Death by Hanging (Koshikei)

A SOZOSHA — ART THEATRE GUILD COPRODUCTION

Produced by

MASAYUKI NAKAJIMA, TAKUJI YAMAGUCHI, and NAGISA OSHIMA

Screenplay by TSUTOMU TAMURA MAMORU SASAKI

MICHINORI FUKAO and NAGISA OSHIMA

Cinematography by YASUHIRO YOSHIOKA

Production Design by JUSHO TODA Music by HIKARU HAYASHI

Starring

KEI SATO FUMIO WATANABE

HOSEI KOMATSU ROKKO TOURA

TOSHIRO ISHIDO

MASAO ADACHI MASAO MATSUDA

Featuring AKIKO KOYAMA and YUNG-DO YUN

Directed by NAGISA OSHIMA

DEATH BY HANGING

Ladies and gentlemen,

do you oppose or support abolishing the death penalty?

A June 1967 poll by the Justice Ministry showed

that 71% were opposed to abolishing it,

16% were in favor of abolishing it,

and 13% were undecided.

But ladies and gentlemen,

those 71% of you who oppose abolishing it:

Have you ever seen an execution chamber?

Have you ever witnessed an execution?

Have you ever seen an execution chamber?

Have you ever witnessed an execution?

EXECUTION SCHEDULE

The execution complex is hidden away in a corner of the prison.

To set it apart from the rest of the facility,

it's partitioned off by a weathered wood fence.

One enters through what is commonly called "the Gate of Hell."

It has an area of 10,000 square feet, covered with grass.

There are cherry, azalea, and other blooming trees.

The building sits atop a shallow mound

and looks no different from a Western-style house.

The walls are 25 feet by 35 feet and are a light cream color.

The roof of sheet zinc, typical of cheap postwar houses,

flashes in the sun.

The interior is cheery, with salmon-pink walls

and five windows spread over three sides.

The windows have standard metal frames.

All the building materials are standard,

down to the reinforced concrete.

On the left is a 100-square-foot waiting room

with sofas, a table, and a chair.

This is for the public prosecutor and other officials.

Beyond this is a small restroom,

but it's only for men.

Beyond that is the 50-square-foot cell.

The condemned man is supposed to wait here,

but it's actually never used.

There's a toilet in one corner.

Beyond that is a corridor three feet wide,

and a door leading to the cell.

Curtains on one side set off a room with a Buddhist altar.

The curtains are dark yellow.

Rites are performed at the altar before the execution.

Near the left window stand the prosecutor, his clerk,

the warden, and other prison staff.

The chaplain, who leads the prisoner here,

conducts the last rites.

Facing the front door,

you see a plain Buddhist altar.

If the condemned is a Christian,

the altar doors stay closed, and fresh lilies are set out.

The condemned makes a final prayer.

He's then asked whether he's made a will

and what he wants done with his remains and valuables.

He's given time to write a will

and leave last words for next of kin or the staff.

He's given sweets or fruit as his last meal.

Then comes his last cup of tea and last cigarette.

All that remains is the execution itself.

Two guards blindfold and handcuff him.

The curtain leading to the room on the right

is opened for the first time.

That 140-square-foot room is the execution chamber.

Everything is ready.

Three guards chosen for duty that day are waiting.

The blindfolded prisoner cannot see what's in the room.

Slightly to the right and front of center is a trapdoor

with a noose hanging above it.

The rope passes through a pulley and is anchored in the corner.

The condemned is positioned on the trapdoor.

The last thing he touches on this earth is the maroon carpet

laid throughout the chapel and execution chamber.

Meanwhile, the witnesses leave the chapel

through the corridor on the right

and sit on folding chairs facing the execution chamber.

Seventeen steps lead down to the basement below the trapdoor.

Above the stairs is a viewing window

through which the witnesses can see the condemned.

One guard ties his knees together

with a cloth,

while another places the noose around his neck.

The noose's iron ring must touch the back of the neck,

and the noose must be tightened until there's no give.

There's a backup lever to open the trapdoor,

but normally a button is used.

At the security chief's signal, a third guard pushes the button,

the trapdoor opens from the front, and the prisoner hangs.

The basement's ceiling is nine feet high.

The length of the rope is adjusted so that the condemned's feet

are left dangling a foot above the ground.

Two guards wait in the basement.

They steady the body and turn it to face the witnesses.

The medical officer, stopwatch in hand,

descends the stairs.

The blindfold and handcuffs are removed,

and the medical officer begins monitoring the prisoner's pulse.

It usually stops after 12-13 minutes, at which point the prisoner is dead.

With the prisoner's death, the execution is complete.

R'S BODY

REFUSES TO BE EXECUTED

Hey! Hasn't his heart stopped yet?

It's beating perfectly normally.

Is something wrong with the noose?

No.

Nothing wrong with the noose.

- But — - That isn't my job!

What's going on?

The heart usually stops in 12-13 minutes, 15 at most.

It's been 21:30.

He still has a pulse.

When it stops, he's legally dead.

We'll undo the noose in five minutes and do an autopsy.

Everything was according to procedure.

Doctor!

His pulse isn't weakening.

Are you saying we'll have to keep the prosecutor waiting?

Sir, allow us to execute him again.

Execute him again? He wasn't executed.

That's right, sir. We'll execute him.

Would it be improper for us to try again?

I'm only here as a formal overseer. The methods are up to you.

Hear that?

He's still alive, isn't he?

Security Chief, according to regulations,

the noose can't be undone until five minutes after death.

But he hasn't been executed yet.

Shall we have another prayer and hymn?

In God's name? Never!

He's already received his last communion.

His soul is with God. - But his body's alive.

I don't have the statute here, but I'm pretty sure Article 479

of the Criminal Code says that if he's mentally incapacitated,

by order of the justice minister, the execution must be halted.

In that case...

we'd be in trouble for executing someone who's unconscious.

If we try to execute him again, we'd be breaking the law.

Why can't you execute someone who's mentally incapacitated?

Probably because the point isn't just to take his life.

The prisoner's awareness of his own guilt

is what gives execution its moral and ethical meaning...

though I'm no authority.

Doctor, is he mentally incapacitated?

Yes, completely, as you can see.

Mistakes are unavoidable in this line of work.

Let's call it a day.

We're just going to give up?

Doctor, do what you must to restore consciousness.

Yeah... good idea!

We restore consciousness...

and make him realize again the depth of his crimes!

You're a very clever man!

- Please proceed. - Right here?

It must be done.

I came to confirm death. I didn't bring tools to restore life.

Can't you perform artificial respiration, like on drowned people?

He didn't drown.

He was executed.

Step aside.

One, two...

- Stop that. - ...and exhale...

Stop, I said!

We're trying to save his life!

Warden, they're trying to revive him so they can kill him!

It's happening at your behest. - You're out of line.

Is this acceptable? Why are you letting it happen?

All in the name of the law, eh? - Calm down!

Doctor, please continue.

Come on — "one, two, one, two"!

Your job is to revive him.

One, two...

Warden...

Let's revive him first. The execution is a separate issue.

"There's an iron cell...

full of sleeping people who soon may die."

In the colonies during the war,

I read lots of strange stories.

"No one knew whether to wake those people or not.

If they awake, they'll taste the agony and terror of death."

One, two...

"Perhaps it's better to die without knowing that terror."

But the people in that story were all awoken.

Why was that?

For human beings,

death comes when one consciously accepts it.

It also said this: