dying to one's hand was seen as more honorable than dying to the enemy in ancient japan, by choosing to end their life they maintained their dignity and demonstrated that they had the ultimate power over their destiny, even in defeat.
The japanese were not that adaptable, they were rather inflexible with their strategies. while they had awesome and effective strategies, once they got countered they would take a while to adapt. The koreans once countered the japanese menace.. by building ships with roofs (the japanese relied on archers). The japanese started to become incredibly adaptable during the meiji restoration
