[Footnote 111:  It should be placed about three feet away from him.]

If the prisoner be an unruly, violent man, a fan, instead of a dirk, should be placed upon the tray; and should he object to this, he should be told, in answer, that the substitution of the fan is an ancient custom.  This may occur sometimes.  It is said that once upon a time, in one of the palaces of the Daimios, a certain brave matron murdered a man, and having been allowed to die with all the honours of the hara-kiri, a fan was placed upon the tray, and her head was cut off.  This may be considered right and proper.  If the condemned man appears inclined to be turbulent, the seconds, without showing any sign of alarm, should hurry to his side, and, urging him to get ready, quickly cause him to make all his preparations with speed, and to sit down in his place; the chief second, then drawing his sword, should get ready to strike, and, ordering him to proceed as fast as possible with the ceremony of receiving the tray, should perform his duty without appearing to be afraid.

A certain Prince Kato, having condemned one of his councillors to death, assisted at the ceremony behind a curtain of slips of bamboo.  The councillor, whose name was Katayama, was bound, and during that time glared fiercely at the curtain, and showed no signs of fear.  The chief second was a man named Jihei, who had always been used to treat Katayama with great respect.  So Jihei, sword in hand, said to Katayama, “Sir, your last moment has arrived:  be so good as to turn your cheek so that your head may be straight.”  When Katayama heard this, he replied, “Fellow, you are insolent;” and as he was looking round, Jihei struck the fatal blow.  The lord Kato afterwards inquired of Jihei what was the reason of this; and he replied that, as he saw that the prisoner was meditating treason, he determined to kill him at once, and put a stop to this rebellious spirit.  This is a pattern for other seconds to bear in mind.

When the head has been struck off, it becomes the duty of the junior second to take it up by the top-knot, and, placing it upon some thick paper laid over the palm of his hand, to carry it for inspection by the witness.  This ceremony has been explained above.  If the head be bald, he should pierce the left ear with the stiletto carried in the scabbard of his dirk, and so carry it to be identified.  He must carry thick paper in the bosom of his dress.  Inside the paper he shall place a bag with rice bran and ashes, in order that he may carry the head without being sullied by the blood.  When the identification of the head is concluded, the junior second’s duty is to place it in a bucket.

If anything should occur to hinder the chief second, the assistant second must take his place.  It happened on one occasion that before the execution took place the chief second lost his nerve, yet he cut off the head without any difficulty; but when it came to taking up the head for inspection, his nervousness so far got the better of him as to be extremely inconvenient.  This is a thing against which persons acting as seconds have to guard.