In the upper part of the sheath is kept a small knife, somewhat similar in shape to that which is kept in the chopstick-case of the Chinese. The handle of the knife is bronze, and is adorned with the figure of a crayfish, beautifully wrought in gold, together with a banner and one or two other devices. The sheath itself is a wonderful piece of workmanship. At a little distance it looks as if it were covered with dark-brown leather; but a closer inspection shows that it is entirely covered with a minute and delicate pattern that looks as if it had been traced with a needle’s point, and must have cost the artist a very considerable expenditure of labor.
The larger sword is made after precisely the same pattern, except that it is four feet in length, and must be used with both hands. With one of these swords a Japanese will strike off a limb at a single blow; and so sharp are they, that an executioner, in beheading a criminal, scarcely raises the sword a foot for his stroke. The Japanese swordsmen practise the use of their weapon by means of sham swords, with which they fence, the combatants padding their limbs and sides, and covering their faces with wire masks. They have a very dangerous cut, which is made by the mere motion of unsheathing the sword, and takes effect at a distance where an inexperienced person would think himself safe.
So good is the temper of these weapons, that a Japanese has been known to sever a thick iron bolt with a single blow, the edge of the sword not showing the slightest indication of the severe test to which it had been put. The Japanese name for the large sword is “ken”; that of the shorter, “kattan.”
Defensive armor was at one time much worn by the Japanese, though at the present day the introduction of improved firearms has caused them to abandon armor, except for purposes of show. A complete suit of Japanese armor is [shown] on page 1469. It is made of multitudinous plates hung upon cloth, and profusely ornamented by gilding. Though very light, it is strong enough to resist the blow of the long sword, though it is worse than useless against rifled fire-arms. Indeed, had it not been for the recent disuse of protective armor, we should scarcely have been able to procure a suit; but, finding their suits of mail to be practically useless, the Japanese nobles very generously presented many of them to their foreign guests, and allowed others to be sold.
The oddest part of the suit is the helmet, with its appendages. The fantastic crest is very light, being made of exceedingly thin material, covered with gilding; and is so slight that a blow with a stick would crush it. Perhaps the reader may wonder at the beards which apparently depend from the chins of the soldiers. The fact is, the helmet is furnished with a very complete visor, shaped like a mask, which covers the whole of the face, and is decorated with a large gray beard and mustache, in order to strike terror into the beholders.
The bow is a favorite weapon with the Japanese, who expend nearly as much labor upon it as they do upon the sword. It is mostly japanned in black, and adorned with various decorations. Some of these bows are very powerful, and are strung in rather a peculiar manner, the archer placing the lower end of the bow on the ground, and grasping the upper end with his right hand. He plants his right foot on the middle of the bow, bends it with the united powers of his foot and right hand, and with his left slips the string into its place. The arrows are made like those of China, but, in accordance with the national character of the people, are more highly finished.
One of the strangest weapons used by the Japanese is the war fan. Like the Chinese, the Japanese are never without the fan, and are obliged, by force of long habit, to take it into battle. The fan which is kept for this purpose has its sheath made of iron, and is of very large size, so that if the warrior be surprised without his sword, he is sure to have his fan ready by way of a club. These fans are decorated with the national emblem, a red sun on a black ground.
In connection with the Japanese weapons must be mentioned some of their modes of punishment. The first is the celebrated Hara-kiri, or Happy Despatch, and consists of suicide by ripping open the abdomen with two cuts in the form of a cross. Only the upper classes are privileged to perform the Happy Despatch, and to them it is in reality a privilege. If a Japanese official has failed in some duty, or committed some act which is likely to call upon him the anger of his superiors, he applies for permission to perform the Hara-kiri. At the appointed time, he assembles his friends, dresses himself in white, as a token of innocence, gives an entertainment, and makes a speech upon the position in which he is placed. He then takes the fatal knife, and as he raises his clothing for the purpose of inflicting the wounds, a good swordsman comes behind him, bearing a two-handed sword or “ken.” The victim begins the Hara-kiri, but, as soon as he has made a slight incision, his head is swept off, so that death is not the result of the horrid wounds in the abdomen.
Sometimes, however, when time presses, the victim is obliged to perform the Hara-kiri as he can, and in that case dies from the self-inflicted wounds. For example, in several cases where assassination has been attempted, and notably in the celebrated attack on the British Legation, when the would-be assassins were chased on the succeeding day, it was found that three of them had committed the Hara-kiri, two of whom were already dead, but one was still living and was captured. In these cases the weapon used for the purpose is the shorter sword, or “kattan.”
When a man has committed the Hara-kiri, he is supposed to have died an honorable death, and so to have earned for himself a reputation as a brave man. His family are proud of him, and his memory is reverenced. But should he lose his life by the hand of the executioner, his whole property is confiscated, his family falls under ban, and his name is held as infamous. It will be seen, therefore, that the Hara-kiri is really a very great privilege, especially among a people so entirely indifferent to life as the Japanese.