READY TO DIE The method was violent and extremely painful, but samurai had to take their own lives with no sign of emotion
Flames lick away the shadows in the inner recesses of the great temple. Taki Zenzaburo kneels on a red scarlet rug in silence. An officer hands him a short sword, wrapped in paper. With poise, Zenzaburo lifts the blade to his head and announces: “For this crime, I disembowel myself, and I beg you who are present to do me the honour of witnessing the act.” As his robes fall to his waist, he gazes at the blade. In some ways, his 32 years have all been in preparation for this moment.
Western observers were shocked when Taki Zenzaburo committed seppuku
ALAMY X3, BRIDGEMAN IMAGES X1