If you do something wrong, you will be punished in some way. However, if the punishment is too cruel, the punisher will also suffer.
In the Edo period, the heaviest penalty, called ‘nokogiribiki (鋸挽; Saw-mill)’, was prescribed. However, it was so brutal that no one wanted to carry-out the execution. How horrific was this punishment?
What is nokogiribiki?
Nokogiribiki was the highest penalty in the Edo period, applied to those who committed ‘shu-goroshi (主殺し; including lord-killing and father-killing)’, which was considered the most serious crime at the time. The punishment itself had been practised even before the Edo period.
Pre-Edo methods of execution
Before the Edo period, people actually used bamboo saws and iron saws to grind the heads of criminals. As those who have used saws may know, they are not easy for amateurs to master. I also remember struggling to cut wood properly in school.
You can imagine the horror it would ensue if you sawed someone’s head with such a thing.
Formalised Edo period nokogiribiki
In the Edo period, nokogiribiki was established as the maximum punishment. Sentences are carried out in this order.
1. Paraded through the town
2. Exposed to ridicule by the public
3. sawing off the head
4. crucifixion
By the time of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光), there were instances where it took seven days to finally finish grinding the heads, and it was so cruel that no one wanted to do it anymore.
Nokogiribiki was therefore formalised, and the order of punishment became, public ridicule → Crucifixion, then crucifixion. However, if anyone wanted to saw the head, they were allowed to do so.
It contains details of who was sawed off and what happened.
Suffering of the punisher
Even in the Edo period, when fire and severe torture were used, no one wanted to carry out nokogiribiki. One can only imagine how brutal it must have been.
I, the author, have children, and when children do wrong, parents have to give them a stern warning. When I see the tearful face of a child, I sometimes feel pain in my heart as I scold him or her. Since even such a small thing is painful, committing a serious crime will probably cause severe pain not only to the victim, but also to the person who has to be punished.
▼Recommended books Zannen na Shinikata Jiten (残念な死に方事典)
Eye-catching image
‘Shihoseido Enkaku Zufu ; 司法制度沿革図譜History of the Judicial System’ from the Digital Collections of the National Diet Library.
This article is translated from https://intojapanwaraku.com/rock/culture-rock/136515/
