Sentence:  On the downfall of his power in 1867 he was urged by one of his Council to save the honour of his family by a voluntary suicide. He flatly refused to do so and left the room, whereupon his faithful adviser retired to another part of the castle and solemnly performed the <WSD>"hara-kiri</WSD>". 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Ceremonial suicide by disembowelment, as by slicing open the abdomen with a dagger or knife: formerly practised in Japan by the Samurai when disgraced or sentenced to death.