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 for his contention, in , that Hirohito should have abdicated and taken responsibility for the loss of life in the war. On November 25, 1970, Mishima and four members of the Tatenokai, under pretext, visited the commandant of the Ichigaya Camp, the Tokyo headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Inside, they barricaded the office and tied the commandant to his chair. With a prepared manifesto and a banner listing their demands, Mishima stepped onto the balcony to address the soldiers gathered below. His speech was intended to inspire a coup d'état to restore the power of