Hari Kari

Sooo...I wanna thank Chris Brown because if he never made the reference to "Hari Kari" in his song "Look at me Now" (OH) because then I would not have looked up what the hell a hari kari was....SO...I wanna thank answers.com who gave me this info. But according to @MrSneakaHead its a phrase used in the MANGAS. But yea...thanks CBreezy!

Hari kari, also known as sepuku, is an ancient form of ritual suicide that defeated samurai, or those whose shame was 'too unbearable' would use to restore their honor in death. In sepuku, one would take a wakizashi (short sword) and dissembowel oneself. The less noise you made while doing this, the braver you were and therefore the more honorable, however this did not last long as not long after you had begun, a close friend, comrade, or enemy would put you out of your misery by cleaving your head from your shoulders in one swift blow of the katana (another japanese sword). Even though in modern times the prospect of decapitating one of your friends or relatives sounds completely against normal 'friendly' behavior, being asked to asist your friend or enemies' escape from shame was considered a great honor, as was using this as a tool to escape. This is why the in the imperialistic wars that followed japan's modernisation post Admiral Perry's opening of it in 1853 to the west, the Japanese had no concept of the POW, as they believed that a combatant should either fight to the last breath, or if captured, die 'honorably' in ritual suicide, known as hari kari or sepuku. A good example of this ritual can be found in Tom Cruise's movie "the last samurai"