Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 4.djvu/90

 they were imprisoned at all was a significant departure from old-time methods. Yoshimune greatly extended his predecessor's reforms. He softened the rigour of prison regulations, and caused two special buildings (tamari) to be constructed for sick prisoners, whereas the cruel custom had hitherto been to place them in a separate hovel with a supply of medicine and abandon them to their fate. The common jail of Yoshimune's time had double walls of wooden lattice-work, the space within the inner wall being for the prisoners, and the corridor between the walls for purposes of official inspection. Thus the prison was practically open to the four winds. One prisoner was selected to be "mayor of the jail" (rō-nanushi) and under him served a guard (yakutsuke) consisting of eleven prisoners taken from each room. When a man confined in the agari-zashiki or the agari-ya had to proceed to a court of justice, he was carried in a closed sedan-chair (kago); but other prisoners were marched through the streets, being allowed, however, to wear a slouched hat which concealed their faces. The general principle as to prison expenses was that they should be defrayed locally within certain limits. Thus the cost of a thousand kago annually for conveying the better classes of culprits to and from the tribunal of justice was levied from householders within a certain district, any additional outlay being paid by the Government, and the expenses of