Harakiri Reviews

After the centralization of political power in Japan in the 17th century, the samurai have been displaced. They wander the countryside asking estate owners' permission to commit hara-kiri, hoping the wealthy landowners will take pity and give them work. Nakadai, an aging samurai, wanders into an estate and makes his request. He is told by the estate's chief retainer, Mikuni, of a young samurai, Ishihama, who had arrived earlier asking the same thing. To keep the samurai code pure, Ishihama was forced to commit hara-kiri with a bamboo sword (he had sold his real sword to provide for his family). Undaunted, Nakadai asks each of the estate's three principal swordsmen to serve as his second in the ritual. When the time for the ritual comes and none of the swordsmen show up, Nakadai reveals himself as the father-in-law of the dead Ishihama. To revenge the dead samurai, Nakadai cuts off the top knots of the three swordsmen, thus dishonoring them. Mikuni orders his men to kill Nakadai and in the ensuing battle many are killed by the old samurai, until he, too, falls. Mikuni then orders his three swordsmen to commit hara-kiri and declares that the whole incident must be kept secret.