The name of Maresuke Nogi (1849-1912) reverberated through the world twice: when he subdued the Russian fortress at Port Arthur (Luxu) during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) and when he disemboweled himself to follow Emperor Meiji in death -- to commit junshi -- during the imperial funeral procession in September 1912.
The English writer H. G. Wells (1866-1946), for example, most likely changed his view of "the yellow race" because of Nogi's demeanor as reported in the Western press during the war. He defined "the samurai" as "the voluntary nobility" and soon argued that the samurai would be "the ideal citizen of the Socialist State."
The American poet Harriet Monroe (1860-1936), upon learning about Nogi's seppuku, was moved to write an ode to the general. It began, "Old soldier of the fighting clan," and went on to describe him as using "the same battle sword" with which he had struck down "the White Tsar" to disembowel himself, "That not alone your heaven-descended lord / Should meanly wander in the spirit land."