vain crime - tozai

Japanese: 徒罪 - とざい

〘 noun 〙① In the early Meiji period, a crime in which a person was sent to an island to do hard labor. Imprisonment. ※Torioi Asatsu Kaijo Shinwa (1878)〈by Kubota Hiko〉 "Kichizo was ultimately found guilty of gambling and sentenced to one year imprisonment (tozai) ." ② "Zuzai (imprisonment)." ※Taihei Saku (1719-22) "Instead of banishment, he was sentenced to one year imprisonment."

Zu-zai -zu... [imprisonment]

〘 noun 〙 One of the five crimes in the Ritsuryo Code. It involved forced labor for a set number of years, which is equivalent to today's imprisonment. It ranged from one year to three years, with five grades, each for six months . It was lighter than banishment and heavier than flogging . Imprisonment . Servant . [Ritsu (718)]

Source: The Selected Edition of the Japanese Language Dictionary About the Selected Edition of the Japanese Language Dictionary Information

Japanese:

〘名〙① 明治初期、島地に送って重労働を課した罪。徒刑。※鳥追阿松海上新話（1878）〈久保田彦作〉「吉蔵は竟に賭博の罪科と極り一年の徒罪(トザイ)を申つけられて」② 「ずざい（徒罪）」のこと。※太平策（1719‐22）「追放の代りに徒罪を行ひ」