Chiyo waved a hand. “Words are cages, Master Kenji. You have been Lord Tadamasa’s headsman for thirty years. How many men have you beheaded in seppuku ?”
“I don’t want to die,” Satoru said. sepuku vs harakiri
“Then don’t,” she said. “Run. Tonight. Not like a coward—like a father. Leave your sword. Leave your name. Become a farmer in the next province. Let Lord Tadamasa call it harakiri if he wants. Let him call it murder. Let him call it a ghost story. You owe the dead forty-seven men your shame. You owe the living one child your breath.” Chiyo waved a hand
One was Master Kenji, a grizzled kaishakunin —the second who severs the head in ritual suicide. The other was a young ronin named Satoru, who had that morning failed to prevent a supply caravan from being overrun by bandits. Forty-seven men died. Satoru survived. For a samurai of Lord Tadamasa’s house, survival alone was an obscenity. How many men have you beheaded in seppuku