The history of elite police forces in feudal Japan

The Meiretsu Fire of 1657 was one of the worst disasters ever to occur in Edo (present-day Tokyo). The fire destroyed 60% of the city Including the castle tower of Edo Castleand killed approximately 100,000 people. However, the terror did not end after the flames were extinguished, as armed gangs roamed the streets terrorizing the ruins of the Japanese capital in the wake of the apocalyptic events.

The city was eventually rebuilt and order restored. To keep it that way, a new kind of police force was born. They end up calling themselves Arson and Armed Robbery Investigators (Tousuke Arame), but in reality they’re a Samurai SWAT team.

Print depicting the effects of fire on wooden buildings in Edo. Artist unknown.

A must-have armory for new members of the Dong tribe

Less than 300 people The samurai police of the Edo period were responsible for supervising 500,000 people. They had better not kill criminals, as execution before torture was considered bad form.

As samurai, Edo lawmen were authorized to carry swords, but their primary weapons were non-lethal, e.g. Throw baton or mother in law Polearm restraint, still popular among modern Japanese police (and occasionally jewelry store employee).

They were able to keep Edo relatively peaceful because they were helped by a network of assistants, observers, informants… and a police officer with a license to kill: Hitsuke Tozoku Aratame Kata. More commonly known as “Kato Shinme” or “Kato”, This is a paramilitary force designed to combat the worst crimes in and around the city.

Different from the power of the town army (High Court Judge, Mayor and Police Commissioner of Edo), Kato’s arsenal consists almost exclusively of lethal weapons, starting with swords and later even adding rifles. they are still nervous, However, because these badges are equivalent to police badges from the Edo period.

The Huangmu Tu tribe is an elite force. There were only about 50 people from the shogun’s private vanguard, most of whom were responsible for paperwork such as filling out reports or sending subpoenas. But because they are a small, well-trained and well-organized group, they can act as a mobile strike team against organized crime gangs with deadly efficiency.

They are said to have used a blitzkrieg to dismantle a criminal gang led by repeat robber and rapist Kozo Aoi, who was sentenced and executed just 10 days later.

Samurai Yataro Kojima holds a severed head. Author: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (c. 1853) |Wikimedia

Samurai were authorized to intimidate

Although technically all samurai have Chesut free of charge (capable of killing anyone of lower social status), it’s a bureaucratic maze with legal warnings and post-cut investigations, with serious consequences if the killing is determined to be unjustified. The Kato family has full permission and doesn’t have to worry about that.

They do not have the authority to formally execute arrested suspects (although they can legally beat the suspect), but are fully authorized to use deadly force if they believe their lives are in danger. However, there are also disadvantages.

Although the group had some success, there were further accusations of false arrests and forced confessions. Because the Kato police are much smaller than the already understaffed regular police force, they rely more heavily on rumors, hearsay, and criminal informants.

Once they act on the information, they think they did the right thing and that’s it. No further investigation is required. The legal leeway Kato was granted created an atmosphere in which Samurai SWAT members felt they were always on the right side of the law.

Arson and armed robbery investigators soon developed a reputation for excessive brutality, particularly in interrogations, which were reportedly more violent than those used by the Machi Visit Agency.

You also have to remember that in the Edo period, a samurai policeman who couldn’t get a suspect to confess was considered not dedicated to his job. You have to wonder how far the Kato family went before being labeled “excessive” by the standards of the time.

An 1875 print in Yubin Hochi Shimbun shows a Ninsoku Yoseba prisoner teaching himself to read. Author: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.

Nobume Hasegawa: Kato’s Good Cop

The Dong Xinmu sect is sometimes led by some truly terrible people. One of their early leaders, Keiyu Nakayama, was so feared for his violent methods (including a new form of torture of his own devising) that he earned the nickname “The Demonic Investigator.” But the reason the Kato family isn’t generally considered a bunch of sadistic, government-sanctioned criminals is all down to one man: Hasegawa “Heizo” Nobume.

From 1787 to 1795, he served as the leader of the Kato Gang and was responsible for bringing Aoi and many other criminals to justice. Although he was tough on the law, he also led with compassion and humanity, recognizing Denma TownThe city’s hellhole prison does a poor job of rehabilitation.

To solve this problem, Hasegawa became the supervisor of Ninja Yoruba., A government workhouse that taught carpentry, joinery, lacquerware and other trades to homeless people and ex-convicts, helping them find gainful employment and reintegrate into society. Residents of the facility also received wages and time off.

Hasegawa most likely wasn’t the one to come up with the idea, but he was a big supporter of it. This does not mean that he is some kind of radical reformer, but rather a man who believes that not all criminals are beyond redemption. He was arguably the closest thing to a good cop that 18th-century Japan had.

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