The Museum of Criminology (Update: now “Criminal Materials Department” at the Meiji University Museum) in the main campus of Meiji University in Ochanomizu, Tokyo has displays of policing in Japan and torture devices from around the world. It’s free and is a good place to spend 30 minutes to an hour if you’re in the area.

This exhibit shows an old Japanese torture technique. If you’ve ever done a traditional Japanese art and sat in seiza (正座, literally “proper sitting”) for an hour or so, you can imagine how painful this must be. I think I’d choose waterboarding any day.

Editor’s note: this post was originally published in March 2008 and has been updated.

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