what is seppuku
Share. By Kallie Szczepanski. Seppuku, also known less formally as harakiri, is a form of ritual suicide that was practiced by the samurai and daimyo of Japan. It involves cutting the stomach open, which was believed to immediately release the samurai's spirit to the afterlife.ikewise, the shogun could demand that a daimyo commit seppuku. Battlefield seppukus were usually quick affairs; the dishonored or defeated samurai would simply use his short sword or dagger to disembowel himself, and then a second (kaishakunin) would decapitate him.