Seppuku

"Who can fathom the depths of another man's heart?"

Aug 4 1964 Not Rated 2h 13m
Action, Drama, History

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshiro enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshiro of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

Plot

Peace in 17th-century Japan causes the Shogunate's breakup of warrior clans, throwing thousands of samurai out of work and into poverty. An honorable end to such fate under the samurai code is ritual suicide, or hara-kiri (self-inflicted disembowelment). An elder warrior, Hanshiro Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai) seeks admittance to the house of a feudal lord to commit the act. There, he learns of the fate of his son-in-law, a young samurai who sought work at the house but was instead barbarically forced to commit traditional hara-kiri in an excruciating manner with a dull bamboo blade. In flashbacks the samurai tells the tragic story of his son-in-law, and how he was forced to sell his real sword to support his sick wife and child. Tsugumo thus sets in motion a tense showdown of revenge against the house.

Written by

Yasuhiko Takiguchi, Shinobu Hashimoto

Directed by

Masaki Kobayashi

Cast

Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

Japan

Production Companies

Shochiku

Languages

Awards

9 wins & 3 nominations total

Trailers
Harakiri (1962) ORIGINAL TRAILER
Scores
# of Votes
78,008
Average Rating
8.6 out of 10
Metascore
85
Popularity
NA