Taiho-Jutsu. Don Cunningham

      Wealthier clients often rode in norimon, a larger version of the kag

. Larger and more stately, the norimon

had highly lacquered latticed sides to provide both shade and privacy. The norimon

were typically highly decorated with brightly painted family crests and finely wrought metal fastenings.

      To maintain control and to prevent smuggling of illegal weapons or untaxed goods, the sh

gunate established a series of seki (barrier stations) at strategic locations along all major highways. All travelers were forced to stop at each seki, where sh

gunate officials checked travel permits and searched for contraband. They also maintained watch for known criminals and any daimy

family members attempting to flee Edo.

      In addition to the seki, a series of shuku-ba (inn or lodging) towns¹⁵ was established at short intervals along major highways, each with official permission granted by the sh

gunate government. The shuku-ba towns offered food and other provisions as well as lodging for travelers. These official shuku-ba towns also served as centers for the government’s network of transportation, communication, and administration.

      For example, the residents and businesses in each shuku-ba town were required to provide a specific number of horses and riders to carry official messages and commercial goods. They were also expected to maintain the road within their jurisdictions, as well as provide lodging for officials and important visitors. Official government business travelers and parties accompanying the daimy

on their elaborate biannual round trips between their home domains and Edo were housed in either a special inn, honjin (main lodging), or one or more lesser inns, waki-honjin (secondary lodging). The honjin and waki-honjin proprietors then applied for compensation for services from a complicated series of government bureaucratic offices.

      Lesser officials and wealthy commoners would spend the night in a variety of hatago (lodging houses). Services and accommodations in these hatago varied considerably based on the patrons and the amount charged. Poorer travelers could choose from cheaper inns called kichin-yado. For a much lower price, the kichin-yado usually offered only a simple room or even shared sleeping accommodations and possibly a common area for cooking food.

      CHAPTER 2

      Crime and punishment in Edo

      While the rise of the Tokugawa sh

gunate led to the gathering of people in the city of Edo, such a concentration also inevitably gave rise to a class of greater and lesser thieves and lawbreakers. Society was changing with the shift from civil war to a peaceful era, making it hard for certain individuals to adapt. The strict enforcement of harsh laws and often cruel punishments of the Tokugawa sh

gunate may be viewed as brutal, even inhumane, by modern standards. On the other hand, justice during the Edo period was also often tempered by compassion and tolerance. Empathy for the downtrodden and efforts to rehabilitate offenders sometimes reflected the general public opinion that circumstances were frequently accountable for criminal behavior.

      Certain lawbreakers were even viewed in a positive light, idolized as protectors of the common people while rebelling against governmental oppression and widespread bureaucratic corruption. Referred to as otokodate (young man) or machi-yakko (street fellow), they were often considered virtuous and daring by many ordinary law-abiding citizens. Although otokodate were frequently little more than common criminals themselves, they were generally highly regarded in their respective communities for helping the poor, safeguarding women, and protecting the neighborhood from thieves, dishonest businessmen, and even corrupt samurai. The otokodate were reputed to live by their own special creed, “Yowaki wo tasuke, tsuyoki wo kujiku” (Help the weak and oppose the strong).

      

      In an ironic twist, the police were also often forced to rely on local crime bosses and their subordinates to help preserve civil order, especially during the latter years of the Tokugawa sh

gunate. Faced with open defiance from the southern clans and mounting pressure from foreign powers to open ports for trade, the sh

gunate’s administration began to fall apart, official discipline became lax, and bribery was rampant. With severely limited resources, the police often resorted to unofficial arrangements with local crime gangs to keep the peace and maintain order.

      Law enforcement during the Edo period was complicated by the fact that a significant segment of the population was openly armed. It is worth reviewing the history and social restrictions on arms here.

Defining the social classes

      Prior to the end of the Sengoku jidai, most able-bodied subjects were armed with various weapons to some degree. As Japan became unified under Hideyoshi Toyotomi, though, a heavily armed populace was considered a significant threat to the new government. To discourage uprisings and revolt, Hideyoshi initiated a series of legislative social reforms. These edicts strictly defined social classes and drastically restricted social mobility.

      In 1588 he issued the Taiko no katanagari (sword hunt), a decree prohibiting the possession of swords and guns by all but the noble classes. Claiming that the possession of weapons by peasants “makes difficult the collection of taxes and tends to foment uprisings,” the mandate prohibited farmers from possessing long or short swords, bows, spears, muskets, or any other form of weapon. Local daimy

, official agents, and deputies were ordered to collect all such weapons within their jurisdictions and deliver them to be melted down to supply materials for construction of a temple containing a massive Buddha.¹

      Destroying weapons to build a Buddhist image was meant to appease the remaining pious warrior monks as well as the religiously devout commoners. This edict also met with widespread daimy

approval. Local rulers realized that disarming peasants also effectively restricted their neighbors from quickly raising a militia should any potential territorial disputes arise.

      As a result of the sword hunt edict, only members of the warrior class were permitted to wear the daish,² thus further differentiating samurai from the rest of the population. Three years later, Hideyoshi issued another edict clearly defining the four major social castes—warrior, farmer, craftsman, and merchant. It further restricted interaction between the different classes and prevented any changes in social status. Samurai were forced to move away from their villages and farms and to live within garrison towns. The creation of mutually exclusive farming and military social classes was calculated to prevent them from forming any potential alliances and resisting the new administration.

      In the last of his social reform efforts, Hideyoshi commissioned a land census, establishing a uniform tax system and further restricting physical movement between the various provinces, or han, under his rule. Each individual was required to register his name, along with his status and