suit when this happens. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | For the Wiki's purposes, ''seppuku'' covers a broad range of ritualized suicides from Japan (and East Asia in general), where a character makes a big deal about how, why, and when they kill themselves. The Western equivalent ritualised suicide tropes include LeaveBehindAPistol and BathSuicide. In addition to the latter of those, writers in AncientRome described the practice of [[https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/fall-on-your-sword.html falling on one's sword]], which was also perceived as an honourable way of getting out of a hopeless situation; this is how UsefulNotes/MarcusJuniusBrutus killed himself at the Battle of Philippi. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | Subtrope of SelfPunishmentOverFailure. LodgedBladeRemoval can be present, although removing the blade is not a part of Seppuku as it's a suicide ritual. When done to protest a lord's actions, it is the only honorable way for a samurai to ResignInProtest. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | Finally, as this is a {{Death Trope|s}}, '''beware of unmarked spoilers'''. |
| 36 | ---- |
| 37 | !!Examples |
| 38 | |
| 39 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 40 | |
| 41 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 42 | * ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': In order to prove that his love for all of his girlfriends is sincere, Rentarou promises to do this if he can't be a good boyfriend to all of them. (This is mainly PlayedForLaughs.) |
| 43 | |
| 44 | * In ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'', the deaths of [[spoiler: the StarCrossedLovers Oboro and Gennosuke]] don't follow the rituals ([[spoiler: she stabs herself in the chest and he later does the same]]) but count as this since [[spoiler: Oboro killed 'self to not have to kill Gennosuke in a fixed duel ''and'' to free herself from Lady Ofuku's plans]] and [[spoiler: Gennosuke committed suicide after Oboro's death, having lost literally ''everything'' in this CrapsackWorld despite being the SoleSurvivor.]] |
| 45 | * ''Manga/BlackLagoon'': |
| 46 | ** In the anime, during the flashback segments of the submarine arc, it is revealed the Japanese army officer aboard the ship committed Seppuku rather than die of asphyxiation when it was obvious the submarine would never be able to surface again. (There was no mention of any Japanese officer in the manga.) |
| 47 | ** [[spoiler:Yukio Washimine gives herself an ImpromptuTracheotomy with Ginji's katana after Revy kills him in the final episode. It counts as ''seppuku'' as not only does she do it right after the death of her only remaining supporter, but it follows [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jigai the traditional suicide rite for women]]: piercing her own throat. Only Yukio, for obvious reasons, does it with a katana instead of a dagger.]] |
| 48 | * In ''Manga/BladeOfTheImmortal'', [[spoiler:Kensui]] commits sepukku after being ordered to betray [[spoiler:Anotsu]], who acts as his second. Later [[spoiler:Hisoka]] follows by cutting her throat. |
| 49 | ** Hibaki is given a month before he is obligated to commit seppuku after failing to prevent an attack on the castle. He uses it to hunt down the remaining Itto-ryu. [[spoiler:During this time, his wife and son kill themselves so they won't be used as hostages.]] |
| 50 | * In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', [[spoiler: Giselle Gewelle]] uses [[BloodMagic her]] [[PeoplePuppets powers]] to [[PsychicAssistedSuicide force a bunch of guys to kill themselves]] like this. |
| 51 | -->[[spoiler: '''Giselle''']]: "Okay, everyone! Seppuku~" |
| 52 | |
| 53 | * In a ''Manga/CaseClosed'' case, a female culprit grabs a ''katana'' that belongs to her husband [[spoiler: and victim]] and points it at her neck as if she's about to commit ''jigai'' with it. Then [[VillainousBreakdown she changes her mind]] and [[UnstoppableRage starts to madly swing it around]], but [[YamatoNadeshiko another woman]] [[LadyOfWar who is a kendo expert]] manages to stop her. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Using only]] [[PaperFanOfDoom a paper fan]]. Then, [[NervesOfSteel she gives the culprit]] a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech and dissuades her from trying to kill herself again. [[spoiler: The second woman is Shizuka Hattori (nèe Ikenami), Heiji's AlmightyMom.]] |
| 54 | * ''Anime/CodeGeass'': |
| 55 | ** This is the cause of Japanese Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi's death after he fails to stop the invasion of Britannia. [[spoiler:Officially, anyway. Actually, he was stabbed to death by [[SelfMadeOrphan his pre-teen son Suzaku]], in the middle of a heated discussion where the kid tried to dissuade his dad from [[HonorBeforeReason destroying Japan itself]] by leading a last desperate attack on the enemy.]] |
| 56 | ** Invoked by a racist commander in ''Anime/CodeGeassAkitoTheExiled'', who justifies sending Japanese soldiers on suicide missions because "Elevens ''love'' to kill themselves". |
| 57 | * Parodied in ''Manga/CodenameSailorV'': [[MalaProper Sailor V]], pissed at the MonsterOfTheWeek, sentences him to this, and then [[HalfTheManheUsedToBe cuts him in two]], with Artemis pointing out that's not how it's done. |
| 58 | |
| 59 | * In the anime adaptation of ''Manga/DeathNote'', [[spoiler:Mikami gives himself an ImpromptuTracheotomy ''with a pen'' after Light Yagami reveals his true nature, the former losing faith after the latter's [[VillainousBreakdown spectacular breakdown]]]]. |
| 60 | * ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'': |
| 61 | ** Early on in the series, Tanjiro's teacher, Urokodaki, tells him that if his younger sister Nezuko, who's turned into a demon, attacks a human, Tanjiro must kill her and then slit his belly open. Later on, [[spoiler:Urokodaki and his other student, Giyu Tomioka of the Hashira, also promise to commit seppuku if Nezuko attacks a human, which helps convince the head of the Demon Slayer Corps to accept Nezuko.]] |
| 62 | ** In the final arc, [[spoiler:Zenitsu]] gets a major boost in motivation after he finds out that [[spoiler:his sensei (who was like a grandfather to him)]] committed seppuku in shame after finding out that [[spoiler:his other student Kaigaku betrayed the Demon Slayer Corps to become a demon]]. When confronting [[spoiler:Kaigaku, Zenitsu]] angrily reveals that [[spoiler:their master]] didn't even have a ''kaishakunin'', meaning he died in immense pain. |
| 63 | * Seppuku is referenced in ''Manga/{{Drifters}}''. Shimazu Toyohisa convinces a group of Orte soldiers to surrender after he has their backs to the wall. Although Toyohisa promised to spare the surrendering soldiers, he intended for the Orte commander to commit seppuku with himself acting as his kaishakunin. Being from the Sengoku era, Toyohisa offered this so that the commander and his forces would keep their honor after the defeat, [[ValuesDissonance but the soldier was horrified that Toyohisa would demand such a barbaric thing from him]]. Shimazu decides then that the Orte are honorless and simply beheads the commander, but stops Yoichi from hunting down his fleeing men. |
| 64 | |
| 65 | * In ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', Ryuga commits kagebara before his battle with Kenshiro. Knowing defeat was inevitable especially against the adopted younger brother of Toki (who he had killed only days earlier), Ryuga felt it was better to FaceDeathWithDignity. |
| 66 | * In ''Manga/TheFiveStarStories'', Blreno, wracked with guilt over losing both the war against Colus and his entire battalion attempts Seppuku during an audience with his king, only for the king to knock the sword from his hand. Turns out the king is just glad he made it back alive and wants him to keep fighting to learn from his mistakes so he can improve, rather than kill himself over them. |
| 67 | |
| 68 | * In ''Manga/GetBackers'', three different characters attempt suicide during the IL arc, but Juubei's the one everyone compares to a samurai. He tries to kill his best friend and "lord," Kazuki, and, when he loses that fight, begs Kazuki to kill him. When Kazuki refuses, he tries to do it himself and tells Kazuki he always intended to kill himself, win or lose, as atonement. |
| 69 | * This is a common threat from Hijikata of ''Manga/{{Gintama}}''. |
| 70 | * The hentai manga ''Graduation and Beheading Ceremony'' features something similar, only the kids in question die by ripping each other's hearts out (having been trained for whatever reason to look forward to their impending deaths). [[GallowsHumor That death is but one of many]], [[SerialEscalation and it is not the most memorable]]. |
| 71 | ** And in ''Applicant for Death'' by the same artist, [[spoiler: a girl commits ''seppuku'' while having sex with her brother's decapitated corpse while his head watches.]] |
| 72 | |
| 73 | * In ''Harakiri'', a one-shot by Shintaro Kago, is about girls performing seppuku, although it's more of a form of self-mutilation than anything. |
| 74 | * Seppuku is referenced, quite appropriately, in ''VideoGame/HarukanaruTokiNoNakaDe'''s first OAV and the TV series, where certain characters wonder whether [[{{Samurai}} Minamoto no Yorihisa]] might do this to himself in case he fails to protect the Miko. |
| 75 | * Kiku Honda aka the MoeAnthropomorphism of ''Japan'' tries to kill himself through seppuku in the second strip of ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'', thinking it's the standard way to reply when captured. He's ''shocked'' when his partners, Germany and Italy, react differently. |
| 76 | * ''Anime/IrresponsibleCaptainTylor'': PlayedForLaughs. Admiral Mifune always carries a katana around and has to be physically restrained from committing seppuku after every setback. |
| 77 | * Invoked in ''Anime/{{K}}: Stray Dog Story''. After his master dies, Kuroh, a somewhat anachronistic modern samurai, tells the old woman next door about his plan to retrieve his late master's sword and use it to fulfill his late master's dying wish. The old woman asks what he will do if he doesn't manage to make it happen, and he says he will commit harakiri. The old woman just smiles and says, "I don't think that's what the Ichigen Miwa I knew would want you to do." |
| 78 | * In ''Literature/{{Kampfer}}'', there's a line of [[CreepyDoll very creepy-looking stuffed animals]] that look like they committed {{seppuku}}, with their intestines sticking out and all; two of their names translate to ''Suicide Tiger'' and ''Suicide Black Rabbit''. One of the girls in Natsuru's UnwantedHarem has a room ''full'' of them, and Natsuru once has to spend the night there. |
| 79 | * Attempted by Ira Gamagoori in ''Anime/KillLaKill'', after he loses to Ryuko. [[PetTheDog Satsuki, however]], [[InterruptedSuicide stops him]]. |
| 80 | |
| 81 | * ''Manga/TheLegendOfKoizumi'': [[spoiler:When Shinzo Abe fails in an attempt to pass the missing Koizumi's son Kotaro off as his father in a mahjong match with Vladimir Putin, he commits seppuku in front of his maid.]] |
| 82 | * ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub'''s Ogami Itto was the head ''kaishakunin'' of the Shogun before they killed his wife and he became a {{Ronin}}, and in the story, several characters are threatened with (and commit) Seppuku should they fail to capture Itto and Daigoro. |
| 83 | * In ''Manga/LoveHina'', at one point Motoko offers to help with the ritualized suicides of the {{Ronin}} who have not managed to get into Tokyo University. After a failed attempt at femininity, she also misinterprets one of Keitaro's comments as suggesting that she kill herself, and she asks Su to be her second. Thankfully she soon reverts to her normal self. |
| 84 | ** [[SuicideAsComedy Something that makes]] [[GallowsHumor this dramatic scene hilarious]] is that Motoko is holding a sharpened knife near her abdomen: a "proper" woman would commit suicide by cutting open her jugular, as stated in the paragraphs above... so if she actually went through with it, [[FemininityFailure she would've failed at femininity]] ''[[FemininityFailure again]]''. |
| 85 | * In the ''Anime/LupinIIIPartII'' episode "Kooky Kabuki", Goemon betrays Lupin to help a woman, is in turn betrayed himself, and decides seppuku is the only way he can make amends, with Lupin himself doing the beheading part. Lupin can't bear to behead his friend, so he instead punches him, leading to a fistfight and a reconciliation. |
| 86 | |
| 87 | * The hilariously infamous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vhOjmwlB2g "POTATO-DONO!"]] [[LetsMeetTheMeat scene]] from ''Anime/MagicalWitchPuniechan'' is a rather... epic parody of this. "Potato-dono" (Mr. Potato) speaks like an old-school samurai, is seen sitting in ''seiza'' in front of a peeler in a way that mirrors a samurai preparing to go through seppuku (white blanket included!), peels himself rather epically to encourage the other talking veggies and ultimately is thrown into the curry pot by a carrot (as a sort-of ''kaishakunin''). He even gets to GoOutWithASmile as he falls, saluting his fellow vegetables before "dying". |
| 88 | * Performed at the beginning of the first issue of ''Mai-Chan's Daily Life'' as an exhibition piece. [[spoiler:Since the main character has a HealingFactor, she survives the experience, but earns the mockery and abuse of her handler for failing to complete the ritual and chop off her own head before fainting from blood loss, [[EstablishingSeriesMoment setting the tone for one hell of a sadistic series]]]]. |
| 89 | * In ''Manga/MedakaBox'', Zenkichi has to turn down his classmate Emukae's long-standing LoveConfession and chooses to do so in possibly the most manly and over-the-top fashion ever: to repay the emotional pain she's suffered from his indecision, he inflicts equal physical pain upon himself by committing ''seppuku'' right then and there, all while reassuring her that she's a wonderful person who deserves all the love in the world, but he can't be the one to give it because already in love with Medaka. However, he doesn't die because their teammate Kumagawa can "heal" him by [[RetGone erasing the injuries from existence]]. |
| 90 | * ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn'' features a HumongousMecha doing this with the barrel of a ''sniper rifle''. In context, he was trying to pierce the reactor and blow up the enemies who were surrounding him, but the pose he does it in is meant to be evocative of seppuku. |
| 91 | * [[SuicideAsComedy Something of a]] RunningGag in the ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' {{Omake}} ''Char's Daily Life''. Whenever he makes a mistake, the [[AlternateUniverse AU]] version of Garma (who was a perfectionist WellDoneSonGuy in the original series) strips down and points a knife at himself. Char always stops him. |
| 92 | * ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': The Equipped Hero: Yoroi Musha calls a press conference for this purpose. [[spoiler:His "seppuku" is ''retiring''. Everyone calls him out for being a DramaQueen over it, not least because the country is in a state of emergency at the moment and retiring right now is seen as an act of cowardice]]. |
| 93 | |
| 94 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': |
| 95 | ** Kakashi's father Sakumo commits seppuku, having failed a mission as a result of going to save his friends, and being ostracized for his failure, ''even by those he saved''. The act is not witnessed, but a young Kakashi finds his father's body after the deed is done. |
| 96 | ** In a filler episode, Koumei is ordered to commit seppuku as the sentence for being behind the cursed warrior incidents [[spoiler:despite being innocent]]. Later in the arc, in a flashback [[spoiler:Toki, seeing her brother dying, contemplates committing seppuku, but his spirit inspires her to keep on living]]. The whole arc was in fact full of this - when Shishima is unable to convince the Hokage to accept his mission, he pulls out a knife and [[spoiler: stabs himself in the... moneybags? They were tied to his stomach, and the reactions of Tsunade and Shizune are [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments truly priceless.]]]] |
| 97 | * Early in ''Manga/NuraRiseOfTheYokaiClan'', Gyuuki tries to do this after revealing why he plotted to kill Rikuo, in order to preserve the honor of the Nura clan. However, Rikuo (in his Nurarihyon form) stops him by breaking the blade off his sword, understanding his reasons for doing so. |
| 98 | |
| 99 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'' |
| 100 | ** Kumadori frequently claims responsibility for failures that aren't his fault in the first place, and proceeds to attempt seppuku -- only to always subconsciously [[InstantArmor harden his body]] and thus survive. |
| 101 | -->'''Kumadori''': I...I'm still alive!\ |
| 102 | '''Jabura''': [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments And that's not good news!]] |
| 103 | ** At the start of the Wano arc, set in the Japan-themed country of the same name, Zoro is falsely convicted of murder and sentenced to commit seppuku, with a second nearby prepared to cut his head off. Instead, Zoro takes the knife and uses it as a weapon. |
| 104 | * In ''Manga/OokuTheInnerChambers'', a number of retainers follow Shogun Iemitsu into death. UsefulNotes/The47Ronin also make an appearance later. |
| 105 | * Ranma's mother Nodoka in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' is charged with carrying around the sword to be used by her as the ''kaishakunin'' [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/RM36-111sepp.gif should her son or husband disgrace themselves.]] Luckily for them, she's not very good with the sword. Unluckily for them, she's ''dead serious'' about her duty. What pushes this into HonorBeforeReason territory (and would push Nodoka into AbusiveParents territory in any series that [[ComedicSociopathy took itself more seriously]]) is that the contract she is so dedicated to following literally consists of a verbal vow from Genma that "I will make Ranma a [[IWantToBeARealMan man among men]]", and a written contract consisting of "I will commit seppuku", signed with Genma's thumb-print and baby-Ranma's handprint. |
| 106 | ** In the end, [[spoiler:she accepts Ranma's [[GenderBender female side]] (and it's implied that she forgives the whole "Ranko" deception) on the grounds that, regardless of what Ranma looks like, he's a man through and through. Unmanly ''behavior'' can still make her reach for her sword, though...]] |
| 107 | * ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': |
| 108 | ** Kenshin Himura has said outright that he began his life as a wanderer as an alternative to suicide and encourages others to follow his path of atonement. His reasoning is simply that killing himself helps no one and he can do much more good alive. A similar {{Aesop}} pops up in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': all life has value, and death solves nothing. |
| 109 | ** After losing his last bout to Kenshin, his long sword, and the use of his right arm, Udo Jin-e spitefully throws himself on his wakizashi rather than get taken alive. |
| 110 | ** Towards the end of the Kanryu Takeda mini-arc, [[spoiler:Megumi was about to commit ''jigai'' with a dagger that Aoshi had given her, thinking the Kenshin-gumi had perished at the hands of the Oniwabashu. Sanosuke gives her a GetAHoldOfYourselfMan to stop her]]. |
| 111 | ** When Kenshin defeats Raijuta, some of his disillusioned mooks attempt to kill themselves, but Kenshin knocks their blades out of their hands and lectures them to atone for their sins instead of dying. |
| 112 | ** Also, [[spoiler:VillainousCrossdresser Kamatari]] tries to kill himself through ''jigai'' after losing to [[spoiler:Kaoru and Misao]]. The latter has to knock him out to keep him from taking his own life. Later on, his former comrade Chou lies to him about Shishio's last wish so he won't try to kill himself again, now that his master and one-sided crush is dead. |
| 113 | ** Shishio's right-hand man Houji ends up killing himself in prison after he realizes that he won't be granted a fair trial where he could defend the ideals of his late master. [[DyingMomentOfAwesome He slit his throat and as he was dying he wrote "This world is dead to me now. I go to follow my master to hell." to the wall of his prison cell. With his own blood.]] |
| 114 | ** Spoofed on the "About the Author" page of volume four of the manga. Creator/NobuhiroWatsuki draws himself doing this as punishment for failing to live up to a promise he made in volume two. With Kenshin as ''kaishakunin''. |
| 115 | |
| 116 | * In episode 4 of ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'', a noble {{Yakuza}} leader does this as an act of defiance/taking a third option between his son being killed and losing his territory. At the end of the episode, one of his former lieutenants who had joined his unpleasant rival redeems himself by committing [[SuicideByCop Suicide by Mugen]]. |
| 117 | * ''Manga/{{Shigurui}}'' features a gruesome example of the ''kagebara'' variant; a samurai slits his stomach open offscreen, bandages himself up, and then dramatically ''pulls his entrails out'', in protest of the use of real swords in a tournament. |
| 118 | |
| 119 | * ''Manga/TimeStopHero'': The hero Kuzuno Sekai stumbles upon a Japanese village that is invaded by vampires. He finds that several people committed seppuku [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled to avoid being fed on]]. |
| 120 | * [[{{Ronin}} Hatz]] and [[TheTrickster Khun]] bicker about the others culture in ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'', Khun asks if Hatz's people still perform ''Halbok'', the Korean equivalent to ''seppuku''. Whereas Khun thinks it is a barbaric, idiotic rite, Hatz believes it is one of the manliest things one can do. He then proceeds to call Khun a sissy for wearing ear-rings. |
| 121 | * Likely due to changing social mores and Japan's ludicrous suicide rate, it's becoming increasingly common in various Japanese media to deconstruct this. ''Film/TheTwilightSamurai'' (''Tasogare Seibei'' in Japan) features a samurai ordered to kill himself when his master is dishonored; he refuses, and is given a death sentence to be carried out by the title character. Seibei does not particularly hold it against the man that he refuses to kill himself: he simply has been ordered to do something, and he has children and an ailing mother to care for. |
| 122 | |
| 123 | * In ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'', There are a couple of manga chapters/TV episodes that end with Shuutaro Mendou threatening to commit suicide out of shame, though he never follows through for various reasons (mostly concerning a cloud of girls who physically restrain him from doing so). |
| 124 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Utawarerumono}}'' the heroes surround and overwhelm a cruel lord's castle. The lord's general, Benawi, realizes that they have lost and he urges his master to "die with honor" and offers to assist him. The lord doesn't dare, so Benawi kills him himself. Then he unceremoniously tries to cut off his own head. The hero stops him and he asks if he should live in shame. [[GilliganCut Next scene he's feasting happily with the victorious army.]] |
| 125 | |
| 126 | * ''Anime/ValvraveTheLiberator'', by the same writer as Geass, has the titular HumongousMecha's special weapon - the ''harakiri blade''. The robot plunges its sword through its midsection and withdraws it with a force powerful enough to take out a fleet of battleships. It sounds just plain ridiculous until you realize that these are the secret hidden weapons that save JIOR, which is really just Japan under a different name... and it might just be CrossingTheLineTwice into a critique of the whole cultural-suicide-fixation thing. JIOR was also developing them in secret while telling the rest of the world they were completely pacifist and neutral. |
| 127 | |
| 128 | * BoysLoveGenre ShowWithinAShow ''Anime/WinterCicada'' [[spoiler:ends with Akizuki committing seppuku and Kusaka doing the same after finding his body.]] |
| 129 | |
| 130 | * In the Manga/{{X 1999}} TV series, [[spoiler: Hinoto performs ''jigai'' in the Dream Scape to kill both herself ''and'' [[TakingYouWithMe her]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Dark Self]]. As a bonus, Hinoto's body appears mortally wounded in the Real World - quite the feat, considering she's crippled, deaf and blind in here.]] |
| 131 | |
| 132 | * Then there is Kai Suwabara from ''Manga/YakitateJapan'', who wanted to commit seppuku because of his inability to win against Azuma, after several tries. He is only stopped because his girlfriend says that she is pregnant and it would bring greater shame to leave her as an alone mother. [[spoiler:She isn't. They have, after all, just hugged each other.]] |
| 133 | * In ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', Mizoguchi with his Samurai deck has a card called "Resolve of the Lord and Retainer". The illustration has a man about to commit seppuku, and it inflicts damage to both players by making a blade appear in their hands with which they stab themselves. |
| 134 | * ''Anime/YukiYunaIsAHero'': |
| 135 | ** [[spoiler:Mimori Togo]] attempted to commit ''jigai'' but failed [[spoiler: because her FairyCompanion got in the way.]] She tried suicide in other manners but [[spoiler:her fairy always prevented her.]] When she reveals the AwfulTruth to two of her friends, she does it by attempting ''jigai'' again to show them. |
| 136 | ** PlayedForLaughs in the second season. Togo threatens ''jigai'' to atone for preventing Fu from studying for her exams. |
| 137 | [[/folder]] |
| 138 | |
| 139 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 140 | * In one ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' strip, Calvin asks Hobbes if this would be the appropriate response to breaking his father's prized binoculars, or if running away from home would be sufficient. Hobbes suggests both. |
| 141 | * In an issue of ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'' (set just before Shadowland), DD is the head of The Hand, a cult of ninjas. One of his lieutenants is getting too ambitious and would rather be the head, so some of DD's other lieutenants kill him, and later claim he committed seppuku since he failed to become leader of The Hand. |
| 142 | * In "Vow of the Samurai" in ''ComicBook/JonahHex'' #39 (original series), a samurai commits hara-kiri after he discovers that his daughter has had a child with an outlaw. He forces Jonah to fulfill an oath he made earlier by acting as kaishakunin and cutting his head off. |
| 143 | * {{Parodied|Trope}} in ''ComicStrip/{{Mafalda}}''. (Later, when Felipe confirms the act is indeed named hara-kiri, Manolito says that having to admit that he was wrong is "pride's hara-kiri".) |
| 144 | -->'''[[HonestJohnsDealership Manolito]]:''' I heard that the Japanese slice their bellies open and FWOOOSH ''[makes a gesture on his stomach]'' they commit [[{{Malaproper}} Ikebana]]!\ |
| 145 | '''[[LittleMissSnarker Mafalda]]:''' What the Hell, that's hara-kiri! Ikebana has to do with flowers! ''[leaves]''\ |
| 146 | '''Manolito''': That's their ''wake'', you MORON! |
| 147 | * In ''ComicBook/{{Noob}}'', most of comic 9 consists of a battle in which each side's commander is randomly chosen among participants. The randomly chosen commander for the Empire is ManipulativeBitch and DirtyCoward Gaea, whose strategy inevitably includes WeHaveReserves. At the end of the battle, the protagonists decide to participate in another battle, and Omega Zell, who hates Gaea, [[TemptingFate comments that there's no way the next commander of their side can be any worse than her]]. Cut to the last panel of the comic showing the Empire commander being chosen for the next battle: it's Sparadrap, everyone's favorite StupidGood KindheartedSimpleton, and Omega Zell is seen in the background pointing a dagger towards his own stomach. |
| 148 | %%* This is an important plot point in ''ComicBook/Ronin1983''.%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample |
| 149 | * At the end of the ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' story ''[[Recap/TintinTheBlueLotus The Blue Lotus]]'', it's stated that BigBad Mitsuhirato committed hara-kiri (as it was usually known in the West at the time). |
| 150 | * In the very first issue of ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage'', the four heroes offer Shredder the chance to commit Seppuku so that he may die with honor. (In most versions of [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles the Turtles' continuity]], the term ''bushido'' is used liberally and is a code that can be followed by Ninja as well as Samurai.) Instead, Shredder opts to [[TakingYouWithMe blow them all up with a grenade]]. |
| 151 | ** As a spin-off to the above franchise, ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheLastRonin'' opens in a dark future where all but one of the Turtles (the titular Ronin) have been killed by the Foot, with the Ronin attempting to kill Oroku Hiroto, grandson of the Shredder and ruler of New York. When the Ronin's initial attack fails, he retreats to the sewers and attempts to commit seppuku, but passes out from blood loss in time to be rescued and receive medical treatment from his remaining allies. |
| 152 | * Appears regularly in ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'', since the series is based on historical Japan. A unique case is Usagi finding a town haunted by the ghost of a general who was killed before he could complete the ceremony. Usagi waits for the ghost to make his nightly arrival, respectfully saying they both served the same lord and "I would be honored to be your second." As the ghost makes the belly cuts, Usagi uses his sword (blessed in holy water) to "behead" the spirit and finally let the general be at peace. |
| 153 | [[/folder]] |
| 154 | |
| 155 | [[folder:Fan Fiction]] |
| 156 | * Parodied in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal. The Prospectus issued as a guide to prospective parents and students of the Assassins' guild School devotes [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10383608/3/The-Prospectus a proud chapter]] to its brand-new Agatean Studies Department. Set texts are issued to students explaining the purpose and philosophy underlying seppuku. however, titles like ''Today is a Good Day for '''Somebody Else''' to Commit Seppuku'' suggest the particular slant the assassins put on the practice. Assisted seppuku for others, most certainly... |
| 157 | * Discussed (semi-jokingly) by Shinji in ''Fanfic/DoingItRightThisTime'', as he is rather sore about being essentially press-ganged into being Kaworu's ''kaishakunin'', and avows that if they end up going through the whole "ICannotSelfTerminate" thing again [[PeggySue this time around]] he's going to make him observe the proper ceremonies first. |
| 158 | * Itachi Kunata does this in ''Fanfic/FracturedFates'' using a hunting knife, sabotaging his own execution in an attempt to [[MustMakeAmends atone]] for killing a classmate and to [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu defy Monokuma.]] |
| 159 | * An ''Manga/InuYasha'' one-shot, ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6151695/1/Sisters-Forever Sisters, Forever]]'', states that Kikyo's father, blaming himself for her mother's death, left a young Kaede in Kikyo's care before committing seppuku. |
| 160 | * ''Fanfic/LostToDust'': When Yagyuu Munenori is defeated, he commits seppuku to avoid interrogation. |
| 161 | * In a flashback in Episode 74 of ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'', Cosmo's mother Hertia committed seppuku with a plasma knife after Maledict devolved her to her original form. It's actually a case of BetterToDieThanBeKilled - Maledict explicitly gave her the choice between suicide or a FateWorseThanDeath. And in an interesting case of ShownTheirWork, Maledict ends her suffering by decapitating her as well. |
| 162 | * In ''Fanfic/SystemRestore'', Kuzuryu tries this for reasons similar to the ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' example below, but in this fic, he fails because [[spoiler:his hands are badly burned from a failed attempt to save Pekoyama's life]]. |
| 163 | * PlayedForLaughs in ''Fanfic/ThoseLackingSpines'': Jeffiroth ''tries'' to commit seppuku, but it takes him about ten minutes because he's using an AwesomeButImpractical seven-foot-long katana to do it. |
| 164 | [[/folder]] |
| 165 | |
| 166 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 167 | * ''Film/ThirteenAssassins'' has a few instances of seppuku, including one which kicks off the whole plot. |
| 168 | * Obviously, this takes place in ''Film/FortySevenRonin'' (a very, ''very'' fictionalised version of the story). [[spoiler: Kai, the half-MightyWhitey protagonist, goes through it with the ronin themselves.]] |
| 169 | * Ditto ''Film/The47Ronin'', the 1941 Japanese version of the story. Asano is forced to commit seppuku at the beginning of the story. The 47 ronin are forced to commit it at the end, after finally getting revenge for their master and killing Lord Kira. |
| 170 | * ''Film/TheABCsOfDeath'': In the "J" segment, an executioner prepares to decapitate a samurai; however, the samurai begins performing a series of bizarre and physically impossible facial expressions, causing the executioner to panic. A man off-screen tells the executioner to finish the job, as he notices that the samurai is performing seppuku. The executioner, who turns out to be a kaishakunin, beheads the samurai but then laughs at the ridiculous expression that the latter made. |
| 171 | * ''Film/{{Airplane}}'': PlayedForLaughs ([[RapidFireComedy as is pretty much everything else in the film]]) when a Japanese general does this rather than listen to another one of [[TheBore Ted's stories.]] |
| 172 | * The possessed ninja doll in ''WesternAnimation/CheckeredNinja'' commits seppuku [[spoiler: so that he can be filled with cocaine and frame the villain for drug smuggling]]. |
| 173 | ** This is also part of his backstory. [[spoiler: He was a ninja warrior who committed seppuku when he failed to protect a group of children, and became a vengeful spirit who punishes child abuse.]] |
| 174 | * ''Film/TheEmperorInAugust'': In the early hours of August 15, 1945, General Anami, the army minister, refuses to support a right-wing coup aimed at stopping the Emperor's surrender announcement. Having done so, he then commits ritual seppuku, as penance for his part in losing the war for Japan. |
| 175 | ** ''Film/JapansLongestDay'', an earlier movie depicting these same events, also shows Anami committing seppuku. |
| 176 | * ''Film/GoldenSwallow'', one of Creator/ShawBrothers' DarkerAndEdgier works, has a ''child'' framed over stealing and eating a priceless goose, and forced to disembowel himself in order to prove his innocence. |
| 177 | --> '''Boy''': Look... in my stomach... no goose... [''dead''] |
| 178 | * Done by the Japanese commanders at Okinawa at the end of ''Film/HacksawRidge'' to demonstrate that the Japanese have finally lost the battle and aren't about to commit another suicidal charge against the Americans. |
| 179 | * ''Film/{{Harakiri}}'' (1962) is a black and white JidaiGeki and massive TakeThat to the seppuku ritual and its portrayal in fiction. In it, {{ronin}} request permission of ''daimyo'' (local magistrates) to kill themselves and be buried on their property, hoping to be turned away and given sympathy money; one young samurai is called on the bluff and forced to complete the ritual -- ''with a blunt stick of bamboo.'' Bloody, poetic justice is enacted by [[spoiler:the young samurai's father-in-law, who realised his son-in-law had already sold his swords to pay for medicine for his sick wife and child. The ''entire movie'' revolves around the father's revenge, although at the end he shows his honour by cutting his belly just before his enemies gun him down.]] |
| 180 | * In ''Film/HaroldAndMaude'', this is how Harold stages one of his elaborate fake suicides. Amusingly, instead of scaring off his would-be date, as intended, she recognizes it as a performance and joins in. |
| 181 | * In ''Film/TheHouseWhereEvilDwells'', an American couple and their best friend are possessed by the spirit of three Japanese people who haunt the house the couple moved into when the man was transferred to Japan. Due to the possession, the two guys eventually fight due to the wife and friend's affair, the man killing the friend, then his wife, then he commits seppuku. ''Then'' the spirits get up and leave the bodies lying on the floor. |
| 182 | * In the film version of ''Film/TheHungerGames'', [[spoiler: Seneca, having been in charge of the Games and allowing two winners, is lead to a room, with a bowl of the poisonous nightshade berries that Katniss used to save herself and Peeta.]] |
| 183 | * ''Film/KinjiteForbiddenSubjects'' ends [[{{DownerEnding}} on a dark note]] because [[{{BreakTheCutie}} the little Japanese girl]] that [[{{CowboyCop}} Charles Bronson's character]] had saved from child prostitution uses this method of expiating her shame at [[{{DefiledForever}} having been raped]]. |
| 184 | * ''Film/TheLastSamurai'' |
| 185 | ** General Hasegawa, a member of the samurai class who leads the modernized army against the rebels, commits seppuku after his forces lose the battle. Katsumoto, the opposing leader and one of his old friends, serves as kaishakunin and later remarks he was "honored to cut off his head". Algren, who sees it from the back, misses the stomach-cutting and thus thinks it was just Katsumoto murdering an unarmed man. |
| 186 | *** Worth noting: while the movie did a pretty good job with most of its research, this seppuku would have been considered exceptionally sloppy in real life. Katsumoto screams right before delivering the kaishaku cut (a big no-no in what is supposed to be a calm and dignified ritual) and makes the mistake of cutting all the way through Hasegawa's neck, which would have been extraordinarily disrespectful and/or a display of very shoddy swordsmanship. |
| 187 | ** Later, [[spoiler:Algren helps the defeated Katsumoto kill himself after the samurai are horribly slaughtered in a charge against a number of Gatling guns. This is in the understanding that he is taking his own life after his service to his Emperor is complete, the samurai rebellion crushed, which, really, Katsumoto knew was going to happen anyway. His sacrifice succeeds: the Emperor finally pushes back against the Westernization of Japan.]] |
| 188 | ** This is mentioned after Katsumoto is attacked by assassins during a theater performance when Algren suspects the Emperor. Katsumoto rejects the idea, saying that if the Emperor wants his life, all he has to do is ask. After Katsumoto is defeated Algren goes to see the Emperor. When Omura protests the meeting, Algren tells the Emperor that if wants Algren's life all he has to do is ask. |
| 189 | --->'''Algren''': Your highness, if you believe me to be your enemy, command me, and I will gladly take my life. |
| 190 | ** When Katsumoto is arrested in the capital, he is seen meditating in his chambers after a meal. Behind him, one of Omura's henchmen quietly enters, drawing a tanto from his clothes as though he was going to kill Katsumoto. He draws close... then simply places the knife on Katsumoto's plate and mutters "Save us the trouble." |
| 191 | * ''Film/LettersFromIwoJima'' contains a lot of this, including various suicides by grenade. |
| 192 | * In ''Film/LiarLiar'', Fletcher stabs himself in the gut with his phone after he accidentally hung up on a judge. |
| 193 | * In ''Film/{{Machete}}'', when Machete mortally wounds [[BigBad Torrez]], Torrez scornfully finishes himself off this way, to deny Machete the glory of killing him. Torrez has to pause, saying it hurts more than he thought it would, before pulling the blade all the way through. |
| 194 | * ''Film/MerryChristmasMrLawrence'' sees Kanemoto, one of the guards at the Japanese POW camp, be forced to commit seppuku as punishment for raping de Jong, with the rest of the inmates being ForcedToWatch as a warning. De Jong kills himself too during the ceremony by biting off and swallowing his tongue, which enrages the other prisoners and results in Cpt. Yonoi forcing them all to fast as punishment for insubordination. |
| 195 | * Creator/YukioMishima had an obsession with this as shown in ''Film/MishimaALifeInFourChapters''. (Also see Real Life below.) |
| 196 | * The second ''Film/NaCha'' have the titular character being sentenced to execution, where he commits suicide by self-disembowelment in order to appease the dragon gods and prevent a war from breaking out between humans and immortals. [[BackFromTheDead He gets better]] [[CameBackStrong anf stronger]]. |
| 197 | * ''Film/{{Ran}}'' includes several instances of seppuku, but perhaps the most significant is [[spoiler:the one that Lord Hidetora never commits. He can't because his sword is broken and he is unable to find another blade to do it with. Instead, he goes insane inside his burning castle.]] |
| 198 | * In ''Film/RikiOhTheStoryOfRicky'' an evil minion commits seppuku and then ''tries to strangle the hero with his intestines.'' The rest of the movie has the same {{Gorn}} vibe. |
| 199 | ** It becomes [[{{Narm}} absolutely hilarious]] when the assistant warden in the dub shouts: |
| 200 | --->"Alright, you got a lotta guts, Oscar!!" |
| 201 | * Seppuku and the legend of UsefulNotes/The47Ronin are spoken about in the (distinctly non-Japanese film) ''Film/Ronin1998''. |
| 202 | * After the remaining villain Yamashita is defeated in a duel in ''Film/SamuraiCop'', he performs seppuku in accordance with his samurai code. |
| 203 | * PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/ScaryMovie 4'': The Japanese UN delegate runs himself through after the President accidentally uses an alien weapon to [[TheNudifier remove his clothes]]. |
| 204 | * In ''Film/Serenity2005'', the Operative references both ''seppuku'' and Roman generals falling on their swords when talking with a [[YouHaveFailedMe scientist who has screwed up hardcore.]] When said scientist doesn't take the hint, the Operative forcefully helps him out with regaining his lost honor. |
| 205 | * In ''Film/ShowdownInLittleTokyo'', the DamselInDistress Minako attempts to commit this after the BigBad is strongly implied to have raped her. |
| 206 | * In the 1928 silent movie ''Film/{{Spies}}'', Matsumoto sends out three couriers to take a treaty back to Japan. All three of them are killed by the villain, who gets all three of their diplomatic parcels—which contain shredded newspaper. Matsumoto, who has kept the treaty in his office while sending out three decoys, then winds up letting the HoneyPot that's been living with him steal the treaty. Filled with guilt and after hallucinating the ghosts of the three couriers, Matsumoto kills himself Seppuku-style. |
| 207 | * One of the participants in the season finale of ''Film/ThisIsYourDeath'' kills himself by committing harakiri. |
| 208 | * In ''Film/ThoseMagnificentMenInTheirFlyingMachines'', the Japanese entrant in the air race crashes shortly after takeoff. He asks a responding fireman for a knife, who worries that the pilot will try to kill himself. [[SubvertedTrope Actually, his seatbelt is jammed.]] |
| 209 | * ''Film/TokyoGorePolice'' has a spoof PSA decrying the practice, filmed in the usual surreal Japanese advertisement fashion. In it, a disgraced businessman is egged on into Hara-Kiri, by both his boss and a man covered in blue spots. He commits it and is then shown with his intestines pouring out (a deliberate SpecialEffectFailure), before reminding us that it's actually suicide. |
| 210 | * ''Film/WhenTheLastSwordIsDrawn'': |
| 211 | ** Yoshimura first shows his true skills when he acts as ''kaishakunin'' for another Shinsengumi who had been ordered to commit seppuku as a punishment for an unspecified offense. The man chickens out and tries to run, but Yoshimura catches him with a sword blow to the spine, then cuts his head off. |
| 212 | ** [[spoiler:Yoshimura's lord orders him to kill himself when he returns home after the final battle, but he succumbs to multiple gunshot wounds from his battle with the Imperial Army before he can carry it out.]] |
| 213 | * In ''Film/TheWolverine'' some Japanese military leaders in charge of the POW camp that Wolverine himself is being held in preferred to die with honor through this rather than in [[UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki the atomic explosion that was coming.]] |
| 214 | [[/folder]] |
| 215 | |
| 216 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 217 | * In ''Literature/AlyzonWhitestarr'' by Creator/IsobelleCarmody, Alyzon researches seppuku as part of an assignment. |
| 218 | * ''Atrocity Week'' by Andrew [=McCoy=]. The wife of a Japanese businessman kills herself in the ''jigai'' manner [[DefiledForever after being raped by a guerrilla raiding party]]. No one tries to stop her, figuring she'll just do it later when they're not around. |
| 219 | |
| 220 | * In ''Literature/TheBible'', King Saul fell on his sword to avoid being captured by the Philistines. |
| 221 | |
| 222 | * In the ''Literature/ChooseYourOwnAdventure'' book ''Secret of the Ninja'', TheProtagonist and their best friend Danai pull TimeTravel to evade a powerful curse. One of the paths leads them to meet the samurai Sashami, who's about to abandon a village he was ordered to protect since he knows it's a hopeless mission. Choosing to run away with him will lead to the three being caught by a local lord who will give them a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, force the time travellers to become his servants, and order Sashami to commit seppuku as punishment.[[note]](Conversely, helping the guy to fight back will lead to the group's victory and a Good End where he lives to tell the tale and the protagonists undo the curse.)[[/note]] |
| 223 | |
| 224 | * The CorruptCorporateExecutive who instigated a war between the United States and Japan in Creator/TomClancy's ''[[Literature/JackRyan Debt of Honor]]'', when captured, asks for a few moments alone to prepare himself for capture. His request is refused, however, and the general capturing even says that he is not allowed to have that particular escape. |
| 225 | * In ''Literature/DepartmentQ'' Victim 2117, Alexander, the secondary plot villain, gets busted and tells Carl, Gordon, and Rose that he will commit harakiri. Gordon, who at this point is at his wit's end, tells Alexander that it's called seppuku and that he's an ignoramus for not knowing. Then proceeds to mock him and [[WhatTheHellHero encourage him to follow through]]. |
| 226 | |
| 227 | * In the Literature/FightingFantasy gamebook ''Sword of the Samurai'', where the Player Character is -- what else? -- a Samurai -- you do this automatically if your Honor Score drops to 0 (which means, naturally, you lose). |
| 228 | |
| 229 | * In ''Literature/InterestingTimes'', the Agatean Empire's equivalent to Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler is named Disembowel-Myself-Honorably Dhibala in reference to this. Nobody actually performs seppuku in the book, though, the more common method of suicide being telling Cohen the Barbarian [[ExactWords you would rather die than betray your Emperor.]] |
| 230 | |
| 231 | * ''Literature/KrisLongknife'' has a close variant: the Iteeche are a FantasyCounterpartCulture to ancient Japan, and people who rebel against or are perceived to have embarrassed the empire are usually required to "make a most sincere apology to the [[GodEmperor Emperor]]" by drinking a poison that causes an extremely painful death. |
| 232 | |
| 233 | * In ''Literature/TheMachineriesOfEmpire'', there's a particularly inventive form of suicide as political protest known as "corpse calligraphy", which involves tattooing yourself with political slogans in poisonous ink that kills you. |
| 234 | * In ''Literature/TheManchurianCandidate'', the death of [[spoiler: Raymond]] has undertones of this. After [[spoiler: breaking out of his mind control at the last minute and shooting the Soviet conspirators, he explains himself to his commanding officer before shooting himself in the head. Said officer, Marco, actually orders him to commit suicide rather than go on trial for the murders he did not willingly commit.]] |
| 235 | * The main villain of the ''Literature/JamesBond'' novel ''Literature/TheManWithTheRedTattoo'' has dedicated himself to following the old Samurai ethics, and in the climax, he follows his failure to defeat Bond in a duel with seppuku. |
| 236 | |
| 237 | * In Creator/GeorgeMacDonaldFraser's wartime autobiography ''Quartered Safe Out Here'', the author notes that Japanese soldiers forced into rout and retreating from the British appeared to find ''being eaten by crocodiles'' in a raging river in Burma was preferable to the shame of surrender. [[note]]He also notes the reluctance of many soldiers in the British 14th Army - especially the Indians - to taking any prisoners ''at all''[[/note]]. As the Burmese campaign comes to an end and British anger and fury is spent, however, he and his mates do note a hitherto unknown phenomenon - Japanese soldiers so tired, hungry, exhausted and demoralised that they surrender without hesitation. |
| 238 | * ''Literature/QuidditchThroughTheAges'', a [[{{Defictionalization}} defictionalized]] ''Literature/HarryPotter'' book, has a non-fatal version: Apparently Japanese [[FictionalSport Quidditch]] players tend to destroy their brooms should they lose a match. Costly, yes, but not fatal. The international Quidditch community considers it a waste of good wood. |
| 239 | |
| 240 | * Parodied in ''Literature/RealUltimatePower'', where seppuku consists of bending a lubricated Frisbee in half and swallowing it after "getting ''really'' [[UnstoppableRage super pissed]]". |
| 241 | * A similar ritual is observed in ''Tsurannuanni,'' the Oriental FantasyCounterpartCulture in ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle''. For example, in ''Daughter of the Empire'', Papewaio asks permission to fall on his sword for entering the family's sacred grove (the alternative being a decidedly less honorable hanging). |
| 242 | * In the Creator/MichaelCrichton thriller ''Literature/RisingSun'', the amoral Japanese executive who was behind all the murder and cover-ups of the story asks for a moment alone to collect himself after indisputable evidence of his guilt is presented. When he is left alone, he jumps off the very tall balcony he's on and into wet cement, killing himself. Interestingly, the protagonists (who are LA police officers) knew exactly what he was about to do, and let him do it on purpose (the evidence they had likely wouldn't have held up in trial, due to experimental techniques). |
| 243 | |
| 244 | * As anyone would expect, seppuku is a Very SeriousBusiness Indeed in ''Literature/{{Shogun}}'': |
| 245 | ** Early in the novel, at the end of a battle a small group of samurai found themselves surrounded by the victors, and having no chance to escape or even cause meaningful damage. Thus, they quickly paired off and began performing a hasty form of seppuku, with the survivors then pairing off until only one remained. At that point, one of the victorious samurai stepped forward and helped the last maintain his honor. The victors treated this with full respect and the bodies were treated with full honor for their act. |
| 246 | ** [[spoiler: John "Anjin" Blackthorne]]'s attempt at seppuku is a life-changing event that wins him the respect of the other samurai, specially since he did it to save a whole village from mass execution and to prove a point to said samurai. |
| 247 | ** Now Hatamoto (a trusted advisor) and head of a household, Blackthorne catches and guts a pheasant, intending to have a Western-style feast and leaving it out to ripen. Trouble is, with events unfolding with Toranaga, Omi, Mariko, and Yabu, he forgets all about it and it starts to rot and attract flies - a cardinal sin in Japan as it upsets the village's harmony. As Blackthorne has given orders no one touches it bar him, one old gardener volunteers to dispose of it, knowing full well he must then commit {{seppuku}} for disobeying Blackthorne's instructions. Blackthorne is aghast and wracked with guilt and rage when he finds out, but Toranaga makes clear that not only was the old gardener in immense pain from arthritis and [[FaceDeathWithDignity proud to serve Blackthorne to the point of death]], he even dispatched one of his own samurai [[AGoodWayToDie to make the death as swift and honourable as possible]]. |
| 248 | ** Toranaga's entire BatmanGambit in Osaka hangs or falls on [[spoiler:Mariko]]'s seppuku. [[spoiler: Mariko ultimately goes through, openly stating that her death shall be seen as seppuku before throwing herself in a fire, so Toranaga wins.]] |
| 249 | ** Towards the end, [[spoiler: [[SmugSnake Yabu]] has [[TheStarscream his treachery]] revealed at a time [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness when he has also ceased to be useful]], and is ordered to do this by Toranaga. For all his many faults, everyone who attended the suicide said [[FaceDeathWithDignity his was the most dignified and graceful they had ever seen]].]] |
| 250 | |
| 251 | * ''Literature/TalesOfTheOtori'': A fantasy set in a world based on Sengoku period Japan, also plays this as SeriousBusiness. |
| 252 | * A CultureClash example occurs in ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}''. Lawrence is facing execution in Japan for trespassing; however, his host offers to let him commit Seppuku in order to preserve his honor (and the host's honor). Lawrence is aghast at the suggestion since as a devout Christian and an OfficerAndAGentleman he regards suicide as a cowardly act and (more importantly) a mortal sin. |
| 253 | * Several characters in Jessica Amanda Salmonson's ''Tomoe Gozen Saga''[[spoiler:, including the title character's husband]]. |
| 254 | |
| 255 | * As seen in a textbook example of the act in the novel ''Warrior: Coupe'' (and occasionally brought up in later ones), the tradition is alive and well in the 31st century in the Draconis Combine of the ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' universe. |
| 256 | ** A stronger dramatic example would be in the novel ''Wolves On The Border'', with the seppuku at the end [[ChekhovsGun an inevitable consequence]] of an act of kindness at the very beginning. Notable for deviating from the absolute tradition of the act (the second does not have a sword, using a more modern weapon) as well as effectively ''causing an entire war'' unto itself, with repercussions all the way into the novel ''Wolf Pack'' and beyond. |
| 257 | ** This happens again in ''Wolf Pack'', except that it's happening to the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine, who put himself into a situation that would have weakened his nation and the entire Inner Sphere no matter how it ended...[[TakeAThirdOption unless he died before this no-win scenario played out]]. |
| 258 | ** A woman's version of the event, as described above, is set up in ''Grave Covenant'', broadcast live across the entire capital planet of the Draconis Combine. Unusual in that she is given a second, in the person of the man who saved her life from assassins. While it's stated the broadcast is more for political show than an actual instance of the act (the woman involved was never meant to take her own life), the people involved go from playing their parts to living them and are interrupted ''very'' dramatically before the act can take place. |
| 259 | [[/folder]] |
| 260 | |
| 261 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 262 | * A ([[BlatantLies supposedly]]) RippedFromTheHeadlines case from ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' features a Japanese rock star who, after causing [[FatalMethodActing the death of his group's lead singer onstage]] ([[ContinuityNod also featured earlier]]) and then thinking of himself as a total disgrace for the music industry, kills himself through ''seppuku''. He slits his belly open with a knife, and then one of his bandmates (acting as his ''kaishakunnin'') [[OffWithHisHead decapitates him.]] The case itself is called "Bull-Shido", a PunnyName based on ''bushido'' and [[PrecisionFStrike "bullshit"]]. |
| 263 | * In one skit on ''ComedyInc'', a Japanese man is playing golf and misses a visibly easy shot. He then proceeds to break his golf bat and uses it to commit seppuku. His two white opponents watch him with complete composure; once he’s dead, one of them says, ‘Well, there goes the deal.’ |
| 264 | * In ''Series/CriminalMindsBeyondBorders'' episode "Whispering Death", the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Criminal of the Week]] was a {{hikikomori}} whose parents were DrivenToSuicide after their sushi shop was closed down shortly after being acquired by an American company. He then targeted the people he blamed the death of his parents for and staged the crime scenes as suicides to make them atone for what they'd done. Two murders, an American woman who planned to move to the department subleased by the criminal's father and a former employee of the shop, were made to resemble seppuku rituals (''Jigai'' and ''Seppuku'' proper respectively). |
| 265 | * ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Jorah's greyscale becomes bad enough for the maesters to plan to send him to die with the stone man. Because he's a knight, however, they give him a sword and suggest that he do with it as he will. |
| 266 | ** The prequel ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'' invokes this during the DespairEventHorizon of Criston Cole, a Kingsguard night who compromised his honor by bedding the Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and killing her fiancé's homosexual lover. Being prevented from going ahead by Queen Consort Alicent Hightower solidifies his loyalty to the Queen, but also essentially spells his FaceHeelTurn as her [[TheBrute attack dog]]. |
| 267 | * On ''Series/GoodEats'', after having been called out for giving Alton erroneous information, the owner of the [[spoiler:simulated]] Asian market attempts this. Alton stops him. |
| 268 | ** Alton himself does this while dressed as a sunflower, in order to explain the concept of plant starch. |
| 269 | * ''Series/GoodNewsWeek'': Paul [=McDermott=] on the subject of the Japanese Prime Minister's resignation: |
| 270 | --> "I think the resignation took a lot of guts... but not as much guts as a ''traditional'' Japanese resignation!" |
| 271 | * In the ''Series/{{Haven}}'' episode "Burned", a man named Lance kills himself this way when [[CompellingVoice Ginger]] tells him, "I hate your guts!" |
| 272 | * Done in a {{Flashback}} in ''Series/{{Highlander}}: The Series'', when Duncan washes up on a Japanese island after his ship sinks in a storm. During that [[HollywoodMedievalJapan time]], all ''gaijin'' were supposed to be killed on sight by order of the Emperor, but a local lord takes him in instead, even teaching him some Japanese ways. When the Emperor finds out, he lets the lord know his displeasure. The lord then asks Duncan to help him commit seppuku, who is, at first, reluctant, but then agrees to do the honor of chopping the head. He gets to keep the sword too, which is what he uses throughout the show. |
| 273 | * On ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' Barney mimes committing suicide several times when he feels Ted and Robin are being too [[SickeninglySweethearts lovey-dovey]] with each other; at one point this includes miming seppuku. |
| 274 | * The Roman version appears several times in ''Series/IClaudius''. In one episode, a corrupt governor named Piso is encouraged to stab himself, as that will prevent his family's assets from being seized when he's inevitably found guilty of murdering a member of the imperial family. He waffles on it, so his wife feigns doing it to herself and then turns the knife on him when he moves to intervene. Later, Claudius' traitorous wife Messalina is offered a dagger so that his councilors won't have to tell him that he'd signed her death warrant (they got him drunk). She too hesitates and is swiftly beheaded. |
| 275 | |
| 276 | * An American admiral stationed in Japan commits suicide in the ''Series/{{JAG}}'' episode "Innocence" for what he perceived to be a failure on his part. The characters can't help but comment on how Japanese it all was. |
| 277 | * Mentioned in an episode of ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'', when the team accidentally ends up in Edo-period Japan. An old man named Ichiro explains that his son Oda used to be a great samurai. Unfortunately, his popularity among the troops made the Shogun jealous, so he ordered Oda to take his own life. Being a loyal samurai, Oda obliged. The Shogun even went on to demand that Ichiro destroy Oda's sword, which Ichiro forged himself, but Ichiro hid the weapon instead. |
| 278 | * In the TV adaptation of ''Series/TheManInTheHighCastle'', seppuku is still used in Imperial Japan and its territories in the former US. An Imperial Guard officer is seen committing public seppuku after [[spoiler:the crown prince's attempted assassination]], and Kido is expected to do so if he can't find the would-be assassin. |
| 279 | * In ''Series/{{MASH}}'', the episode "Goodbye, Cruel World" featured a guilt-ridden Asian-American soldier who, despite being sent home a war hero, kept trying to commit suicide. In the words of the psychiatrist, Major Freedman, he had to kill Asians "to be a good American," but then had to kill himself "[[InterchangeableAsianCultures to be a good Asian.]]" |
| 280 | * Mentioned in ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' occasionally by Tom Servo, although he was asking for help due to having nonfunctional arms. (This was, of course, a reaction to the movie that week being particularly bad.) |
| 281 | |
| 282 | * In the Japanese series ''Series/{{Oshin}}'', one of the many pains that Shin ''"Oshin"'' Tanekura goes through is [[spoiler: her husband Ryuuzou's suicide around the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. It counts at this because he does so out of grief after the death of his and Oshin's eldest son Yuu in the war and the definitive ruin of his government-sponsored business, [[DespairEventHorizon so he feels that he has failed his wife in an absolutely unforgivable way]].]] |
| 283 | |
| 284 | * ''Series/RedDwarf'': |
| 285 | ** In the episode "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonVBackToReality Back to Reality]]", one of the Despair Squid's victims kills himself in this manner. |
| 286 | ** In the Series 10 episode "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonXTheBeginning The Beginning]]", a simulant who has failed the boss thinks he's being told to do this and does. Then the exasperated boss explains he was actually only asking him to clean his sword. |
| 287 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': |
| 288 | ** The ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E16Ethics Ethics]]" has Worf getting crippled from the waist down by a falling crate. Since he's [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy a Klingon]], he feels that the only honorable thing for him to do would be to commit ritual suicide and asks Riker to be his second. Everyone aboard objects strenuously, and Worf is nearly convinced that life is still worth living -- until a rogue surgeon offers him a possibly deadly operation, [[DebateAndSwitch which he almost instantly takes them up on]], and it works perfectly. |
| 289 | ** Technically, Worf was almost convinced to live when Riker found out that, according to Klingon tradition, Worf's second was supposed to be his six-year-old son Alexander. Also, the operation is actually botched; Worf only survives because Klingons are MadeOfIron, and he hadn't quite hurt himself badly enough for his backup spinal cord to kick in. |
| 290 | ** Worf also attempts this in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E17NightTerrors Night Terrors]]", when the ''Enterprise'' is stuck in a [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Tyken's Rift]] and the crew are faced with the prospect of being slowly driven insane by a lack of REM sleep. Troi manages to stop him just before he goes through with it. |
| 291 | ** Worf's brother, Kurn asks that Worf assist him in performing this ritual after Worf dishonors his family in the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E15SonsOfMogh Sons of Mogh]]". Dax realizes Worf's intent and tries to stop it, just a moment too late. Odo claims that Worf could be charged with murder if Kurn doesn't survive. |
| 292 | ** Also from ''[=DS9=]'', the Jem'Hadar are a species born and bred to serve the Founders, a race of GodGuise shapeshifters. The Jem'Hadar were programmed from birth to revere their masters and would commit suicide en masse if a Founder died on their watch. ("[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E02TheShip The Ship]]") |
| 293 | ** In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E06TreacheryFaithAndTheGreatRiver Treachery Faith and The Great River]]" it's revealed that Vorta have a termination implant in their heads to end their lives if they're facing capture or are ordered to commit suicide by a Founder. |
| 294 | * In the [=WW2=] period drama ''Series/{{Tenko}}'' the Japanese internment camp guard [[TheDragon Sato]] commits seppuku rather than acknowledge the allied victory. It's a strangely chilling, yet dignified, scene. |
| 295 | * ''Series/TokyoVice'': In the season two finale "Endgame", [[spoiler:Tozawa is confronted by Sato and the other yakuza, who know that he sold them out to the FBI and his wife, who provided the proof. She tells him there's only one honorable way out of this, and leaves him a sword. After this, everyone leaves the room except for Tozawa's number two, and though we don't see what happens, we do see Tozawa pull out the blade, and then we see the body afterwards]]. |
| 296 | [[/folder]] |
| 297 | |
| 298 | [[folder:Manhua]] |
| 299 | * In the Chinese manhua, ''Manhua/RavagesOfTime'' (an adaptation of the ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms''), the idea of a ritualized suicide to redeem yourself is mocked by several characters. The ultimate example would be, [[spoiler: Lu Bu, once he was defeated by Cao Cao and was about to be executed. He was even willing to bow and beg for his life at random spectators; Cao Cao respected him for that since it takes more courage to ''live'' than to die. The only reason it didn't work was that Liu Bei pointed out his ChronicBackStabbingDisorder to Cao Cao.]] |
| 300 | [[/folder]] |
| 301 | |
| 302 | [[folder:Mythology]] |
| 303 | * UsefulNotes/MinamotoNoYoshitsune committed seppuku to avoid the disgrace of capture or falling to an unworthy foe. His vastly outnumbered followers, because of their loyalty, were able to hold off the ZergRush of his brother's soldiers, who were inferior not in training but in dedication, and buy him the time for this. (Although Yoshitsune is a historical figure, the accounts of his death are mostly legendary.) |
| 304 | [[/folder]] |
| 305 | |
| 306 | [[folder:Opera]] |
| 307 | * Cio-Cio-San in the [[TearJerker tear-jerking]] finale of the opera ''Theatre/MadameButterfly''. She commits ''jigai'' by cutting her throat with the ceremonial dagger presented to her father by the Mikado, bearing the inscription: "To die with honor when one can no longer live with honor." |
| 308 | * In ''Theatre/TheMikado'', Nanki-Poo threatens to perform "the Happy Despatch" with a dagger if Ko-Ko tries to prevent him from hanging himself. |
| 309 | [[/folder]] |
| 310 | |
| 311 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 312 | * In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', the Draconis Combine brings back Seppuku, particularly among its mechwarriors. The "Total Warfare" rulebook contains a passage about a Draconis Commander who very nearly commits suicide after successfully withdrawing his forces from a Lyran blitzkrieg. The crime is having withdrawn without permission. The reprieve is that the attack was part of a larger conflict, and the Combine would need every commander and Mechwarrior it had. When Theodore Kurita assumed leadership of the Draconis Combine during the Clan Invasion, one of his first acts was to try to put an end to the practice, or at least greatly tone down the circumstances that required it, in order to save the state's warriors so they could continue fighting the Clans. Theodore's father, Takashi, committed seppuku himself after being convinced that his challenging the mercenary Jaime Wolf to a duel to the death to settle their old grudge had put the Combine in danger, with Theodore acting as his kaishakunin. He was officially listed as having died in his sleep to avoid awkward questions over the incident. About ten years later, Theodore's wife Tomoe Sakade would also commit seppuku after being named Warlord of the Pesht Military District during the First Combine-Ghost Bear War- some of her subordinates rankled at the idea of [[StayInTheKitchen being commanded by a woman]] and disobeyed orders, resulting in many of the operations she ordered during the war failing. Choosing to die in proper samurai fashion showed her detractors were wrong and many of them were promptly [[MedalOfDishonor awarded the Honor of the Wakizashi]] and committed seppuku themselves. |
| 313 | * The German Boardgame "Bushido: Der Weg des Kriegers" has this as an option. Every turn the title of daimyo changes to the next player in turn order. First order of the day is to appoint someone from the other players as general, someone as advisor, and someone as buke (Read: Target). The general's job is to attack a region owned by the buke player with the current daimyos forces. The buke tries its best to defend. The side that wins gains honor (points) for doing so. If your general loses the battle though, the advisor can suggest several punishments for the insubordinate samurai, based on handcards. One of those options is seppuku, which can be a HUGE loss in points. This can lead to doomed missions, where the dishonorable daimyo sends the general on an unwinnable mission, with the intent to take out his point lead. |
| 314 | * ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'', set in a FantasyCounterpartCulture to medieval Japan, naturally has seppuku as a plot element, and several cards and even basic game mechanics in the CollectibleCardGame revolve around it. It also reinforced the idea that in most cases, seppuku was more to cleanse the family/clan/empire's honor rather than the one who was committing seppuku. |
| 315 | ** The most notable character to commit seppuku within the storyline was Emperor Toturi I, who did so to purify his soul of the Lying Darkness' corruption. |
| 316 | ** Prior he acted as kaishakunin to Matsu Tsuku, who had succeeded him as daimyo of the Lion Clan, only to see the consequences of choosing loyalty to the (corrupted) Emperor rather than to the Empire itself. This allowed the Lion Clan to honorably reverse its stance and join in the overthrow of said Emperor. |
| 317 | * In ''TabletopGame/NinjaBurger'', a ninja who loses all honor has to apologize to his ancestors. "This requires you to go to visit them, and unfortunately it will not be possible for you to come back." (The unfortunate player discards all cards and has to start with a new character.) |
| 318 | * The Sotoha in ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' are a vampire Bloodline founded by a 16[[superscript:th]]-century Japanese nobleman based on the code of Bushido. Public seppuku in protest against a Sotoha Lord's conduct is the only way for a vassal to sever their MyMasterRightOrWrong obligations and free them from service -- though, being a vampire, it only leaves them comatose for a while. In the most extreme case, a vassal can commit SuicideBySunlight to [[ThirdPartyDealBreaker release all their Lord's other subjects from their oaths of loyalty]]. |
| 319 | * The Tau of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' have something like this. It's called "Malk'la" and is occasionally demanded by Ethereals as a punishment for a high-ranking Tau who has seriously breached conduct or otherwise failed the empire in a spectacular fashion. The ritual is not described, [[TakeOurWordForIt but it is said that all who see it are permanently scarred]]. |
| 320 | [[/folder]] |
| 321 | |
| 322 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 323 | * ''VideoGame/NineMonkeysOfShaolin'': The fight against Hannya, the DiscOneFinalBoss, ends with her choosing to disembowel herself rather than face the shame of defeat, with a "forgive me, father, I have failed you" as her last words. |
| 324 | |
| 325 | * In ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'', the death animation of the samurai units is to stab themselves with their swords. |
| 326 | |
| 327 | * Samurai in ''VideoGame/BattleRealms'' commit seppuku as their death animation, meaning they [[HeroicSpirit essentially kill themselves rather than be defeated when they run out of HP]] (they still count as the enemy's kill). This lengthy death animation serves to warn the opponent of the samurai's death, as they [[TakingYouWithMe unleash area-of-effect damage when they die]] as their unconquered spirits lash back at their aggressors on their way to the afterlife. |
| 328 | * ''VideoGame/BleedingSun'': If the player performed mostly honorable actions, [[spoiler:Yori convinces Ichiro to commit ritualistic suicide to reclaim his honor rather than go to prison for life.]] |
| 329 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Boppin}}'', player 1 would commit seppuku every time he lost a life, and player 2 would [[AteHisGun shot himself in the mouth]]. It's all an {{anvilicious}} commentary about violence in video games... No, really. |
| 330 | |
| 331 | * In ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', if the player defeats Sir Alonne under a set amount of time and without taking any damage, a short cutscene will play where Alonne stabs himself in the gut rather than simply falling over dead without a cutscene like normal. However, it's not clear if he did so out of shame at getting so thoroughly beaten, or if his EvilWeapon compelled him to do it to satisfy its hunger for blood since it wasn't able to have any of yours. The fact that using his sword yourself allows you to stab yourself in the gut to buff it seems to point towards the latter case. |
| 332 | * In ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'', in the DualBoss battle against Amber and Crystal Bailey, once you kill one of them, the other will curse you and then run herself through with a katana to join her sister in death. |
| 333 | * Spoofed in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}''. Yukimaru threatens impromptu seppuku upon losing to the main characters in the InevitableTournament. After several seconds of the ninja standing there with herself at knife-point, Taro and Hanako point out that she's obviously expecting someone to talk her out of it for dramatic effect. Adell begrudgingly obliges, accidentally [[ChickMagnet charming the pants off of her]] in the process. |
| 334 | ** This takes special note because Yukimaru is supposed to be a {{ninja}}, and Adell's suggestion for how she could carry out her assault on Zenon is, ironically, what a real ninja would do; work their way into any group that bests her to ensure that they get close to their mark. Yukimaru shows that she has learned from this by talking Fubuki out of his own seppuku attempt later on. |
| 335 | ** It got to a point where her inclination to commit seppuku gets [[CharacterExaggeration very exaggerated]] in ''VideoGame/DisgaeaRPG'' that she attempts it several times at any level of dishonor. Her brother, Fubuki, is just as bad about it as her. |
| 336 | * The dwarves in ''Franchise/DragonAge'' have their own variation of this. When faced with either exile to the surface or a lonely death in the Deep Roads, many criminals in Orzammar decide [[TakeAThirdOption to instead]] join the [[BadassArmy Legion of the Dead]] as a way to regain their lost honour. After a ceremony where they are declared to be ''already'' dead, they descend into the furthest reaches of the Deep Roads to hold back the Darkspawn horde for the rest of their natural lives, or until they fall in battle. |
| 337 | ** Female Grey Wardens are also given the option to do a variation on this when they get their Calling and the Darkspawn taint starts to overpower them, with the other choice for both female and male Grey Wardens is to [[DefiantToTheEnd go out taking out as many Darkspawn as they can]]. The reason is [[spoiler:that female Grey Wardens are at risk for becoming [[BabyFactory Broodmothers]] for the Darkspawn, a FateWorseThanDeath that horribly mutates them]]. |
| 338 | * This is the only thing you can do with the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Godsbane]] of ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma''. [[spoiler: You'll need it to [[DrivenToSuicide guide yourself to a true freedom]] once you're stuck in the void beyond the Rift.]] |
| 339 | |
| 340 | * ''VideoGame/EldenRing'': Seppuku is one of the many Ashes of War (weapon skills) in the game. It can be equipped to most swords and polearms, and has you stabbing yourself in the gut to coat the weapon in your blood, temporarily increasing its damage and adding bleed buildup (or increasing the amount of Bleed buildup if it has some already). Due to [[GameBreaker/EldenRing how powerful bleed is as a status effect]], one of the most popular builds is to {{dual wield|ing}} either two weapons with innate bleed and an Occult affinity or two weapons without innate bleed and a Blood affinity, give both of them this Ash of War, buff them both with it, and go to town. The self-damage from Seppuku also counts as a bleed proc on yourself, and as such will trigger the effects of the talisman and headgear that both give you a damage buff whenever a bleed proc occurs in your vicinity. |
| 341 | * In ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'', the extremely dutiful and highly emotional Souma regularly offers to commit seppuku in apology for what is usually a very minor mistake, due to acting in every way like a 16th-century samurai somehow walking around in modern-day Japan. This is played [[SuicideAsComedy entirely for laughs]], and Keito and Kanata (the most common recipients) usually just responding by tiredly chastising him for losing his head (so to speak). |
| 342 | * ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy5'': Dropping [[OptionalBoss Telperion's]] health low enough will trigger a quote that parodies and implies this: |
| 343 | -->*cats can be heard committing sudoku* |
| 344 | |
| 345 | * In ''VideoGame/Fallout3'''s {{expansion pack}} ''Operation Anchorage'', [[BigBad General Jingwei]] can be convinced to fall on his sword with a high Speech skill, [[SkippableBoss bypassing]] [[MarathonBoss a rather long boss fight]]. A possible in-universe research failure as Jingwei is Chinese. |
| 346 | * In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', [[spoiler:Ryoma chooses to stab himself to death after his fight with the Avatar in the ''Conquest'' route]]. It counts as seppuku, never mind the lack of ''kaishakunnin''[[note]]Likely because, at that point, he's the only one on his side left alive.[[/note]] and rituals, because [[spoiler:Ryoma (a {{samurai}} who comes from the land of Hoshido which is modeled after [[{{Wutai}} Medieval Japan]]) not only stabs himself through the stomach while sitting in the ''seiza'' position]], but does so to [[spoiler:keep the Avatar from having to make the choice of killing him with his/her own hands, and possibly getting killed by [[BigBad Garon]] [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThiskitten for refusing]]. His last words even lampshade the trope, as he claims that he will die to preserve his samurai honor.]] In fact, even the ''name'' of the cutscene is "Samurai's Duty". |
| 347 | -->[[spoiler:'''Ryoma''': I cannot fall into the hands of an enemy. So I... fulfill a samurai's... final duty! I'm counting on you...]] |
| 348 | * Due to the high number of {{Mythology Gag}}s present, ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarTwinBlueStarsOfJudgment'' has the character [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8zx9qxCSvM Shin able to perform a self-inflicted Fatal KO]], as a nod to the series on him [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled opting to commit suicide rather than die by protagonist Kenshiro's techniques]]. |
| 349 | * An offscreen version happened in ''VideoGame/FlashOfTheBlade'' when the previous wielder of the [[EvilWeapon Soulstealer]], realizing the weapon's powers is too much for him to control, then kills himself via disembowelment. You come across his corpse in the final level, Soulstealer still in his guts, but as it turns out the Soulstealer actually re-animates him to pull the blade out, and continue fighting. |
| 350 | * In ''Videogame/ForHonor'', the Samurai have a special [[FinishingMove execution]] added in Year Four named Ware Shinaba, in which the Samurai gives their defeated opponent a knife, which they gut themselves with. The Samurai hero will then chop off their head and bow respectfully to their slain foe. |
| 351 | * Evil sports fanatic [[MeaningfulName Harakiri Seppukumaru]] from the ''VideoGame/GanbareGoemon'' series considers seppuku to be the ultimate extreme sport, making various failed attempts to commit the ritual after being thwarted by the heroes. He manages to go through with it in the anime adaptation, but...[[spoiler: the knife turns out to be retractable.]] |
| 352 | ** Additionally, it's revealed in ''Ganbare Goemon 4'' that if Seppukumaru succeeds, it will cause the powerful bomb inside his body to explode (which would obviously be a [[EarthShatteringKaboom very bad thing]]). He was [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned]] on Planet Impact by his own henchmen before the heroes came along and accidentally freed him by removing the barriers surrounding the planet. But why seppuku, of all things? Because he wanted to try something new. Seriously. |
| 353 | * In ''[[VideoGame/GundamVsSeries Gundam Extreme Vs.]]'', the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Susanoo]] has a ''seppuku'' move much like [[Franchise/{{Tekken}} Yoshimitsu]]'s (below), where the machine turns around and stabs itself with its swords. It does big damage if an enemy is right behind, but whether or not it connects the Susanoo takes damage. Despite the fact that its pilot is American, he's also a huge Japanese culture {{Otaku}}, justifying the existence of this move. |
| 354 | * Seppuku is treated as a fact of life in ''VideoGame/{{Hakuouki}}'', given that it's a VisualNovel about UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi. Harada Sanosuke has a scar across his abdomen from a failed attempt at it, and following the Choshu assault on the Imperial Palace, Hijikata takes a number of men in pursuit of the escaping leaders of the rebellion specifically with the intention of arresting them before they commit seppuku. And when the main characters learn that [[spoiler:Kondou]] was beheaded rather than being allowed to commit seppuku, they're deeply distressed over it. |
| 355 | * The opening credits of ''VideoGame/KabukiZ'' sees a monk committing ''hara-kiri'', and your character then finishes him off by removing his head, with his blood writing the "Z" on the title screen. |
| 356 | * In ''The Last Ninja'', some guards will perform seppuku on the spot if you run past them. |
| 357 | * In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', the Garo Master, upon losing to Link, offers up some advice as a sign of good faith and then detonates a bomb in his hand. His clones, however, do this as a last-ditch effort to kill Link. |
| 358 | * The first fight against Hiroyuki in ''VIdeoGame/{{Loopmancer}}'', where if you survive his challenge of fending off Hiroyuki's attacks for a whole minute, Hiroyuki will admit defeat and prepares to disembowel himself to regain his honor. [[InterruptedSuicide He's stopped in the nick of time by his grandmother, Shizue Ogata]]. |
| 359 | * In ''VideoGame/MarkOfTheNinja'', the past members of the clan who inherited the ink's mark have committed seppuku before having their mind [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity consumed by the mark's toxins]]. [[spoiler:In the final level, The Ninja [[MultipleEndings must decide]] to either kill Azai to live and be consumed by the mark or commit seppuku to spare the clan.]] |
| 360 | * In the backstory prior to ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', Kazuhira Miller completely flips the idea of an honorable death when, upon being soundly defeated by Big Boss, he asks him to be his kaishakunin. Except this was actually a ploy to get Big Boss to walk close enough for Kaz [[TakingYouWithMe to blow both of them up with a grenade]]. It doesn't work, but needless to say, the fact that Kaz was willing to kick honor to the curb just to go out in a blaze of glory really makes an impression on Snake. |
| 361 | * ''Franchise/MortalKombat: [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception Deception]]'' has the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exB9itI7gO4 "Hara-Kiri"]] as a companion to the Fatality. During the typical "FINISH HIM/HER!" moment where the winner can perform a Fatality, the loser can input a special button combination and do a Hara-Kiri instead, essentially committing suicide in various ways before the opponent can finish them off. (The most common methods involve doing… all kinds of unpleasant things to the character's own head. [[OffWithHisHead Beheading]] is just the ''beginning''.) |
| 362 | ** Of the above, however, [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Kenshi Takahashi]] is the only character who actually performs seppuku. (Though he only goes through the first cut and has no ''kaishakunnin'', obviously.) It makes sense: Kenshi likely comes closer to fitting the description of a Samurai more than any other character in the franchise does. |
| 363 | *** In ''Videogame/MortalKombatX'', [[spoiler: Hanzo Hasashi aka. Scorpion seriously considers this in his Arcade ending when he realizes how his desire for revenge on Quan Chi nearly caused Shinnok's victory, as well as condemning Liu Kang and the others to an eternity as revenants. Dark Raiden stops him, then punishes him by making him the guardian of the Jinsei instead.]] |
| 364 | |
| 365 | * A tanto appears in ''VideoGame/{{Nioh}}'' as the game's answer to the [[VideoGame/DarkSouls Darksign]] or [[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} Hunter's Mark]]; that is to say, an item that will warp the player back to the last shrine checkpoint they visited at the cost of all the Amrita they're holding. Not something the player would use all that often, but handy on the off-chance they get hopelessly lost or [[GameBreakingBug stuck in the scenery]]. |
| 366 | |
| 367 | * In ''VideoGame/{{The Punisher|THQ}}'', one of the late-game targets is the leader of a yakuza syndicate. When Frank finally shoots his way into his office, the yakuza boss informs him that he has been usurped by a different villain. He wishes to commit seppuku to atone for this and asks Frank to be his kaishakunin. Choosing to accept saves the player from a short firefight with his bodyguards afterwards. |
| 368 | |
| 369 | * ''VideoGame/SakunaOfRiceAndRuin'': Tauemon references this after being responsible for a great failure in the beginning: |
| 370 | -->'''Tauemon:''' Oooh, I've brought dishonor upon myself! To make amends, I shall slice open my belly and...\ |
| 371 | [[spoiler:'''Sakuna:''' Th-Tat is quite unnecessary!]] |
| 372 | * In the first ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' game, after [[spoiler: failing to rescue his son Shinzo (whom Amakusa performed a GrandTheftMe on)]], [[{{Ninja}} Hanzo]] [[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/c/sshohan.htm gets ready to commit seppuku.]] A group of ninja trainees [[InterruptedSuicide stop him]] and then beg him to become their sensei. |
| 373 | * ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'' has a variant of this when you get the final Deathblow on final boss [[spoiler:Sword Saint Isshin]] except without the stabbing. He falls to his knees and [[FaceDeathWithDignity tells Sekiro to finish it]]; Sekiro, standing behind him as a ''kaishakunin'' with his sword raised, expertly slices through the back of [[spoiler: Isshin's]] neck and finishes him off. |
| 374 | * In ''VideoGame/ShadowWarrior1997'', the mutant ninja enemies sometimes point an uzi to their heads. The manual states that enemies will commit seppuku if "dishonored." |
| 375 | * ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsGame'': The FlyingFace guide of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}-esque'' level suddenly commits seppuku once the HubWorld starts to fall apart, with a sword floating in mid-air as he drops to the ground. |
| 376 | * In ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'', Sir Gawain is so disgraced after being beaten by Sonic that he tries to do this. Sonic calls him out and stops him. |
| 377 | * ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur IV]]'' modeled Yoshimitsu's Critical Finish attack after seppuku, with Yoshi playing the role of the ''kaishakunin''. Additionally, several of his unblockable attacks come in the form of stabbing himself in the stomach. One is done from a stance where he would have his back turned to his enemy, and thus would be able to [[AttackingThroughYourself hit his opponent with the sword coming out of the other side]]. Another is done from the typical sitting stance one would associate with seppuku but can be followed up with him ripping his sword out of him and delivering a quick unblockable attack to his opponent. Needless to say, Yoshimitsu is one of the few characters with ways to heal himself, if only because he's also one of the few characters that can do so much damage to themselves. |
| 378 | * In ''VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory'', [[InsaneAdmiral Admiral]] Otomo turns out to be a Japanese Nationalist, and the plot of the game mostly centers around his attempt to make Japan an Imperial power again. So it is no surprise that when his plans go up in smoke, he attempts to commit seppuku. Sam manages to save his life (and shows quite a bit of respect towards the ritual while doing so, for that matter). |
| 379 | * ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': A Sith apprentice whom the Sith Warrior PC defeats in a duel on Nar Shaddaa does something very similar to {{seppuku}} with his lightsaber (obscured by a GoryDiscretionShot) if the PC doesn't deliver a CoupDeGrace in the following cutscene. |
| 380 | * ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheSamurai'' had this as an option if the player character was ever caught doing something horribly dishonorable, like attempting to assassinate a rival or plant false evidence against them. It would remove the stain on the PC's family's honor, giving the PC's son (and next PC) a better chance. The player is free to ignore the order, [[ButThouMust but this causes instant defeat]] as the player's entire family is eradicated. |
| 381 | * In ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'', whenever a [[LizardFolk Tarka]] player has research that goes overbudget, the notification icon shows a Tarka scientist (or project manager) falling on his own sword for failing to deliver the tech on time. |
| 382 | * Done in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' with [[spoiler:Don Whitehorse, leader of the guild Altosk, after learning some bad information given to his grandson, Harry, resulted in the death of the Duce of Pallestralle and longtime friend and ally, Belius. The CoolOldGuy commits seppuku to balance things out and prevent a war between the two guilds. Yuri himself volunteers to be his ''kaishakunin''.]] |
| 383 | * Occasionally crops up in games of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' thanks to the Soldier's new suicide taunt: When a round ends, the losing team loses their weapons, granting free kills to any nearby winners. However, they can still taunt. Any Soldiers who had the Equalizer out at the time are liable to kill themselves to avoid adding another point to the opposing team, and occasionally manage to [[TakingYouWithMe add a point to their own]] in the bargain (since taunt kills are [[CherryTapping always]] [[LethalJokeItem fatal]] when they connect). |
| 384 | * In ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'', the character Yoshimitsu can do this as an ''[[AttackingThroughYourself attack]]'' with the standing suicide (which can be followed up by spinning like a spinning blade at your opponent -- hits do 2 damage to both of you, while the actual stab does ''60'' to whoever's hit -- especially you), and the Turning Suicide (dash in, turn, gut yourself for 100 points of damage)... and the Double Stab (after taking the earlier 100, take another -- and you have 140 hit points to play with, at most). The attacks will not kill the user, but hurt them in exchange for doing a lot more damage, ''[[ViolationOfCommonSense somehow]]''. |
| 385 | * In the original ''VideoGame/{{Tenchu}}'', one of the missions involves executing a corrupt minister, but if the player is using Rikimaru, he will plead in a cinematic with the minister to take the honourable route and perform seppuku, which he will and Rikimaru will assist by decapitating him. If the player chooses Ayame however, she will insult and agitate the minister until he lashes out, resulting in a boss battle. |
| 386 | * In ''VideoGame/TotalWarShogun2'', the leaders of defeated clans perform seppuku in the cinematic scenes. |
| 387 | * In the old Commodore 64 game of ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'', if the eponymous {{ronin}}'s honor got below a certain point, he would commit suicide right there. |
| 388 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'', when the Night Elf Demon Hunter hero is killed, he kneels and stabs himself with his blade. |
| 389 | * In ''VideoGame/XCOM2'''s ''War of the Chosen'' ExpansionPack, the Chosen Assassin [[GracefulLoser will wish you luck]] in overthrowing her masters and then commit seppuku upon defeat. |
| 390 | * ''VideoGame/Yakuza6''; [[spoiler: Someya does this at the end of his final boss fight, gutting himself in a desperate attempt to appease [[BigBad Iwami]] and save his ex-wife Kiyomi from being executed. It seemingly fails and Iwami's [[TheDragon Dragon]] Koshimizu cuts the video feed just as he puts a gun to Kiyomi's head, and Someya dies not knowing Koshimizu loaded blanks into his gun.]] |
| 391 | * The Last Nyanmurai from ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch'' is a samurai cat yokai. He's obsessed with being in last place and committing seppuku when he fails (which doesn't do much because he's ''already'' dead). |
| 392 | [[/folder]] |
| 393 | |
| 394 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 395 | * In ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu attempts this in chapter three, when trying to make amends for his behavior in the previous chapter. His classmates are horrified and drag him to the hospital, where his wounds are seen to. |
| 396 | * Parodied in ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney''. At the end of the first trial of ''Resolve'', [[spoiler:Prosecutor Taketsuchi Auchi]] composes a death poem for himself, holds up a knife, and it really looks like he's going to do it... [[spoiler:Then he [[StabTheSalad cuts off a tuft of his hair]].]] |
| 397 | * In ''VisualNovel/ShallWeDateNinjaShadow'', seppuku isn't really treated until Hijikata and Okita from UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi join the cast: |
| 398 | ** Mentioned [[PlayedforLaughs for]] [[SuicideAsComedy laughs]] in the ''That's what I call Summer'' even, as Hijikata tells Asagi "disembowel yourself!" when the other man [[BerserkButton teases him too much]]. His profile has the trope as one of his "likes" (according to his companion Okita) and mentions that he's a skillful ''kaishakunnin'' (again, according to Okita). [[BlackComedy This phrase sums all up]]: |
| 399 | -->'''Okita''': "Just so you know, Toshi's hobby is ritual suicide, so be careful, [[PlayerCharacter Saori.]]" |
| 400 | ** According to Hijikata himself in his own route, the Shinsengumi has a set of very strict rules. If a member of the group breaks them, he is to commit {{seppuku}} on the spot. |
| 401 | ** Taken to OverlyLongGag levels in a winter-themed event. Hijikata is so grumpy and angry [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes due to the intense cold]] in Nagasaki that he threatens near everyone that he talks to with forcing them into committing seppuku, so Okita and Saori have to repeatedly talk him out of it. |
| 402 | |
| 403 | [[/folder]] |
| 404 | |
| 405 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 406 | * This would not be complete without a mention of the [[http://dndorks.com/comics/10%2f20%2f2004.aspx Seppuku Joe arc]] of ''Webcomic/DnDorks''. |
| 407 | * After the [[TraumaCongaLine Nidraa'chal War]] one member of the Dutan'vir clan named Fel'kir in ''{{Webcomic/Drowtales}}'' [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?sid=5506 picked this]] after his clan was destroyed and disgraced. [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?sid=10304 Later]] in the story a member of the same clan, [[spoiler:Lulianne]], does the same thing [[spoiler:in an attempted TakingYouWithMe after she realizes she's been possessed by the FaceStealer Khaless and briefly overpowers her to avoid having to kill her clanmate]]. |
| 408 | * Not exactly seppuku, but similar: Oggie and Maxim of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' once claimed that after having broken the solemn oath of the Jagerkin their only option was a "svift, ''painful,'' honourable death!" and attempted to slit each other's throats. It's unclear whether they actually meant it or were just kidding around (the [[ChewingTheScenery overdramatic nature of the delivery]] suggests the latter), as they changed their minds as soon as Dimo pointed out that they hadn't been ''caught'' breaking the oath. |
| 409 | * ''Webcomic/LeastICouldDo'' references this. |
| 410 | --> "Uncle, what's the smallest sword for?"\ |
| 411 | "I'll tell you when you lose." |
| 412 | * In the [[http://nedroid.com/2011/01/memories-of-youth/ "Memories of Youth"]] strip (January 13th, 2011) of the online comic ''Webcomic/{{Nedroid}}'', Reginald is about to commit {{Seppuku}} when Beartato stops him. Reginald explains, "...I just remembered all the embarrassing things I did as a teenager." Beartato tells him to move on from the past, but a thought balloon pops up in Reginald's mind wherein he remembers himself as a teenager at his crush's locker, about to give her a {{Mixtape Of Love}}. Present Reginald then [[spoiler:attempts to drink poison]]. |
| 413 | * Attempted by the Running Gag in ''Webcomic/OneOverZero'' when Andy dies, but it can't quite jump high enough to impale itself successfully. It runs off into the distance instead. Later in the comic, Junior. |
| 414 | * In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', one of the Sapphire Guard commits Seppuku after [[spoiler:being tricked into [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0448.html killing her comrades by Xykon]].]] |
| 415 | * Parodied in ''Webcomic/{{Wulffmorgenthaler}}'': apparently, seppuku is the reason [[http://wulffmorgenthaler.com/2010/01/21/ samurais are banned from all quiz shows]]. |
| 416 | [[/folder]] |
| 417 | |
| 418 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 419 | * [[spoiler:Keiji Tanaka]]'s death in ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' was basically seppuku. Oddly, Lenny Priestly, [[spoiler:the one who fatally wounded him to begin with]], acted as his second. |
| 420 | ** Shinya Motomura also committed seppuku in V1. However, he did not have a second. |
| 421 | * In the Flash cartoon ''[[Music/UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny The Ultimate Showdown]]'' by Lemon Demon, [[spoiler:Mr. Rogers commits seppuku after being the final pop culture icon left alive.]] |
| 422 | * ''WebVideo/SabatonHistory'''s video on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX_y2SAAhPg the Battle of Shiroyama]] at the end of the [[UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration Satsuma Rebellion]], discusses the practice of seppuku as part of the larger samurai honor code of bushido, then later recounts how a badly wounded [[RebelLeader Saigou Takamori]] committed seppuku with the help of his second-in-command after the samurais' final suicide charge. |
| 423 | [[/folder]] |
| 424 | |
| 425 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 426 | * In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', Dinobot once attempted seppuku but backed out at the last minute, allowing him to go on to his HeroicSacrifice. While suicide was never overtly mentioned (this is a kid's show, after all), kneeling while holding your sword upside down towards your body and trembling in intense concentration is a bit hard to interpret any other way. |
| 427 | * In the French series ''WesternAnimation/{{Clementine}}'', the titular protagonist travels to MedievalJapan and befriends [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Momotarou and his companions]]. During this adventure, a {{samurai}} commits ''seppuku'' [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence on-screen.]] |
| 428 | * In ''WesternAnimation/CodeMonkeys'', after Gameavision breaks [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} Protendo's]] one-day efficiency record, every Protendo employee still on the Gameavision premises simply pulls out a katana and rams it into their stomach, 22 in all. This also puts the final nail in the coffin of Mr. Larrity's plan to sell Gameavision off so the company can be liquidated. |
| 429 | * Parodied in a ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode where Dee Dee's paper route is beset by vandals dressed as ninjas. After she beats them in a paper-delivering competition (final score: 1 to 0), the other ninja give the one who lost the competition a rolled-up newspaper; he smacks himself in the face with it and collapses. |
| 430 | * On ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'', Ling-Ling commits Seppuku upon losing a game of Not-It to impregnate Toot. |
| 431 | * In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' when Brian and Stewie enter the universe when Japan conquered the world, Meg, being the ButtMonkey in every universe she's in, commits seppuku when Peter told her of being ugly and dishonorable. |
| 432 | * In an episode of ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'', Zoidberg is ridden with guilt after he breaks Professor Farnsworth's bottled ship and blames Fry (and he's forced to pay the exorbitant price of ''ten dollars'' to replace it). Ashamed, he confesses the whole thing and, since he won't be able to pay Fry back, he attempts to kill himself by stabbing his chest with a katana but he just ends up bending it on his hard exoskeleton. The owner of the sword angrily tells him how much that sword was worth. Zoidberg [[AesopAmnesia yells that Fry did it and runs away]]. |
| 433 | * Parodied at the end of the ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' WartimeCartoon, "You're a Sap, Mr. Jap" when the last remaining Japanese officer commits suicide by drinking gasoline and swallowing firecrackers. |
| 434 | * In the [[DarkerAndEdgier fifth Season]] of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', while hiding from [[KnightOfCerebus the Daughters of Aku]], Jack [[TalkingToThemself begins to argue]] with [[SanitySlippage his own subconscious]] over whether or not he should simply kill himself while he still has his dignity, as his situation seems totally hopeless. [[spoiler: He almost goes through with it in Episode 6, but Ashi talks him down and is able to renew his HeroicSpirit.]] |
| 435 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', in typical fashion, played with this rather irreverently when the Japanese Mr. Takayama moves to town and opens a restaurant next to City Wok (owned by the angry and stereotypically Chinese Mr. Lu Kim), sparking a rivalry. Lu Kim builds a "Tower of Peace", planning to lure his rival to the top and push him off, assuming he will get away with it because "Japanese people [are] always killing themselves". When he reveals this plan to Takayama while struggling atop the tower, Takayama [[DefiedTrope angrily refuses to be associated with such a stereotype]] and overpowers him. However, when it is revealed that [[spoiler: Lu Kim is actually one of several "split personalities" of a white man]], Takayama realizes he has been duped and [[ZigZaggingTrope throws himself off the tower in shame]]. |
| 436 | ** In [[Recap/SouthParkS8E12StupidSpoiledWhoreVideoPlayset another episode]], after [[ButtMonkey Butters]] is sold off to Creator/ParisHilton to be her pet, he finds out that her previous pets have all committed suicide over not standing her any longer in increasingly ridiculous ways, ending with Cuddles, a spaniel who committed ''ritual seppuku'', white clothes and Japanese characters hanging from the walls included. |
| 437 | ** In the episode “[[Recap/SouthParkS17E6GingerCow Ginger Cow]],” a variety of newscasters commit suicide around the world upon reporting the incidence of the aforementioned bovine. All of them shoot themselves with the exception of the Japanese newscaster, who draws a katana and begins to commit seppuku as he delivers his news. His partner then comes in and decapitates him after he collapses on the desk before drawing a pistol and shooting himself in the head like everyone else. |
| 438 | * Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' when after accidentally dropping a customer's take-out order, [=SpongeBob=] commits seppuku with his spatula, though given that he is a sponge, the spatula just goes harmlessly through his body. |
| 439 | * Also parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama''. Feeling responsible for his team's loss, Harold tries to commit seppuku with a ''toy lightsaber'' while announcing he quits his competition. |
| 440 | [[/folder]] |
| 441 | |
| 442 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 443 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamoto_no_Yorimasa Minamoto no Yorimasa]], WarriorPoet, became the TropeCodifier when he committed ''seppuku'' after losing the Battle of Uji in 1180. |
| 444 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusunoki_Masashige Kusunoki Masashige]], Emperor Godaigo's chief general, is said to have done this after being defeated in his attempt to overthrow the Kamakura shogunate in 1336. |
| 445 | * UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga was responsible for the ''seppuku'' of a number of rival ''daimyo'' in his lifetime, but he and his allies would end up doing it themselves: |
| 446 | ** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirate_Masahide Hirate Masahide]], Nobunaga's childhood tutor, committed ''seppuku'' after Nobunaga's father died. The prevailing theory on why he did this is that he wanted the eccentric and irresponsible Nobunaga to take things more seriously, though other theories are still being debated by historians. Folklore has it that after Nobunaga, in his ObfuscatingStupidity, barged into his father's funeral and made a scene, Masahide killed himself out of shame. In any case, Nobunaga was deeply saddened and built a Buddhist temple in Masahide's honor. |
| 447 | ** [[http://en/Wikipedia.org/wiki/Azai_Nagamasa Azai Nagamasa]] and his father Hisamasa committed ''seppuku'' in 1573 when Nobunaga laid siege to Odani Castle. Nagamasa and Nobunaga were former allies; Nagamasa was even married to Nobunaga's sister Oichi. The Azai clan held out for a long time, but ultimately Nagamasa killed himself at the siege and is said to have even killed his infant son so that the boy's uncle Nobunaga wouldn't be able to raise him. |
| 448 | ** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsunaga_Hisahide Matsunaga Hisahide]] committed one of the most spiteful acts of ''seppuku'' in history in 1577. Nobunaga laid siege to Hisahide's castle at Shigisan; Hisahide responded by [[DefiantToTheEnd destroying his prized teapot]] that Nobunaga wanted as a trophy and then committing ''seppuku''. By [[http://kissakoculture.blogspot.cl/2013/04/the-strange-fate-of-hiragumo-kettle.html some accounts]], he filled the teapot with gunpowder, delivered an epic rant at Nobunaga from the castle tower, and blew up the teapot -- and himself with it. |
| 449 | ** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeda_Katsuyori Takeda Katsuyori]], son and heir of UsefulNotes/TakedaShingen, committed ''seppuku'' after being defeated in the Battle of Tenmokuzan in 1582, losing to the combined forces of Nobunaga and UsefulNotes/TokugawaIeyasu. His young wife and their son also committed suicide at the same time. |
| 450 | ** Nobunaga himself would meet this end at the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honn%C5%8D-ji_Incident Honno-ji Incident]] in 1582. He was double-crossed by his general UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide, who led a coup at the Kyoto temple at dawn. Nobunaga was badly outnumbered and asked his young page [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mori_Ranmaru Mori Ranmaru]] to set the temple on fire after he committed ''seppuku''. Ranmaru is also rumored to have committed ''seppuku'' after burning the temple, although the majority says [[LastStand he went down fighting Akechi's soldiers]]. Nobunaga's body was never found. |
| 451 | ** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibata_Katsuie Shibata Katsuie]], one of Nobunaga's trusted generals, committed ''seppuku'' after the siege of Kitanosho Castle in 1583. Shibata was married to Nobunaga's sister Oichi (previously married to the aforementioned Azai Nagamasa) and supported Nobunaga's third son Oda Nobutaka to succeed Nobunaga. He tried to besiege his rival UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi at the Battle of Shizugatake, but his forces lost badly, and the tables turned on him at Kitanosho. He lit his castle on fire and committed ''seppuku''. He told Oichi to run, but she refused [[TogetherInDeath and died alongside him in the fire]]. Nobutaka, for his part, was pressured into ''seppuku'' a week later. |
| 452 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torii_Mototada Torii Mototada]], a retainer of UsefulNotes/TokugawaIeyasu, did this after his LastStand at the Siege of Fushimi Castle in 1600, where he led a group of 2,000 men against a 40,000-strong army. Mototada was able to stall the army for ten days and give Tokugawa time to raise his forces for the decisive Battle of Sekigahara, which would lead to the end of the UsefulNotes/SengokuPeriod. His ''seppuku'' was said to be so bloody that the floorboards he bled on still have his bloodstains. These [[https://www.amusingplanet.com/2018/05/the-blood-stained-ceilings-of-kyotos.html bloodstained wood remnants]] were subsequently incorporated as ceilings in a number of temples throughout Japan and can be examined by visitors to this day. |
| 453 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracia_Hosokawa Gracia Hosokawa]], daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide and convert to Catholicism, may or may not have committed ''seppuku''. We know that her retainer Shousai Ogasawara killed her when her household was about to be overrun by Ishida Mitsunari, but it's uncertain whether Hosokawa asked him to kill her. Japanese sources say she did, but Jesuit sources say her husband ordered it and she just accepted it. Either way, the reasoning was the same -- to let her keep her honor and not become a hostage -- and Ogasawara and the rest of the household did commit ''seppuku'' and set the house on fire. It's mostly believed that she didn't do the deed herself unlike others because she converted to Christianity, which forbade suicide. Either she or her husband respected that decision and [[LoopholeAbuse tried to find a workaround with the rule so she could retain her honor and in the same time not betray her new faith.]] |
| 454 | * The story of UsefulNotes/The47Ronin is all about ''seppuku''. ''Daimyo'' Asano Naganori had enough of {{Jerkass}} nobleman Kira Yoshinaka and attacked him in Edo Castle, wounding him and [[DisproportionateRetribution committing a capital crime]] by drawing a weapon in the castle. He committed ''seppuku'', and his retainers were ordered by the Shogun not to seek revenge. Forty-seven of them refused and captured and killed Kira. The Shogun was thus faced with a huge LogicBomb; they refused his order and should be dishonorably executed, but they did it to avenge their lord and show their UndyingLoyalty, which was ''hugely'' valued by Japanese culture. He allowed 46 of the ronin to commit ''seppuku'' and die honorably. The SoleSurvivor, a mere teenager, was allowed to inform Asano's former retainers that their revenge had been completed; the Shogun [[ThePardon pardoned him]], and he went on to become a monk. A man who had earlier insulted the ronin for not avenging their late master (unaware that they were preparing to do exactly that) then went to their gravesite and committed ''seppuku'' himself in atonement. |
| 455 | ** The story of the 47 ronin also has airs of DatedHistory. Modern scholars argue that by presenting the case to the Shogun, the ronin were actually angling for an acquittal. None of the ronin actually made the cut themselves; they had to lobby the Shogun to even be allowed to use real knives instead of paper fans. |
| 456 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshio_Heihachiro Oshio Heihachiro]] self-immolated in 1837 after a failed revolt against the Tokugawa shogunate. |
| 457 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harada_Sanosuke Harada Sanosuke]], future unit captain of the Shinsengumi, once attempted ''seppuku'' when a Matsuyama retainer remarked that he was a peon who wouldn't know how. Harada tried immediately to prove him wrong -- and failed. He would later adopt as his personal symbol a circle with a horizontal line, representing the scar of his failed attempt. |
| 458 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saigo_Takamori Saigo Takamori]], one of the "last samurai" who led the failed Satsuma Rebellion against the Meiji government, is believed to have committed ''seppuku'' after the Rebellion's failure -- or at least probably wanted to. Historians disagree on if he actually pulled it off; he was fatally injured during the battle by a gunshot to the hip,[[note]]Which combined with elephantiasis of the scrotum would likely have made traditional ''seppuku'' impossible, because he wouldn't be able to kneel.[[/note]] and it's believed that his followers cut his head off thinking that's what he would have wanted and said he committed ''seppuku'' as a real samurai would. They even tried hiding his head [[DecapitationPresentation so that it wouldn't be used as a trophy]] (it was found regardless). |
| 459 | * In 1912, General [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogi_Maresuke Maresuke Nogi]] committed ''seppuku'' along with his wife. Nogi was a key figure in the Russo-Japanese War responsible for the Siege of Port Arthur, but he [[MyGreatestFailure was disgusted by how many lives were lost]] under his command and petitioned Emperor Meiji for permission to commit ''seppuku''. Emperor Meiji refused permission and told him, "If you insist on killing yourself, let it be after I have departed from the world." Nogi and his wife committed ''seppuku'' shortly after the Emperor's funeral entourage left the palace. |
| 460 | * During and after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, many Japanese generals (about 500 by some reports) and authority figures did this (or tried to do this), especially after Japan's final surrender or after a particularly decisive defeat: |
| 461 | ** Admiral [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onishi_Takijiro Onishi Takijiro]], who came up with the bright idea of ''kamikaze'' planes, not only committed ''seppuku'' but also refused to use a ''kaishakunin''. It took him some 15 hours of agony to die. He left a suicide note in which he apologized to the 4000 pilots whom he sent to their deaths. |
| 462 | ** Admiral [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matome_Ugaki Matome Ugaki]] tried to do this by means of a "last mission" where he would crash his plane and commit suicide. He removed his rank insignia from his uniform and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ugaki_Matome_final_mission.jpg posed for pictures]] before his final flight. However, his plane was shot down by American anti-aircraft fire before he got a chance to do his ''kamikaze'' attack. |
| 463 | ** General [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korechika_Anami Korechika Anami]] was one of the high officials who opposed the surrender. He signed it, but he committed ''seppuku'' the next morning before Emperor Hirohito was to announce it (as portrayed in the documentary ''Film/{{Hiroshima}}''). He left a suicide note reading, "My death is my apology for my great crime" -- what he meant by that remains open to interpretation. |
| 464 | ** Admiral [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuichi_Nagumo Chuichi Nagumo]], one of the men responsible for the Pearl Harbor attack ''and'' the Battle of Midway, shot himself in the head as the Japanese were routed at the Battle of Saipan. Over 5000 Japanese soldiers -- and some 10,000 Japanese civilians -- committed ritual suicide during that battle [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled rather than let the Americans capture them]].[[note]]The Americans were actually probably going to treat them better than they thought; the Japanese government didn't want the people to know this, as it would make it easier to surrender to the Americans.[[/note]] |
| 465 | ** General [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsuru_Ushijima Mitsuru Ushijima]] committed ''seppuku'' at the end of the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, a decisive defeat for the Japanese. His chief of staff, Colonel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiromichi_Yahara Hiromichi Yahara]], wanted to do it too, but Ushijima forbade him from doing so, telling him, "If you die there will be no one left who knows the truth about the Battle of Okinawa. Bear the temporary shame, but endure it. This is an order from your army commander." Yahara was captured by the Americans, wrote a book about the battle, and lived until 1981. |
| 466 | ** Many Japanese civilians in Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and Manchuria committed ''seppuku'' as the Soviets advanced. In particular, nine women in Sakhalin who handled a telegraph station killed themselves when they learned of the island's fall to Russian troops. A statue is dedicated to them in Wakkanai, in the far north of Hokkaido. |
| 467 | ** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seigo_Nakano Seigo Nakano]], hard-right Japanese political leader and founder of the ultra-nationalist group ''Touhoukai'', committed ''seppuku'' in 1943 after losing his power struggle with UsefulNotes/HidekiTojo. Nakano argued that Japanese expansionism would cause unnecessary sacrifices for the country; Tojo put him under house arrest and banned him from talking to the media. Nakano committed ''seppuku'' in protest. |
| 468 | ** War Minister General [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shizuichi_Tanaka Shizuichi Tanaka]] was instrumental in quelling the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyujo_incident Kyujo incident]], an attempted coup by the War Ministry to prevent Emperor Hirohito from signing the instrument of surrender. Tanaka didn't support the surrender, either; he just couldn't join a coup against the Emperor himself, so he TookAThirdOption and committed ''seppuku''. He also blamed himself for failing to protect Tokyo from the Allied bombing and chose to die in atonement for that. He shot himself nine days after foiling the coup, specifically forbidding his subordinates from killing themselves, saying that he would commit suicide on their behalf. |
| 469 | ** Prime Minister [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumimaro_Konoe Fumimaro Konoe]], UsefulNotes/HidekiTojo's immediate predecessor, had resigned his position in 1941 in protest of the war (he was a committed ultra-nationalist and quasi-fascist, but he believed the war against the United States was folly, if not outright national suicide). He survived the end of the war but refused to collaborate with the Americans in "Operation Blacklist", a plan to exonerate Hirohito and the Imperial family of criminal responsibility. This caused the Americans to suspect him of war crimes, and he committed suicide by CyanidePill. Interestingly, he did this exactly 1300 years after his ancestor, Fujiwara no Katamari, led a coup d'état against the Soga clan. |
| 470 | ** Several ''wanted'' to commit ''seppuku'' but or otherwise should have couldn't, for some reason or another: |
| 471 | *** Prime Minister UsefulNotes/HidekiTojo attempted suicide by pistol after the surrender. The allies found him, gave him a blood transfusion, and saved his life. Then they tried him at the Allied military tribunal and [[ShootTheShaggyDog sentenced him to death]]. The Allies wanted to avoid this kind of death for Tojo, showing him that he would die on ''their'' terms, not his own. |
| 472 | *** Admiral [[http://en.wikipedia.org/Isoroku_Yamamoto Isoroku Yamamoto]], commander-in-chief of the Imperial Navy's Combined Fleet and responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway, wanted to commit ''seppuku'' after the Pearl Harbor attack because he wanted it to be done ''after'' Japan formally declared war on the United States. Doing otherwise was a sneak attack and thus dishonorable. His superiors wouldn't let him do so. He was ultimately killed in 1943 when he was shot down by American fighters over Bougainville. |
| 473 | *** Lieutenant General [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotoku_Sato Kotoku Sato]], who had the thankless task in the Burma offensive of 1944 to take Kohima without supplies or support from HQ, disobeyed orders and withdrew to save his soldiers' lives. He was offered the opportunity to commit ''seppuku'' but declined, instead insisting on a court-martial, where he could expose his superiors' incompetence. ''Kanshi'' is not so practical in the Burmese jungle. |
| 474 | * During the filming of the ''Franchise/JamesBond'' film ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', actress Mie Hama, desperate to keep her role as BondGirl Aki but unable to learn English sufficiently well, suffered a breakdown and threatened to commit ''seppuku'' if she was fired. The producers [[TakeAThirdOption defused the situation]] by having Hama switch roles with Akiko Wakabayashi, who spoke English fluently and played another BondGirl, Kissy Suzuki, who had fewer speaking lines. |
| 475 | * In 1970, Creator/YukioMishima, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukio_Mishima a major figure in Japan's postwar literary scene and devoted Japanese nationalist]], led his private army the ''Tatenokai'' to an attempted coup seeking to restore the Emperor to his former glory. They barged into a Self-Defense Force base in Tokyo and took the commander hostage, while Mishima addressed the soldiers from the office's balcony and urged them to overthrow the government. The soldiers responded by heckling Mishima, who retreated back into the office and committed ''seppuku'' by sword, the traditional way. Mishima's ''kaishakunin'' Masakatsu Morita couldn't manage to line up the head cut, and his companion Hiroyasu Kōga had to do it. Then Morita committed ''seppuku'' with Kōga as his ''kaishakunin''.[[note]]Kōga, for his part, didn't commit ''seppuku''; he spent some time in jail and became either a Shinto priest or a member of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seicho-no-Ie Seicho-no-Ie]] religion.[[/note]] Mishima's biographer believes that Mishima had been planning to commit ''seppuku'' for a year, and the attempted coup was [[SuicideByCop just pretext]]. |
| 476 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsuyasu_Maeno Mitsuyasu Maeno]], a ''roman porno'' actor and admirer of both Yukio Mishima and ''{{yakuza}}'' boss [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshio_Kodama Yoshio Kodama]], tried to commit ''seppuku'' and kill Kodama at the same time after learning of Kodama's involvement in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_bribery_scandals Lockheed bribery scandals]]. Maeno happened to be shooting a movie about ''kamikaze'' pilots, so he got into his plane and dive-bombed into Kodama's home. He was filmed by a second plane and even caught sending a final radio message, "Sorry I haven't replied in a long time. Long live the Emperor!" Although the crash started a fire and injured two servants, only Maeno was killed. |
| 477 | * In 1985, following the crash of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Airlines_Flight_123 JAL Flight 123]], a JAL maintenance manager and a JAL engineer killed themselves in apology. The crash was the direct result of incorrectly executed repairs. 520 people died in the accident, making it the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history. |
| 478 | * In 1986, IdolSinger [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukiko_Okada Yukiko Okada]] killed herself by [[DeathByFallingOver throwing herself from her music publisher's building]] (although it's uncertain why -- some proposed reasons aren't exactly ''seppuku''-worthy). It inspired a wave of copycat suicides and the term "Yukiko syndrome" to describe them. This particularly hit fans of [[Music/HidetoMatsumoto hide]]; three of them committed suicide by hanging thinking he had committed ''seppuku'' before it emerged that he had probably accidentally strangled himself. |
| 479 | * In 2001, gold medalist judoka [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isao_Inokuma Isao Inokuma]] committed ''seppuku'', purportedly because of financial losses suffered by his company. |
| 480 | * While few people really do the act of seppuku nowadays, the idea of it is so well-ingrained among the Japanese that a dessert called [[https://soranews24.com/2014/01/23/suicide-cakes-sweets-to-die-for/ Seppuku Monaka]] is the best-known ApologyGift in the country. The creator only named it in reference to his store standing in the same place where Asano Naganori was forced to commit this which started the 47 Ronin incident, but when he jokingly suggested a stockbroker buy a box of them when the latter needed to apologize to one of his clients, it became famous among financiers, and eventually Tokyoites in general. |
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