W o jo O u b u

The Hojo rope was usually of good quality made

from very strong softly entwined fibres that were
then twisted three together into a thin rope.
Furthermore it was considered very good to let
the rope soak in blood. Such a blood soaked rope
could be kept for years without rotting as long as
it was also very good for extensive tying.

Another method was to soak the finished rope in

the astringent juice of unripe persimmons. This
was a gentler tying rope but they tended to rot
quickly and had a tendency to come apart. So
this would have been used to secure the old or
very young, or ladies. It would not have been left
on for very long.

Silk was also used but although strong the fibres had a tendency to burst apart. During the
Tokugawa Era (1600 - 1800) ropes manufactured by monks of the Sanshuhozo temple were
highly prized.

NOJOJUTSU
It is the feudal martial skill of restraining a prisoner with rope. It was practiced by the warrior
class and in particular the samurai, who acted as police officers. The word hojo is made up of the
character 'ho', which is also pronounced 'tori' and means to catch, seize or arrest someone, the
character 'jo', which is also pronounced 'nawa' and means rope, and of course the word 'jutsu',
meaning art or skill. The actual characters can then be read in English as either 'torinawa jutsu' or
'hojo jutsu'. However, both meanings remain the same. The main reason for tying someone up is
because a need has arisen to keep them alive and take them captive, or prevent their escape. This
was often the case during Japan's feudal period, particularly when the captured enemy was
thought to be able to be persuaded to part with vital information, or be used in an ex-change deal
for someone of importance who had been captured by the other side. There were various other
reasons why rope tying was employed in Japan. One further purpose was to secure prisoners who
were to be brought before a magistrate and tried for crimes they had committed.

2
 Simple knots

- o -
Overhand knot: This simple knot is done simply by making a
loop and drawing the end through.

Lark’s head: Make a bight in the rope, run the bight around
whatever you are attaching to, and then run the running ends fo
the rope through the loop and pull tight

Square Knot (reef knot): This is a simple knot that is used to

tie two ropes or the ends o f one rope together.

Bowline: This knot can have several loops made to spread the
weight more, and is useful for single limb ties.

Anchor Hitch: This is a complex hitch, but is much stronger

than the half hitch. It is also more complicated to untie. This
knot can be used for suspension. This hitch will not deform
under stress. It should NOT be used on wrists and ankles or
for that matter around the body at all.

4
S e c u r in g p ris o n e rs

In practically every country throughout the world the feudal era was littered with various means
of securing prisoners. The techniques ranged from rope, to shackles or ball and chain. It would
seem, however, that no other nation developed such a sophisticated system of rope tying as the
Japanese. Hojojutsu was incorporated into the samurai's knowledge of fighting skills and used
during the sanguineous era of the 'Sengoku Jidai' in particular. The lower class police officers,
called 'okapiki', were taught very basic forms of Hojojutsu under the guidance of senior police
officials from samurai stock. However, with the Meiji restoration (1887), the art of Hojojutsu
began to fall into decline. When prisoners were held captive, they were tied in a specific manner,
according to their rank and social status. Each method of tying denoted what class of society the
prisoner came from, each was tied in a recognizable way. If a person had been found guilty of a
particular offence he was tied in a manner denoting the offence he had committed. There were
special techniques for people with strong arms or people capable of slipping out of the knots,
even mad and extremely violent people were tied using special knots. Because the style of tying
varied with both the crime and status of a prisoner, the length of rope used varied considerably.
Some ropes were only a foot in length, while others reached well over 30 feet. Most of the
Hojojutsu ropes were made of tightly twined linen that had been beaten until soft. Silk rope was
not very popular because it was easy to slip the bonds. However, hemp rope did play a part in
various styles of Hojojutsu. During the Edo period the use of colored rope to denote particular
crimes and status became popular. White rope denoted someone who had only committed a
minor crime, while a blue rope was used to secure offenders who had committed serious crimes.
If a person was of high rank then a violet rope was sometimes used, bu t if they were of low rank
then a black rope was used.

K / io t s

The knots used for making the rope secure were many and varied. Some were employed to
tighten as the prisoner struggled, while others simply held fast. When a number of prisoners were
being conveyed somewhere together a long length of rope with hand loops secured each prisoner
to the other. When the prisoner was conveyed alone the length of rope usually measured seven
meters Even the retaining cord on the sword scabbard was used to secure the unexpected
prisoner. There were many classical ryu (martial art schools) who employed the technique of
rope tying in their repertoire. These included Fujiwara ryu, Chokuji Goden ryu, Sekieuchi Shin
Shin ryu and many others. Apart from the actual tying skills, the ryu employed various
techniques of throwing and restraining that complemented the art of Hojojutsu.

3
A c c e s s o rie s

There were many subtle appendages to the rope used in capturing an escaping prisoner. One
included a barbed hook. This special hook was thrown as the criminal ran away. However, as
soon as it ensnared the clothing the criminal was brought to the ground and secured before he
could free himself. The prisoner would then be subjected to an intricate web of rope which
would make him completely immobile. In modem Japan there are very few masters of the
martial arts who are skilled in the traditional art of Hojojutsu. The art of Hojojutsu has not yet
died out in Japan. The modem police force still carry special rope with which to secure their
prisoners (of course handcuffs are also carried). The rope is also used by the police in Japan to
cordon off areas and keep the public back during times of disaster, so its use is not restricted
simply to the tying of prisoners.

O b sc u re

Hojojutsu is an obscure but interesting part of the cultural history of martial arts. It reflects the
ingenuity of the samurai class and the manner in which the essence of this martial skill has been
passed down, even to today's modem Japanese police force.

Takagi Yoshin Ryu is a Jujutsu school which began in the 17th century. It was regarded as a
'Body Guard' school. Most of the formal techniques in the school end with the attacker being
held in a position to facilitate the art of Hojojutsu. The way you were tied depended very much
upon your social position as well as that of the social position of the person tying you.

Hojojutsu was hardly ever practiced as an art by itself but was seen as a complement to arts such
as Jujutsu. It was used by Japanese 'policemen' after the Meiji restoration along with the Jutte,
Bo and Kusarifundo as an arresting device for the Samurai who resisted the disarming of them.

The JNP (Japanese National Police) use the 2 meter rope on the most violent (drunk or drugged)
or in situations where there are multiple suspects—riots especially—and yes, these do occur even
in the mostly law abiding Japan. Take it one step beyond the single suspect. Suspects can be tied
up as well as to one another making it difficult to escape. Imagine trying to escape while
dragging one or more people with you. Even if you got your legs free (which is possible but not
likely) you would have to make a series of additional movements to free yourself from the other
people.

(jio s s a r y

Havanawa: "fast rope" a shorter rope used for the initial restraint hiro; a unit of traditional
measure for lengths roughly equivalent to the old English fathom, that is, the distance between a
man's two outstretched hands (roughly 1.8 m). Units of traditional measure were not
standardized in old Japan, but varied from province to province; the lengths given in the text
below seem to be based on a somewhat shorter hiro.

Hiro: a unit of traditional measure for lengths. Roughly equivalent to the old English fathom, that
is, the distance between a man's two outstretched hands (roughly 1.8 m). Units of traditional
measure were not standardized in old Japan, but varied from province to province; the lengths
given in the text belows seem to be based on a somewhat shorter hiro.

Hoioiutsu: the art of using a rope to capture, restrain and transport suspects and criminals in
Japan during the Middle Ages and Early Modem periods; practiced by torimono.

5
Hon-nawa: "main rope" the long rope used for restraining and transporting a suspect securely.

Jakuguchi: a small loop worked into one end of a torinawa.

Kaginawa: "hooked rope;" a rope with a metal hook or barb fastened to one end, used to capture
a fleeing suspect.

Torimono: specially-trained constables attached to various shogunal or domain offices and

holding various ranks, usually just below samurai status.

Torinawa: any rope used in hojojutsu.

*]~~he length o f the rape

Rope lengths depended on which ryu the techniques came from. Each school had different
methods. It was not until the advent of Shinobuka (Ninja Police) of the tokugawa that methods
began to be standardised. However a basic rope was between 6.5 and 20.0 metres. Whilst a quick
rope ranged from 4.5 to 6.5 metres. Some of the ropes had hook on the end of them. This is a
general guide some schools used considerably shorter ropes as well. The hooked ends could be
single, multiple or be fashioned for climbing walls. Finally there were ropes of 9. 15 and 21
metres.

raditions and techniques of hojojutsu

The following information is summarized from Nawa (1964). We don't ordinarily think of the
Edo period (1600 - 1868) in Japan as one in which human rights were accorded much respect.
Nevertheless, during this period binding a person was regarded as a grave matter, not to be
undertaken lightly. People felt that the shame of having a rope around their necks and knots on
their person was disgraceful in the extreme. Some considered it worse than death itself. If the
proper forms of restraining suspects were not followed, the person who applied the restraints
could be impeached. If, however, the restraints contained no knots, they were not considered
"bondage" and thus were not disgraceful. In these cases, euphemisms like "wrapping" were used.
Samurai regarded this work as beneath them and never applied restraints themselves, leaving it
to their servants or to constables whose job it was. Even within the police, higher ranks, which
were filled by men of full samurai class, left this task to the lower ranks, which were not. The
hon-nawa came in lengths of 13, 11, 9, 7, and 5 fathoms. The hayanawa was 2 and a half
fathoms. The length of the kaginawa was not fixed (Nawa 1964 - 101)." The length of one
kaginawa in Nawa's collection is given as 13 shaku; a shaku is almost exactly one English foot.
The ropes came in four colors, the significance of which changed over time. According to the
earliest tradition, which lasted into the Edo period, the four colors were associated with a well-
established set of correspondences between seasons, directions, and the four Chinese guardian
creatures of the four directions. [Trans, note: These were also used in the layout of houses,
gardens, and cities in China, Japan and Korea.]

6
The color of the rope changed with the season, and the prisoner was restrained facing the
direction appropriate to the color and season. The correspondences are as follows:

I ♦ * # # # # |n # # # $ i I
r ^ ^ iT *T[]jf*l|
2. Red summer south front phoenix I

3. White autumn west right tiger

4. Black winter north back tortoise

During the dog days of late July and early August, a yellow rope was used. By the end of the Edo
period, the colours had been reduced to two, white and indigo, and their use corresponded not to
seasons or directions but to the branch of the constabulary using the ropes. Hemp was used for
the real ropes, but silk was used for practice, which was done with dummies made of straw or
heavy Japanese paper. The kaginawa was used to apprehend suspects by hooking the barb in the
person's sash, collar, or if need be in the topknot, and then wrapping it around and around the
body. The hayanawa was also used to prevent escape. Unlike the kaginawa, it had a small loop at
one end, or sometimes a small metal ring. The plain end could be passed through this loop. For
proper use it required the constable to be behind the suspect, or on horseback.

There were four rules of hojojutsu:

1. Not to allow the prisoner to slip his bonds.
2. Not to cause any physical or mental injury.
3. Not to allow others to see the techniques.
4. To make the result beautiful to look at.

The aim of Rule 3 was not so much secrecy for its own sake as it was preventing criminals from
learning the techniques and figuring out ways to defeat them. However, the schools and
techniques varied from one feudal domain to another. When a person was being transported
cross-country, the binding would be allowed to come loose a bit just before turning him over to

7
the next domain's officers, so the latter would not be able to learn the techniques either. Each set
of officers numbered at least four, and the new team would stand around the prisoner while one
of their number bound him, not only to prevent escape but to foil prying eyes. In addition to the
three ropes named above, there was a short rope about 14 inches long (one shaku, two sun). This
was used in the following way: the suspect was made to sit in seiza (the formal sitting position,
kneeling and with the weight on the heels) while both arms were pulled behind. Then the two
thumbs and two big toes were tied together in a bundle. Alternatively, the two thumbs alone
could be tied to the topknot or to a hole made in the collar.

The following information is summarized from Nawa 1985. There were over 150 different ryu,
or schools, of hojojutsu, each with its own techniques for using the hon-nawa and other torinawa.
(The illustration at the top shows the variety used by one ryu alone.) The earliest dates from the
middle 1500s, and the latest from the late nineteenth century.

L o o p s and h o o k s

8
A casual knot A folded rope A rope with a ring
(The ring helps the rope run easily)

Ropes with weights, quick handcuffs

A rope with a spike (this would be inserted into armour or clothing)

 Quick ropes

The Methods of Winding up the

Quick Rope
The loop is wound around the left thumb
once, then the rope is brought around the
little finger and then around the thumb
again. This is continued until about 1.5
metres are left. The remainder is wound
around the bundle to tie it into a hank. The
ring, hook, etc, is left out to facilitate
withdrawal.

Another method, if you have a large loop, is to slip the

loop over your wrist and wind the rope over your hand.
When there is an arm’s length left, wind this around the
bundle as before. This method would be used for the
shorter ropes.

11
Examples of Wrist Control using the Rope

Kamosage (Duck knot) Tied loop Looped loop

Hitosuji Kanai Musubi Hitosuji Gogyo Musubi

(Straight forward five-element knot)

Hibari musubi (Skylark knot) If you catch an opponent’s fingers with

skylark knot it is difficult for them to free themselves.
 Folded rope

I
Hibari M usubi (skylark K
knot)
V

w» tS
» it
-f at ^
K« C *

M
M

Rope with Ring

Quick Handcuffs
From Hardw ood you make tw o grips with a length of 6cm and connect these
with a rope of 50-55cm.
As with the quick rope you wind around the wrists, make space between the
hands, and having tightened the rope you wind it around itself a few times
before tucking in the grips between the wrists.

13
 *
*
a
* From brass or bamboo
< »
t you make a pair of
; h & cylinders with a length of
•+ •n * 6.5-7cm with a diameter
s . H f ■e
•k
s
of 9mm. These are
#>

a * *
»
connected to a piece of
4r ■+ rope 19-20cm long. This is
«
< passed around the wrists
*> * —

fc *
f t
as shown, then the captive
C *
h
1* can be marched off.

n
&
ft * n
m <c n
* A «
-T’ ft
t\ * -c
fi « »
w H * »
r> ti #
Jfl
<
/>•
S ? ,
* R fi
X
91
»
<• t S
ft
-c
How to Capture
Apply Take Ori or Ura Gyaku and take the opponent down. Holding the
opponents elbow, slip a sliding loop (which is hanging over your right arm),
over the opponents right hand.

The loop would be hanging over your own wrist with the hank up your sleeve
or on your belt. Use Taijutsu to hold the opponent as you transfer the loop.
Use the left hand to slip the loop over. Above are several examples of how the
rope is carried and attached. Always control the opponent with the left hand,
the knees or the feet before you commence tying.
Yagyu Shinkage Ryu Quick Rope Technique
W hen the loop is secured onto the right hand, tie the rope around the neck
from the left to the right. Having done so secure the left hand with several
twists, then tie the rope off where the rope forms an ‘X’. This should be about

25cm below the collar line.

16
Kanko Ryu Quick Rope

Immobilise the opponent with O-gyaku then using the folded rope tie the right
wrist. As in the Yagyu Ryu, take the rope around the neck and secure the left
hand. Straddle the opponent like a horse, then tie both wrists together at the
‘X’. If the opponent resists strike or press to the Kyusho point Dokko just
below the ear with the thumb.
Tatsumi Ryu Quick Rope
After grounding the opponent, step on their arm and take the rope around the
neck. Tighten the rope before securing the left hand. The captive can be left to
calm down, but if he becomes wild you must immediately tie up ether the left
or right foot. If the captive is barefoot, tie the big toe.
Quick Rope Ties
( J s e o f the hayanawa

The ideal for the hayanawa was to apply it within 10 seconds, skillfully, beautifully, and without
risk of injury to the suspect. This rope was used only for apprehending suspects; because the
person was not a convicted criminal prior to trial, no knots were used to avoid causing disgrace.
[Trans, note: Of course this also meant it took less time to apply.] In place of knots, the end of
the rope was only looped under itself or cast on a couple of times, and the constable kept the free
end in hand.

"Three "wrappings" with the hayanawa

These are not "bindings" because no knots are used. The "loop" mentioned is the jakuguchi (see
glossary). These instructions ar e translated from Nawa (1985: 197-199) from which the sketches
are also taken.

The Cross

With the loop end of the rope at L of the back of the neck,
bring the plain end through the loop and down, then around
the R upper arm, under the arm and across the back to L
arm; do the same there. Then bring the rope across the top
of the horizontal to hold it in place, and through the part
coming down from the neck (again on top of the
horizontal). Pull down. Then wrap the wrists (R over L)
from top to bottom, from L to R and R again, wrapping
them 2 or 3 times. Then bring the free end under these
wrappings, L to R. Hold the end, don't tie it off.

Hishi or Mawashi-nawa
This called both Hishi (diamond shape)
and Mawashi-nawa (twirling rope).

The rope hanging from above is called Yoryo the upper

diamond shape. The rope hanging below is called Inryo the
lower diamond shape.

The Girdle or Diamond (from its shape)

Double the rope and note the halfway point-place this at the
Adam’s apple. Wrap the free ends around the back, crossing
L over R, and wrap over the upper arms, R and L. Bring
free ends around front and then pull through under the
arms. Bring the two ends together at the lower back and
pull taut. Wrap the wrists, R over L, as in the previous,
keeping both ends together. Pass the ends under the L side
and pull through to R to tighten. [Trans, note: The number
of triangles may be multiplied for visual effect.

19
The Well-curb

Pass the rope around the neck with the loop to the R and
pull taut. Bring the rope down diagonally to L under the
arm and wrap it over the L upper arm. Pass the free end
under the diagonal and pull it down to the R, diagonally,
under R arm, over R upper arm and under the second
diagonal. Bring free end to small of back and wrap the
wrists as in previous, 2 or 3 times. Pass the free end through
from L to R. For all three of these, the back is the side for
display. The front shows very little rope: only a single loop
each at the neck and around each upper arm.

20
Kakine Musubi (fence knot)

Motoyui / Motoi or Koyori

This is what the 9 and 15cm ropes are called. Motoyui / motoi is a paper cord
for tying up one’s hair. Koyori is a twisted paper cord. The two examples on
the left utilise the cords.
 Loop

Hook

22
Tying with Koyori
Using Koyori or Motoi the thumbs are tied
together around the base.

23
Jumonji (cross)

Kotezuri (catching the forearm)

For all three of these, the back is the side for display. The front shows very little rope: only a
single loop each at the neck and around each upper arm.

Some of you may also be interested in another obscure corner of Japanese history I've done a
little research into: official methods of torture under the Tokugawa Shogunate. But before you
click on the link just given, which will take you to the article, be forewarned: I wrote it for a
column I contribute monthly to a gay men's SM website. So don't be surprised at what you find.
If you're shocked by such things, stay away!

References

(English translation of citation follows original Japanese)

Nawa Yumio (1964) "Studies in Jitte and Torinawa" Tokyo: Yuzankaku Shuppan
Nawa Yumio (1985) "An Illustrated Encyclopedia for Historical Studies: Constables' Tools"
Tokyo: Shinjinbutsu Orai-sha

IN THE. GOOD (?) OLD DAYS

by Richard Cleaver
(c) JANUARY 1999

I've been whiling away the long winter nights recently by reading about traditional forms of
bondage and torture in Japan. Some of the information I've found about rope bondage is posted
here. I've actually been looking into the subject for a while, but I've held off writing about it for a
couple of reasons. The first was I wanted to get the historical picture clear enough in my mind to
have some confidence I wasn't giving new life to old falsehoods. The second was that I find
myself a bit concerned that I'm feeding into old racist stereotypes about Dr. Fu Manchu and his
"fiendish Oriental tortures." There's enough racist nonsense about Japan being published in the
pages of the New York Times without my adding to it here.

Still and all, there's nothing in what you're about to read that any ordinary Japanese reader
couldn't find in any public library, which is where I got it after all. All this information is from
Japanese historical sources, so all I'm doing is summarizing recent scholarship for those who
can't read Japanese.

If that sounds rather dry and schoolmasterish, well, what you see is what you get, and you get
what you pay for. I assure you, though, when I was reading this stuff I was hard most of the time.
I daresay I'm not far wrong if I guess that those of you visiting this site and reading this column
will be equally able to turn history into pornography. Didn't we all start out beating off to
National Geographic?

But let's get down to business. First a little background.

Torture was used during the Edo Period (1603-1867) both by officials of the Tokugawa
Shogunate (in Japanese "Bakufu" which I will use for convenience hereafter) Bakufu and by
private persons. The better part of the information about the former comes from the procedures
of the Edo (the old name for Tokyo) machi-bugyo or city commissioners. There were machi-
bugyo in other cities besides these two—Shizuoka, where I live, had one, since it was under direct
Tokugawa rule, not a vassal lord. The two Edo machi-bugyo combined judicial and

25
administrative responsibilities for the commoners of the city. They had a variety of law
enforcement bodies under them, among them the regular constabulary and a special arson and
robbery squad. The constabulary consisted of two levels of officials, joriki and doshin. The joriki
were essentially the officer class of police, with some bureaucratic duties as well, sort of like
police detectives in the U.S. The doshin, who were directly under the joriki, were constables.
Both posts were filled, often father to son, by members of the very lowest stratum of the samurai
class. There were fifty joriki and at most 280 doshin (divided between the two magistracies) for
the entire city of Edo , which by 1730 had over a million people, although the machi-bugyo had
jurisdiction over only about half the population.

This last fact is why anybody could make an arrest. The declaration "go-yo!" (with the second
syllable prolonged), literally something like "official business," was equivalent to "you're under
arrest." The person making the arrest was supposed to conduct the suspect to the nearest
guardhouse, of which there was theoretically one for each neighborhood. Besides this system of
"citizen's arrests," there were several private assistants employed directly by the doshin. As a
practical matter, these people were the ones who did most of the work, often on their own
account rather than the authorities'. Many of these okappiki or meakashi were former criminals
who had been coopted to share their inside knowledge with the police. The system apparently
goes back all the way to the Heian period (roughly 800-1200), when criminals would be led
around town roped together in a line to point out others of their kind, in order to lighten their
own punishments. The risk of such assistants working both ends against the middle is obvious,
and in theory their employment was forbidden. But in practice, they outnumbered the official
police.

The meakashi were allowed to conduct torture and there were no rules for this. The Bakufu did
lay down rules limiting the use of torture in official proceedings. This was a great improvement
over previous eras where might more or less made right. The rub was, official proceedings were
almost never conducted unless there was every reason to believe the suspect would confess
publicly at them—usually because the confession had already been obtained, written out, and
sealed before the offical trial began. (This is still true today.) Failure to obtain such a public
confession was thought to bring the government into disrepute. Naturally, the professed ideal
was to obtain the confession without the use of torture by questioning alone, skill at which was a
point of pride; but there's no real way of knowing how often this standard was even aimed at,
much less met. If it wasn't, then torture was the only way to get the required confession, and that
was its major purpose.

In official proceedings, there were four levels of torture, the two lowest being regarded as
ordinary, the highest as extraordinary, and the one in between as—well, in between. They were,
from lowest to highest: flogging; pressing with stones; the Prawn; and suspension. Although
ranked in this fashion, they usually were used in combination, going back and forth until a
confession was obtained. Each level could be pursued up to a named point: a certain period of
time, or a certain number of strokes, or the like. If this failed to obtain results, either the
technique would be tried again after a given interval (often two days) or a different one would be
tried. Any and all of these tortures were used on women as well as men; but I've used masculine
pronouns here because that's who I'd want to be working over myself.

(1) Flogging. This was done with the suspect kneeling and bound around his upper arms. Two
stout ropes were also held taut by a pair of assistants on either side, or in front of and behind, the
suspect. A special scourge was used, called a shimoto or muchi (the latter is a generic word for
any kind of whip or scourge).

The shimoto was something over eighteen inches long, and tapered. At the thick end it was three
or more inches in diameter, and at the narrow end (the handle) it was about half an inch. It
consisted of a pair of bamboos laid side by side and wrapped lengthwise in hempen cloth, around

26
which hemp twine was wrapped (crosswise) the whole length of the instrument. About five
inches at the narrow end were wrapped in white leather to form a grip. Some drawings show the
business end of the shimoto exposed with the bamboo shredded for about an inch down, like a
brush, presumably to make it hurt more. I don't have any information about the thickness of the
bamboos at the core of this instrument, nor how much cloth was used; but it appears from the
pictures that the shimoto had some give rather than being rigid. One drawing I saw, taken from
an old source, has the outer twine wrapping applied in the same elegant way as the silken
wrapping around the hilt of a samurai sword; but all the rest of the pictures show a simple
whipping-on of the twine.

This scourge was used to beat the suspect on his shoulders or back until the blood flowed, at
which point an assistant would rub sand into the wound to stop the bleeding. Then the beating
would be continued at another spot on the back, lower down.

Flogging was also used as a punishment for convicted criminals, in which case it was
administered with a long rod, not the scourge described above, and the convict was laid face
down and spreadeagled on the ground, with all four limbs held securely. Again the beating was
administered on the back, the person carrying out the punishment usually standing at the
convict's head (at least this is the arrangement in old drawings).

(2) Pressing. This torture, literally "embracing the stones," was carried out with the suspect
kneeling. In some pictures, he kneels on a corrugated surface like an exaggerated washboard,
with pointed ridges. His arms were tied behind, somtimes to a post of the building. Large square
slabs of stone, about an inch thick, were then laid one after another on the tops of the suspect's
thighs. This simple but excruciating torture was usually alternated with beating, though they
were on occasion carried out simultaneously. It was said to be nearly foolproof in obtaining a
confession.

(3) The Prawn. In cases where the previous two levels of torture failed, however, the Prawn was
used. This was also sometimes called "the football," from the shape of the person after being tied
up. First the suspect's hands were tied behind his back, with a rope going around the upper arms,
the forearms placed on top of each other, the wrists bound together. Next he was forced to sit
cross-legged. His ankles were bound together, and the two ends of the rope then brought up and
over his shoulders, where they were looped through the rope binding his arms. Then, the torturer
would use his foot to press down on the suspect's back, forcing his chest down toward his
crossed calves, at the same time pulling up on the ropes and thus raising the suspects feet off the
ground. When the suspect was doubled over as far as physically possible, and a little farther, the
second rope was tied off on the first. Then they waited.

There were two explanations for the name "prawn." One was that the suspect was bent over like
a lobster or prawn. The other was that after a short time in this position, the person turned red. In
fact, there was a sequence of colors when the torture lasted for several hours: first red, then
purple, then violet, then pale blue. The latter stage was the signal for the torture to end, if the
pain had not already produced a confession long since. Continuing once the pale blue stage was
reached resulted in death. Sometimes flogging was administered at the same time. Sometimes the
victim was rolled around. It was said that some suspects, after their first experience of the Prawn,
were in pain for days afterwards, although the same sources indicate that repeated applications of
the torture brought diminishing returns. (Feel the bum!)

A variation on this was "the prawn in a box," which was just what the name implies: after being
trussed up like a football, the person was put into a wooden box.

(4) Suspension. This was regarded as a last resort. It was carried out by tying the suspect's arms
behind, and then suspending him by the wrists from above. A variation was to suspend the

27
suspect upside down by the ankles; but apparently the wrists were more usual. Some drawings
show the suspect suspended by the arms alone, while others show a kind of rope girdle around
the waist and abdomen to distribute the weight somewhat.

For an especially reluctant suspect, a large stone weight might be laid on the shoulders. As with
the previous two tortures, suspension might be accompanied by flogging.

All four of these approved tortures were administered under the eye of clerks who made an
official record of the proceedings, and all were confined within certain limits to make sure
permanent damage or death did not result. On the other hand, as I've said, there were no rules or
limits on the use of torture outside official proceedings. The Edo period wasn't quite as lawless
as the chambara movies (samurai swashbucklers) would have us believe; in fact it was made a
crime in this period for a samurai to cut down a commoner just to test his sword blade, rumors to
the contrary notwithstanding. (The fact that it kept on being punished, of course, suggests that it
kept on happening; and local vassal lords had their own legal systems.) The Bakufu authorities
weren't human rights fanatics, though. They just wanted to keep the lid on the use of violence.
Still, there was plenty of torture outside the strict letter of the law, and plenty of techniques
besides the ones I've described here.

In closing I'll just pass on one, mainly because it's a local product: Suruga-doi. Suruga was the
old name for this province of Japan, and the large bay I can see outside my window as I sit at my
old Mac writing these columns is still called Suruga Bay. Toi (in combination doi) means
"inquiry." Apparently this particular form of "inquiry" was invented by a local machi-bugyo
sometime in the 250-odd years of Tokugawa rule. The "Suruga inquiry" consists of tying the
prisoner's four limbs together behind his back in a bundle, suspending him from the ceiling by
this single rope, and placing progressively heavier weights in the middle of his back. Sometimes
he would be made to twist in the air at the end of his rope, too. Said to be unfailing in getting
answers. Kiddies, don't try this at home!

28