Hara-kir i

The method of suicide adopted in old Japan by members of the Samurai, or military cla , who had no alternative but to die. Hara-kir i might be either voluntary, or by order of a feudal lord, as the penalty of some crime which did not imply degradation from the rank of Samurai. In the latter case it was in the nature of an execution, and was surrounded by an elaborate ceremonial, especially in the case of a Daimio or a gentleman of high rank.