Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-03-18
DETECTIVE OF. OLD JAPAN.
Folklore Story That Goes Back
Feudal DAYS.

city of the detective story can be
found than that offered by foudal
Japan, which produced the tale OF
the arrest Of the stone god JiZo.
| In this folk story of ancient Yedo
| the hero detective moves with all the
seeming indirection of Lecoq and
Sherlock Holmes his marvels to per-
form. O-oka was he, mayor of Yedo
under the eighth Shotgun and holder
of the high justice and the low over
all the merchants of TOkugawa' S
capital.
This O-oka received a salary of
10000 koku of rice, and Nine. Y.
OZaki, who is the wife of the present
mayor of Toxic Gold Yedo renamed)
and who is the chrCnicler of the craft
of O-oka in the Japan Magazine,
says that the old chap earned his
salary ten times over. Here is the
story:
One day a servant employed by the
proprietor of a big store near Japan
| bridge in Yedo was sent with Il heavy
pack of valuable cotton goods on his
back to a dyer in HOMO district.
When the stores messenger reached
| YokOgawa street he was ready to
seek rest. What more safe invitation
could have offered than the little
| grove of trees set about the stone
statue of the god Jizo, the patron
saint of travellers and defenceless
women and children?
| The somnolent porter awoke from
nap to find that his employers cot
ton had disappeared. In great dis
tress he went to the storekeeper and
confessed that he had slept and that
robber had made off with the goods
during his slumber. The master
would not believe his story, saying
that it would have been impossible
for a robber to make off with SO large
a bundle in broad daylight. Unless
the porter should pay for the lost
goods he would have to go to prison,
said the master. In despair the porter
took counsel of Mayor O-oka.
| You are certainly to blame for
having fallen asleep" reproved the
mayor, but Jizo is equally to blame,
| for he is a god bound to protect every
one who trusts in him and in this in
stance he has betrayed you. Even
| though Jizo is a Buddha l cannot
pardon him for this neglect of duty
will have him arrested and brought
before me for trial"
O-oka gave immediate orders to the
court officers to go and arrest the
Jizo of YokOgawa street and bring
him before the mayors seat for trial.
Three Of the officers departed on their
mission. They first bound the arms
of the stoLe god with coils of rope;
then they rried to lift him from his
firm pedestal into a cart. a great
crowd assembled before the JiZo, at
tracted by the unusual behavior of
the court officers. When they were
told that JiZo had to go before the
mayor for trial the citizens of Yo-
kowaga street and all the neighbor-
hood of HOMO marvelled.
The task of unseating the god was
too much for the three court officers,
and they sought aid of those stand
ing about. They promised that in re-
turn for assistance they would ad
nit all volunteer workers into the
court room to witness the eXtraor
dinary trial. Hundreds were Spurred
by curiosity to lend a hand and when
the stone god went through the
streets strapped to a cart like any
offender the crowd grew. 1t filled
the great hall of justice when Jizo
was lifted in and propped up before
the platform upon which sat the
mayor. O-oka addressed the god in
stern words.
You are a negligent fool, o Jizo."
for all to hear. You are supposed
you and who renders tribute, yet this
trusting porter here made a prayer
to you, then fell asleep at your very
feet and he was robbed while he slept.
You stand accused of being an ac-
complice in this robbery. Have you
anything to say for yourself before
/ pass sentence?"
Mayor O-oka waited for a few
moments as if expecting the stony
lips of Jizo to open in reply, but when
no answer was made by the god he
passed sentence Immediately.
''Since you do not defend yourself
l consider that you are guilty." said
his honor land l shall imprison you"
At this remarkable spectacle of
a mayor passing sentence upon
stone god there was a litter of
laughter. O-oka thundered in voice
of brass:
VINO are all these people standing
about here?" he inquired of his court
officers. Are they accomplices of
JiZo or only plan. thieves? They
think this court is a penny show and
they laugh at the courts orders.
Shut all the gates at once"
The scared attendants haStened to
shut the gates of the court room.
Then Mayo O-oka adjudged every
man in the great crowd in contempt
of court and fined each of them one
tan Ca kimono length) of cotton
cloth. The hundreds thus suddenly
found in contempt were happy that
their punishment had been so light at
least, and under bonds they hurried
to their homes to bring back the
cloth fine. Before the day was done
700 pieces of cotton cloth had been
presented before the mayors court,
the name OF each culprit being set
down upon the one tan of cotton cloth
which he presented.
Before he would allow the 700 to
go, however, O-oka retired with the
porter who had been robbed to an
inner chamber and he asked the por-
ter to look over the 700 pieces of
cotton cloth and see if he could
identify any of them as having been
once in the pack he had carried.
Since every manufacturer of cotton
cloth in Yedo always marked the
selvage of each strip with little red
trademark stamp the porter searched
the edges of the many strips of cloth
for a stamp similar to that borne on
the cloth of which he had been rob-
bed. He found that two of the pieces
of cloth brought to pay the mayors
fine bore the stamp of his plundercd
pack. Instantly Mayor O-Oka gave
orders for the arrest of the two men
who had brought this cloth; they
confessed to the robbery and all of
the cloth they had taken from the
sleeping porter's pack was restored
to him.
All the other pieces of cloth taken
in toll by the mayor were restored to
their owners and all but two guilty
members of the crowd which had at
tended the trial Of JiZO We're released.
Then JiZo. the stone god. was put on
a cart. wreathed with the evergreen
pine and bamboo. symbols of long
life and prosperity, and he was
carried back to his pedestal in YokU-
gawa street at the head of a trium-
phal procession. JiZO had vindicated
himself. and Mayo O-Oka. the wise.
sat even more firmly i'm his seat of