Samurai Cops: Inside Edo's Police Force During Feudal Japan

&quot;Each bugyo commanded 25 middle-ranked samurai known as yoriki. [...] During the Edo period, three of the most popular professions chosen by commoners were sumo wrestling, firefighting and assisting police squads as a yoriki.&quot;<p>So, middle-ranked samurai were also commoners?

The little detail about them using glass in the powder to blind people was interesting, I&#x27;m ignorant of the history and really only familiar with movie&#x2F;television depictions of the time period and don&#x27;t really remember seeing a lot of glass in buildings or glassware, more ceramics and wooden bowls. They shared the fondness for torture of accused criminals with the ancient Romans.

&gt;&gt; Being acquitted in court after refusing to confess was technically possible but it was extremely rare ...<p>FYI, this remains true today both in Japan and the west. There are courtrooms in the US that havent heard a &quot;not guilty&quot; verdict for many years.