Seppuku

Seppuku is the act of ritual suicide. Seppuku is a means for samurai to atone for failure or dishonor. Successful completion of the ceremony may remove the stain from one' name and return him to honorable status, even if posthumously.

Seppuku is not taken lightly and rarely occurs. Since samurai are servants to their lord, one must ask for permission to commit seppuku. Seppuku is performed with a wakizashi, the symbol of a samurai's honor. Normally the samurai's own wakizashi is used, but his superior may offer another instead. If offered the clan's ancestral wakizashi, it is the ultimate gesture of forgiveness. If offered a wooden sword, it the gravest insult, insinuating that the samurai is insincere in his request or too spineless to successfully perform the ceremony.

To commit seppuku without permission is an extreme denouncement of a dishonorable master's actions, and it does not absolve one of dishonor. Instead, it implies that the samurai can no longer stand to serve his lord for the shame he endures under their command. To refuse to commit seppuku when ordered means the samurai is unrepentent of his acts. If not publicly executed, the samurai may have his name stripped and become a ronin. In Rokugani society, to be forced to live with such dishonor is more vicious than seppuku. (GMG p. 69, 3E p. 31, 343)