Hara-kiri victims?

This is in response to a comment about the hara-kiri stage picture posted in the pictures from our trip to Himeji.

The argument has been made that “hara-kiri victim” is a contradiction of terms.  While this may be true for the samurai who committed ritual suicide out of protest to a political decision, or out of loyalty to a fallen lord, or out of a desire to reclaim honor lost on a battlefield, this is certainly not true of the men who disemboweled themselves on a stage, before a royal audience by official decree.  I think the typical western interpretation of hara-kiri of a dishonored samurai warrior who feels it his solemn duty to make things right by ceremonially driving a short sword under his ribs and through his lungs is only part of the story.  The Shogun and his retainers often used hara-kiri as a form of punishment.  Samurai warriors who had earned the wrath of their royalty were commanded to commit suicide, or be put to death anyway.  There is a great example of this in the movie, “Twilight Samurai” where an old warrior is ordered to commit suicide because of a political disagreement with the retainer.  When the old samurai refuses, an official assassin is sent to kill him.  So while all samurai who committed hara-kiri ultimately ‘chose’ their fate, there were those who had few alternatives, and are certainly deserving of the title ‘victim.’