Traditional method of ritual suicide for women Jigai is the female equivalent of seppuku, the ritual stomach-cutting suicide practiced by Japanese men. Although the term literally means “self damage” and in principle can refer to suicide in general, in practice it normally refers to the ritual suicide of women by the cutting of the jugular vein with a tantō (15-30 cm (6-12 inch) knife) or kaiken (15 cm (6 inch) knife). Often, they would be hidden prior within the sash of their kimono