hara-kiri
noun
ˌha-ri-ˈkir-ē 
ˌher-i-,
-ˈka-rē
-ˈker-ē
variants
or less commonly hari-kari
1
: ritual suicide by disembowelment practiced by the Japanese samurai or formerly decreed by a court in lieu of the death penalty
2
Examples of hara-kiri in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
He was struck by the show’s exploration of hara-kiri, the Japanese ritual suicide.
—
Ruth La Ferla, New York Times, 18 May 2025
When the soldiers, instead of rising up, jeered at him, Mishima killed himself in the classic samurai fashion: performing hara-kiri, or seppuku (as the Japanese more commonly call it), by plunging a sword into his abdomen before a uniformed disciple sliced his head off.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
The film depicts the historical ‘Honno-ji Incident’ from 1582, when a key vassal of Oda Nobunaga rose in revolt and caused his master to commit hara-kiri in Kyoto.
—Mark Schilling, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023
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Ruth La Ferla, New York Times, 18 May 2025
When the soldiers, instead of rising up, jeered at him, Mishima killed himself in the classic samurai fashion: performing hara-kiri, or seppuku (as the Japanese more commonly call it), by plunging a sword into his abdomen before a uniformed disciple sliced his head off.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
The film depicts the historical ‘Honno-ji Incident’ from 1582, when a key vassal of Oda Nobunaga rose in revolt and caused his master to commit hara-kiri in Kyoto.
—Mark Schilling, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Hara-kiri.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hara-kiri. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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