The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-13

"hara -kiri" when their lord died Wives have died thus for husbands, husbands for wives. parents for children, erring children for parents honor and the honor of ancestors. Above all. it has been the tribute of loyal subjects of the emperors of Japan for generationS Often, too when a noble had brought disgrace on his house he would receive dignified and sympathetic message from the sovereign bidding him destroy himself.
 "All that the Samurai might ask of his proud race was to die and not disgrace it's ancient chivalry. Suicide in any form ought not to be encouraged and yet there may be conditions, it would seem to us in the east. when it may be wholly or partly excused So wrote Viscount Suyematsu, the distin- guished Japanese statesman in his book "The Risen Sun" published in | 19O5 "Hara-kiri'' was originally of | two kinds, obligatory and voluntary, l but as an obligatory act, imperially i'm posed as punishment upon the noble | class in feudal Japan, 1t was abolished | in 1868.
 | viscount Suyematsu, in his book, gives an interesting description of the | august ceremony which preceded and
 accompanied Samurai's suicide lie | wrote.
 I A | from the proper quarters to witness the
 due execution of the sentence. and | kali shaku-nin was chosen to assist the
 principal in ridding himself of the bur , den of life.''
 This person was selected by the con-
 demned from the circle of his own Inn mediate relatives, friends, or retainers and the kai-shaku- office was an
 honorable one, inasmuch as he was thereby privileged to render last ser vice to his comrade or chief. There | was always a special apartment or pa vilion prepared in which the ceremony had to take place; particular dress designed for use only on these melan- choly occa asions, had to be worn; and the dagger or short sword, was invar- | iably placed before the seat of the con
 demned on clean white tray. raised
 on two legs termed sambo, which, 1T
 the ordinary way. Is a kind of wooder
 stand used for keeping sacrifices of
 fered to the gods or for some similar
 solemn purpose. The actual cutting
 open of the body was not essential; (
 trihing incision in horizontal line, si'
 or seven inches, or rarely in two linei
 crossing each other--the more super ficial the better, proof of a High and skilful touch-being ordinaril' ! made followed by deep cut in tn
 throat As a rule, however. immedi ately aIter H1dhliiS tho iiiSiSioh III UT , abdomen the condemned made sligh movement of his disengaged left ham and stretched his neck forward, a signs to the kai-shaku-nin to do hi office; perceiving which. the latter
 who stood by with his sword read poised instantly struck off his princi pals head.
 How to sit how to bow to the spec
 tators when about to commence the aw ful task; how to unfold the clothing how to wrap up the dagger, and hoy to make the requisite signal to the kai
 shaku-nn were all matters on whicl
 the utmost picety was enjoined. an were part of the instruction which ev cry Samurai was obliged to receiv
 from the master of military ceremo
 nies The most notable instance o hara-k -kiri took place at Sakai, nea
 Osaka, just after the establishment o
 the new regime in Japan, when som
 twenty young Samurai.. disliking tn
 secret surveying of the locality per
 formed by French naval >officers an,
 marines. had attacked the French, ant
 were ordered by the government to ex
 plate the offense in this solemn fashioi
 in the presence of the French minister , When eleven had committed suicide II front of him the French ministe begged that the carnage might stop There have been several recent cases Lieutenant Takeyoshi committed hara, kiri in 1891 in front of the graves O his ancestors at Tokio as protes against what he considered the crim inal lerhargy of the government in no
 taking prl'. autiQns against possible
 Russian en chment to the north o