Shame and Disgrace

A samurai who is shamed by dishonorable actions or loss of face will be expected, at the very least, to offer deep and sincere apologies for such actions. Typically, if the disgrace was fairly modest, the samurai will be punished in an non-permanent way - assignment to less prestigious duties, for example, or expulsion from the castle, court, or city where he misbehaved. Although such punishments are not lethal, they nevertheless represent a deep and profound shame for the samurai involved, who may well spend the rest of his life trying to redeem himself for his failure.

More extreme failures, such as a violent outburst, an attack or serious insult against someone of higher station, or a breach of duty or loyalty, are punished much more severely. A samurai who commits such acts is quite likely to be ordered to commit seppuku (if he does not offer seppuku himself out of shame). On other occasions, such disgraced samurai may be expelled from family and clan, and thus made ronin. A samurai may also forsake his fealty and become ronin by his own choice rather than face the prospect of punishment or seppuku, particularly if he feels he is not actually guilty.