Seppuku (切腹, 'cutting [the] belly'), also called hara-kiri (腹切り, lit. 'abdomen/belly cutting', a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. While harakiri refers to the act of disemboweling one's self, seppuku refers to the ritual and usually would involve decapitation after the act as a sign of mercy. Harakiri refers solely to the act of disembowelment and would only be assigned as a punishment towards acts deemed too heinous for seppuku.[1] It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour, but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa era[2][3] (particularly officers near the end of World War II) to restore honour for themselves or for their families.[4][5][6] As a samurai practice, seppuku was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honour rather than fall into the hands of their enemies (and likely be tortured), as a form of capital punishment for samurai who had committed serious offences, or performed because they had brought shame to themselves.[1] The ceremonial disembowelment, which is usually part of a more elaborate ritual and performed in front of spectators, consists of plunging a short blade, traditionally a tantō, into the belly and drawing the blade from left to right, slicing the belly open.[7] If the cut is deep enough, it can sever the abdominal aorta, causing a rapid death by blood loss.[citation needed]