Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1876-07-07
A Japanese Execution.

A letter from Yokohama, May %, to
the San Francisco Altd says: " A man
was executed the other day at Tobe. If
ever a man deserved to have his head
chopped off, this villain did He had, by
some means or other, acquired the knOwl-
edge that boy of thirteen, the servant of
japanese merchant, was going to a ma
tive bank to change $4,000 worth of ma
tive paper money into gold. The ghOul
decoyed the boy into his house and took
him into an inner room, under the pre-
tense of giving him some refreshment,
! and when he got him inside deliberately
strangled him. He then took possession
of the money, and, packing the boys dead
body up in Il rice basket, was in the act of
sending it away by coolies, to be deposited
in the shop of an acquaintance, when he
was arrested. Fortunately for justice, the
murder and subsequent proceedings had
occupied some time, and the boys mas
ter, alarmed at his protracted absence, and
fearing that the youth had skedaddled
with the money, gave information to the
police, who, by lucky chance, for once,
promptly discovered an atrociOus crime.
The money was discovered in the house
of the murderer and identified, leaving no
doubt of the guilt of the man; who, fur
ther, with the stOicism of his race, when
he found himself detected, and with
view to escape torture, knowing, besides,
that his death was certain, made a full
confession. AS / said before, he was
marched out to Tobe the other morning,
and met the reward of his crime. Japan
ese executions have been so often de-
scribed that / will not enter into the
minute details of this one, further than to
say that il was conducted in the old style,
but with the decorum which has been
brought about by civilization. Kneeling
blindfolded on small mat, the murderer
breathed "A short prayer; his bright blue
ktm0JlO was thrown back from his neck I;
the blade of the bright, two-handed
sword of the bare-armed eXecutiOner
flashed through the sunlit air of the spring
morning, and bleeding, hideous head
rolled over and over on the sand of the
execution ground. 1t was quickly picked
up, the bandage was taken off the eyes,
two or three wooden ladlefuls of water
were dashed on the bleeding neck, and
the ghastly trophy was held up, and eX-
hibited To the attendants. On the morn
ing of the execution considerable crowds
turned out in the neighborhood of the
quarter in which the murderer had lived,
a rumor having been spread, probably by
command of the authorities, with view
to keep the populace from crowding to
the place of execution and the road there
to, that the prisoner would be led through
the streets of the district in which the
crime was committed Hence, the crowd,
always eager TO see any sight, but partic-
ularly one of 'Old Japan, thronged the
streets of the district, expecting every in
stant the arrival of the malefactor mount
ed on some wretched horse, his face
turned toward the animals tail, for hours
after the man had been smuggled TO the
execution ground and his bloody lips had
given their last earthly kiss TO the sodden
soil of the earth he came from and was
going to. Human nature is the same In
Japan as elsewhere, and displays the same
love of sights of horror and blOodshed. :"