Since the Meiji Restoration, the penitentiary administrative system and design of penal buildings in Japan have been developed with reference to examples from Western countries as part of an institutional modernization effort. The policy has been to discipline prisoners based on benevolence and humanism, not to punish. It was around 1900 that a unified system of jurisdiction for all prisons was established in Japan by the Ministry of Justice. Since then, based on the humanitarian principles that had been set forth since the early Meiji era, the penitentiary buildings were upgraded under the organization of the Ministry of Justice, following administrative changes in the treatment and management of inmates. In 1922, “The Revised Penal Code” changed the word for ‘prison’ from "kangoku" to "keimusyo", with the clear purpose of moving from "retributionism", which punished criminals, to "educationism", which viewed prisons as institutions for the rehabilitation of prisoners. This paper considers the reform movement from around 1920, as well as structural restoration works undertaken in after the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923). This period represents an important turning point in the improvement of pre-World War II penitentiary buildings in Japan, demonstrating an identifiable new policy of penitentiary administration. This is reflected in the architectural planning of prisons, and expressed in designs utilizing the characteristics of reinforced concrete, a novel structural technology at the time.

 The new policy can be seen in the planning of three architectural aspects: plot plans, office buildings, and cellblocks. Firstly, regarding plot plans, in the Meiji and Taisho periods, a large space was created between the front gate and the office, cellblocks (for ordinary prisoners) and the factory were combined into that space. Moreover, cells that should be segregated from ordinary prisoners (e.g. female, juvenile, and sick prisoners) were housed by demarcating the premises with walls. In contrast, in the early Showa era (around 1930), the premises were divided into a "government office area" and a "prison area", and the prison area was divided into a "cell house area" and a "factory area". This change was aimed at redefining the prison as the "government office" and reforming the image of executions.

 Secondly, office buildings also reflected the new "governmental" nature of the prison. The features of the buildings include expanded functions aimed at improving staff well-being, rationalized operational flow planning, and brighter design of the facade and the interior.

 Thirdly, in the early Showa era, each prison was divided into different types of confinement cellblocks in a more detailed manner, and the “radial”, “parallel”, or “composite” layout was selected according to the nature of the inmates. Large openings and top-lighting to ensure light and ventilation, and state-of-the-art sanitary facilities were also used to improve the living environment for the inmates.

 The design of Kosuge Prison was one of the first to adopt the new execution policy at the time. Designed by Shigeo Kambara, an architectural engineer at the Ministry of Justice, it demonstrates the utmost importance placed on “purposefulness” in prison architecture as it responded to the changing needs of prisoners. By taking advantage of new structural technology, this ambitious new design strengthened the detention classification system, improved the living environment, and renewed the image of the prison.

“Authentic” relics of the Buddha have the potentiality to become a common object of worship and symbol of all Buddhists regardless of Theravada, Mahayana or Tibetan Buddhism.

The Buddha relics excavated in Piprahwa in India in January 1898 were offered by the British India Government to King Chulalongkorn, the sole existing Buddhist monarch. He did not accept them immediately, doing so only after careful consideration.

The King distributed a portion of the relics to Russian Buddhists in August 1899, and then to Burmese and Ceylonese monks on 9 January 1900.

Inagaki Manjiro, a devout Zen Buddhist and the first Japanese Minister in Siam, fully understood the importance of the relics for forming a unity of the different Buddhists both in Japan and Asia. Without any instructions from Foreign Minister Aoki Shuzo in Tokyo, Inagaki petitioned the King requesting a portion of the relics for the Japanese. Ishikawa Shuntai, the top administrator of the Otani sect of Shin Buddhism, responded favorably to Inagaki’s proposal. Ishikawa envisioned including the relics in his own magnificent plan to build a world Buddhist center in front of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

A Japanese Buddhist mission (chief representative: Otani Koen of the Otani sect) had an audience with King Chulalongkorn on 14 June 1900 and received the relics the next day from Chaophraya Pasakorawong, Minister of Public Instruction.

Ishikawa asked the Thai government to send some Thai monks for the ceremony to lay the cornerstone of his world Buddhist center in Tokyo. However the Thai government did not cooperate because they were not so enthusiastic about Buddhist unity as were Ishikawa and Inagaki.

Oda Tokuno (1860–1911, Ikuta Tokuno before February 1891), a priest of the Shinshu Otani sect of Buddhism, arrived at Bangkok as the first Japanese student to study Thai Buddhism on 21st March 1888. His dispatch to Bangkok was decided suddenly after Phya Bhaskarawongse (1849–1920) and Japanese leading 3 monks exchanged their views on Buddhism at Rokumeikan, Tokyo on 10–11 February 1888. Phya Bhaskarawongse was sent to Tokyo by King Chualongkorn as the ambassador to exchange the instruments of ratification of the Declaration of Amity and Commerce. Not only was he the best intellectual of Siam at that period, he was familiar with Thai Buddhism and European Buddhist studies.

In 1878 Phya Bhaskarawongse compiled and published ธรรมวินยานุศาสน (Thammawinayānusāsana, Handbook for Buddhist Beginners), probably the first printed handbook of Thai Buddhism.

During the time of Tokuno’s stay in Siam, there were no Buddhist schools established and very few published books on Buddhism. Buddhist canons were still written in palm leaf in Khmer script. The King’s project of publishing Tripitaka in Thai script just started. Phra Wajirayan Bhikkhu (later King Rama Ⅳ) devised Ariyaka alphabet to write Pali text, however it was used only by a small number of Thammayut monks and did not spread widely. Phra Sasanasophon (Sa Pussathewo, 1813–1900, the abbot of Wat Rachapradit since 1865, The Supreme Patriarch of Thai Sangha from 1893 to 1900), a high disciple of Phra Wajirayan Bhikkhu, devised the method of writing Pali texts in Thai script and published a book, มคธภาสานุรูปสฺยามักฺขรวิธิ (Siamese orthography for Magadha (Pali) language) in 1869/70 at the publisher in front of Wat Rachapradit, probably the first Thai book published by Thai publisher.

Both authors of early printed Thai Buddhist books, Rev. Phra Sasanasophon and Phya Bhaskarawongse played important roles in the King Chulalongkorn’s project to publish Tripitaka in Thai script which started on 22nd Dec. 1887 by the King’s address and completed in October 1893.

Oda Tokuno returned to Japan 3 years before printed Tripitaka appeared.

In Siam, Tokuno learned Thai language first at Phra Tamnak Suankularb School in the grand palace. At the same time he endeavored to read the Modern Buddhist by Henry Alabaster (1836–1884) comparing with a Thai book “Sadaeng Kitchanukit” lithographically printed on 21st Nov. 1867 by Chaophya Thiphakorawong (1813–1870). As the Modern Buddhist was a partial English translation of “Sadaeng Kitchanukit”, this comparison was helpful for Tokuno to understand Thai Buddhism.

After returned to Kobe, Japan on 17th July 1890, Oda Tokunou published a Japanese book on Situations of Buddhism in Siam (Shyam Bukkyo Jijo) in February 1891. It is most systematically written introduction to Thai Buddhism in Japanese until today. Its only shortcoming is to idealize and describe the state of Thai Buddhism more than reality. The reason is probably because he did not ordain as a Theravada monk and were not familiar with real lives and practices of monks in Thai monasteries.

Phya Bhaskarawongse offered Tokuno to ordain in Thammayut order by his patronage. However Tokuno declined it and did not return to Bangkok again.

He belonged to Rev. Kaien Atsumi’s faction in Otani sect and struggled with Ishikawa Shundai’s faction fiercely. He was ousted from Otani sect under Ishikawa administration in November 1898, but restored monkhood status in April 1901.

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