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search A staged photo from the late Edo period of a seppuku
ceremony. The kaishakunin is standing at the rear with his sword
raised, prepared to behead the person committing seppuku.  A
kaishakunin (Japanese: 介錯人) is an appointed second whose duty is
to behead one who has committed seppuku, Japanese ritual
suicide, at the moment of agony. The role played by the
kaishakunin is called kaishaku (nin means person).  Aside from
the purpose of being spared prolonged anguish until death, both
the condemned and those on hand to observe are spared the
spectacle of the writhing death throes that would ensue. The use
of a kaishakunin is normally reserved for one who is performing
the deed out of honor, rather than in disgrace. For example, a
warlord who is defeated in battle and has chosen to commit
seppuku might be appointed a second so that he may die
respectably, as opposed to a samurai who has been ordered to die
for some crime, or for having disgraced his c