directed by: Masaki Kobayashi, year: 1962
actors: Tatsuya Nakadai, Shima Iwashita, Akira Ishihama

Harakiri (1962) is a stark, uncompromising jidaigeki by Masaki Kobayashi that anatomizes feudal hypocrisy and the samurai code. Hanshiro Tsugumo, a ronin, arrives at the Iyi clan compound to demand a dignified death by seppuku, only to trigger a sequence of revelatory stories that expose the brutality behind ceremonial honor. The film’s austere composition, masterful pacing, and moral confrontation critique power, ritual, and blind loyalty, making it a devastating indictment of feudal-era justice.

Edo Period, Drama, Historical Drama, Jidaigeki, Samurai, Anti Feudal Critique