Hari-Kari, also known as seppuku in its Chinese alternative, is the traditional art of honorable Japanese suicide (for the most part, both of the terms are interchangeable when referring to it in English). It was traditionally practiced by feudal warriors in Japan as a way of escaping falling into the enemies hands in the 1500's, which eventually evolved into a more elite way of execution when either the daimyo, Japanese feudal landholders and barons, and the samurai disobey the Emperor. During this time, the condemned man would receive a jeweled dagger, meant for disemboweling them, while their second chosen friend would behead them with their sword, putting them out of their misery. This tradition continued well into the 1900's, and was eventually outlawed in 1868, but it still persists even up to 1970[1].

This is the first part I will be focusing on in the next few weeks. Seppuku is an interesting phenomenon that has held a great impact on Japanese culture and thinking, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. On a personal note, I will be picking up a few books on the topic from the library this week, as I feel like I can not do it complete justice with just online research.

[2]

[3]

These are a few representations of Seppuku in Japanese culture, with the latter being staged

[4]

An artistic representation of ritual suicide from the movie "Budo- The Art of Killing"

Sources:
[1]"hara-kiri." The Columbia Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. Credo Reference. Web. 23 September 2013.
[2]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Seppuku-J._M._W._Silver.jpg 
[3]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Seppuku.jpg
[4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVE7aqrva0g