Page:Eminent Authors of Contemporary Japan, volume 2.pdf/157



A sudden tragedy had happened, in which Fan, a young Chinese, who was a member of some juggler’s party, had slashed the carotid artery of his wife with a jack knife, during one of their juggling performances. The young wife died on the spot, and Fan was immediately arrested.

The manager of the party, an assistant Chinese, and more than three hundred spectators had been witnesses of the tragedy.

In one corner of the pit of the theatre a policeman was seated in a high chair watching the performance. But no one knew whether the killing had been intentional or not, though the tragedy had taken place before the eyes of a number of onlookers.

The performance had begun with a feat of knife-throwing, which had been performed in the following manner:—

The young wife was placed in a standing position in front of a thick board of wood of the size of a door. The husband, standing twelve feet away, threw big knives towards her, one after another, and as they hit their mark, they would stick fast in the board, thus making an outline of bristling knives round the woman just two inches from her body.

At the trial, the judge first of all questioned the manager.