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hara-kiri| Ritual suicide of the Japanese samurai (military caste) since the 12th century. Today it is illegal. It was carried out to avoid dishonour or to demonstrate sincerity, either voluntarily or on the order of a feudal lord. The correct Japanese term is seppuku, and, traditionally, the ritual involved cutting open one's stomach with a dagger. It was then proper to have one's head struck off by another samurai's sword. |
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