, 1870-03-16

= critic went ,1way thoroughly m5stltisd, espe,
=. ally az Tom Hill, for whose acquaintance wi
a carly EogIieh literature he had great respat
- confirmed tha ener d8tIon With
+ EARLY purl7 Pooh, pooh! 10 DO sure
! Is early pull; I've got it 80 N two Of my D
u copiea.'" :. - u: =.
1, -
u HARA.KIRI" :: ::
q A Japanese Ceremonlal Execution
: | Description By AN Eyewitness.
II "Hsra kirL'+-or ." "hs1i-ksri," as 1t Is 60
: orally but improperly called In this count
= --hae &se1dom been more wildly deecr b!
than ID the following letter; originally write
IT, 1f E,e passh o aasS,ss 81 and 1esdt
j country. So far but very little is sctuat]
known Of this remarkable ceremony outsd
Of Japsnt foreigners neyer on sny preyior
, occasion having been permitted 10 witness th
according TO the orders Of the 1fiksdo. too
place ut 1880 P. m, in tie temple Of Ssigt
kiyi, where the troops from Ssteum4 had the
, headqusrters while stationed in the vicfnit
,, | OF Hiogo. Each OF the foEeign legations ha
depntsd ono ef theis members e si.nesa II
I'VE we're conducted to tho temple Of off
GERS in the service Of the Princes Of 6atsnm
and koshlu. On oar way thither, VIC foun
/ CQuE4V6lAp4S CQlH1uVAUN LII ku6 9k2t0l5t uUl
Hithstanding the fact that the ceremony Ito
) aa such hxri-kiH is considered in Japan VII
to take p1nce in private, and as quietly lul
aec1etly as possible. A ls1gs crowd bsd gAth
cred before the entrance to. the temple, AMI
the-fore yard Of this offered = very, piesu.
eaque scene, bling filled witt Japanese sol
diers, who stood warming thernssives rounl
huge dres. that threw flickaring and raddish
| glare over the heavy roofs and curved pro
jecsing eaves Of the various buildings that
composed'th tomple. Upon our arrival hare
TO wefo Immediately shown into room, next
TO which was another room for the acconam7-
dation of several Japanese OF high rank; who
were also 10 be witnesses at the ceremony.
After having waited here for . consider able
time, that Seemed to Cs doubly long on ac-
count of the perfect and uninterrupted still
! ness that reigned throughout the temp1o, the
: Governor Of Hlogo arrived to take down onr
Eanes and inform US that. seven "Ennshi,
or Sbe1ine, would be present IS represeuta-
tires Of tile Japanese Government. He him
self. together with another gentleman, would
represent the nIikaao during the proceedings,
and two Captains Of 6stsuma's and two others
/ Of kushiu'g infantry would represent these
Princes : a representative Of the clan Of B:zsn,
Of which the dulprt was 3 prominent mam-
beF, made up tho number Of ssven. thus cor
responding With the number Of the foreigners
that were to hs present This having been
arranged, tho Governor asked us If We desired
] to put any questions to the prisoner; but
none Of us had anything to aak Of him.
=, Again We had to wait along time, and wese
then politely requested 10 accompany the
Japanese Witnesses into the " Hondo,' as the
:, large ball in the centre ct the temple is
called, II which tho ceronony vhs to take
| place. It was. truly imposing scene that
mat ua here. We found ourselves In > very
1aIge hall, the high ceiling Of which rested
upon number OF dark wu0den pillrs la7ge
| gilt lannpa md lanterns OF g1otes1ue for1ns
we're suspended from the ceiling, internin8led
with which Were the curious, and fantastic
ornaments that form peculiar feature OF the:
temples Of. BuddhA; the whole fooswzs COW
cred With fine white Japanese mats, snd di-
1eesly N front Of the altar wa platfo1n,
only three or four inchss high, and covered
with carpet made Of felt Of = daIt crimson
color. Tali wa1 eandles were plsced round
the Walls at certain dlstAncea from esch Other.
and Threw oyef tho whole sceua vague and
mysterious light just EEMoisnt to :an4bls
those Present to obsetve everything thet took:
place. In the background wafs the long dark
pasaagea loading to othar parts Of the temple,
seven JlpaueEe quietly occupied the plAce5
destiaed for them on the left aide Of the
plttiorru, while We foreigners were seAtsd op-
posite, Oh the right aide, No one'else was
After delay Of aorne minutes passed amid
profound silence, Taxi Zenzaburo ense1ed,
dressed in the CURB worn on festive occasions
and adorned With thoee curious wing shaped
ornaments that are worn by tue 1Japauese
only at very great or holy eeremonies.. He
Ngorons build, With 4 noble countenance, and
vas achompanied by the Kkistnku" " and
three oaiee1s, c1.d in their q Ziubaori," or
EalA uniforms, almost covered with gold en-
b1oidesies. Ka,shalu means e1ecutiouer;
hut this term in Jspsn implies something very
different from here, for there it always beats
reference to i gentleman OF high standing;
very frequently, indeed, ono OF the most inti- !
mate friends or nearest relatives Of the con-
demned and to act - e1ecutioner to afriend
is conaldereda 4 very high honor and at the same |
time: a deed Of love and friendahip, WHICH !
only one OF the nearest and desress friends Is |
aHked, by tho condemned himself, to perform |
npon hiro, rs last mark Of 1--we and esteem.
Second, therefore, might perhaps be better
TRANSLATION, and COMO nea1eY the real meaning |
81 the word choeen. In this instance the |
81 halahAku" was one of the pgpt1a OF Taxi
ZenZabuIo, selected by hlm on account Of the
love he bore towad him. and his great skill
In the use Of the sword.
side, Taxi Zenzaburo slowly approached the
Japanese officers, before which both lie and
the e1ecutloner halted and made deep |
obeisance, after which they turned around and
salnted US u similar manner, probably even
with > politsness yet more marked ard dis
tinguished. These compliments being re
turned with an etiquette and decision equal to
the accasfon.
Taxi ssconded the low platform with allow
step and determined nien. Hera he pros-
fcre the altar, his face e.ch ttmo touching the
ground, and subsequently, eat down upon the
carpet with his back turned toward the altar,
and With hid friend, the KaistAku, seated on
bis right eldc., One OF the three Jspauese off,
Email table or dumb waiter, similar to those
1sed In the temples upon. tho occasion Of ssc-
ifces, upon which lay, carefully wrapped up
a paper, a Japanese dagger, about nine and
aah inches in length, with q point fine as q
needle and an edge IS keen ss razor l..
hneeling down before the platform, he /
1anded the. dagger to the condemned, who
:eTBtantly took It, and after having lifted It T.
nth both hands above his head, placsd it On
he CRIMSON carpet ii front Of him. Then,
TAX tnads daep obeisancs, and in q voice
ltterarea to tho following words In n-Jsn-Eass.:i
It wEs ], and alone, that O. - the order to l
Ire upon the foreigceSfxa At Robe, without hay Il
ng received ON any one the authority to do
o. afso fred upon them Afterwards, whsn I
hey tried to escApe- Acknowledging my great
in and misconduct, Ishall nov proesed to cut
pen my bowels and beg the gentleman
,resent to do mo the honor tobaAr Witness to
he execution of the deed:
HAElDg said thie, he stopped down, and
oosening his clothing, let it fall dowu SO that
exposed his body down to theloins- Hs took
are to tie the sleeves Of bis tunic together be-
ow and behind the knees, to prevent his fall
ng backwards, as Japanese nob1eraAn must
lTays fall upon his face, according to the
reed Of the nobility. Then taking up the
ngger and removing the paper covering. he
lanced for a moment upon the glitte1ing
llde with an expression in hiB face aa II he
,ere for the lsat time on earth collecting his
houghts and bidding, in hia mind, 4lI that he
,ved, farewell Then gianciug up again and
,olinE proudly round upon the spectasors,
a firmly rrAaped the hi1t. Rud. burvinH the
tee1 in the pit or the stomsch, ne1r the left
de, drew it across the stomach towards the
ghf, making fearful cash.. But not c1ntent
erewi1h, he turned the. knife in the wound
nd made an incision upwards about two inches
! length.
louth was firmly set and not sound .waa
GARD, while his eyes seemed to stare at the
siling. For moment, but moment only,
4 expression Of unutternble pain and agony
sue over his face, and, shutting his eyes, be
.aHgered and tumbled forwards. At the
anne moment tho Eaiahaku," !" Who had been !.
stching, for this opportunity; sprung. TO his
uttipg sound came through the sir, than IN
glT dali blow and a heavy fall and the head
1AA 1snza6uro YES severed from its md
[Ihe deep and profound stiffness of desth
1sued, Interrupted only By, tie sound Of The I.
pom the ground below. Every f&ce Was pals l..
It'll fear md horror; 1t waa moment never
} be forgotten, and which I may ueYes hsYe
ceaeion again to geo repeated. =. I
The Kashaku, after making e deep
beIsancs, wiped of his sword and descended T.
oEered with blood and gore, was lifted from f..
be floor where 1t had fallen, and carried away l.
ith great deal Of ceremony, to be present.
d as bloody witness Of tho Just and faithful