Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1851-08-16
THE DAILY SPY.
The Institutions of the Japanese.
LCoNCLUDED.1


ment, house-arrest, decaptauon, cruc6xion and
disembowelmg hose condemned to Punishment
are sent either TO desert island to fortress in the
mountains or to the copper-nBes House-aTrest is
visited on high and low, and is alike dshonering-
The doors and windows nailed up with boards
all connection with the street is prohibited, and the
men are forbidden to shave This punishment usu-
ally lasts hundred days. Decapitation is per-
formed with little ceremony. The Princes and other
dlgAltarIes have power 10 punish their servants and
subjects with death, and beheading is frequently
performed IN the interior of the palaces, without &C.
caslonlng particular notice. CrucifXiOn is inflicted
in two ways-either with the head upward or DOWN
ward. Those who suffer in the former way, sit up-
on cross-piece which is fastened upon an upright
post, their feet bound to beam below. After the
criminal has been fastened so that he cannot move
he Is pierced repeatedly with lance having broad,
thin blade. 1t is said that the servants of Justice
are so skilled in their art, that they sometimes trans
Tx the criminals body sixteen times before he ex-
pres. Those who cruclhed with their heads
downward, suffered to die in that position Some
times small gashes made in the top of the head,
In order TO berate the overcharged blood-vessels-
This has the effect of prolonging life and the terri
Bile punishment is sometimes endured ten DAYS be-
fore death relieves the sufferer.
The act of dlsemboweIing is privilege of the
better classes who from their youth are all taught
the rules and regulations under which it must be OBJ
served. On the occasion OF performing the act,
particular garment must be worn, and the mobiles
never neglect taking it with them Mhen they set out
upon journey. When person is condemned to
dlsembowel himself which doej not often hap
pen--his sons and brothers, as well as his father
and unces, all obliged to perform the same op-
GRAFTON on themselves All receive the sentence so
that the act is done by all at the same time. The
condemned person invites bis most intimate friends
and assemblies with them, frequently In the inner
court OF temple, where they carouse and drink
Literally of sake, "a strong liquor prepared from
rice, which Is used in Japan, instead of wine.) The
condemned then pronounces a farewell address,
takes leave of his friends, and after the imperial
command has been read aloud, draws bis sabre,
leans forward and makes straight cut across his
body lavorite servant or one ofhis friends stands
behind him and Immediately strikes his head off,
In this manner, the timid helped out of the
world Those who are boder sometimes cash their
body in the form of cross and end by plungng the
blade into their thfoats.
Voluntarily disenlboweling is not unfrequent No.
bes or warriors make use Of it wheh through their
have reason to anticipate punishment Governors
also perform it, when some misdeed has happened
within their juIisdiction the perletrator Of which
they cannot point out. In all these cases the Japa-
nese prefers voluntary disenbowelng to slight but
dshonorabe punishment, since he thus preserves the
honor OF his family, and secures his son succession
III the office. The same operation Is also performed
in the presence Of person by whom the suicide
has been injured or offended. In Japan an insult
can only be washed out by ones own blood
Although there is no division Of castles in Japan,
as in China and India, the different classes are dis
tinoy separated and it is almost impossible for one
of low rank ever to reach higher except through
the medium of adoption. The highest class is the
nobility, which is again divided into the higher and
lower, the former of whom are allowed to wear
white garments. Next come the warriors, who car
ny sabres in their grdles; and then the PRIESTS who
In rank alone, but not in posltion stand higher than
the former. The intelligent class consists mostly of
civil officers, physicians and other scientific men,
They have the right to sabres and pantal0ons
right also possessed by the lowest of their
wants. To the lower classes belong the merchant,
the mechanic the manufacturer, the farmer, and the
day-laborer. According trade or profession is
held in the public estimation, the persons who
carry it respected despised Thus the artist, and
even tina farmer, though they generally poor,
more respected than the merchant, matter how
great may be his wealth.
The peasants and the lower classes are exposed
to all kinds of oppression, and pass their lives, with
few exceptions in a state of the greatest Misery
Leather dressing and everything connected with it.
is the most desplsed occupation. Those who carry
it on are shut out from respectable society. The
ecutioners always chosen from amongst them,
and they are therefore the most degraded class of
men.