The centuries-old tradition of social ostracism, or murahachibu, lives in the mountains of northern Japan. The only difference today is that the disgruntled parties end up in the courts.
The practice of shunning was once used as a way of driving out troublesome village members without the need for physical confrontation. But a court ruled on Tuesday that three men who waged a campaign of murahachibu against 11 neighbours in the tiny Niigata hamlet of Numa should pay 2.2 million yen (HK$145,200) in compensation to their targets.
'No one there is happy at the moment,' said Akira Takashima, lawyer for one of three men found guilty of infringing on the plaintiffs' rights as members of the 36-household community. 'It has been difficult in Numa for some years now and I don't think that will end with this ruling.'
The court heard that the trouble began in April 2004 when one resident refused to help with preparations for a fishing contest on the grounds that it would take up too much of his time during the traditional Obon holiday and that he did not want to help cleaning up afterwards.
In all, 11 villagers opted out of the event - a bold step in a country in which social harmony is of paramount importance in every community - and were threatened with murahachibu, a punishment that was a feature of the Edo period, beginning in 1603.
Back then, deciding not to help with the harvest or breaking the social code in some way meant that the offenders became social outcasts until they got the message.