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Ah yes... after living in Japan for 2 years, I've heard of this event: 47 ronin assaulted a castle and killed the dignitary therein to avenge the death of their own daimyo (lord). In feudal Japan, all samurai were expected to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) when their daimyo died (naturally or otherwise). The fact that these 47 men acted briefly as ronin before performing their sacred duty is what made the story famous, although the version I was taught ended with the 47 ronin killing themselves without help immidiately after killing the dignitary.
Also, samurai and ronin alike usually used their katana to kill themselves. Since the blade was too long to be held by the handle, they wrapped a cloth around the blade several times. Honored samurai were assisted by another, who would chop their head off after the disembowelment, while ronin were usually left to bleed to death (which didn't take long anyway), due to their shame.
Sorry to ramble like this, but I love Japanese culture! One thing, though, how can both men cut the other's head off at the same time? Wouldn't they block each other's sword halfway through?
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