If a samurai were defeated or he dishonored himself by not following the code of "bushido", he had to commit "seppuku" (ritual suicide). Part of the "seppuku" ritual is cutting the stomach or abdomen. That part of the ritual is called "hara-kiri". To a samurai, death was better than having no honour or being captured by the enemy. Another reason to commit "Seppuku" was the death of the daimyo. With this ritual, a samurai was able to show how loyal he was to his dead master. There were periods when "Seppuku" was forbidden, but some samurai still committed it.