ge, he sees across the
moat his wife and child, who greet him with demonstrations of joy. To
her he waves his hand; then, bravely and loudly, so that it may be heard
by friend and foe, he shouts out the true tidings, "Wait for
reinforcement at any cost, for the besiegers are weak and will soon have
to give up." At these words his enraged enemies seize him and put him to
a death of horrible torture, but he smiles in their faces as he tells
them the sweetness of such a sacrifice for his master. Japanese history
abounds with heroic deeds of blood displaying the indomitable courage of
the samurai. In the reading of them, we are often reminded of the
Spartan spirit of warfare, and samurai women are in some ways very like
those Spartan mothers who would rather die than see their sons branded
as cowards.

The implicit obedience which samurai gave their lords, when conflicting
with feelings of loyalty to their country, often produced two opposing
forces which had to be overcome. When the daimi[=o] gave orders that the
keener-sighted retainer felt would not be for the good of the house, he
had either to disobey his lord, or act against his feeling of loyalty.
Divided between the two duties, the samurai would usually do as he
thought right for his country or his lord, disobeying his master's
orders; write a confession of his real motives; and save his name from
disgrace by committing suicide. By this act he would atone for his
disobedience, and his loyalty would never be questioned.

The now abolished custom of _hara-kiri_, or the voluntary taking of
one's life to avoid disgrace, and blot out entirely or partially the
stain on an honorable name, is a curious custom which has come down from
old times. The ancient heroes stabbed themselves as calmly as they did
their enemies, and women as well as men knew how to use the short
sword[37] worn always at the side of the samurai, his last and easy
escape from shame.

[37] The samurai always wore two swords, a long one for fighting only,
and a short one for defense when possible, but, as a last resort, for
_hara-kiri_. The sword is the emblem of the samurai spirit, and as such
is respected and honored. A samurai took pride in keeping his swords as
sharp and shining as was possible. He was never seen without the two
swords, but the longer one he removed and left at the front door when he
entered the house of a friend. To use a sword badly, to harm or injure
it, or to step over it, was