EXECUTIONS AND HARI-KARI.
The return to Yokohama was accomplished without any incident of
consequence. Fred was a little disappointed to think that their lives
had not been in peril. "Just a little danger for the fun of the thing,"
he remarked to Frank; and at one time on the way he was almost inclined
to gloominess when he reflected on the situation. "There hasn't been any
attack upon us," he said to himself, "when there might have been
something of the kind just as well as not. Not that I wanted any real
killing, or anything of the sort, but just a little risk of it to make
things lively. It's really too bad."
He was roused from his revery by the Doctor, who told him they were
approaching the spot where some Englishmen were set upon by a party of
two-sworded Samurai, in the early times of the foreign occupation. The
attack was entirely unprovoked, and quite without warning. One of the
Englishmen was killed and another seriously wounded, while the natives
escaped unharmed. Fred wanted to know the exact character of the
Samurai, and why they were nearly always concerned in the attacks upon
foreigners.
"It is a long story," said Doctor Bronson, "and I am not sure that you
will find it altogether interesting; but it is a part of Japanese
history that you ought to know, especially in view of the fact that the
Samurai exist no longer. With the revolution of 1868 and the consequent
overthrow of the old customs, the Samurai class was extinguished, and
the wearing of two swords is forbidden.
[Illustration: THE FOUR CLASSES OF SOCIETY.]
"The population of Japan was formerly divided into four great classes.
The first was the military and official class, and these are what were
called Samurai; the second was the farmer class that rented the lands
from the government, and engaged in agriculture; the third was the
artisan class, and included all the trades and occupations of an
industrial character; and the fourth was the merchant class, including
all kinds of traders from the wholesale merchant to the petty peddler.
Of course there were subdivisions of these classes, and sometimes
several of them in a single class, but the general outline of the system
is as I have stated it. Below these classes, and outside the ordinary
scale of humanity, were the _Eta_ and _Hinin_ castes, who comprised
beggars, tanners, grave-diggers, and, in fact, all persons who had
anything to do with the handling of a dead body, whether human or of the
lower animals. It was pollution to associate with a person of the Eta
caste, and these people were compelled to dwell in villages by
themselves. As they were not respected by others, they had no great
respect for themselves, and lived in the most filthy condition. They
could not enter a house where other people lived, and were not permitted
to sit, eat, or drink with others, and they could not cook their food at
the same fire.
"This was the way society in Japan was made up till the revolution of
1868, when the whole fabric was swept away, and the principles of our
Declaration of Independence were adopted. The Japanese have virtually
declared that all men were created equal, by putting the classes on the
same level and abolishing the distinctions of caste. The Eta and Hinin
castes were made citizens, the Samurai (or gentry) were deprived of
their hereditary rights, and the feudal princes were compelled to turn
their possessions into the hands of the general government. The change
was very great for all, but for none more so than the Samurai.
"These fellows had been for centuries a class with extraordinary
privileges. Their ideas in regard to work of any kind were like those of
their kindred in Europe and some other parts of the world; it would
degrade them to do anything, and consequently they were generally
addicted to a life of idleness. There were studious and enterprising men
among them, but they were the exceptions rather than the rule. The
ordinary Samurai was, more or less, and usually more, a worthless
fellow, whose sole idea of occupation was to follow the lord of his
province and be present at ceremonials, and, for the rest, to spend his
time in drinking-shops and other improper places, and indulge in
occasional fights with the men of other clans. They were the only
persons allowed to wear two swords; and it was the constant wearing of
these swords, coupled with the drinking of sa-kee, that brought on most
of the difficulties between the natives and the foreigners. A group of
these men would be drinking in a tavern, and, while they were all heated
with the spirits they had swallowed, one of them would propose to kill a
foreigner. They would make a vow to go out and kill the first one they
met, and in this mood they would leave the tavern and walk along the
principal street. They would fall upon the first foreigner they met,
and, as they were three or four to one, and were all well armed, the
foreigner was generally slaughtered. Mr. Heusken, the interpreter of the
American Legation, was thus murdered at Yeddo in 1861, and the German
consul at Hakodadi met his death in the same way. The Samurai were the
class most opposed to the entrance of foreigners into Japan, and, so
long as they were allowed to wear swords and inflame themselves with
sa-kee, the life of a stranger was never safe."
"If they did no work," said Frank, "how did they manage to live?"
[Illustration: TWO-SWORDED NOBLES.]
"They were supported by the government," the Doctor answered, "in
accordance with the ancient custom. Every Samurai received an allowance,
which was paid to him in rice, the staple article of food, and what he
did not eat he could convert into money. His pay was in proportion to
his rank, and the great number of Samurai made their support a heavy
burden upon the laboring class. It is said that nine tenths of the
product of the soil went, in one way and another, for taxes; that is,
for every hundred bushels of rice that a farmer raised, ninety bushels
went to the local and general governments, and only ten bushels remained
to the farmer. It was by being thus saddled on the country that the
Samurai were able to live without work, and, as the right had been
conceded to them for generations, they naturally looked with contempt
upon all kinds of industry. Their dissipated way of living was very
likely to lead them into debt, just as it leads similar men into debt
everywhere else. The merchants and tradesmen of all kinds were their
victims, as the law allowed no redress for the wrongs they committed.
They would sometimes enter a shop, select what goods they wanted, hand
them over to a servant, and then leave without paying. If the merchant
intimated that he would like to be paid for his property, they became
very insolent and threatened to report him to the police as a swindler.
They would enter a tavern or tea-house with a crowd of their followers,
and, after eating and drinking what they wished, walk coolly away. If
the landlord asked for payment, he was not very likely to get it; and if
he repeated the request, he not infrequently had his head slashed off by
the sword of one of the offended gentlemen. The head of a landlord was
not of much consequence; but he was generally quite unwilling to lose
it, as, when once taken off, it was difficult to restore it to its
place.
"If the Samurai had been on the most friendly terms with each other,
they would have rendered Japan too hot for anybody else to live in. But,
fortunately for the rest of the population, there were many feuds among
the different clans, and there was rarely an occasion when one clan was
not in open warfare with some other. In this way they devoted their
energies to cutting each other's throats, to the great delight of the
merchants and tradesmen. Where two clans were in hostility to each
other, and two opposing groups met in the streets, they used to fall to
fighting without ceremony and furnish occupation for the coroner before
the interview was over. They were a terror to all the rest of the
populace; and it is safe to say that there was general rejoicing among
the other classes when the Samurai ceased to exist."
[Illustration: A SAMURAI IN WINTER DRESS.]
Fred asked if the government took away the pensions of these men and
gave them nothing in return.
"Not by any means," the Doctor answered. "The government gave to each
man a money allowance, or gift, to take the place of his pension, and
let him do with it whatever he pleased. Some of them spent it in
dissipation, and found themselves eventually without a penny, and with
no means of obtaining anything. They were then obliged to go to work
like other people, and some of them had a very hard time to exist. I was
told in Yokohama that some of the former Samurai were working as coolies
in various ways, not only in that city, but all through the empire. A
good many of them have found employment among the foreign merchants as
clerks and salesmen, and there are many in government employ in the
offices at Tokio and in other cities. The officers you saw at the
custom-house were probably ex-Samurai, and ten years ago they would have
been wearing two swords apiece. The Japanese book-keeper you saw in the
office of the American merchant on whom we called the day of our arrival
was once a Samurai of high degree. He spent his government allowance in
a short time after receiving it, and was then compelled to find
employment or starve. He tried the starvation system a short time, and
concluded he did not like it. He turned his education to account by
undertaking to keep the Japanese accounts of a foreign merchant, and his
employer is well pleased with him.
"As the Samurai were the military class before the revolution, they
retain the same character, to a large degree, under the present system.
They are the officers of the army and navy, and, to a great extent, they
fill the ranks of the soldiery. Those who accepted the change and
remained loyal to the government have received appointments where there
were vacancies to be filled, and the strength of Japan to-day is largely
in the hands of the old Samurai. But, as might be expected, there was
much discontent at the change, and some of the Samurai went into open
rebellion against the government. This was the cause of the revolt in
1877, and for a time it was so formidable that many people believed it
would succeed. Not a few among the foreigners predicted that the Mikado
would be dethroned, and the power of the Tycoon restored; but the
government triumphed in the end, and those of the leaders of the
insurrection who did not perish in battle were beheaded."
Frank asked how the Japanese performed the ceremony of beheading, and
whether it was very frequent.
"As to that," said Doctor Bronson, "much depends upon what you would
call frequent. In former times a man might lose his head for a very
slight reason, or, perhaps, no reason at all. Crimes that we would
consider of small degree were punished with death, and there was very
little time wasted between the sentence and its execution. As the
Japanese have become more and more familiar with the customs of Western
nations, they have learned that we do not remove the heads of our people
for trifles, and they show their good sense by following our example. Of
late years, executions by decapitation are much less frequent than
formerly, but even now there are more of them than there need be.
"As to the manner of performing it, a few words will describe it. The
ceremonies that precede it are somewhat elaborate, but the affair
itself is performed in the twinkling of an eye, or, rather, in the
twinkling of a sword. It is a single flash, and all is over.
[Illustration: BEHEADING A CRIMINAL.]
"When I was in Japan the first time, I was invited to be present at an
execution, and, as I had a scientific reason for being there, I accepted
the invitation. As a friend and myself approached the prison we met a
large crowd, and were told that the prisoner was being paraded through
the streets, so that the public could see him. There was quite a
procession to escort the poor fellow, and the people seemed to have very
little sympathy for him, as they were doubtless hardened by the
frequency of these occurrences. In front of the procession there were
two men bearing large placards, like banners. One of the placards
announced the name and residence of the victim, and the other the crime
of which he had been convicted, together with his sentence. Close behind
these men was the prisoner, tied to the horse on which he rode, and
guarded by a couple of soldiers. Following him were more soldiers, and
then came a couple of officers, with their attendants; for at that time
every officer had a certain number of retainers, who followed him
everywhere. We joined the party and went to the prison-yard, where we
found the ground ready prepared for the execution. But first, according
to the usual custom, the prisoner was provided with a hearty breakfast;
and it was rather an astonishing circumstance that he ate it with an
excellent appetite, though he complained of one dish as being unhealthy.
In half an hour or so he had finished, and was led to the spot where he
was to lose his head. He was required to kneel behind a small hole that
had been dug to receive his head; a bandage was tied around his eyes,
and as it was fastened he said 'Sayonara' to his friends and everybody
present. When all was ready, the officer in command gave the signal, and
the executioner, with a single blow, severed the head from the body. It
fell into the hole prepared for it, and was immediately picked up and
washed. Then the procession was formed again, and the head was taken to
a mound by the side of the road, where it was placed on a post.
According to law, it was to remain there six days, as a terror to all
who were disposed to do wrong. It was the first Japanese execution I
ever witnessed, and my last."
Frank asked the Doctor if this execution was anything like the
"hari-kari" of which he had read, where a Japanese was said to commit
suicide by cutting open his stomach.
"Not by any means," was the answer; "hari-kari is quite another thing."
"Please tell us how it is performed," said Fred.
"It is not altogether a pleasant subject," remarked the Doctor, with a
slight shudder; "but as we want to learn all we can of the manners and
customs of the people we are among, and as we are now among the
Japanese, I suppose we must give some attention to hari-kari.
"To understand the question thoroughly, it will be necessary to bear in
mind that the Oriental way of thinking is very often the exact reverse
of our way. We have one idea of honor and the Japanese have another; who
is right or who is wrong we will not pretend to say, as each party has
its own particular views and will not readily yield to the other.
Writers on Japan differ considerably in their views of Japanese points
of honor, and there are disagreements on the subject among the Japanese
themselves; therefore I cannot speak with absolute exactness about it.
According to the old code, all persons holding office under the
government were required to kill themselves in the way mentioned
whenever they had committed any crime, though not till they had received
an order to do so from the court. If they disobeyed the order, their
families would be disinherited, and none of their descendants would be
allowed to hold office ever after; consequently a regard for one's
family required a cheerful submission to the custom. There was no
disgrace attached to a death by hari-kari, and in former times its
occurrence was almost an every-day affair. One writer says, 'The sons of
all persons of quality exercise themselves in their youth, for five or
six years, with a view to performing the operation, in case of need,
with gracefulness and dexterity; and they take as much pains to acquire
this accomplishment as youth among us to become elegant dancers or
skilful horsemen; hence the profound contempt of death which they imbibe
in early years.' Curious custom, isn't it, according to our notions?"
Both the boys thought it was, and said they were glad that they were not
born in a country where such ideas of honor prevailed.
The Doctor told them that an old story, which he had no doubt was true,
since it accorded with the Japanese ideas of honor, would be a very good
illustration of the subject. It was concerning two high officers of the
court who met one day on a staircase, and accidentally jostled each
other. One was a very quick-tempered man, and demanded satisfaction; the
other was of a more peaceable disposition, and said the circumstance was
accidental, and could be amply covered by an apology, which he was ready
to make. The other tried to provoke him to a conflict, and when he found
he could not do so he drew his short-sword and slashed himself open
according to the prescribed mode. The other was compelled, as a point of
honor, to follow his example. It often happened that where one man had
offended another the court required that they should both perform
hari-kari, and they always did so without the least hesitation. And when
a man went to another's house, sat down and disembowelled himself, the
owner of the house was obliged by law to do the same thing. There was no
escaping it, and it is but fair to the Japanese to say that they did not
try to escape it.
"If you are deeply interested in the subject of hari-kari," said the
Doctor, "I advise you to read Mitford's book entitled 'Tales of Old
Japan.' Mr. Mitford lived some time in Japan in an official capacity,
and on one occasion he was called upon to be present at the hari-kari of
an officer who had given orders for firing on some foreigners. He gives
an account of this affair, including a list of the ceremonies to be
observed on such an occasion, which he translated from a Japanese work
on the subject. Nothing could be more precise than the regulations, and
some of them are exceedingly curious, particularly the one that requires
the nearest friend of the victim to act as his second. The duty of the
second is to cut off the principal's head at the moment he plunges the
knife into his body. It is a post of honor, and a gentleman who should
refuse thus to act for his friend would be considered no friend at all.
Again I say it is a curious custom all through.
"The term hari-kari means 'happy despatch,' and for the Japanese it was
a happy form of going out of the world. It is still in use, the custom
as well as the expression, but not so much so as formerly. The Japanese
ideas of honor have not changed, but they have found that some of their
ways of illustrating them are not in accordance with the customs of
Europe. There are cases of hari-kari now and then at the present time,
but they are very private, and generally the result of the sentence of a
court. At the termination of the rebellion of 1877, several of the
officers concerned in it committed hari-kari voluntarily just before the
surrender, and others in consequence of their capture and sentence.
[Illustration: JAPANESE COURT IN THE OLD STYLE.]
"In the administration of justice," Doctor Bronson continued, "Japan has
made great progress in the past few years. Formerly nearly all trials
were conducted with torture, and sometimes the witnesses were tortured
as well as the accused. The instruments in use were the refinement of
cruelty: heavy weights were piled on the body of a prisoner; he was
placed in a caldron of water, and a fire was lighted beneath which
slowly brought the water to the boiling-point; he was cut with knives in
a variety of ways that indicated great ingenuity on the part of the
torturers; in fact, he was put to a great deal of pain such as we know
nothing about. Under the old system the only persons at a trial were the
prisoner, the torturer, the secretary, and the judge; at present the
trials are generally open, and the accused has the benefit of counsel to
defend him, as in our own courts. Torture has been formally abolished,
though it is asserted that it is sometimes employed in cases of treason
or other high crimes. Law-schools have been established, reform codes of
law have been made, and certainly there is a manifest disposition on the
part of the government to give the best system of justice to the people
that can be found. Japan is endeavoring to take a place among the
nations of the world, and show that she is no longer a barbarian land.
The United States have been the foremost to acknowledge her right to
such a place, but their action has not been seconded by England and
other European countries. It will doubtless come in time, and every year
sees some additional step gained in the proper direction.
[Illustration: JAPANESE NAVAL OFFICER.]
"As I have before stated," the Doctor continued, "the Japanese have made
great progress in military and naval matters. They have ship-yards at
several places, and have built ships of their own after the European
models; in addition to these, they have ships that they bought from
foreigners, but they are entirely commanded and managed by their own
officers, and equipped with crews entirely Japanese. The old war-junks
of the country have been discarded for the modern ships, and the young
Japanese are trained in the Western mode of warfare; their schools for
naval instruction have made remarkable advancement, and the teachers who
were brought from other countries repeatedly declared that they never
had seen anywhere a more intelligent assemblage of pupils than they
found here. The Japanese naval officer of to-day is uniformed very much
like his fellow-officer in Europe or America, and his manners are as
polished as the most fastidious among us could wish. The Japanese ships
have made long cruises, and visited the principal ports of Europe and
America, and their commanders have shown that they understand the theory
and practice of navigation, and are able to take their ships wherever
they may be ordered to go. The picture of a Japanese war-junk of the
olden time, and that of the war-steamer of to-day do not show many
points of resemblance. They illustrate the difference between the old
and the new, very much as do the cango and the railway car when placed
side by side."
[Illustration: JAPANESE STEAM CORVETTE.]
The Doctor thought he had given the boys quite as much information as
they would be likely to remember in his dissertation, and suggested that
they should endeavor to recapitulate what he had said. Frank thought the
discussion had taken a wide range, as it had included the status of the
four classes of Japanese society, had embraced the Samurai and their
peculiarities, some of the changes that were wrought by the revolution,
and had told them how executions were conducted in former times. Then
they had learned something about hari-kari and what it was for; and they
had learned, at the same time, the difference between the old courts of
justice and the new ones. What with these things and the naval progress
of the empire of the Mikado, he thought they had quite enough to go
around, and would be lucky if they remembered the whole of it.
Fred thought so too, and therefore the discussion was suspended, with
the understanding that it should be renewed on the first convenient
occasion.
[Illustration: A JAPANESE WAR-JUNK OF THE OLDEN TIME.]