Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 4.djvu/136

 tions upon traffic in body service were withdrawn, the only essential condition being that the transaction must not be compulsory. This liberty of contract affected adults only. But in 1649 it was declared lawful for parents or guardians to sell a child into a life of shame provided that the consent of the child was obtained,—a frail barrier against abuse. The interests of employers, too, were amply protected. A servant had to be guaranteed by one or two sureties, and in the event of flight prior to the expiration of the term of service, the sureties were required to capture the fugitive or to pay a fine. The offence of absconding was held to be greatly aggravated if committed by a person in the Shōgun's service, and in the event of a servant's fleeing after the perpetration of a serious crime, failure to apprehend him exposed his surety to death. Moreover, a law (1655) provided that in case of dispute between employer and employed, the latter, if found to be in the wrong, should become liable not only to imprisonment, but also to any penalty desired by the former. Hence, while it was certain that the Tokugawa system put an end, for the most part, to kidnapping and to the sale of unwilling adults, it did not prevent boys from being apprenticed under conditions that resembled slavery, or girls from being pledged to a career of prostitution or to some cognate unhappiness.

In estimating the operation of such laws due account must be taken of the great importance