So what happens when you are a disgraced samurai at the court of the Shogun. You come to this place, sit like in 'tahiyat awal' with head bowed in front of the platform where the dignitaries sit to observe (Pic #2), and proceed to disembowel yourself with a sharp knife. Not to worry, if you are in real pain, your assistant will lop your head with a stroke of his sword. Then he proceeds to wash the sepukku knife (which you used to cut your belly open), his sword and your stand-alone head in the well shown in Pic #1. This spot is known as the harakiri-maru, within the Himeji Castle walls. Or so the story goes.
