When a prisoner is being examined his arms are bound to his sides by a
rope, which also passes round his neck, the end of which is held by an
official, who, if his charge prove unruly, manages him by pulls and
jerks.

'Thrashemono,' or 'public exposure,' is associated with all Japanese
punishments, and is said to be in itself a great preventive of crime,
as the spirited Japanese dread being held up to the reprobation of
their acquaintance more than they fear the extreme penalty of the law.

[Illustration: MODE OF CONDUCTING A CRIMINAL TO EXECUTION.]

The illustration, showing the mode of conducting a criminal to
execution, is an instance of 'thrashemono.' The culprit is bound on a
horse, and is preceded by a placard, borne by his relatives or
neighbours, and indicating his crime. In this manner he is conducted
through the town to the place of execution, where his sentence is read
to him. He is then placed (with his limbs still bound) over a
freshly-dug hole, where he is supported by his relatives till the
executioner's sword performs its task.

After execution, the heads of malefactors are generally exposed: that
of Simono Sedgi (the lonin who was decapitated in the presence of the
British garrison of Yokohama, for being the organizer of the
assassination of Major Baldwin and Lieutenant Bird of Her Majesty's
20th Regiment) was exhibited on the public stand at the guard-house at
the entrance of the town.

This man was a fair specimen of the lonin type, and was a most