Taiho-Jutsu. Don Cunningham

occasionally fostered the hideous practice of tsuji-giri, testing a sword blade by cutting down a commoner.

      Any samurai involved in such a killing, however, would certainly have been held by officials while an investigation was conducted. The Tokugawa sh

gunate published a series of guidelines, such as the Kujikata osadamegaki, that established strict penal codes and judicial procedures. Any samurai found guilty of inappropriate behavior was often subjected to severe penalties. The metsuke (watchers) served as the overseers and inspectors for retainers in the service of the various daimy

.⁹ Unemployed samurai or ronin¹⁰ were considered under the jurisdiction of the respective machi-bugy

, though, and subject to many of the same penal codes as any ch

nin.

      Wasteful actions such as kirisutegomen, and especially tsuji-giri, were generally frowned upon by all clan and government officials. Although it may have been allowed legally, such behavior was definitely considered intolerable according to commonly accepted religious, moral, and ethical values. The government, realizing it was dependent upon the common people for both produce and taxes, would not risk further alienation by allowing such excesses. Even if an investigation did fail to find any infraction of these respective guidelines, no samurai could afford a reputation for such needless killings.

      According to common law of this period, any citizen, regardless of class, was also allowed to defend himself from unprovoked attacks. Thus, a commoner was allowed to kill a samurai if assaulted. If successful, he was likely to be released from any murder charges by authorities if the killing was committed in self-defense. Obviously, samurai were not as prone to indulge in practices such as kirisutegomen and tsuji-giri when commoners were armed and capable of offering resistence.

Fukushu (blood feud) and ada-uchi (legal vendetta)

      Killing another samurai, even a lower-ranking bushi, might easily spark a fukushu (blood feud) with another clan, resulting in many other members of either house being killed. No self-respecting bushi would dare put his fellow clan members in such a dangerous position without considering these possible consequences.

      Slaying any individual, regardless of class, might also initiate an ada-uchi,¹¹ a legal vendetta, by members of the victim’s family. According to the strict rules of ada-uchi, retaliation could be directed only against the murderer and then only by a person of equal or lower social status. An ada-uchi required registration with local officials. Once a permit was issued, the right or wrong of the original death was considered irrelevant. Anyone killing another without a properly registered ada-uchi, though, was subject to punishment for murder.