Harakiri
1962 · Movie · NR · 135 min · ★ 8.4 · 93% critics
A struggling ronin arrives at a powerful clan’s home seeking permission to perform ritual suicide and asks for someone to carry out the final part of the ceremony. A counselor challenges his motives, and two shifting stories unfold to expose the gap between outward respectability and true honor within the Samurai code.
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Streaming on Kanopy and The Criterion Channel — or rent from $3.99.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Original title
- 切腹
- Years
- 1962
- Release date
- 1962-09-15
- Language
- Japanese
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 135 min
- Critic score
- 93/100
- TMDB rating
- 8.4/10 (1,218 votes)
- Box office
- $15,000
About
Not for you if you want a fast, action-first samurai adventure, since Harakiri leans into slow-burn tension and moral confrontation; if you like Samurai Rebellion or Throne of Blood, it may appeal.
Pros: suspenseful, dialogue-driven tension; sharp moral critique; memorable ritual intensity | Cons: slow pacing stretches early; limited action overall; heavy cultural context
Themes
- suicide
- japan
- samurai
- asia
- flashback
- revenge
- poverty
- black and white
- seppuku
- ronin
- jidaigeki
- edo period
- +9 more
Cast & crew
Tatsuya Nakadai
as Hanshiro Tsugumo
Akira Ishihama
as Motome Chijiiwa
Shima Iwashita
as Miho Tsugumo
Tetsuro Tamba
as Hikokuro Omodaka
Masao Mishima
as Tango Inaba
Ichirō Nakatani
as Hayato Yazaki
Kei Satō
as Masakazu
Yoshio Inaba
as Jinai Chijiiwa
Hisashi Igawa
as Retainer
- TT
Toru Takeuchi
as Retainer
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi