having been very proud of their appearance, with hair kept very neat, and always wearing two swords, with hakama and haori. It is probable that their official income was augmented by substantial gifts from daimyō, in return for looking after their retainers when they got drunk and disorderly.
(18) Yoriki (left) and dōshin with a female prisoner, weeping at her misfortune.
Still lower-grade samurai, known as dōshin, “companions,” worked under the yoriki, and each magistrate had 120 of them (18). They too tended to be a closely-knit hereditary group. Their income was 30 bales of rice, and they too received gifts from the daimyō, very often a haori with his crest on it, so that, since a dōshin might get them from several daimyō, he had to be careful to put on the right one when making a call at the residence of one of his benefactors. Two points should be noted about these gifts: firstly, gifts of clothing have been customary for at least 1,000 years in Japan, and until well into the present century it was still normal to give such a present to one’s maid at the New Year; secondly, while the giving of such gifts might well be counted as bribery in modern times, traditional Japan was a world in which the superior and the official expected to receive them as a right, and although the receipt of a gift involved some obligation, this could immediately be forgotten in the course of official duty.
The dōshin maintained an individual style of dress, for although they were classed as samurai, they wore only one sword, and no hakama, and did not don the more formal dress even on ceremonial occasions, thus distinguishing themselves from the normal run of samurai. The dōshin formed the lowest rank of peace officer, and it was they that patrolled the streets of Edo, carrying as their symbol of office the jitte, the steel wand with a hook (19), the purpose of which was to catch the blade of the sword or knife of an attacker. The dōshin did not seek to conceal his identity, but rather resembled a uniformed officer on the beat. Edo was divided into four patrols, which meant a good deal of ground to cover. He took with him two or three assistants and called at the various watch-points that were sited in the subdivisions, manned by a representative of the local residents’ association. Should there be any investigation to be made, he would send in his assistants with local men to make an arrest, not actually participating himself unless absolutely necessary. The assistants of the dōshin were townsfolk employed by him, and they too carried the jitte as their symbol of authority; however, to a large extent, they were the eyes and ears of the police, as they also acted as informers.
In a society like that of traditional Japan, where the principle of the inequality of human beings was accepted, every effort was made to preserve the life and safety of those of superior rank. The operation of the police force was along these lines, and most of the physical effort was put out by the assistants to the dōshin, and it would take a very serious incident to bring in the yoriki. There was a certain amount of specialized equipment available to the dōshin and his men for use in catching a suspect. Against the sword attack there was either the jitte, or a weighted steel chain (19) that wrapped itself round the blade. Four ladders on their sides could be used to box in a criminal, and long staves furnished with spikes and barbs could be used to inflict minor injury and wear him out, while keeping him too far away to use a sword. The first principle was that a suspect must be taken alive, and at the earliest possible moment he was secured with ropes; the tying up of prisoners was brought to a fine art of speed and security. If ever it was deemed necessary to call out the yoriki, he would go to the scene on horseback, with chain body amour beneath his kimono, and protection for hands and arms, and on his head a flat lacquered or iron-plated helmet: he would direct operations from a safe distance, and only ride in and use his lance to incapacitate the criminal if all else failed.
(19) Jitte: various types of jitte, chains, and handcuffs.
Once the arrest had been made, the prisoner was taken off to the office of the magistrate on duty. The Edo jail was in Denmacho, and dangerous criminals would be lodged there immediately, with a warrant from the magistrate, while less dangerous ones could be detained at the magistrate’s office. With the prisoner in detention, the next stage in the process of administering justice was to persuade him to confess to his crime, for this was a prerequisite of punishment, especially when this involved execution. Basically, this was probably founded on principles of justice, to avoid punishing the innocent; confession is still, of course, preferred by the courts of many countries. (The Anglo-Saxon concept that a case should be decided on the evidence, and that a man can be expected to lie to conceal his guilt, is by no means universal.) However, the necessity for a confession implies the necessity for persuasion, if the prisoner is unwilling to confess of his own free will. Flogging, pressing with stones and water torture were among the methods available, and were no doubt put to use, just as in England it was possible to press to death prisoners who refused to plead guilty or not guilty and who therefore could not be tried. In Japan, however, the power of authority was such that few guilty men would have persisted in any denials. When the confession came, the prisoner was taken before the magistrate, and there on shirasu, the “white sand” (20), an area before the office where the prisoners and witnesses knelt before the magistrate and gave their evidence, they heard his judgment. The “white sand” was symbolical of the truth of what was said there, and behind the name shirasu there lies, perhaps, the verb of the same pronunciation meaning “inform.”
The most serious punishment was the death penalty, which might take several forms, and might also be followed by exposure of the corpse, as an added shame. Crimes for which death was the punishment included murder, robbery, and some kinds of adultery, while burning alive was the fate of anyone convicted of arson, a much-feared crime in Japan. As an alternative to death at the executioner’s hand, a samurai was sometimes allowed to commit suicide (seppuku), by which act he preserved his honor: what in fact usually happened was that immediately the knife was plunged into the left side of the abdomen, and the cut made towards the center, the head was struck off by a blow from a friend’s sword, thus cutting short the death-agony. The punishment next in severity was banishment of various degrees, from exile on some distant island down to banishment beyond ten ri (25 miles) from Edo, banishment from Edo, or just exclusion from the culprit’s home district. Lighter punishments varied according to class. There were periods of house arrest and other restrictions on liberty. Women were sometimes punished by having their hair shaved off. Imprisonment was not a punishment; prisons existed only as places for detention while a decision was taken about guilt and sentence. Treatment in them was harsh, although a magistrate, Ooka, who served from 1717 to 1736, and who is still remembered for his legendary ability in solving difficult cases, is credited with having brought in humanitarian reforms, especially in relation to the interrogation of prisoners. Even in prison, samurai were lodged separately according to whether they were superior or inferior in rank, and apart from commoners, while women were also kept in separate areas. Yet another testimony to the power of authority in Japan is that if a serious fire broke out near the jail, the prisoners were released on parole, although with the prospect of very heavy penalties if they failed to return at the specified time.
(20) Shirasu: two prisoners, elaborately roped up, appear before the magistrate. Humanity allows them rough mats to kneel on.
The magistrate did not deal only with criminal offences, but also had to settle disputes between individuals. It is interesting to note that the method of dealing with these involved a “cooling-off ” period, such as might be used today. On the first application to the office, the complainant would have his statement recorded, but would be sent away for a few days. If he
