Harakiri (Japanese: 切腹, Seppuku) (1962) is a Japanese film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. The story takes place between 1619 and 1630 during the Edo period and the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate. It tells of a ronin, Hanshiro Tsugumo, who instead of committing seppuku (better known in the West by the colloquial term harakiri) after his lord was deposed, was ordered to stay alive in order to care for his daughter and grandson as well as his son-in-law, the son of another samurai who had committed the ritual suicide.

Harakiri is not a run of the mill samurai movie where an unemployed samurai is a hired gun who will hack and slash any opponent for money, but instead it plays out like a great Shakespearean Tragedy, "Titus Andronicus", where the once proud ex-soldier and father has his entire life stripped from him, and in his madness he exacts his cruel revenge against his oppressors. In Harakiri, the character of Tsugumo is a retired samurai that has been wronged by an elitist class and wants to not only commit seppuku, but express his grievances to the Saito clan, and shame them for what he perceives is an unforgivable act of cruelty upon not only Motome Chijiwa, but on his entire family.

 The pacing of Harakiri is admittedly grueling and, much like the samurai who hear Hanshiro Tsugumo's story, you will find yourself often hoping that Tsugumo would simply cut to the point he is trying to make, finish his story, and commit the act that he is so set upon. However in the very long and drawn out first half of Harakiri the audience is bonding with the characters of this tragic tale, creating an impressive ensemble of characters that you learn to understand.