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Why would a samurai be expected or decide to slit open his own belly? The reasons are many, and much is made of them elsewhere. We'll content ourselves here with the briefest of lists of those reasons not involving a direct punishment.

Why would a samurai be expected or decide to slit open his own belly? The reasons are many, and much is made of them elsewhere. We'll content ourselves here with the briefest of lists of those reasons not involving a direct punishment.

[[Junshi]]: this act of suicide involved following one's lord in death. Not entirely uncommon in the days of open samurai warfare, junshi was banned in the Edo Period as wasteful. The last famous example was that of the General Nogi Maresue in 1912 following the death of the [[Emperor Meiji]].

* [[Junshi]]: this act of suicide involved following one's lord in death. Not entirely uncommon in the days of open samurai warfare, junshi was banned in the Edo Period as wasteful. The last famous example was that of the General Nogi Maresue in 1912 following the death of the [[Emperor Meiji]].

[[Kanshi]]: Suicide through remonstration. Not common, this involved killing one's self to make a point to a lord when all other forms of persuasion had failed. Perhaps the best known example of this is provided by [[Hirate Kiyohide|Hirate Nakatsukasa Kiyohide]] ([[1493]]-[[1553]]), who commited suicide to make a youthful and irreverant [[Oda Nobunaga]] change his ways.

* [[Kanshi]]: Suicide through remonstration. Not common, this involved killing one's self to make a point to a lord when all other forms of persuasion had failed. Perhaps the best known example of this is provided by [[Hirate Kiyohide|Hirate Nakatsukasa Kiyohide]] ([[1493]]-[[1553]]), who commited suicide to make a youthful and irreverant [[Oda Nobunaga]] change his ways.

[[Sokotsushi]]: Here, a samurai would kill himself as a way of making amends for some transgression. This is possibly the best-known reason for seppuku, and has perhaps been popularized far out of proportion to its frequency. One well-known instance involves the [[Takeda clan|Takeda]] general [[Yamamoto Kansuke|Yamamoto Kansuke Haruyuki]] ([[1501]]-[[1561]]), who flung himself into the enemy after his plans had put his lord in grave danger. Badly wounded, he withdrew from the fray and commited suicide.

* [[Sokotsushi]]: Here, a samurai would kill himself as a way of making amends for some transgression. This is possibly the best-known reason for seppuku, and has perhaps been popularized far out of proportion to its frequency. One well-known instance involves the [[Takeda clan|Takeda]] general [[Yamamoto Kansuke|Yamamoto Kansuke Haruyuki]] ([[1501]]-[[1561]]), who flung himself into the enemy after his plans had put his lord in grave danger. Badly wounded, he withdrew from the fray and commited suicide.

==Notes to Text==

==Notes to Text==