Voluntary death, particularly when caused by oneself, defies easy understanding. The individual´s life carries immense value in the West and therefore a rather negative attitude toward death predominates. The attitudes towards death found in Confucianism, Buddhism and Shintó are substabtually different - the death of an individual is seen as a natural part of human life. The manner or style of leaving the world is, however, very important since it validates the life that preceded the event. This article focuses of the problem of voluntary death in Japan. It analyzes the Japanese expressions that specify various types of self-killing and deals with traditional religious and social factors that influence atttudes to self-sacrifice and suicide.