The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-03-11

1lis, ~ 5|I6su 6ffs1kerbor
By hat extxeme dignity ard p9nctil
iousness which are the distipctiv
marks CHE pEoeeedings of JIhnes
tgentlemen ofrank aud It's importau
to note this fact because il carrie
with il the conviction that the jea
maa was indeed the ofAHef who be-
committed the crime, and no substI
tutc. While profoundly impressed b
/ the terrible scene, it, Was. impossibl
i at the same time notto b aid Wit
admiration of the firm and mani,
bearing of the sufferer, and Of tn
nerve with which the kaiskaks per
formed his last duty to his mastel
Nothing could more strongly show
the force of education. The samarai
or gentleman of the military class
learns to look upon the Hara-Ksri q
ceremony i'm which some day he ma!
be called upon to play part g prin
cipal or second. In old-fashioned
! families, which hold to the tradition
| Of ancient cflivaIry, the child Is in
structed i'm the right and familiarizet
with the idea rs an hecorsble expia
I ton Of crime or blotting-cut- Of dis
grace. If the hour comes he is pre-
pared for it, and bravely faces an or
deal which early training has robbed
\ of half its horros.s In what Other
country in the world does man learn
that the last tribute of affection which
he may have to pay to his best friend
may be to act as his executioner?
Since wrote the above, we have
heard that, before his entry into the
fatalhall, Taxi Zcnzaburo called round
him all those of his own clan who
were present, many of whom had car
ried out his order to IRE, and address
ing them in a short speech, acknowl-
edged the Nervousness Of his crime
and the justice of his sentence, and
warned them solemnly to avoid any
repetition of attacks upon foreigners.
They were also addressed by the. Of
ficers of the Mikado, who urged them
to bear no ill-wili against us on ac-
count of the fate Of their fel.ow-clans-
man. They declared that they enter
tanned no such feeling.
The opinion has been expressed that
it would have been polite for the for
eign Representatives at the last mo-
ment TO have interceded for the life
of Taxi Zenzaburo. The question is
believed to have been debated among
the representative themselves. Ny
own belief is that mercy, although it
might have produced the desired eff.
feet among the more civilized clans,
would have been mistaken for weak-
ness and fear by those wilder people
who have not yet a personal knowl-
edge Of foreigners. The offence an
attack upon the flags and subjects of
all the Treaty Powers, which lack of
skill, not of will, alone prevented
from ending in an universal massacre
E-was the gravest that has been COM
Fmitted upon foreigners since their res
idencc in Japan. Death was undoubt.
eddy deserved, snd the form chosen
was in Japanese eyes mereiful and
yet judicial. The crime might have
involved q war and cost hundreds of
lives I; it was wiped out by one death.
1 believe that in the interest Of Japan
as we'll as in our own, the course pur-
sued was wise, and it was very salts
factory to me TO find that one of the
ablest japanese ministers, Goto Sho-
jiro, with whom had q discussion
upon the subject was quite of my
opinion.
The ceremonies observed at the
Hara- Kiri appear to vary slightly in
detail in different parts OF Japan; but
the following memorandum upon the
subject of the rite, as it Is practiced at
Yeddo, clearly establishes its judicial
character. translated it from q pa
per drawn up for me by q Japanese
who vas able to speak Of what he had
seen himself. Three different Cere-
monies are described
LIST. Ceremonies observed at the
Hara-K of a HatansotO (petty no.
BILE fthe Tycoon's court in prison.
This is conducted with great secrecy.
Six mats are spread in q large court
yard of the prison an onsetsake (of-
ficer whose duties appearto consist in
the surveillance Of other oficers), as
sisted by.two other Ometsukes Of the
second and third class, acts as Eesshi
or sheriff, aud sits in front of the mats.
The condemned man, attired in his
dress of eeremony, and wearing his
wings of hempen cloth, sits in the CEN
tire of the mats. At each Of the four
corners of the mats sits a prison Off
cial. Two officers of the Governor of
the city act as kuishdku (executioners
or seconds1 and take their place, one
on the right hand, and the other on
the left hand of the condemned.
The kaishakW ON the left side, an
nouncing his name and surname, says,
bowling, /" 1 have the honor to act as
kdiMtoku to you; have you any last
wishes to confide to me 2" The con-
demned man thanks him and accepts
the offer or not, as the case may be.
He then bows to the sheriff, and a
wooden dirk nine and half inches
long is placed before him at distance
of three feet, wrapped in paper and
lying OH a stahd such as is used for
offerings i'm temples. As he reached
forward to take the wooden sword
and stretches out his neck, the kaisha-
ku on his left-hand side draws his
sword and strikes of his head. The
kaishaku on the right-hand side take
up the head and show it to the sheriff.
The body is given to the relations of
the deceased for burial. His proper
~ is confiscated.
2. The ceremonies observed at the
Hara-Kiri of 'daimO's' retainer.
When the retainer of daimio is con-
demned to perform the Hara-Kir
four mats are placed in the yard ofthe
yashkiki or palace. The condemned
man, dressed in his robes of ceremo-
ny, and wearing his wings of hempen
cloth, sits i'm the centre. An officer
acts as sheriff, with sub-sheriff under
him. Two officers, who act % kali
shaku, are on the right and left of the
condemned man; four officers are
placed at the corners of the mats. The
kaishaku, as in the former case, offers
to execute the last wishes Of the con-
demned. A dirk nine and half in
ches long is placed before him OH a
stand. In this case the dirk is real
dirk, which the man takes aud stabs
himself with on the left side, below
the naval drawing it across to the
right side. At this moment, when he
leans forward in pain, the kaishaku
on the left-hand side cuts off his head.
The kaishaku on the right-hand side
takes up the head, and shows 1t TO the
sheriff. The body is given to the rela-