Alyssa SamiaPsychology 260Fiona Bullock10 March 2014Samurai and SeppukuSuicide, the act of self-murder, is a tragedy that not only destroys the lives of its victims, but leaves relatives and friends devastated and emotionally paralyzed. Around the world, tens of thousands of people commit suicide every year and hundreds of thousands attempt and fail to take their own lives. While the root causes of suicide are not always so clearly defined, the typical suicidal person usually suffers from dire personal circumstances and/or experiences a chemical imbalance in the brain. Especially in Western culture, religious values ​​often perpetuate the belief that suicide is a supreme act of weakness and selfishness; for some it is a sin worthy of eternal damnation of their soul. However, in the historical context of feudal Japan, for a trained class of warriors known as samurai, suicide was sometimes the means to an honorable end. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, to be a Samurai meant to be “a member of the Japanese warrior caste.” They were skilled fighters spiritually and socially bound to a code of honor known as “bushido,” which translates to “the way of the warrior.” Their value system required strict obedience and absolute loyalty to one's master, and included a Confucian-style ethic that championed humanism and a strong moral code. The perfect samurai was also “the perfect gentleman” and took pride in strong, harmonious relationships with his family and comrades. When bushido was violated, the offending samurai had to perform ritual suicide, known formally as "seppuku", to restore his honor. Translated into English, "seppuku" comes from the words "setsu" a..... . half of the sheet......>."Seppuku." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 3, 2013. Web. March 8, 2014. "7 Myths of the Samurai." Spacious planet. Np, 2008. Web. 9 March 2014. Braue, Giovanni. "The Art of Seppuku." The refined art of Seppuku. Rat's Nest, July 19, 2002. Web. March 8, 2014.* Interview with an individual who has professional or personal knowledge of the research topic was conducted on February 27, 2014 with Diane Makimoto via telephone (INSERT NUMBER). She was born in 1963 to American immigrants from Japan and is a judo master and instructor based in Sacramento. Although judo did not exist until the end of the samurai era, judo is a descendant form of jujutsu, a fighting style that samurai used in combat. Makimoto used judo to stay in touch with his Japanese roots and spent years learning about the samurai through personal study and the stories of his older relatives..