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206 HONDA THE SAMURAI.
meadows at the side of the road, in both winter and
summer. They were importunate in their cries for
"chabu, chahu" a low word for "grub," or food.
At River Point they turned aside to enjoy the
splendid carvings of dragons, flowers, and birds in
a shower, in one of the temples, and crossing the
river in a scow were soon within sight of the long,
straggling suburbs of the great city, and in front
of the execution-ground. This was on the left-hand
side of the road, an oblong embankment of earth
containing in the center a chi-tama, or blood-pit, at
the edge of which the victim to be decapitated knelt,
the swordsman standing behind him. A beam of
wood set upon two uprights constituted the pillory,
on which the heads were exposed, the trunk being
usually covered up in a straw bag. Executions
were of almost daily occurrence at this field of
blood, though there were others also on the great
highways leading into Yedo. Sometimes a row of
top-knotted heads lined the pillory. Set on a bed
of freshly mixed clay, they remained publicly ex-
posed during a period of from one to three days.
The old codes of law based on those of China, and
in force for nearly a thousand years in Japan, prescribed
death by the sword for no fewer than two
hundred and fifty offences.
On this day in July, 1853, there had been an
execution early in the afternoon, as the shallow
pit shining red in the sun, the fresh clay crimsoned
with bloody ooze, and the single head exposed, which
was that of a man of about fifty-five, too plainly
showed. There were several little children playing