actually, the samurai sword is not used for that. they use a short sword or a long dagger for that. seppuchu is what they call it.
Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm
close but not quite.
Seppuku
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seppuku
Seppuku (
Japanese: 切腹, "cutting [the] belly"), sometimes referred to as
harakiri (腹切り, "abdomen/belly cutting", a native Japanese
kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual
suicide by
disembowelment. It was originally reserved for
samurai in their
code of honor but was also practised by other Japanese people later on to restore honour for themselves or for their families. As a samurai practice,
seppuku was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies (and likely be tortured), as a form of
capital punishment for samurai who had committed serious offenses, or performed because they had brought shame to themselves. The ceremonial disembowelment, which is usually part of a more elaborate ritual and performed in front of spectators, consists of plunging a short blade, traditionally a
tantō, into the belly and drawing the blade from left to right, slicing the belly open.
[1] If the cut is deep enough, it can sever the
descending aorta, causing a rapid
death by blood loss.
the "short sword" used is called a
Tantō
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tant%C5%8D
A
tantō (短刀, "short sword")
[1][2] is one of the traditionally made
Japanese swords[3] (
nihonto)
[4][5] that were worn by the
samurai class of feudal Japan. The tantō dates to the
Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ornate. Tantō were used in traditional martial arts (
tantojutsu). The term has seen a resurgence in the West since the 1980s as a point style of modern
tactical knives, designed for piercing or stabbing.