During the Edo period, Japan (1603-1868) used various punishments against criminals. Categories of punishment During the Edo period, Japan used various punishments against criminals. These can be categorized as follows: Capital punishment Prison and Exile Penal labor Confiscation of property Corporal punishment Death penalty Serious crimes such as murder and arson were punished by death. The Tokugawa shogunate maintained execution grounds for Edo at Kozukappara, Suzugamori, and Itabashi. Kozukappara, also known as Kotsukappara or Kozukahara, is currently located near the southwest exit of Tokyo's Minami-Senju Station. It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 people were executed here. Only part of the site remains, located next to Emmeiji temple, partly buried under the rail tracks and under a more-recent burial ground. Archaeological and morphological research was done by Tokyo University on the skulls found buried here which confirmed the execution methods. Another notable one was located at Suzugamori in Shinagawa. Both sites are still sparsely commemorated in situ with memorial plaques and tombstones. The shogunate executed criminals in various ways: Boiling to death Execution by burning Crucifixion for killing a parent, husband etc. Decapitation by sword Execution by hanging Sawing Waist-cutting (cutting the person in half). The Kanazawa han coupled this with decapitation. The death penalty often carried collateral punishments. One was parading the criminal around town prior to execution. A similar one was public display of the criminal prior to execution. A third was public display of the severed head. Samurai were often sentenced to commit seppuku in lieu of these forms of punishment. Seppuku is a term of suicide for the samurai. Incarceration and exile Depending on the severity of the crime, magistrates could sentence convicts to incarceration in various forms: Exile to an island. Criminals in Edo were often confined on Hachijōjima or Miyakejima. Criminals so punished received tattoos. Imprisonment. The government of Edo maintained a jail at Kodenma-chō. Exclusion from the location of the crime was a penalty for both commoners and samurai. Tokoro-barai, banishment to a certain distance, was common for non-samurai. Kōfu kinban, assignment to the post of Kōfu in the mountains west of Edo, is an example of rustication of samurai. Penal labor For crimes requiring moderate punishment, convicts could be sent to work at labor camps such as the one on Ishikawa-jima in Edo Bay. More serious acts could result in being sent to work in the gold mine on the island