fan seppuku; symbolic disembowelment with a fan
Historical term for a form of seppuku where the condemned samurai performs a symbolic disembowelment with a fan instead of a real blade, followed by decapitation. Used as a death penalty for samurai.
See also: 切腹
Fan seppuku was a form of ritual suicide in which the condemned mimed cutting the stomach with a fan before being beheaded.
Formed from 扇 and 腹, referring to a symbolic form of seppuku in which the condemned person used a fan in place of a blade before being beheaded.