Crying in Exile - Christian Warden and the Byakkotai Guard Chief Shigeru Wakabayashi Nakanishi Publishing The Meiji government ordered the Hokkaido government to force prisoners to work, and the Hokkaido government exploited them in coal mines and road construction. They were chained together in pairs, dragging heavy iron balls, and many died as they were driven to work. Their bodies were sometimes buried by the roadside. The efforts of the Christian warden and the Byakkotai guard chief to protect the prisoners were in vain. This book reveals an indelible stain on the history of Hokkaido's development through anecdotes about the shujikan (penitentiary) and prisons.