The  sense  of  honor,  for  himself  and  for  the
family,  was  strong  within  the  samurai.  Rather
to  die  than  to  lose  honor  was  the  feeling  that


CHUGi:   THE   SPIRIT   OF   LOYALTY  1 29

developed  the  extraordinary  manner  of  suicide
called  harakiri.  It  was  not  mere  suicide.  It  was
an  institution,  legal  and  ceremonial,  invented  in
the  middle  ages,  by  which  warriors  could  expiate
their  crimes,  apologize  for  error,  escape  from
disgrace,  redeem  their  friends  or  prove  their
sincerity.  As  a  way  of  punishment  it  has  now
been  forbidden;  but  voluntary  suicide  according
to  the  old  idea  to  save  one's  honor  has  not  been
fully  checked.  We  still  hear  of  it  from  time  to
time;  and  shall  continue  to  hear,  as  long  as  the
past  is  vitally  remembered.^

Shiba-Yoshimasa,  a  famous  samurai  of  the
fifteenth  century,  is  said  to  have  declared  that
''  the  warrior  should  act  not  only  with  thought  for
himself  but  also  for  his  generation  and  for  the
long  future.  He  should  not  taint  his  name  for-
ever with  cowardice,  to  save  his  Hfe  which  is  of
but  short  duration.  He  should  regard  it  as  the
highest  object  of  desire  to  die  for  the  sake  of  his
sovereign  or  sacrifice  his  life  upon  any  great  occa-
sion on  the  battle-field."

1  Since  the  writing  of  these  words,  there  has  occurred  the  tragic
suicide  of  General  and  Countess  Nogi,— at  the  time  of  the  funeral
of  the  late  Emperor,  Meiji  Tenno,  who  passed  away  July  30th,
1912.
130  THE   FAITH   OF  JAPAN

The  following  is  one  of  the  most  popular  poems
familiar  to  sons  of  the  samurai.
