Samurai Cops: Inside Edo's Police Force During Feudal Japan (opens in new tab)

"Each bugyo commanded 25 middle-ranked samurai known as yoriki. [...] During the Edo period, three of the most popular professions chosen by commoners were sumo wrestling, firefighting and assisting police squads as a yoriki."

So, middle-ranked samurai were also commoners?

The little detail about them using glass in the powder to blind people was interesting, I'm ignorant of the history and really only familiar with movie/television depictions of the time period and don't really remember seeing a lot of glass in buildings or glassware, more ceramics and wooden bowls. They shared the fondness for torture of accused criminals with the ancient Romans.

>> Being acquitted in court after refusing to confess was technically possible but it was extremely rare ...

FYI, this remains true today both in Japan and the west. There are courtrooms in the US that havent heard a "not guilty" verdict for many years.