Tsujigiri 辻斬 Crossroad Killings

The Practice of Cutting Down Unsuspecting Victims at Crossroads

辻斬

Tsujigiri, or literally Crossroads Killing originally referred to traditional duels to the death between warriors usually staged at intersections where foot traffic was common and there was no shortage of warriors looking to prove themselves, and during the later Sengoku (Warring States) and early Edo periods, became associated with the indiscriminate cutting down of people. The practice known as tsujigiri was usually performed undercover of darkness, and would involve a samurai simply cutting down an unsuspecting victim.Interestingly, those partaking in the practice were also known as Tsujigiri.