The National tribune., 1888-11-08
JAPANESE PRISONS.
The Penitentiary at Toxic, and Its
Curious Sights.

Inc Press censorship and How Editors AVOID It's
Penalty-PrOstitutiOn In Japan, and Look at
ShinigaWa-llOw Japan Deals with Contract Pris-
Labor, and How Trades Unions Regulate the
Prices-The Magic " lie :! and How 1909 Men
Got Down on All-fours TO Your Correspondent
The Daily Life of a Japanese Prisoner, and a
Talk with Leading Official ON Prison Man
agement.
IooPYEIGHTED BY FRANK C. CARPENTER.I
Special Correspondence NATIONAL TRIBUNE.
TOXIC, October %, 1888.-Through the per-
mission of the japanese Government / have
had good chance to look into the prison
management of the Empire. / have gone
through the largest of the State prisons of the
Capital, and have seen jails and penitentiaries
of every kind. | am able through personal
observation to correct many false ideas which
have been lately current in the United States
as to the horrors of Japan in this regard,
and to assure your readers that boiled oil
is no longer poured into the ears of crimi-
mails here, nor are witnesses whipped until the
blood runs to make them testify These tor
lures are of the past, but to understand how
great the change is it is necessary to recall them.
Twenty years ago crucihxion was used in Ja-
pan, and under the Shoguns the most barbarous
crueties were praCticed. Within not many
years decapitatiOn was common, and | have
bought photographs here of the execution
grounds showing the heads put up on poles as
a warming to other offenders, and photographs
are sold of a crucfxion which took place here
within the memory of some Americans. Hari
kari was then common as a means of polite
taking off, and Swiss diplomat who was in
Japan in 1864 describes the method of punish
ing incendaries as being death by burning.
Parricdes were then crucifed, and hogging
aud branding were common.
There is at present in the United States
Japanese who has given a number of inter
views describing the japanese prisons. His
name is Baba and he was imprisoned here for
having been suspected of being engaged in
dynamite plot. His story is true in part, and
in part it is much different from the state of
the prisons as / found them. They are, in
short, far behind our American prisons as to
comfort but the japanese can live well under
conditions in which an American would die,
aud the prisoners l saw were healthy and
happy.
But let me give you some of the curious feat
ures of my visit. called at the great Police
Department of the Japanese Capital, and was
there given bright interpreter. We first Wis
tied the iails. Arranged in the form of n cross
with a circle at the center, the buildings were
low, two story affairs of Japanese architecture.
In the little circle guard always stood, aud
thus could command the four aisles of cells
which ran out from it to the four points Of the
Nbul pass IllG CJliS were Dare Sl udIG IbDEuS. 0I
rather cages with bars of wood running up and
down the front and back. These bars were
each about four inches square, aud they were
so close together that the hand could not be
thrust through them. The doors into the cells
were notoyer three feet high. They were of a
wooden framework and were held together by
immense japanese locks, each of which weighed
about 10 pounds. There was not the iron and
stone Of the American prisons, and the crimi-
f~iq haI Dt
on the garb of the penitentiary. | was shown
at the back the places where the lawyers were
allowed 20 consult with the prisoners They
are not brought into the cells, but must hold
their conversations through the bars with a
guard looking on, and when the prisoner is
taken to court he is both handcuffed and tied
up with ropes Near these prisons or jails was
a little building of stucco and stone which
looked for all the world like bank vault
moved into the open air and rooted with a
heavy roof. Its door was about three feet
square, and it was reached by four stone steps
Its lock would have filled half-peck measure
aud | asked what it was. at is the dark
CELL" was the reply, and it is used only in
extreme cases, and with refractory prisoners.
After being in it a short time they are willing
to do what is required of them." | entered,
and l did not wonder at this statement. The
cell was blacker than Egyptian darkness. 1t
was close and hot, and the prisoner within it
must suffer terribly if left there long time
was next taken to see number of political
prisoners. l found them in their cage-like
cells, and they did not seem uncomfortable.
Most of them had books before them, and I
noted that two or three were studying English
books, lam told that the present Minister from
Japan to America learned English while he
was undergoing a political imprisonment of
five years, and in this time he translated Bent
hams Spirit of the Laws into japanese. Among
these men thus imprisoned were the crowd of
young men who tried to overthrow the Gov
ernment about a year ago. They were hot
healed youth who had imbibed some wild
ideas of political economy and Government.
They collected at Toxic and tried to incite the
people to revolution. The authorities arrest
ed them and sent some home and imprisoned
others. 1t was among these that / saw num-
Der studying English. They sat or lay on the
floor as they studied, and there were neither
chairs nor bedsteads in these prison cells They
had mats, however and these, with a soft
padded quilt aud a lantern, is all that a Japan
ese needs in the way of furniture.
In going through the Police Department
was shown room in which great number of
clerks were sitting at desks with the different
newspapers of Japan before them They look.
cd over each of these carefully and marked
various arJcleS Win reQ or DIue pencils. ms
was the press censorship of the Government,
and its opinions decided whether a newspaper
sbOuld be suspended or an Editor imprisoned
and fined for the matter Unpublished. The press
of Japan has to be very careful how it speaks of
Government matters, and thoagh there are
between 60000,000 and $4,000, 900 of copies of
newspapers read in Japan each year, the differ
ent issues have each to pass this examination
The result is that the Editors Of Japan never
attach their own names to their editorial
pages They have prison Editors, whom they
hire to serve out their sentences, if they should
be subject TO arrest for their opinions, and the
names of these men appear as the Editors Of
the papers. They are supposed, though every
one knows differently, to write all that goes
into the paper and to be responsible for it.
They receive from $40 to $50 a month and
their pay goes on while they are in prison.
Another part of this Police Department was
devoted to the licensing of girls for prostitu-
ton. / saw a room full of young girls, each
attended by man or woman, who were here
for this purpose If they made the satisfac.
tory representations they were given licenses
to live in this way for three years, and | was
told that the licenses could be renewed at the
end of that time for three years longer. Many
of the girls gave reason for entering upon
this life that they did SO to support their aged
fathers and mothers, and some were accom-
panied by their parents Prostitution is one of
the great evils of japan, aud each large city
has its quarter devoted entirely to this
T4y~ -Frff = 10 ln - n.