THE JAPANESE EXECUTION.
In Japan they do the business in this way : An official asks the culprit if he is ready. One of tho assistants slits the dress at the back of the neck and turns it back over the shoulders, leaving the neck and upper portion of the back bare. He then pours a little water on the neck, and then for the only time a shudder paeses over the poor wretch's llesh. The executioner then takes the dipper and pours water along the blade of the sword, also wetting the linen wrapped around the handle so as to ensure a firm grip. Then he quietly moves to the left of the prisoner, who is motionless as a stone ; two a&sistants stand in front and two behind tho kneeling form. There is a silence of death on the crowd. The executioner measures his victim, lifts the sword with both hands shoulder high — a lightning stroke given apparently without effort — a never-to-be-forgotten thud, and the head rolls off.
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Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 362, 24 April 1889, Page 5
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168THE JAPANESE EXECUTION. Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 362, 24 April 1889, Page 5
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