Suicide methods method of suicide, practiced mostly in the medieval era, though some isolated cases appear in modern times. For example, Yukio Mishima died by seppuku in 1970 after a failed "coup d'état" intended to restore full power to the Japanese emperor. Unlike other methods of suicide, this was regarded as a way of preserving one's honor. The ritual is part of "bushido", the code of the "samurai". As originally performed solely by an individual, it was an extremely painful method by which to die. Dressed ceremonially, with his sword placed in front of him and sometimes seated on special cloth, the
Yukio Mishima the emperor. He succeeded only in irritating the soldiers, and was mocked and jeered. He finished his planned speech after a few minutes, returned to the commandant's office and performed seppuku. The assisting "kaishakunin" duty at the end of this ritual (to decapitate Mishima) had been assigned to "Tatenokai" member Masakatsu Morita, who was unable to properly perform the task. After several failed attempts at severing Mishima's head, he allowed another "Tatenokai" member, Hiroyasu Koga, to behead Mishima. Morita then knelt and stabbed himself in the abdomen and Koga again performed the "kaishakunin" duty. This coup is called in Japan.