18 TITSINOH'S ACCOUNT [1845. 



other works on Japan, of the privilege enjoyed by certain 

 classes of the inhabitants, of being their own execu- 

 tioners, by ripping up the belly, that the reader will not 

 be displeased to find here some particulars respecting 

 this singular custom. 



"All military men, the servants of the Djogoun, and 

 persons holding civil offices under the government, are 

 bound when they have committed any crime to rip them- 

 selves up, but not till they have received an order from the 

 court to that effect ; for, if they were to anticipate this 

 order, their heirs would run the risk of being deprived of 

 their places and property. For this reason, all the officers 

 of government are provided, in addition to their usual 

 dress, aud that which they put on in case of fire, with a 

 suit necessary on such an occasion, which they carry with 

 them whenever they travel from home. It consists of a 

 white robe and habit of ceremony, made of hempen cloth, 

 and without armorial bearings. The outside of the house 

 is hung with white stuffs ; for the palaces of the great, 

 and the places at which they stop by the way when going 

 to or returning from Yeddo, are hung with coloured stuffs 

 on which their arms are embroidered- a privilege enjoyed 

 also by the Dutch envoy. 



" As soon as the order of the court has been commu- 

 nicated to the culprit, he invites his intimate friends for 

 the appointed day, and regales them with zakki. After 

 they have drunk together some time, he takes leave of 

 them ; and the order of the court is then read to him 

 once more. Among the great, this reading takes place 

 in presence of their secretary, and the inspector: the 

 person who performs the principal part in this tragic 



