YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

JAPANESE L. A D V .

JAPAN: AN AC C OUNT,
GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL,
FROM
THE EARLIEST PERIOD AT WHICH THE ISLANDS COMPOSING THIS
EMPIRE WERE KNOWN TO EUROPEANS,
DOWN TO THB PRESENT TIME,
AND THE
dftepMtiffn Jiiteh (But in tjjt Inii*fo Stutw, tic.

BY
CHARLES MAC FARLANE, ESQ,.,
AtTTUOB OF "BKITISH INDIA," "LIFE OP WELLINGTON," ETC, ETC.

USSitj) Numerous illustrations.

NEW-YORK:
GEORGE P. PUTNAM & CO., 10 PARK PLACE.
MDCCCLII.

E. O. JENKINS, STEREOTYPER AND PRINTER,
114 Nassau Street

THE HONORABLE BROWNLOW C. BERTIE,
OF THE 2d LIFE GUARDS.
Mr Dear Sir,
I inscribe this volume to you for two good and
valid reasons, — 1st. You take a greater interest in the country
and people, of which the work treats, than any one in England
with whom I have the pleasure of being acquainted. 2nd. You
have, in the kindest and readiest manner, rendered very valuable
assistance while I have been engaged in the compilation.
I am, my dear Sir,
With all respect and thankfulness,
Your devoted Servant,
CHARLES MAC FARLANE.
Canterbury, July 1, 1852.

CONTENTS

Page
DEDICATION  m
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS  VII
PREFACE  IX
BOOK I.
EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE  9
BOOK II.
GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JAPAN  117
»
BOOK III.
RACE  PROBABLE COURSE OF MIGRATION — SUMMARY OF HISTORY . 139
BOOK IV.
RELIGION— GOVERNMENT — LEGISLATION  173
BOOK.V.
GOVERNMENT — LEGISLATION — POLICE  199
BOOK YI.
MINERAL WEALTn, PEARLS, PRECIOUS STONES .... 227
BOOK VII.
SYLVA  FOREST TREES — FRUIT TREES — PLANTS — FLOWERS . . 235

VI CONTENTS.
BOOK VIII. . 247
ANIMALS — REPTILES— BIRDS — FISHES ...•¦''
BOOK IX.
ARTS — MANUFACTURES — SHIPPING, NAVIGATION, ETC. . • . 2o9
BOOK X.
POPULAR AMUSEMENTS  DOMESTIC MANNERS — GENERAL CHARACTER 275
BOOK XI.
LANGUAGE — LITERATURE  SCIENCE — MUSIC — PAINTING . . .303
APPENDIX  331

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Frontispiece. „
PllgO
Firando, or Fiaango  9
The Fudsi Jamma  117
The Grater of the Fudsi Jamma  137
Divinities  139
Part of Jeddo  171
Buddhist Temple  , 173
Family Worship  196
A Vassal Prince  199
The Port of Simoneseke  225
The Kirisima Jamma ...*.... 227
Japanese Garden  235
Old Camphor Tree  245
A Japanese Fishing Family  247
Japanese Fishermen  257
Ornamental Vases  259
Ornamental Candlesticks  262
Flower-baskets and Vases  271
Japanese Merchant  273
Jugglers or Tumblers  275
Lady Painting  277
The Tea-Party  287
Country House  290
An Equestrian Party  293
Japanese Wrestlers  301
Engraving Blocks for Printing  303
Musical Instruments  326
Japanese Instruments of War  329

PREFACE.
It appears to me erroneous to say — though it very
commonly is said — that we know next to nothing of
Japan and the Japanese. We possess, in books, old and
new — but mostly old and voluminous — the means of
knowing quite as much of them as we know of any
other Eastern nation.
I have now before me (chiefly through acts of kindness
presently to be acknowledged) what might almost be
called a Japanese library, or a library about Japan, and
its interesting inhabitants. These books are in Latin,
Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch, German,
and English. These books vary in date from 1560 to
1838. The contributions furnished by the Dutch, or
by the German medical officers in their service, are,
perhaps, the best as well as the most voluminous. It
is therefore very unfair to state (and this too is fre
quently done) that the Dutch, in order to preserve
their commercial monopoly, invariably endeavored to
1*

X PKEFACE.
keep the rest of the world in ignorance as to the extra
ordinary empire of Japan.
Taking all these works as a fund of information, we
may safely be said to know more of the Japanese than
we knew of the Turks a hundred years ago. This
arises out of the sociable disposition and habits of the
Japanese, the great freedom enjoyed by the gentler sex
in their country, and various other causes which will
be made apparent in the course of this work.
My attention was first drawn to these subjects twenty
years since, by a dear and excellent old friend — the late j
James Drummond, Esq., Commissary-General, Commis
sioner for settling English claims at Paris, after our
crowning victory at Waterloo, &c. In early life Mr.
Drummond was engaged in trade, and, passing for a
Dutchman, he resided several years in Japan. Our
acquaintance commenced at Brighton, where, in a well-
stored, choice library, he had collected every work that
had, up to that period, been published about the country.
Besides lending me all these books, he gave me, in many
a pleasant fireside conversation, a great deal of infor
mation derived from his own observation and experience.
Of all this I took notes and memoranda, with the inten
tion of producing some such work, as the present; but
I was called away from the subject by other literary

PEEFACE. XI
occupations, and have never seriously returned to it
until the American movement rendered it one of the
foremost and most interesting topics of the day.
My dear old friend, with strong literary tastes, was
well mated. Mrs. Drummond was a grand-niece of
Smollett, and as fond of books and of quiet, unpretend
ing literary society as was her husband. He died, at Tun-
bridge Wells, full of years and honored by the respect
of all who knew him, in the year 1844 : his lady died
within a week after him, and was buried in the same
grave with him. The expression of my praise or grati
tude cannot reach their ears, but I feel a melancholy
pleasure in thus recording them.
In compiling this volume, I have carefully consulted
all the best authorities. These I have named in my
foot notes and Appendix, so that those who wish to
follow up the study may find therein a tolerably com
plete Index.
I have purposely avoided minutiae, my present purpose
being to give a broad, general view of the subject. I
trust (but I may be mistaken) that I am too old a travel
ler, and too constant a reader of the voyages and travels
of others, to be a gobe-mouche, or a credulous recipient of
every tale that is told in such books. In using the facts
collected by others, from the middle of the sixteenth

Xll PEEFACE.
century down to our own day, wherever there is any
thing which startles belief, or which is not confirmed
and supported by several authorities, I have spoken of it
doubtingly.
¦ I cannot conclude this brief preface without some
further expressions of gratitude. I have been indebted
to my very old, learned, most ingenious, invaluable
friend, Edwin Ebrris, Esq., of the Foreign Office and
Royal Asiatic Society, for many hints and much infor
mation. To the Royal Asiatic Society I have been
indebted for the use of many books and other materials.
I am under the same obligation to Sir James Weir Hogg,
to Professor Horace Hayman Wilson, and to the gentle
men employed in the Library of the East India House.
My thanks to the Hon. Brownlow Bertie, for services
of the like nature, appear on another page.
C. M. F.

THE

EMPIRE OF JAPAN

FIRANDO OB FIAAN80.

BOOK I.
ETJEOPEAN INTEECOUESE.
In the year 1542, a Portuguese ship, bound for Macao
in China, was driven from her course, and forced by a
storm upon one of the islands of Japan, which were as yet
1*

10 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
unknown to the European world* After great dangers
and sufferings, she came safely to anchor in the harbor of
Bungo, on the island of Kiusjii. Though vigilant and cir
cumspect, the native government was not then adverse to
intercourse with foreign nations : the Portuguese were
received with courtesy and kindness, and freely allowed
to traffic with the inhabitants. They were much struck
with the beatuy, fertility, and high state of cultivation
and populousness of the empire, and by the evident abun
dance of gold, silver, and copper. The honor of the first
discovery of Japan, by the way of the Indies, is thus un
questionably due to the Portuguese, though it happened
accidentally. The first two of them who set foot on shore on this
terra incognita were named Antonio Mota and Francesco
Zeimoto. The Japanese have preserved portraits of them,
which are said to be very curious and characteristic speci
mens of native art. It is quite evident that their mem
ory must have been cherished with affection, and that the
first impression they made on the- Japanese must have
been highly favorable to their own nation.
From this time, by an arrangement with the prince or
viceroy of Bungo, a Portuguese ship, laden with woollen
cloths, furs, manufactured silks, taffetas, and other com
modities in request, was sent once a year to the same
island. In 1549, only seven years after the discovery, a
young Japanese fled to the Portuguese settlement at Goa,
on the Malabar coast, and there meeting with some mis-
* Strictly, we ought to say, with the exception of the brief men
tion of the country made by the old Venetian traveller, Marco Polo.
But the correctness of that illustrious Venetian was very much doubt
ed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Modern research has
fully established his reputation as a traveller and accurate observer.

EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE. 11
sionaries of the Church of Eome, he was converted to the
Christian faith, and baptized. Like many of the Japa
nese, he was shrewd, intelligent, and enterprising. He
showed the Portuguese merchants the great gains they
might make by extending their commerce in Japan, and
by supplying other provinces with their manufactures;
and he discoursed with the Jesuits as to the facility or
possibility of Christianizing his countrymen. The Portu
guese proceeded at once to act upon these double consid
erations, and to devise means for erecting a factory in
Japan. The young Japanese was sent back to his native
country on board a ship loaded with goods and presents,
and some Jesuit fathers went with him to undertake the
labors of spiritual conversion. In the latter number was
Father Francisco Xavier, a joint founder, with Loyola, of
the order of Jesuits, and who was subsequently canonized
by his church. This high-born Spaniard had all the ac
complishments and qualities most calculated to command
success as a missionary among a people like the Japanese ;
and his zeal and courage were never surpassed by mortal
man. Some of his friends at Goa endeavored to turn him
from his project, by representing the great length of the
voyage — good thirteen hundred leagues — the great risk
of falling among Malay pirates, who pitilessly massacred
all the prisoners they took; the dangers of the rocky
coasts of Japan, which had not been surveyed by any
mariner ; the dangers of whirlpools which were known to
exist there ; and the perils of those tremendous hurricanes
called typhons, which prevail at certain seasons on the
ocean between Japan and China. But the ardent propa
gandist said it were a shame that he should be afraid to
venture for the sake of religion where sailors and mer
chants went for the mere love of worldly gain ; that mis-

12 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
sionaries ought to have as much courage as they; and
that he felt it was the will of God that he should go *
He went, and truly wondrous was the success which
attended him.
The Portuguese,— mariners, merchants, padres and all,
—were received with open arms, not only at Bungo, but at
whatsoever other part of the empire they chose to repair
unto. The local governments and the minor princes, who
then enjoyed a considerable degree of independence, vied
with each other in inviting them to their ports and towns.
They went wherever they pleased, from one extremity
of the empire to the other, and by land as well as by sea.
The merchants found a ready and a most profitable market
for their goods ; the missionaries, an intellectual, tolerant
people, very willing to listen to the lessons which they
had to teach them. There was no one established, dominant
religion in the country ; the most ancient faith was split
into sects ; and there were at least three other religions
imported from foreign countries, and tolerated in the most
perfect manner. Moreover, a faith, said to be of Brah-
minical origin, and which had been imported from India,
was, at the time, widely spread among the people.f This
faith bore so near a resemblance to the doctrines intro-

* Pere Bouhours, " Vie de Saint Frangois Xavier, Apotre des In-
des et du Japan."
Other interesting notices of the first proceedings of the Christian
missionaries in Japan will be found in the following works : — Padre
G. Marini, "Delle Missioni del Giapone, etc." 4to. Eoma, 1663; F.
Luigi Frois, "Avvisi Nuovi del Giapone, etc." Venezia, 1586; and
C. W. King, "Claims of Japan and Malaysia upon Christendom,
exhibited in Notes of Voyages made in 1837." 2 vols 8vo New
York, 1839.
t At one time it appears to have been universal.

EUEOPEAN INTERCOURSE. 13
duced by the Portuguese, that it must have greatly favored
their reception. It appears to have comprised the exist
ence, death, and resurrection of a Saviour bom of avirgin,
with almost every other essential dogma of Christianity,
including the belief in the Trinity. If this be a true
statement and correct description, and if we then add to
it the tradition, that this form of religion was introduced
under the reign of the Chinese emperor Mimti, who
ascended the throne in about the fiftieth year of the
Christian era, can we avoid admitting the conclusion,
that some early apostle reached the eastern extremity of
Asia, if not the islands themselves of Japan ?* Then the
pomp and impressive ceremonials of the Eoman church,
and the frequency of its services, delighted the impres
sionable Japanese, who, in all probability, would have
paid far less attention to a simpler form of worship. The
first missionaries, moreover, were men of exemplary lives
— modest, virtuous, disinterested, and most tender and
charitable to the poor and afflicted. They sought out
cases of distress ; they attended the sick ; and some
knowledge they possessed of the superior science of
medicine, as practised by the most advanced nations of
Europe, was frequently of great benefit to the natives,
and another means of facilitating their conversion. Xavier
quitted Japan for China in 1551, and died on the second
of December of the following year, at Shan-Shan, on the
Canton river, not far from Macao ;f but he left able and
* Meylan's Japan. " Quarterly Beview," vol. Iii. We believe that
there is other evidence to show that the doctrines cf Christianity were
conveyed to India in the first century after the death of our Saviour.
t It is worthy of notice that poor Fernam Mendez Pinto, who by
no means merits the very hard names bestowed upon him by a Span
ish writer of romances and an English writer of plays, performed se-

14 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
enthusiastic missionaries behind him, and others soon
repaired to the country.
It is said that the immediate successor of Xavier (he
died in 1570) founded fifty churches, and baptized, with
his own hands, more than 30,000 converts. These early
missionaries are unanimous in their praise of the good,
docile, kindly disposition of the natives ; and speak of
them as eminently a grateful people. In one of his letters,
the sainted Xavier says, " I know not when to have done
when I speak of the Japanese. They are truly the delight
of my heart."
The current of conversion, however, was not always
smooth and unimpeded ; for, at this period of greatest
success, we hear occasionally of a persecution, and, though
less frequently, of an apostasy.
It was so much the more easy to the Portuguese to
bring their trade into a flourishing condition, and at the
same time to advance and support the conversion of the
Japanese to the faith of our Saviour, as the neighboring
city of Macao, in China, which they were then already
possessed of, could furnish them at command with a
sufficient stock of European and Indian commodities, and
a competent number of priests. Their co-religionists the
Spaniards, established at the city of Manilla, in the Phil-
veral voyages with the fearless missionary Xavier. He records, with
great reverence, many of the learned father's deeds and disputations
with the Bonzes, or native priests. It was not his fortune to be pre
sent at Xavier's death.
Not for the sake of my own humble performance, but for the sake of
rescuing the fame of a brave, adventurous, and much-traduced sailor, I
would recommend the reader to a short account of his life and adven
tures contained in my httle book called the " Bomance of Travel " vol.
ii. p. 104 to p. 192.

EUROPEAN INTEECOUESE. 15
ippine Islands, not very remote from Japan, were likewise
at hand to assist them in case of need ; and the city of
Goa itself, as the Eome of India, and the metropolis of all
the Portuguese dominions in the East, though at a greater
distance, yet could easily, and without prejudice to its
own inhabitants, send over fresh recruits of ecclesiastics.
Hence it is not matter of wonder that the Portuguese
should, in a short time, attain to a high pitch of fortune
in this insular empire.*
These local advantages and facilities of the Portuguese
for any enterprise on the country were in themselves
enough to awaken the jealousy of that Asiatic government;
but many years passed ere any such feeling disturbed
the intercourse. Perhaps, however, the comparative
weakness of the central government, and insubordination
and almost independence of many of the provinces, pro
moted the interests of the strangers as much as any other
circumstance or cause then in operation. It is evident,
from some of the early missionaries, that several of the
princes or viceroys paid no attention to the edicts of the
emperor.f About the year 1566, the Portuguese first pointed out
to the prince of Omura the great advantages of the har
bor of Nagasaki over the ports they had been accustomed
to frequent. Their suggestions led to the formation of a
settlement, which, ere long, became an important city, and
which retains a somewhat unhappy celebrity down to our
own day.J
* Kampfer, "History of Japan."
t Fernam Mendez Pinto says that the emperor was recently dead,
and that the Japanese were for some time engaged in a civil war.
t 0. W. King, " Notes of the Voyage of the Morrison from Canton
to Japan." New York, 1839.

16 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
The traders brought their cloths, silks, European
stuffs, wines, drugs, medicines, and a great variety of
other goods, and in return became possessed of " the
golden marrow of the country." The missionaries had
to struggle for some time with the difficulties of the
language. " At first, the fathers, being unacquainted with the
policy, customs, manners, and language of the Japanese,
were obliged to get their sermons and lessons to the
people translated into Japanese by not over-skilful inter
preters, and the Japanese words written in Latin charac
ters, which being done, they read out of these papers what
they did not understand themselves, and in a manner, as
may be easily imagined, which could not but expose them
to the laughter of the less serious part of their audience.
But in process of time, when they came to familiarize
themselves with the natives, learning their language,
studying their religion, their customs, and inclinations,
they then met with a success infinitely beyond their ex
pectations. The number of converts, particularly upon
the island of Kiusjii (Kewsew), where they first settled,
was almost inconceivable, and this the rather, as the
princes of Bungo, Arima, and Omura, did not only openly
espouse the interest of the Christian religion, but were
converted themselves and baptized."*
The Jesuits, after giving them a careful education,
admitted a good number of young natives into their
Society. The Japanese Christians even went so far as to send an
embassy, consisting of seven persons, well furnished with

* Kampfer. See also Arnold Montanus and the other early Dutch
writers; also Thunberg's travels.

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 17
letters and presents, to the city of Eome, there to do
homage to Pope Gregory XJJI., and to assure his holiness
of their entire submission to his church. Being very long
on their voyages and journeys, they did not reach the
Eternal City until the year 1585, when they were present
at the inthronization of Gregory's successor, Pope Sixtus
V. Eeturning homewards, they did not reach Japan again
until 1590, thus having been absent eight years from their
country* In the course of the two years which followed
on their return (1591-2), no fewer than 12,000 Japanese
are said to have been converted and baptized. It is even
stated that the emperor then reigning, with many of his
courtiers and of the chiefs of his army, professed a strong
inclination to the Jesuits, and the doctrines which they
had taught with such signal success. Yet the heathen
priests, who found that they were losing both their reve
nues and their influence with the people, had influence
enough at court to procure a proclamation, forbidding,
under pain of death, the practice or profession of the
Christian religion ; and there were occasional and fierce
outbreaks of fanaticism and persecution. It should ap
pear, however, that these were directed solely against the
native converts, and that the Portuguese remained exempt
from any serious molestation. Many of them married na
tive ladies of the best families — of course baptized. The
merchants in their trade, and the priests in the propaga
tion of their gospel, prospered equally well. The three
ports that were most used were Bungo, Firando, and Na
gasaki. The gain upon the goods imported was at least
cent, per cent., and their profits on the goods they ex-
* An account of this remarkable embassy to Borne is given by
Thuanus in his history.

18 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
ported were very high. It is confidently asserted that
upwards of 300 tons of gold, silver, and copper were ex
ported every year ; for at that period the Portuguese had
full liberty to import and export whatsoever they pleased,
without Umitation as to quantity. They traded in fine large
ships, the arrival of which was always held as a holiday
by the natives. " It is believed," says the valuable old
German writer, whom we frequently follow, " that had the
Portuguese enjoyed the trade to Japan but twenty years
longer, upon the same footing as they did for some time,
such riches would have been transported out of this Ophir
to Macao, and there would have been such a plenty and
flow of gold and silver in that town, as sacred writ men
tions there was at Jerusalem in the time of Solomon."*
The Portuguese were at this period, with the exception
of the Italians, as civilized a nation as any in Christen
dom ; elegant in their attire and manners, fond of the arts
and of music and poetry. Traces of their civilization are
yet distinguishable among the upper classes of Japanese,
curiously blended with the Chinese and Indian elements
of civilization. Old Kampfer, who loves to trace resem
blances and affinities of races, says that there was a certain
natural resemblance between the minds, dispositions, and
inclinations of the Japanese and Portuguese, " both being
born nearly under the same clime." The misfortune of
the Portuguese was, that they allowed themselves to be
overstocked with monks and missionaries, and fell them
selves into a morbid state of ultra devotion.
If the English nation undertook as yet nothing, in this
direction, on its own account, it was to the skill, science,
and courage of an Englishman that the Dutch owed their
* Kampfer.

EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE. 19
first access to Japan, and the first advantages they ac
quired in the country. This remarkable man has left us
a most curious and interesting account of himself and his
adventures. He was born about the middle of the reign
of Elizabeth. " Your worships shall understand that I am
a Kentish man, born in a town called Gillingham, two
English miles from Eochester, and one mile from Chatham,
where the queen's ships do lie ; and that, from the age of
twelve years, I was brought up in Limehouse, near Lon
don, being 'prentice twelve years to one master, Nicholas
Diggins, and have served in the place of master and pilot
in her majesty's ships, and about eleven or twelve years
served the worshipful company of the Barbary merchants,
until the Indian traffic from Holland began, in which In
dian traffic I was desirous to make a little experience of
the small knowledge which God had given me.
" So, in the year of our Lord God 1598, I hired myself
for chief pilot of a fleet of five sail of Hollanders, which
was made ready by the chief of their Indian company,
Peter Vanderhaeg, and Hans Vanderguct ; the general
of this fleet was called Jacques Mayhay, in which ship,
being admiral, I was pilot."*
The fleet, or squadron, set sail from the Texel on the
24th of June, 1598, in the last years of Queen Eliza
beth. In those days long voyages were seldom attempted with
impunity. Before the Dutch crossed the line, sickness
broke out in their ships, and they were forced to touch at
the coast of Guinea, where many of their men died. The
admiral, or, as he was called in those days, the general,
died before they reached the Guinea coast. After other

* Purchas, " His Pilgrimes."

20 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
calamities, they reached the Straits of Magelhaens at the
beginning of April, 1599, "at which time the winter
came, so that there was much snow : and our men, through
cold on the one side and hunger on the other, grew weak."
Though the straits had seldom been passed by ships from
Europe, and were very imperfectly known, bold William
Adams, our true English pilot, preferred going through
them to doubling Cape Horn.
" We had the wind at N. E. some five or six days, in
which time we might have passed through the straits ;
but, for refreshing of our men, we waited, watering and
taking in of wood, and setting up of a pinnace of fifteen
or sixteen tons in bigness. At length, we would have
passed through, but could not by reason of the southerly
winds, with wet and also very cold, with abundance of
snow and ice. Wherefore, we were forced to winter and
stay in the straits from the 6th of April until the 24th of
September, in which time the most part of our provisions
were spent, in so much that for lack of victuals many of
our men died through hunger." At last" they got through
the perilous passage into the Pacific. But storms dis
persed the fleet. After waiting on the coast of Chili
eight-and-twenty days, in the hope of being joined by
the others, the Erasmus, which was piloted by Adams,
made sail for the island of Mocha. While they stayed
on the Chilian coast, they found the natives " good of
nature ; but, by reason of the Spaniards, they would not
deal with us at the first ; but then they brought us sheep
and potatoes, for which we gave them bells and knives,
whereof they were very glad ; but, in the end, the people
went up from their houses into the country, and came no
more unto us." Wherever these early navigators pene
trated, they were met by the malice and sharp jealousy

EUROPEAN INTERCOUBSE. 21
of the Spaniards and Portuguese, who had obtained
a good footing in those regions before them.
" The 1st of November we came to the isle of Moka,
lying in the latitude of 38°. Having much wind, we
durst not anchor, but directed our course for the island of
Santa Maria, where, having no knowledge of the people,
our men went on land, and the people of the land fought
with our men, and hurt eight or nine ; but, in the end,
they made a false composition of friendship, which our
men did believe. The next day our captain and three-
and-twenty of our chief men went on land, meaning for
merchandise to get victuals, having wonderful hunger.
Two or three of the people came straight to our boat in
friendly manner, with a kind of wine and roots, making
tokens to come and land, and signs that there were sheep
and oxen. Our captain with our men, having great
desire to get refreshments for the ship, went on land.
The people of the country lay in ambush, a thousand and
more, and straightway fell upon our men, and slew them
all ; among which was my poor brother Thomas Adams.
By this loss we had scarce so many men whole as could
weigh our anchor."
A day or two after this calamity they fell in with one
of their missing ships, which had another story of woe to
tell, having had the captain and twenty-seven men killed
at the island of Moka.
" Now we took council what we should do to get vic
tuals. To go on land by force we had no men ; for the most
part were sick. There came a Spaniard by composition
to see our ship ; and so the next day he came again, and
we let him depart quietly. The third day came two
Spaniards aboard us, without pawn (pledge), to see if
they could betray us. When they had seen our ship,

22 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
they would have gone on land again ; but we would not
let them, showing that they came without leave, and we
would not let them go on land again without our leave ;
whereat they were greatly offended. We showed them
that we had extreme need of victuals ; and that if they
would give us so many sheep, and so many beeves, they
should go and land. So against their wills they made
composition with us, which, within the time appointed,
they did accomplish. Having so much refreshing as we
could get, we made all things well again, our men being
for the most part recovered of their sickness (by reason
of the beef and mutton)."
The pilot of the other ship was also an Englishman,
one Timothy Shotten by name, " who had been with Mr.
Thomas Cavendish in his voyage round the world." Shot-
ten and Adams were old friends, and about equally enter
prising. They heard that the Spaniards had overpowered
one of their fleet ; but they could learn nothing of the
fate of the other two ships that were missing. In all
probability they had foundered at sea. A new captain
being appointed in Adams's ship, a council was held as to
what they should do to make their voyage most profitable.
They had a great quantity of woollen cloths ; and had
evidently left Europe with no very decided plan as to the
market they were to seek. " At last it was resolved to
go for Japan ; for, by report of one Dirreck Gerritson,
which had been there with the Portugals, woollen cloth
was in great estimation in that island ; and we gathered, by
reason that the Malaccas, and the most part of the East
Indies, were hot countries where woollen cloths would
not be much accepted. Therefore it was we all agreed to
go for Japan."
It was on the 29th of November, 1599, that they shaped

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 23
their course, favored by the trade-wind, " which continued
good for divers months." William Adams believed that
they fell among cannibals. " In our way across the South
Sea we fell in with certain islands, in 16° of north lati
tude, the inhabitants whereof are men-eaters. Coming
near these islands, and having a great pinnace with us,
eight of our men being in the pinnace, ran from us with
the pinnace ; and, as we suppose, were eaten of the wild
men, of which people we took one."
In latitude 27° or 28° they encountered variable winds
and very stormy weather. On the 24th of February,
1600, the ships lost sight of each other, and never met
again. Poor Adams could only conjecture as to the fate
of the other ship and his good friend the English pilot,
Master Timothy Shotten. Of the five ships which had
quitted Holland, there remained but one. Adams, how
ever, did not give way to despair.
" Nevertheless, we still did our best, directing our
course for Japan. The four-and-twentieth of March, we
saw an island, called Una Colonna ; at which time many
of our men were sick again, and divers dead. Great was
the misery we were in, having no more than nine or ten
men able to go or creep upon their knees ; our captain,
and all the rest, looking every hour to die. But on the
11th of April, 1600, we saw the high land of Japan, near
unto Bungo ; at which time there were no more than five
men of us able to go. The 12th of April we came hard
to Bungo, where many country barks came aboard us,
the people whereof we willingly let come, having no force
to resist them. And at this place we came to an anchor."
It should appear that the Japanese were not then so
remarkable for their honesty as they have since been
found.

24 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
" The people offered us no hurt, but stole all things
that they could steal; for which some paid dearly after
ward. " The next day, the king of that island sent soldiers
aboard, to see that none of the merchants' goods were
stolen. Two or three days after, our ship was brought
into a good harbor, there to abide till the principal king
of the whole country had news of us, and until it was
known what his will was to do with us. In the mean
time we got favor of the king of that place, to get our
captain and sick men on land ; and we had a house ap
pointed us, in which all our men were laid, and had re
freshing given them. After we had been there from five
or six days, a Portugal Jesuit, with other Portugals, and
some Japanese that were Christians, came from a place
called Nangasaki ; which was ill for us, the Portugals be
ing our mortal enemies, who reported that we were pirates,
and were not in the way of merchandising."
Whatever may have been the case in Master Adams's
ship, most of the vessels, not Spaniards or Portuguese, that
ventured into the Pacific and to these eastern parts of the
world, at this period, certainly resorted to piratical or buc
caneering expedients. Nor could it well be otherwise.
In their restrictive commercial policy, the Spaniards and
Portuguese, who, by virtue of a papal bull, claimed all
the new, and good half of the old world, would not allow
any share of the trade to Dutch, English, French, or any
other nation of Christendom. If they found any weak
unarmed vessel trading on the coast of South America, or
elsewhere, they seized her as contraband, and treated all
on board as thieves and smugglers. As it was not to be
expected that their extravagant claim would be allowed,
or that the bull of a pope (who did not, and who could

EUEOPEAN INTERCOUBSE. 25
not, at the time, understand the geography of the earth,
or the extent of his donation) should be respected by na
tions of the reformed churches, who had long since re
nounced his authority, the adventurers to the South Seas
took care to arm their ships, and to go generally in squad
rons. In this way they traded where they could with the
natives, boldly fought the Spaniards or the Portuguese.
who would not allow a fair trade, seized and plundered
their ships, and, not unfrequently, making descents on
their coast, did the same by their towns and cities. These
romantic adventures belong to the history of the bucca
neers.* It is enough for our present purpose to say that
these practices (provoked by Spanish and Portuguese pre
sumption, j ealousy, harshness, and, not unfrequently, atro
cious cruelty) prevailed all through the reign of Elizabeth,
James I., and Charles I., and that they did not entirely
cease until the peace of Eyswick, in the time of William
III., when a little freedom of commerce was allowed by
Portuguese and Spaniards, and when other nations were
becoming more powerful than they on the Pacific and in
the East. During all the long period we have mentioned,
it was the common saying of English sailors, that there
was no peace beyond the Line, or that European treaties
did not extend to the Spanish Main or the South Sea.
But to return to honest Master Adams.
" The evil report of the Jesuits and Portuguese caused
the governor and common people to think ill of us, in
such manner that we looked always when we should be

* The best and most authentic history of these daring adventurers
is that by Admiral Burney.
A condensed account will be found in MacFarlane's " Banditti and
Robbers by all Nations." 2

26 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
set upon crosses, which is the execution in this land for
piracy and some other crimes. Thus daily more and more
the Portugals incensed the justices and people against us.
And two of our men, as traitors, gave themselves in ser
vice to the king, being all in all with the Portugals, having
by them their lives warranted. The one was called Gil
bert de Canning, whose mother dwelleth at Middleburg,
who gave himself out to be the merchant of the goods in
the ship ; the other was called John Abelson Van Owater.
These traitors sought all manner of ways to get the goods
into their hands, and made known unto them all things
that had passed in our voyage."
As the Portuguese, who had got so firm an establish
ment in Japan, and who were desperately tenacious of
the monopoly of that trade, were also animated to a fa
natical height by the odium theologicum — as they detested
the Dutch and English as much in their quality of heretics,
as in that of interlopers, it is more than probable that
they would have seen Adams, the captain, and some of
the crew crucified, with much inward satisfaction. To
their numerous Christian converts among the Japanese,
they represented the strangers as unbelieving heathens,
wretches, and blasphemers.
But, fortunately, the case being submitted to the impe
rial court, then at Osacca, the emperor was pleased to
order that Master Adams, with one of the mariners, should
be brought before him.
" So, taking one man with me, I went to him, taking
my leave of our captain, and all the others that were sick,
and commending myself into His hands, that had pre
served me from so many perils on the sea. I was carried
in one of the great king's galleys to the court at Osacca,
about eighty leagues from the place where the ship was.

EUEOPEAN INTERCOUBSE. 27
The 12th of May, 1600, I came to the great king's city,
who caused me to be brought into the palace, being a
wonderful costly house, gilded with gold in abundance.
Coming before the king, he viewed me well, and seemed
to be kind and wonderful favorable. He made many
signs unto me, some of which I understood, and some I
did* not. In the end there came one that could speak
Portuguese. By him the king demanded of what land I
was, and what moved us to come to his land, being so far
off. I showed unto him the name of our country, and
that our land had long sought out the East Indies, and
desired friendship with all kings and potentates in way
of merchandise, having in our land divers commodities,
which these lands had not ; and also to buy such mer
chandises in this land as our country had not."
Had William Adams, the pilot and mariner, been in
doctrinated in the axioms of political economy, he could
not have explained himself better ; had he been inflated
with the pedantry and conceit of the staticians and econo
mists of our own day, he would not have done it half so
well. He continues : —
"Then the great king asked whether our country had
wars? I answered him, yea, with the Spaniards and
Portugals, being in peace with all other nations. Further,
he asked me in what I did believe ? I said, in God that
made heaven and earth. He asked me divers other ques
tions of things of religion, and many other things, as
what way we came to his country. Having a chart of
the whole world with me, I showed him through the
Straits of Magelhaens ; at which he wondered, and thought
me to lie. Thus, from one thing to another, I abode with
him till midnight. And having asked me what mer
chandise we had in our ship, I showed, him samples of all.

28 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
In the end, he being ready to depart, I desired that we
might have trade of merchandise, as the Portugals had.
To which he made me an answer, but what it was I did
not understand. So he commanded me to be carried to
prison. But two days after be sent for me again, and
inquired of the qualities and conditions of our countries,
of wars and peace, of beasts and cattle of all sorts? of
heaven and the stars. It seemed that he was well con
tent with all mine answers. Nevertheless, I was com
manded to prison again ; but my lodging was bettered in
another place."
We consider these scenes, in the naive, sailor-like
manner in which they are described, as perfectly delight
ful, and know not which the more to admire, the laudable
curiosity of the semi-barbarous oriental despot, or the
evident promptness and straightforwardness of the Eng
lish mariner and pilot. Our sea diplomacy has been
nearly always our best.
" So," continues Adams, " I remained nine-and-thirty
days in prison, hearing no news neither of our ship nor
captain, whether he were recovered of his sickness, nor of
the rest of the company. . . . Now in this long time of
imprisonment, the Jesuits and the Portugals gave many
evidences to the emperor against us, alleging that we
were thieves and robbers of all nations, and if we were
suffered to live it should be against the profit of his
majesty and the land; for then no nation could come
there without robbing; but if justice were executed on
us, it would terrify the rest of our nation from coming
there any more. And to this intent they sued to his
majesty daily to cut us off, making all the friends they
could at court to this purpose."
Verily the Portuguese were merciless enough to the

EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE. 29
new comers ; and verily, also, when their hour came, the
Dutch were equally merciless in their revenge. In their
conduct towards each other, these people gave a practical
denial to the blessed doctrines they professed, and dis
credited Christianity in the eyes of an interesting people,
who seem to have been, in a most remarkable manner,
open to Christian conversion.
" At length the emperor gave the Jesuits and Portu
gals this answer: That as yet we had done no hurt or
damage to him nor to any of his land, and that therefore
it was against reason and justice to put us to death ; and
if our countries and theirs had wars one with the other,
that was no cause that he should put us to death. The
emperor answering them in this manner, they were quite
out of heart, that their cruel pretence failed; for the
which, God be praised for ever and ever !
" Now, in this time that I was in prison, the ship was
commanded to be brought so near to the city where the
emperor was as she might, the which was done. So the
one-and-fortieth day of my imprisonment, the emperor
called me before him again, demanding of me many ques
tions more, which are too long to write. In conclusion,
he asked me whether I were desirous to go to the ship to
see my countrymen ? I answered, that I would very
gladly do it ; so he bade me go. Then I departed, and
was freed from imprisonment. And this was the first
news that I had that the ship and company were come
to the city.
" Wherefore, with a rejoicing heart, I took a boat and
went to our ship, where I found the captain and the rest
recovered of their sickness. But at our first meeting
aboard we saluted one another with mourning and shed
ding of tears ; for they were informed that I was executed,

30 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
and long since dead. Thus, God be praised, all we that
were left alive came together again."
Everything was now taken out of the ship, the nautical
instruments of our pilot being much prized. But the
emperor ordered that these things should be restored to
him, and that 50,000 reals, in ready money, should be
given to the captain and his people, to buy food and other
necessaries. After a short time the vessel was ordered
round to the eastern coast of the island of Quanto, near
to the city of Jeddo, where the emperor now was. To
their supplications to be allowed to take their departure
with their ship, his majesty turned a deaf ear. Matters
were made worse by the Dutch sailors, who broke out
into mutiny, and wanted all the money and all other
things that were given by the Japanese. If the poor pilot
and captain had put to sea with such a crew, they would
in all probability have been lost or put to death. When
they had been two years in Japan, they received a posi
tive denial as to the ship, and were told that they must
make up their minds to live happily and peacefully in the
country all the rest of their days. The Dutch dispersed
themselves on the island, every man going where he
thought best. By the emperor's order each was allowed
about two pounds of rice a day, and about twelve gold
ducats a year, — no niggardly allowance in a country
where the commodities of life were so cheap. They seem
to have been a coarse, uneducated, dull set of fellows,
incapable of doing anything good for themselves or for
others. Not so our clever English pilot, who made him
self friends with his ingenuity and ability, and gradually
rose in the estimation of the emperor himself, and ulti
mately attained to almost the highest honors that could
be conferred on a man who was not a native and

EUEOPEAN INTERCOURSE. 31
a member of the hereditary aristocracy of the coun
try. " So, in process of four or five years, the emperor
called me, as he had done divers times before, and would
have me to make him a small ship. I answered that I
was no carpenter, and had little knowledge thereof.
' Well,' saith he, ' do it so well as you can ; if it be not
good, it is no matter.' Wherefore, at his command I built
him a ship, of the burthen of eighty tons, or thereabouts ;
which ship being made in all proportions as our manner
is, he coming aboard to see it, liked it well ; by which
means I came in more favor with him, so that I came
often into his presence, and, from time to time, he gave
me many presents."
In this ship-building, little more could have been
wanted from Adams than the lines, and his directing eye,
the natives being excellent carpenters, good smiths, and
intelligent and expert in nearly every mechanical art.
Shortly after building this vessel, William Adams
greatly improved his condition by becoming tutor to his
good-natured, liberal-minded master.
" Now being in such grace and favor with the
emperor, by reason I taught him some points of geometry
and the mathematics, with other things, I pleased him so,
that what I said could not be contradicted. At which
my former enemies, the Jesuits and Portugals, did greatly
wonder, and entreated me to befriend them to the em
peror in their business; and so by my means, both
Spaniards and Portugals have received friendship from
the emperor, I recompensing their evil unto me with
good." At the end of five years Adams, who had a wife and
children in England, and who was evidently a man of

J32 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
warm affections, once more entreated to be allowed to
take his departure, and try to get back to his own country
and home. The emperor could, on no account, spare so
clever and useful a man. But Adams's Dutch captain,
not having made himself so useful, was permitted to go.
Poor fellow ! he would have done better to stay where he*'
was. Being carried in a Japanese junk to a place which"
is called Patane, he stayed there a year waiting for the
appearance of some Dutch ship ; seeing that none came,
he went to another place, which Adams calls lor, where
he found a fleet of nine sail ; " of which fleet the Hol
lander Matleef was general ; and in this fleet he was made
master again." These, as we have intimated, were stirring
times, when swords, muskets, and great guns, were con
stantly called into play ; and when the bravest men had
the best chance. The Dutch fleet sailed to Malacca, and
fought with a whole armada of Portuguese. The Dutch,
we believe, gained the victory ; but our poor skipper lost
his life in the battle. Adams, who did not receive the
intelligence until long after the catastrophe, was very
much affected ; for he had hoped that his captain might,
by some means or other, get back to Europe, and tell of his
whereabouts. The two interesting letters from which we
are quoting, and which contain nearly all that we have of
his adventures from his own pen, were addressed, one to
his wife, and one to his " unknown friends and country
men," who might chance to receive it somewhere, and
transmit it to England. The first is incomplete, and
without date.* The second bears the date of the 22nd of

* The honest, laborious old compiler, Samuel Purchas, says, in evi
dent anger, " The rest of this letter, by the malice of the bearers, was
suppressed."

EUROPEAN INTERCOUBSE. 33
October, 1611. It will be remembered that poor Adams
sailed from Europe in June, 1598.
In his yearning after his home, and his grieving for
the death of his Dutch captain, he says, — " So now I
think no certain news will be known in England,
whether I be living or dead. Therefore my desire is, that
my wife and two children may somehow learn that I am
here in Japan. My wife is in a manner a widow, and my
children fatherless ; which thing only is my greatest
grief of heart and conscience. "
The passage which immediately follows is exquisitely
simple and homely ; and made all the more delicious by
the admixture of self-importance. We love to see the
mariner and pilot thus boasting of his east London
acquaintance on the shores of a remote, mysterious island
in Japan : —
"I am a man," quoth Adams, " not unknown in Eat-
cliff and Limehouse. I am well known to my good
master, Nicholas Diggins, and Mr. Thomas Best, and
Mr. Nicholas Isaac, and Mr. William Isaac ; also to Mr.
William Jones, and Mr. Becket. Therefore, should this
letter ever come to any of their hands, or the copy of
this letter, I know that good company's mercy is such,
that my friends and kindred shall have news that I do as
yet live in this vale of my sinful pilgrimage ; the which
thing, again and again, I do desire for Jesu's sake." The
pathos at the close of this passage is made the more pa
thetic by the words which precede.
In the first ship he built for the emperor, he made a
coasting voyage or two with Japanese sailors. He then,
at the emperor's command, built a second vessel, of the
burthen of 120 tons. In this second ship he made a
voyage from Miaco to the Bay of Jeddo, which he esti-
2*

34 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
mates at a distance about equal to that from London to
the Land's End. Shipwrecks are rather frequent on those
rocky coasts, lashed by a stormy sea. In the year 1609,
a large Spanish ship, called the St. Francisco, was cast
away upon the coast in the night, during which 160 men
were drowned. But 340, or rather more, were saved;
and among these was no less a personage than the
governor of Manilla, whom the unfortunate ship was
conveying to New Spain. This shipwrecked party was
treated with great kindness, and the larger of the two
vessels which William Adams had built was appointed
to convey the. governor to Acapulco. Here was another
chance of getting back to England, but our home-sick
pilot was not allowed to avail himself of it. The ship set
sail in 1610 ; and rh the next year the governor returned
another ship in her stead, with very rich presents in goods
and money, together with an envoy to the emperor, to
give thanks for his great friendship, and request a conti
nuance of it. When Adams wrote (in 1611), the Spa
niards had his Japanese-built ship at the Philippine
Islands. By this time he was living like a lord, and
might have been happy indeed, if he could have had his
wife and children with him, or even have communicated
with them.
" Now, for my service which I have done, and daily do,
being employed in the emperor's service, he hath given
me a living like unto a lordship in England, with eighty
or ninety husbandmen, who are as my servants and
slaves. The precedent was never done before. Thus
God hath provided for me, after my great misery ; to his
name be the praise for ever. Amen. Now whether I
shall come out of this land I know not. Until this pres
ent year there hath been no means ; but now, through the

liURUlJEAN INTERCOURSE. 30
trade of the Hollanders, there may be means. In the
year of our Lord 1609 two Holland ships came to Japan.
Their intention was to take the Portugal carrack (great
ship) which comes yearly from Macao, and being some
five or six days too late for that prize, they came to
Firando, and went to the court of the emperor, where
they were in great friendship received, conditioning with
the emperor to send yearly a ship or two : and so they
departed with the emperor's free pass. [The prevalent
negotiator on this delicate occasion was William Adams
himself; and to our good English pilot the Dutch are
really indebted for their first permission and license to
trade with Japan.] Now this year, 1611, there is a small
Holland ship arrived, with cloth, lead, elephants' teeth,
damask, black taffeta, raw silk, pepper, and other com
modities; and they have showed cause why they have
missed the former year, 1610, according to promise to
come yearly. This ship was well received, and with
great kindness entertained."
From these Dutchmen, whom he befriended at court
and elsewhere, Adams learned for the first time that the
English were now driving a fair trade in the East Indies,
and attempting to set up humble factories on the Malabar
coast.* By means of some of these Englishmen in the
East — some of whom, he presumed, must needs know
him — he hoped to be able to send intelligence to his dear
family, and to receive their news. His deep-seated anx
iety in this respect goes to the heart, and moves one
almost to tears. Wife, or child, he had not seen for the
dreary space of thirteen years, almost as long a time as
* Our first attempt at a settlement in the East Indies was made ia
the year 1608, in the reign of James I.

*36 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
that other fine specimen of a brave, pious English mari
ner, Eobert Knox, passed in captivity on the island of
Ceylon, among the Cingalese. The Cingalese were in
comparably a more barbarous and cruel people than the
Japanese ; but Knox was a young man, and had neither
wife nor child to grieve and pine after.
" Thus," says Adams, in conclusion, "I am constrained
to write, hoping that, by one means or another, in process
of time I shall hear of my wife and dear children : and so
with patience I wait the good will and pleasure of God
Almighty, desiring all those to whom this my letter may
come, to use the means to acquaint my good friends with
it, that so my wife and children may hear of me ; by
which means there may be hope that I may see my wife
and children before my death : the which the Lord grant,
to his glory and my comfort. Amen"
Alas ! he never had this comfort. Detained by the
emperor, he lived many years on the island after writing
the letter, and he died there, at Firando, in the year 1619
or 1620.* By this time the Dutch had well established
their trade with Japan, and secured considerable interest
and influence in the country. We know not whether
they showed their gratitude by marking the grave of this
remarkable man with a monument and inscription, or
whether they caused inquiries to be made in England
after his family, in order to confer some benefit on them.
It is most likely that they did neither.

* Writing in 1621, old Purchas says that the news of his death was
received by the last India ship which had just reached London. Al
lowing for the long, tedious voyages of that time, and for the very
roundabout way by which the news was, in all probability, transmitted,
we cannot safely place the death at a later period than 1619.

EUEOPEAN INTERCOURSE. 37
Such were the truly romantic incidents which attended
the opening of Japan to the Dutch. In all this .time of
bold maritime adventure, in no part of the interesting,
exciting folios of Samuel Purchas, is there any matter
more interesting than that which is contained in these
two letters of William Adams.* Our mariner and pilot
does indeed deserve a high place in the list of the heroes
of naval discovery and enterprise, and equally so among
the diplomatists of commerce and civilization. f If, with
anything like a security of his letters reaching England,
he had written out all that he knew of the country, and
given an ample account of his experience in it during so
many years of residence, we, no doubt, should have had
as delightful a book as that of Eobert Knox, and about a
people in every way more interesting than the inner-
dwellers of Ceylon. The little he says is favorable on
the whole. After mentioning the abundance of precious
metals, he adds : —
" This land of Japan is truly a great land, and lieth to
the northward, in the latitude of eight-and-forty degrees,
and the southernmost part of it in five-and-thirty degrees,
and the length of it, east by north, and west and by south
(for so it lieth), is 220 English leagues. The breadth,
south and north, thirteen degrees, twenty leagues to the
degree  The people of this land of Japan are good
of nature, courteous above measure, and valiant in war.
Their justice is severely executed, without any partiality,
* See Purchas, " His Pilgrimes," vol. i. from p. 125 to p. 132. This
invaluable work was published in 1625, a very few years after the
death of Adams. The adventures will be found reprinted in a more
accessible book : Harris's " Collection of Voyages," vol. i. p. 856. Also
in Rundall's Memorials of Japan.
t " Quarterly Review," voL hi.

38 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
upon the transgressors of the law ; they are governed in
great civility ; I think no land better governed in the
world by civil policy. The people are very superstitious
in their religion, but are of divers opinions. There are
many Jesuits and Franciscan friars in this land, and they
have converted many to be Christians, and have many
churches in the land."
The first Dutch factory, on a very humble scale, was
established at Firando, where Adams breathed his last.
Having in vain attempted to prevent its establishment,
the Portuguese intrigued and labored hard to bring about
its destruction. The hatred between the two European
nations was as irreconcilable as it was violent — no gust
of passion, but a deep- welling perpetual hatred. If the
Portuguese called the Dutch vile Lutherans, schismatics,
accursed heretics ; the Dutch were always ready to retort
by calling the Portuguese worshippers of wood and rotten
bones, lying papists, foul idolaters. The religious ani
mosities certainly led to many melancholy occurrences,
and rendered it impossible that the two nations should
live peaceably together in the same country ; but the
Eomanist writers are incorrect in asserting that it was
owing to the malice of the Dutch that the missionaries of
their church and their native converts were first subjected
to Japanese persecution. That persecution had com
menced before William Adams reached the country, and
before the name of the Dutch was known to the natives ;
and it appears to have originated, in good part, from the
enmities and dissensions which broke out among the
different monastic orders in the East. If the work of
Japanese conversion had been left wholly in the hands
of those who began it and made so rapid and wonderful a
progress in it, we think it at least probable that there

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 89
would have been no persecution at all, and that the great
bulk of the population would have been brought within
the pale of the Church of Eome. But the politic, wary,
and accomplished Jesuits were soon far outnumbered by
a host of Franciscan, Dominican, Augustine, and other
friars, of more zeal than discretion, who flocked in from
Goa, Malacca, Macao, and other Portuguese settlements,
and who, instead of conciliating the government and
people, set their laws and usages at defiance. The Fran
ciscans quarrelled with the Dominicans, and all the orders
together quarrelled with the disciples of Loyola. There
was then frequently exhibited the unseemly spectacle of
one body of papists intriguing with heathens against
another, and, that which was scarcely more decorous, a
Japanese convert laboring to reconcile these foreign
Christian rivals.
The greatest vice of the Japanese is incontinence. It
is hinted that the struggles of the missionaries to subdue
this vice contributed very materially to the overthrow of
their church. The princes and great men would not put
away their numerous concubines, — for them, the harem
must go with the church. According to one account, it
was the passion of love that led to the religious catastrophe.
A prince (some say the emperor himself) became en
amored of a Christian lady, and was transported into
fury at finding that the fair one would not conform to the
old, easy customs of the country.
Orders were issued by the imperial court that no more
friars or missionaries of any kind should be admitted into
the country ; and the Portuguese captains and traders
were strictly commanded not to bring any more in their
ships ; nevertheless, they continued to smuggle in fresh
recruits of ecclesiastics. Certain Franciscan friars, who

40 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
came from the Spanish settlements in the Philippines,
formed processions, preached in the public streets of Miaco,
and built a new church- there, contrary to the imperial
edict, and contrary to the advice and earnest entreaties of
the Jesuit fathers. They had nothing to plead in justifi
cation of their rashness, but an ardent, impatient longing
after the crown of martyrdom. In vain the Jesuits urged
that such conduct would prove in the end not only fatal
to their own persons, but highly prejudicial to the ad
vancement of Christianity and the good of the Church.
It was this indiscreet zeal that brought on the first serious
persecution, in the year 1597, or three years before Adams
and the Dutch reached the country. Japanese tradition
concurs with the early Dutch writers in representing the
crisis as having been precipitated by the pride, rapacity,
and sensuality of the religious orders. It is said that even
the native converts were astonished, and grew impatient,
when they saw that their spiritual fathers aimed not only
at the salvation of their souls, but had an eye also to
their money and lands, and that their pride was so great,
that they refused the prescribed marks of respect to men
of the highest hereditary rank. In the same view, it is
said that their growing riches and unexpected success in
the propagation of the gospel wonderfully inflated them';
that those who were at the head of the clergy thought it
beneath their dignity to walk on foot any longer, in imi
tation of the apostles ; that nothing would serve them but
they must be carried about in stately chairs, mimicking
the pomp of the Pope and his cardinals at Eome ; that
they not only put themselves upon a footing of equality
with the greatest men of the empire, but, swelled with
ecclesiastical pride, fancied that even a superior rank
was nothing but their due. As an example, the following

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 41
story is told, as a thing that happened in 1596, and led
immediately to the great persecution. It chanced one
day that a Portuguese bishop met upon the high road one
of the greatest officers of state, who was on his way
to court. The haughty prelate would not allow his chair
or sedan to be stopped, in order to alight and pay his
respects to the great man, according to the usages of the
country, but, without showing him the common marks of
civility, or taking the least notice of him, he turned his
head aside in contempt, and ordered his bearers to carry
him on. It is added, that so imprudent a step, at a time
when the Portuguese had already lost the best part of that
esteem and favor in which they had formerly been held,
could not but be attended with fatal consequences, highly
prejudicial to the interest of the whole nation ; that the
grandee, exasperated at the affront, conceived a mortal
hatred to the Portuguese, and forthwith drew to the
emperor an odious picture of their vanity, pride, and
insolency.* Such an incident may really have happened, and there
may have been individual cases of rapacity and sensuality.
We doubt, however, whether these vices were at all com
mon or prevalent among the missionaries.
" These vices are usually the attendants of long and
undisputed possession rather than of the circumstances in
which these missionaries of a religion struggling into life
were placed. It is likely that the hostility of their Dutch
rivals may have magnified individual instances of such
errors, and that the zeal of triumphant persecution may
have perpetuated the imputation. "f
* Kampfer. He here follows Arnold Montanus and other early
Dutch writers and compilers.
t " Quarterly Review," Iii.

42 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
In 1597, twenty -six professing Christians were executed
on the cross, there being in the number one or two Jesuits
and several Franciscan friars. But most of them appear
ta have been native converts. The friars flew out too
violently against idol- worship. Their neophytes, with all
the zeal of a recent conversion, not only told their coun
trymen that so long as they continued their heathen wor
ship they had nothing to expect but eternal damnation ;
but they even proceeded to insult the bonzes or priests,
to overthrow their idols, and to pull down their temples.
This provoked further persecution. The emperor, and
his hitherto tolerant government, could see in these demon
strations nothing but an intention to revolutionize the
whole state.
In the year 1612, when Adams was living tranquilly at
Firando, and when the Dutch were as yet only beginning
to establish their influence, a dreadful persecution com
menced.* It raged with still greater fury in 1614, when
many of the Japanese converts, who would on no account
recant, suffered cruel deaths. The monks and friars were
scattered ; many left the country for good ; but, appa
rently, as many more either concealed themselves or
returned stealthily.
The crosses they had erected were cast down and
trampled under foot; their schools were closed; their
churches razed to the ground ; their faith was declared
infamous, subversive of all ancient institutions, and of all
authority and government.
For a long time the persecution did not reach the
* "Precis de la Vie du PeTe Charles Spinola, de la Compagnie de
Jesus." Par le R. Pe"re d'Orleans, de la meme Compagnie.
According to the PeYe d'Orleans, who wrote in the°year 1680, the
persecution of the Romanists in Japan had not yet terminated.

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 43
Portuguese merchants and traders. The Japanese could
not dispense with the foreign commodities they brought
them, and the Dutch trade was not sufficiently developed
to promise a regular supply. But as they continued to
smuggle in missionaries, the Portuguese were no longer
allowed the free use of the ports, but were strictly limited
to, and confined in, the little islet of Desima, in the harbor
of Nagasaki. In the year 1622 a frightful massacre of
native Christians and some of their foreign teachers was
perpetrated on a rock in the immediate neighborhood
of that place. The Jesuit father Spinola, a Dominican
friar, and a Franciscan, were in the number of those who
suffered, having been convicted of returning to the coun
try after the emperor had decreed their perpetual expul
sion. Horrible tortures were employed, of which haf- .
rowing and revolting representations are given in the
illustrations of the books of several of the old Dutch
writers.* The heroic constancy of the poor Japanese to
the faith which they had embraced is an indubitable
historical fact, attested as well by the Lutheran or Calvin-
ist Dutch as by the Portuguese and other Eomanists.
At this time the power and consideration of the Por
tuguese in the East was rapidly declining in all directions :
the splendid Indian empire, which the great Albuquerque
* See especially the old quarto (a.d. 1670) of Arnold Montanus.
These engravings are as horrible as anything in the old editions of
Foxe's "Book of Martyrs."
It was in this year, 1622, that the Dutch disgraced themselves in the
Molucca islands, by that dark deed which is known in our history
under the name of " The Massacre of Amboyna." They put eighteen
Englishmen to the rack, and afterwards cut off the heads of nine of
them. One Portuguese and nine Japanese were put to death at the
same time, as accomplices with the English.

44 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
had created for them, was falling to pieces ; the Dutch
were dispossessing them of Ceylon and other rich settle
ments, and gradually obtaining nearly all the profitable
trade which they had monopolized for nearly a hundred
years. To blacken the Dutch in Japan, and drive them
from that trade, they now represented them to the em
peror and government as rebels to their former sovereigns,
the kings of Spain— always a weighty argument in a
despotic country — they renewed the accusations of rob
bery and piracy, which they had made on Adams's first
arrival, and they resorted to every calumny that commer
cial and national jealousy and sectarian and personal
hatred could suggest* We have cleared the Dutch from
unfounded aspersions ; but we now reach a point where
their conduct is proved to have been of a nature to excite
feelings very unfavorable them. Few will agree with
Kampfer, who says, that " surely the Dutch were not
much to be blamed for whatever attempts they made to
keep up their own credit, to clear themselves of the
calumnies of the Portuguese, and withal, to take what
revenge they could upon their enemies." Even Kampfer
himself, like an honest man, afterwards condemns what
he here excuses or extenuates.
A Portuguese ship, on its way from the East to Lis
bon, was captured by the Dutch near the Cape of Good
Hope. Among other matters found on board the prize
were certain treasonable letters to the king of Portugal,
written by a native Japanese, styled by the Europeans
* Every old writer, being a member of the Roman Church, seem8
to have considered himself in duty bound to keep up the charge of
piracy. The Pere Bouhours, in his life of St. Francis Xavier, and Pere
d'Orleans, in his life of the missionary and martyr Spinola, never men
tion either English or Dutch except aspirates.

EUEOPEAN INTERCOURSE. 45
Captain Moro. This man had long been a principal agent
of the Portuguese in the country, a close friend of the
Jesuits, and a great zealot for the Eoman Church. Whe
ther the Jesuits themselves, or others of the missionaries,
were privy to this correspondence, is not clearly proved ;
but there is reason at least to suspect that the force of
circumstances had induced, or compelled, the Jesuits (the
real agents of that conversion) to associate themselves
with the disaffected native Christians, and with a native
political party, in some civil feud which then distracted
Japan. Their converts were so numerous, and could be
increased with so much facility, that they may have enter
tained the not very unreasonable hope of being able,
with some assistance from Europe, to overturn the old
empire, and establish a new Christian dynasty. In other
eyes besides those of the disciples of Loyola, such an end
would have gone far to justify the means. The Dutch,
rejoicing in so excellent an opportunity of finishing the
ruin of the Portuguese, lost no time in laying the inter
cepted letters before their patron, the prince of Firando, who
communicated them to the governor of Nagasaki, as
supreme director and judge in foreign affairs. Poor
Captain Moro, the Japanese Christain, was forthwith ar
rested. He stoutly denied the charge and the letters;
but his own hand and seal were against him. His letters laid
open the whole plot, which the Japanese Christians, in
conjunction with some Portuguese, had laid against the
emperor's throne. They also showed that all they wanted
was a supply of soldiers and ships, which had been pro
mised them from Portugal;* and, unhappily, they
* According to some accounts, they expected, from Europe and
from the Portuguese settlements in Asia, a vast supply of arms and
ammunition, many ships of war, with flat-bottomed boats for landing

46 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
revealed the names of the Japanese chiefe who had en
tered into the conspiracy, the success of which was to be
crowned by the benediction of the Pope at Eome. It is
also asserted that these discoveries were afterwards con
firmed by another letter, written by Moro to the Por
tuguese government at Macao, which was intercepted and
brought to Nagasaki by a Japanese vessel. Poor Moro was
burned alive at a stake ; and in the course of the year
(1637) an imperial proclamation was issued, decreeing that
" the whole race of the Portuguese, with their mothers,
nurses, and whatever belongs to them, shall be banished
for ever."
The same proclamation set forth that no Japanese ship
or boat, or any native of Japan, should henceforth pre
sume to quit the country under pain of forfeiture and
death ; that any Japanese returning from a foreign coun
try should be put to death ; that no nobleman or soldier
should be suffered to purchase anything of a foreigner ;
that any person presuming to bring a letter from abroad,
or to return to Japan after he had been banished, should
die, with all his family, and that whosoever presumed to
intercede for such offenders should be put to death, &c. ;
that all persons who propagated the doctrines of the
Christians, or bore that scandalous name, should be seized
and immured in the common jail, &c. A reward was
offered for the discovery of every padre or priest, and a
smaller reward for the discovery of every native Chris
tian.*
on the coast, and 20,000 soldiers. Nearly all the details may be incor
rect; but it seems to us impossible to deny the existence of an exten
sive conspiracy.
* Kampfer. A. Montanus. Charlevoix, Hist. Japan. P. L. Frois,
" Nuovi Avvisi del Giapone."

EUROPEAN INTERCOUBSE. 47
Some of the Portuguese were scared away at once ; but
others lingered in their narrow factory or prison at Desima,
hoping that the wrath would blow over, and that they
might yet be allowed at least a little traffic. But the em
peror was resolved to get rid of them entirely ; and on
the assurance of the Dutch that they would regularly
supply the country with the goods and. commodities re
quired, he again declared the Portuguese enemies of the
empire, and forbade them for ever to import even the
goods of their own country.*
Thus the Portuguese lost their profitable trade with
Japan ; and they were totally expelled the country before
the close of the year 1639. They accused the Dutch as
the chief cause of their expulsion ; and it is not easy to
see how the charge can be either denied or doubted.
But worse followed. The Portuguese were rivals in
commerce, and in every way implacable enemies ; they
would fain have done to the Dutch that which the Dutch
succeeded in doing to them ; but the poor Christian natives
stood in no such position of rivalry, hatred, and unappeasa
ble hostility.
Though deprived of their padres, or European teachers,
and though menaced, not only with imprisonment, but
also with torture and death, the converts persevered in
their faith. Oppression drove them into open rebellion ;
and they took refuge, and made an heroical stand against
the troops of the emperor in the province of Simabara.
The imperial government called upon the Dutch to assist
them in their war against these Christians ; and the Dutch

* The imperial palate must have acquired a taste for port and sherry
(no bad drinks in a cold Japanese winter), for the wines of Portugal
and Spain were excepted in the prohibition.

48 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
promptly gave the aid required of them. The fact is ad
mitted by all their own countrymen who have written
about Japan, from their first writers in the middle of the
seventeenth century, down to the year 1833. M. Fischer,
the very last on the list, says that the Dutch were compelled
to join in the persecution against the stubborn remnant of
that Christian host. Others would soften the matter by
saying that the Dutch only supplied the heathen Japanese
with gunpowder and guns, taught them a little artillery
practice, and sent ammunition, arms, and troops in their
ships to the scene of action. But Kampfer, who was only
a German in the Dutch service, most distinctly and posi
tively assures us that the Christian traders acted as auxi
liaries and belligerents. The stronghold of the native
Christians was an old fortified place, which the emperor's
troops could not take.
" The Dutch, upon this, as friends and allies of the em
peror, were requested to assist the Japanese in the siege
 M. Kockebecker, who was then director of the Dutch
trade and nation, having received the emperor's orders to
this purpose, repaired thither without delay, on board a
Dutch ship, lying at anchor in the harbor of Firando (all
the other ships, perhaps upon some intimation given, that
some such request was like to be made to them from court,
set sail but the day before), and within a fortnight's time
he battered the old town with 42 6 cannon-balls, both from
on board his ship and from a battery which was raised on
shore, and planted with some of his own guns. This.
compliance of the Dutch, and their conduct during the
siege, was entirely to the satisfaction of the Japanese, and
although the besieged seemed in no manner of forwardness
to surrender, yet, as by this cannonading they had been
very much reduced in number, and their strength greatly

EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE. 49
broken, M. Kockebecker had leave at last to depart, after
they had obliged him to land six more of his guns for the
use of the emperor."*
A recent writer, a right-hearted and right-minded
American, says, — " The walls of Simabara were unques
tionably battered by the Dutch cannon, and its brave de
fenders were slaughtered. Some apology might be made
for this co-operation at the siege of Simabara, had its de
fenders been the countrymen of Alva, or Eequesens, or
John of Austria, or Alexander Farnese. But truth re
quires that the measures of Kockebecker should be re
garded as the alternative, which he deliberately preferred
to the interruption of the Dutch trade."f
It appears that the siege was converted into a long and
close blockade, and that when the indomitable converts
of Xavier were reduced and in good part exterminated
by famine, a storm and an atrocious massacre ensued,
none being spared, because none would recant and beg
quarter ; but men, women, and children being all butch
ered in heaps. In this war of religion, according to the
most moderate estimate, there fell on both sides 40,000
men. According to the papists, the number of native
Christians alone was far greater than this, and all the
atrocities and horrors of the Diocletian persecution
were repeated, exaggerated, and prolonged. The magni
tude of the holocaust does indeed afford some measure of
the depth and tenacity with which Christianity, in its
Eoman form, had struck its roots into the soil.
Over the vast common grave of the martyrs was set up
this impious inscription : — " So long as the sun shall
* Kampfer, vol. i. p. 324.
t C. W. King, " Notes of the Voyage of the Morrison, etc."

50 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
warm the earth, let no Christian be so bold as to come to
Japan ; and let all know, that the King of Spain himself
or the Christians' God, or the great God of all, if he vio
late this command, shall pay for it with his head."
The Dutch were very far from deriving all the benefits
they expected from their intrigues and mean compliances;
they never attained to the consideration and liberty in
the islands which had been enjoyed by the Portuguese ;
and they may be said to be, even at this moment, a des
pised set of traffickers. " By this submissive readiness to
assist the Emperor in the execution of his designs, with
regard to the final destruction of Christianity in his do
minions, it is true, indeed, that we stood our ground so far
as to maintain ourselves in the country, and to be per
mitted to carry on our trade, although the court had then
some thoughts of a total exclusion of all foreigners what
soever. But many generous and noble persons, at court
and in the country, judged unfavorably of our conduct.
It seemed to them inconsistent with reason that the Dutch
should ever be expected to be faithful to a foreign mon
arch, and one, too, whom they look upon as a heathen,
whilst they showed so much forwardness to assist him in
the destruction of a people with whom they agreed in the
most essential parts of their faith (as the Japanese had
been well informed by the Portuguese monks), and to
sacrifice to their own worldly interest those who followed
Christ in the very same way, and hoped to enter the
kingdom of heaven through the same gate. These are
expressions which I have often heard from the natives,'
when the conversation happened to turn upon this mourn
ful subject. In short, by our humble complaisance and
connivance, we were so far from bringing this proud and
jealous nation to any greater confidence, or more intimate

EUROPEAN INTERCOUBSE. 51
friendship, that, on the contrary, their jealousy and mis
trust seemed to increase from that time. They both hated
and despised us for what we had done. In the year 1641,
soon after the total expulsion of the Portuguese, and the
suppression of Christianity among the natives, we were
ordered to quit our comfortable factory at Firando, and to
confine ourselves, under a very rigid inspection, to the
small islet of Desima, which is more like a prison than
a factory. So great was the covetousness of the Dutch,
and so strong the alluring power of the Japanese gold,
that rather than quit the prospect of a trade (indeed most
advantageous) they willingly underwent an almost per
petual imprisonment, for such in fact is our residence at
Desima, and chose to suffer many hardships in a foreign
and heathen country, to be remiss in performing divine
service on Sundays and solemn festivals, to leave off
praying and singing of psalms, entirely to avoid the sign
of the cross, the calling upon the name of Christ in pres
ence of the natives, and all the outer signs of Christi
anity ; and lastly, patiently and submissively to bear the
abusive and injurious behavior of these proud infidels
towards us, than which nothing can be offered more
shocking to a generous and noble mind."*
To this wretched Desima the Dutch have been confined
ever since. The place stands upon, and wholly covers a
little artificial islet, about 600 feet in length, by 240 in
breadth. The islet, shaped like a fan, is joined to the
island and town of Nagasaki by a small stone bridge,
at the end of which there is a strong Japanese guard
house, with soldiers constantly upon duty, to see
that none enter or come out without license. On the
* Kampfer.

52 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
north side of the islet are two strong gates, called the
water-gates; but these are never allowed to be opened
except for the lading or unlading of the Dutch ships;
at which seasons certain vigilant commissioners, appointed
by the Japanese government, are always present with an
armed guard. In the harbor, a few paces from the fac
tory, are thirteen very high posts, at regular distances from
each other, with small wooden tablets affixed to them,
upon which is written the governmental order, that no
boats or persons are to come within the said posts, or to
approach the Dutch quarters, under very severe penalties.
The whole islet is fenced in with a strong paling of high
boards, with narrow roofs, on the top of which is planted
a double row of iron spikes, in chevaux de /rise fashion.
The Dutch houses within this ugly inclosure are low and
mean, and built of fir-wood and bamboos, the strangers
not being permitted to build anything with stone. The
place is at all hours open to the intrusion of the restless
prying police of the town of Nagasaki, and is, or used to
be occasionally, turned into a place of execution for smug
glers, — smuggling being a capital crime in this empire.
But besides the police, the Dutch are constantly watched
by special guards, agents, spies and corporations, and they
are obliged to pay these people for the annoyance they
cause them. A more rigid surveillance was never devised
by human ingenuity and suspicion. The men who are set
to watch the Dutch are the more active in the duty, from
being distrustful of one another. The Dutch are con
demned to a life of celibacy, no female being allowed to
arrive on board the annual vessel. Even their male
Japanese servants must not be found in the factory be
tween sunset and sunrise. All the servants, moreover, are
frequently changed, lest they should become too much

EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE. 53
accustomed to Dutch manners and habits, and attached to
their masters.
When a ship arrives, the first thing done is to remove
her guns and ammunition. The Japanese then thoroughly
visit every part of the vessel, and take lists of the goods
and all other things on board. The people are then allowed
to go on shore, to refresh themselves in the pleasant prison
of Desima, where they generally remain, couped up like
poultry afloat, for the space of two or three months.
Guards are placed over them as soon as they land. Should
any poor mariner, eager for a peep into the town of Naga
saki (a town with 60,000 inhabitants), attempt to pass the
guard-house at the end of the little stone bridge, he gets
into trouble, or is at least driven back. The poor Japa
nese people, sociable in their dispositions, and with no
antipathy to foreigners, visibly regret all these harsh
regulations, but dare not transgress the letter of the law,
or give offence to their government.
All who serve the Dutch, or have any close dealings
with them, are bound to take a solemn oath of renuncia
tion and hatred of the Christian religion, once, twice, or
even three times a year; and, at least at one of these cere
monies, they are made to trample under-foot crosses and
crucifixes, with the image of the Eedeemer upon them.
The ill-meant, mocking, impious jests of Voltaire, as to the
Dutch going through the same ceremony, may not have
been, at every period, quite destitute of truth. As Lu
therans or Presbyterians they may have entertained no
more reverence for crosses and crucifixes and images of
saints, than was felt by our English Puritans, who, in the
days of their prepotency, found a rude delight in destroy
ing such articles, and treating them with every imagina-

54 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
ble disrespect* The Portuguese, when driven to despair
through their hated rivals, nearly involved the Dutch in
their own ruin by announcing to the imperial government
that they were Christians like themselves. It behoved
the Dutch to convince the Japanese that there was the
widest difference between them ; that they belonged to a
sect quite hostile to that of the Portuguese ; that they
hated Pope, Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans, and all
manner of monks and priests. We can, therefore, easily
credit that, if put by the Japanese government to that
test, the Dutchmen would not much scruple to trample
upon the cross in the manner described by Voltaire. A
bigoted Presbyterian would even find a pleasure in so do
ing, y An old Nangasakian joke is, that a Dutchman, at
the time of the great persecution, being surprised in some
place by the Japanese police, and being asked whether he
were a Christian, replied, "No ! I am a Dutchman." We
fear, indeed, that after any lengthened residence in the
country, such religion as these Dutchmen carried with
them was almost wholly evaporated. The life led in their
prison at Nagasaki was little calculated to foster devotional
feelings. Kampfer says that in his time they lived like a
set of heathens, — that the principles of Christianity were
* We ourselves once met in the island of Sicily a fanatical Presby
terian skipper, who wanted to pull down and burn all the crosses in
the country, and who could never pass a wooden cross by the road
side without committing some assault upon it. He was a disagreeable
and dangerous travelling companion ; for his conduct greatly enraged
the country-people, and might have led to very serious consequences.
t The Russian officer Golownin and the companions of his Japanese
captivity found it expedient to deny, over and over again, that they
followed the same religion, and exercised the same rites, as the Portu
guese and Spaniards.

EUROPEAN INTERCOUBSE. 55
so little conspicuous in their lives and actions, that the
Japanese were absurd in fearing that they would attempt
the conversion of the heathens. But good and religious
men have gone through this ordeal without any detri
ment to their faith or to their morals ; so let not these
remarks be taken as uncharitable, or as disrespectful to
the Dutch.
Kampfer is quite pathetic in his account of the impri
soned, uncomfortable way of life. " Thus we live all the
year round little better than prisoners, confined within
the compass of one small island, under the perpetual and
narrow inspection of our keepers. It is true, indeed, we
are now and then allowed a short escape, an indulgence
which we can by no means suppose to be the effect of
love and friendship, forasmuch as it is never granted to
us unless it be to pay our respects to some great men, or
for some other business advantageous for the govern
ment. . . . After the departure of our ships, the director
of our trade, or resident of the Dutch East-India Compa
ny, sets out with a numerous retinue on his journey to
the emperor's court, to make the usual yearly pre
sents. . . . Upon this journey we are scarcely allowed
more liberty than state prisoners might reasonably claim.
We are not suffered to speak to any body, not even (without
express permission) to the servants of the inns at which
we lodge. As soon as we come to an inn, we are, without
delay, carried up stairs, or into the back apartment,
which has no other view than that into the small walled
garden or court-yard. Our retinue, which is specially
ordered and regulated by government, consists of inter
preters, cooks, servants, porters, grooms, bailiffs, and sol
diers in good number ; and all these people, though ever so

56 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
useless, must be fed and maintained at our expense. Be
fore our departure for court, and again upon our return,
we are bound to wait upon the governors of Nagasaki, to
return them thanks for their favors, and to entreat the
continuance of their protection. Now, not even this visit
can be made without a numerous, expensive train of
guards, soldiers, and bailiffs, the latter carrying halters in
their pockets. We are often obliged to wait a good hour
in the great guard-house before we are admitted to au
dience. Another visit, and with the like numerous atten
dants, is made to the governors upon a certain Japanese
holiday, when it is usual to make them a present."
Of late years this severity has been materially relaxed.
In 1822, when the Dutch mission went to Jeddo to pay
their court to the emperor, and give him the presents,
they were allowed considerable freedom of intercourse
with the people. At the villages on the road fair dam
sels ran out to meet them, and to offer them spring
water, tea, and other refreshments ; and at Jeddo, the
apartments allotted to them were crowded from morning
till night by ladies and gentlemen, native doctors, and
savans, and people of all classes, who asked them ques
tions with wonderful volubility, and were always ready
to answer the questions which the Dutch put to them.
This intercourse, although under constant supervision on
the part of the government, appears to have been suffi
ciently unrestrained. By the strict letter of Japanese
law, the female sex were forbidden to enter the precincts ;
but the fair ladies went in such numbers, that it sometimes
happened that there were six of them to a single male
visitor. Their manners charmed the hearts of the Dutch
men—especially, it should seem the susceptible heart of

EUROPEAN INTEBCOURSE. 57
the secretary, to whom we are indebted for the interesting
account of this visit to Jeddo.*
The Dutch treated the Japanese beauties (and it is de
clared that some of them were very charming) with li
queurs and confectionary, and wrote Dutch words on
their fans, as a substitute for albums. There was an
agreeable interchange of presents. The secretaries of the
government of Sadsuma brought an offering of twelve
beautiful birds, fifteen rare plants, two lap-dogs, and a
couple of rabbits, with some silks and other articles, con
veyed in cages and Japan boxes, which in value and
beauty far exceeded their contents. The whole of this
recent account leaves on the mind the impression of a
really delightful journey. It is to be noted, however,
that the Dutch visit to Jeddo and court is no longer
annual, but is now limited to once in four years.
In Kampfer's time (1690-92), the few Dutch who re
mained at Desima after the departure of their ships, were
permitted, once or twice in the year, to take a walk into
the adjacent country, and to visit the temples about Na
gasaki, the liberty being oftenest granted to their doctors
and surgeons, under pretence that they were going in
search of medicinal plants. But on these, as on two or
three other rare occasions, on which they were allowed, for
a few hours, to quit their narrow prisonhouse, they were
narrowly watched, and obliged to incur heavy expenses.
Every time they went to the temples their purses were
severely squeezed, for they had to give a splendid dinner
in one of the joss-houses, and to fee the priests of the
temple besides.
* J. F. Van Overmeer Fischer, " Bjjdrage tot de Kennis von het
Japansche Rijk." Amsterdam, 1833.

58 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
Although the trade was reduced to two ships a year, it
was so very profitable that the Dutch were anxious to
retain it all for themselves ; and, from first to last, they
resigned themselves to many humiliations, in order to
secure their monopoly.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, when the
English were beginning to make considerable commercial
progress in India, our East India Company obtained what
appeared to be a good footing in Japan. This was years
before the great massacre of the Christians, and the total
expulsion of the Portuguese. That truly remarkable man,
William Adams, who led the Dutch to the country, and
procured for them all their privileges, was also the real
founder of the English settlement. The two letters which
he sent to Batavia, were conveyed to London, and sub
mitted to the " Worshipful Fellowship of the Merchants
of London, trading into the East Indies."* They attracted
immediate attention, and Captain John Saris, in command
of the good ship Clove, was despatched on a mission to
the emperor of Japan, being accredited with a letter, and
charged with presents from our reigning sovereign, James
I. Sir Thomas Smith, who was then acting as chairman
of the infant company in London, appears to have taken
a very active and spirited part in these measures.
The Clove came to anchor in the vicinity of Firando, on
the 11th of June, 1613, not two years after the date of
Adams's letters. The king of the island and his grand
son went on board the ship and welcomed the captain,
who "had prepared a banquet for them., and a good
concert of music, which much delighted them." Captain

* This was the title then borne by the Honorable E. I. Company.

EUROPEAN INTERCOUBSE. 59
Saris immediately put himself in communication with
Adams, whom the natives called Auge.
" The king was no sooner ashore, than all his nobility,
attended with a multitude of soldiers, entered the ship,
every man of worth bringing his present with him — some
venison, some wild-fowl, some wild-boar, the largest and
fattest that ever any of us had seen ; some bringing fruits,
fish, etc. They did much admire our ship, and made as
if they could never see it sufficiently."*
His majesty-soon returned to the ship, conducting with
him his " four chief women." " These," says Captain
Saris, " were attired in gowns of silk, clapped the one
skirt over the other, and they were bare-legged, having
only a pair of half-buskins, nicely bound with silk riband
about the instep : their hair very black and very long,
tied up in a knot upon the crown, in a comely manner ;
their heads nowhere shaven as the men's were. They
were well-faced, well-handed and footed, clear-skinned and
white, but wanting color, which they do amend by art.
Of stature low, but rather fat ; very courteous in beha
vior, not ignorant of the respect to be given unto persons
according to their fashion  The king's women
seemed to be somewhat bashful, but he willed them to be
frolicsome. They sang divers songs, and played upon
certain instruments, whereof one did very much resemble
our lute." The jovial skipper, who rejoiced in the double
title of general and ambassador, treated them well in his
cabin, and gave them some English manufactures to take
on shore with them. The king was so pleased with the
entertainment, that in a very few days he returned with
divers other women " to make frolic." Saris goes on, —
* " Purchas his Pilgrimes."

60 EMPIKIi: OF J A TAN.
" Thoso womon woro actors of comedies, who pass Jrom
island to island to piny, as our player* do IVom town to
town, having several changes of apparel, for tho bettor
grace of the matters noted, which for tho most part woro
of war, lovo, revenge, and such like"
Early in July tho king, or viceroy of anothor island
camo to visit " tho excellent English ship." " So ho was
well entertained aboard, banqueted, mid had divers piocos
shot off at his departure, which lie very kindly jioooptod,
and told me that ho should bo right glad to see somo of
our nation como to his island, whithor they should bo
heartily wolcomed." Such was the freedom of intercourse)
only a few yoara beforo tho political hurricane brought on
by the Portuguese and tho Dutch. In tho month of Au
gust, 1613, Captain, or General Saris, set, oil for the
imperial court of Jeddo, accompanied by our marvellous
mariner and pilot Adams, ami ton other Mnglishinon,
They wont from island to island in a royal galley, and
performed nearly all tljo journey by water. The party
stopped at sovoral cities, which they doscribo as boing
densely peoplod, and quito us extensive as the London of
their day. " Everybody very civil and courteous ; only at
our landing, and so through the country, tho boys, chil
dren, and worser sort of idle people, would gather about
and follow after us, eiyiug,-—' Cor6, (hn\ Uocoir, wan',' that
is to say, ' You Comuix v)i/,h fnW hrttrte :' wondering,
whooping, hallooing, and making such a noi so about us,
that wo could scarcely hear one another spoulc, sometimes
throwing stones at us (but that not in many towns); yet
the clamor and crying after us was ovorywhoro alike,
none reproving them for it. Tho best advice I can give
those who shall hereafter arrive is, that thoy pass on
without regarding thoso idle rabblemcnts; and in so

EUEOPEAN INTERCOURSE. 61
doing they shall find their ears only troubled with the
noise." In most of the towns the general and his goodly com
pany were most hospitably entertained ; and they appear
to have been freely admitted to the society of the Japanese
ladies. In the latter stages of the journey, Saris was
carried in a palankeen, on six men's shoulders, and had a
spare horse, very handsomely caparisoned, whereon to
ride when it so pleased him. The general, when in pre
sence of the emperor, well maintained the honor of his
country and his own personal dignity. There was no
crawling like a crab, no humiliation, no ceremony un
becoming the representative of a powerful sovereign.
Through the help and admirable diplomacy of Adams, a
commercial treaty, or a series of privileges, more favor
able than any ever enjoyed by Portuguese or by Dutch,
was granted to the English, and apparently without any
demur or delay on the part of the imperial court.
The first article in these original privileges of 1613
runs thus : — " We give free license to the king of Eng
land's subjects, Sir Thomas Smith, Governor, and Com
pany of the East-India Merchants, for ever, safely to come
into any our ports or empire of Japan, with their ships
and merchandise, without hindrance to them or their
goods ; and to abide, buy, sell, and barter according to
their own manner with all nations ; and to tarry so long
as they will, and depart at their pleasure."
The second article exempted English goods from all
manner of customs or duties ; the third granted to the
English full freedom of building houses in any part of
tho empire, which houses, at their departure, they might
freely sell ; the fourth article placed the property of any
English subject that might die in the empire under the

62 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
sole control of the captain, merchant, or English resident,
and exempted entirely all English subjects, whatever
their offences, from the somewhat summary process of
Japanese law ; and the three remaining articles were all
in the same liberal and most friendly spirit.*
These privileges were, however, somewhat modified in
1616, when the English, wherever they might arrive on
the coast, were ordered to repair immediately to the port
and of town Firando, there to sell their merchandise, and
not to stay at, or trade, in any other port whatsoever.
But it was ordered, at the same time, that, in case of con
trary winds or bad weather, the English ships might abide
in any other port, without paying anchorage duties ; and
the people were enjoined to treat such ships in a friendly
manner, and to sell them whatsoever they might require.
At the same time all the other valuable privileges of 1613
were confirmed. Captain Cock, who established himself
at Firando, and remained in the country long after the
departure of Saris, paid more than one visit to the impe
rial court at Jeddo. +

* See " Minutes of Evidence,'' appended to the " Report of the Se
lect Committee of the House of Commons on Commercial Relations
with China. 1847." Purchas, " His Pilgrimes," and the Notes to Mr.
Rundall's valuable Memorials.
t MSS. in the East-India House (Japan Series), as quoted by
Thomas Rundall, Esq., in " Memorials of the Empire of Japan, in the
16th and 17th centuries." Printed for the Hakluy t Society. London :
1850. Captain Cock was at Firando in 1620, when William Adamg
closed his adveritours life. The captain took charge of the old pilot's
will and property, and remitted the money to Adams's family in Eng
land. The original will is preserved in the East-India House, as is
also the inventory of the estate of the deceased.
Too much praise can hardly be given to Mr. Rundall for his indus
trious researches into these matters.

EUEOPEAN INTEECOURSE. 63
Our factory at Firando, or rather, perhaps, those who
managed their shipments in England, made an injudicious
selection of merchandise, sending out commodities which
were not in request in that country. In this manner, the
trade was conducted, rather at a loss than profit, and
this, with some other circumstances of discouragement,
induced the East-India Company prematurely to abandon
the experiment.
" Of the English," says a recent English writer, " it is
simply to be observed that in their commercial project
they failed, and that they retired with honor, and regretted,
from the scene of their misadventure."* In the year
1623, after upwards of £40,000 had been uselessly ex
pended, they entirely withdrew from that country, and
trade. But though commercially unsuccessful, the English
left an unimpeached character behind them, and worthy
Captain Cock and his associates, honored by the esteem
of the higher classes, were blessed and regretted by the
humble in condition. f It was, perhaps, fortunate in more
ways than one, that our countrymen were far from the
empire long before the days of the terrible persecution,
civil war, and slaughter. We should grieve to see our
national fame blotted by conduct at all resembling that
pursued by the Dutch at that dreadful crisis.
In 1673, when an English ship was sent to attempt a
revival of intercourse, the first question asked by the
Japanese authority was, whether it was long since the
English king had married a daughter of the king of Por
tugal ? Our Charles II. had married the Portuguese In-

* Thomas Rundall, Esq. ; " Memorials of the Empire of Japan," &c.
f Id. id.

64 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
fanta Catherine of Braganza, twelve years before. The
Dutch had made the Japanese acquainted with the fact;
and this alliance with a hated nation led to a total refusal
of the Japanese to permit any renewal of English inter
course, it being declared that " no trade could be permitted
with the subjects of a king who had married the daughter
of the greatest enemy of Japan, and the English ship
must, therefore, sail with the first fair wind." The English
captain was even denied permission to sell his cargo,
which he had brought from so great a distance* Yet,
in other matters, our people were courteously received
and hospitably entertained.
After this unsuccessful experiment there is no record
of another English visit to Japan for considerably more
than a century. Captain Cook, in his last voyage, merely
coasted the western side of the empire.
But, in 1791, the " Argonaut," an English vessel em
ployed in the fur trade with the northwest coast of
America, made an attempt to trade and barter with the
Japanese. She made for the western side of the islands,
but met with no welcome. At the only port in which she
anchored, she was immediately surrounded by lines of
boats, and her people were cut off from all intercourse
with the shore ; and after getting a gratuitous supply of
wood and water, she was obliged to sail away. The next
English ship that touched the coasts was the "Providence,"
commanded by Captain Broughton, who was engaged on
a naval survey, and who passed some time making obser-

* The name of this ship was the " Return." She had been des
patched by the English East-India Company, with the sanction of
Charles II. All on board of her appear to have been convinced that
they were thwarted more by Dutch jealousy than by anything else.

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 65
vations, and refitting, on the coast of Yesso, north of
Niphon, the main island. He was civilly treated by the
inhabitants of Yesso, who were not very submissive to
the central government. But Broughton had no com
mercial or political mission, and so made no attempt to
establish any intercourse. In 1803, an English merchant
man, the "Frederick," was sent from Calcutta with a rich
cargo of goods ; but her captain was refused admittance
to the harbor, and enjoined to leave the neighborhood
within the space of twenty -four hours.
The progress of our vast conquests and annexations on
the Indian continent were of a nature to excite the jealous
fears and increase the estrangement of people like the
Japanese. They were uncommonly well informed of the
particulars of that history, from the time of the great Lord
Clive downwards. This complete information could be
obtained only by means of the Dutch. To the people of
that nation India was a sore subject. They had at one
time aimed at supremacy in Hindostan, but Clive had
shattered their talisman by the blow he struck at their
settlement of Chinsura, above Calcutta, and under Warren
Hastings their Indian continental power had dwindled to
a mere shadow. They could not recover that power by
criticising and condemning English ambition to the Ja
panese ; but by this process it was certainly easy to excite
the alarm of that people, to induce them vigilantly to -bar
their ports and harbors to the English, and so leave
such trade as yet survived in Japan solely in the hands
of the Dutch.
The French, though long powerful in India, and at one
time all-powerful in Siam, made no effort in this direction.
It appears, however, that when the celebrated Colbert
took charge of the deranged finances of France, he pro-

66 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
jeeted an expedition to Japan, upon which he counted for
a good supply of gold and silver, and for other advantages.
.But, from causes which are not explained, his project was
never carried into execution.
Towards the close of the last century, Russia made
more than one attempt to open an intercourse. Possessing
one-half of the Kurile islands, while the Japanese possessed
the other half, these two powers were, in a manner, next-
door neighbors. About seventy-two years ago a Japanese
vessel was wrecked on one of the Aleutian islands belong
ing to Russia ; the crew were saved and conveyed to
Irkutzk, where they were detained about ten years, well
treated, and instructed in the Russian language, by order
of the great Empress Catherine. On sending these
Japanese back to their native country, Catherine directed
the governor of Siberia to endeavor to establish such
friendly relations as might tend to the mutual benefit of
both countries. For this purpose, he was directed to
despatch an envoy, in his own name, with credentials and
suitable presents, taking especial care to employ no
Englishman or Dutchman. The governor of Siberia fixed
upon a lieutenant named Laxman, who, embarking in the
" Catherina" transport, sailed from Okotzk in the autumn
of 1792. Laxman soon made a harbor or bay on the
nort.hern coast of the Japanese island of Matsmai, where
he passed the winter. In the following summer he went
round to the southern coast of the same island, and
entered the harbor of Chakodade, still having with him
the natives whom the Russians had rescued from ship
wreck. The officers of the Japanese government were
exceedingly courteous ; but all that Laxman could obtain
from them was a declaration in writing to the following
effect : —

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 67
" 1. That although their laws inflict perpetual imprison
ment on every stranger landing in any part of the Japa
nese empire, the harbor of Nagasaki excepted, yet, in con
sideration of the ignorance of these laws, pleaded by the
Russians, and of their having saved the lives of several
Japanese subjects, they are willing to waive the strict en
forcement of them in the present instance, provided Lieu
tenant Laxman will promise, for himself and his country
men, to return immediately to his own country, and never
again to approach any part of the coast, but the harbor
aforesaid. " 2. That the Japanese government thanks the Russians
for the care taken of its subjects ; but at the same time
informs them, that they may either leave them or carry
them back again, as they think fit, as the Japanese con
sider all men to belong to whatever country their destiny
may carry them, and where their lives may have been
protected." During his stay, Laxman had been treated with the
greatest civility ; at his departure he was provided, without
charge, with everything he wanted, and was finally dismissed
with presents. The Empress Catherine, although she made
no new attempt, kept her attention directed occasionally
to Japan, and encouraged the cultivation of the language,
which the shipwrecked Japanese had afforded some of her
people the means of acquiring. Under her unfortunate,
insane successor Paul, the matter slept; but her grandson,
the Emperor Alexander, in the year 1803, sent the cham
berlain Resanoff on a formal embassy, with imperial cre
dentials and valuable presents to the emperor of Japan.
Resanoff proved himself ill qualified for so delicate and
difficult a mission ; after behaving perversely and ungra
ciously, he tamely submitted to be insulted by the Japa-

68 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
nese government, who put him into a bamboo cage or nar
row inclosure on the beach of Nagasaki, and in the end
dismissed him very unceremoniously, with the notification
that they had no wish for any Russian ships in any port
of Japan. Although the ambassador of the Tzar bore all
this very meekly while in his cage and in their power, he
meditated vengeance ; and on his return to Kamtschatka,
applied to Chwostoff and Davidoff, each of whom com
manded a small armed vessel in the service of the Ameri-
co-Russian company. These officers readily entered into
the views of the chamberlain ambassador, and proceeded
to retaliate the treatment which he had received at Na
gasaki. But instead of going to that place to punish the
offending party, they fell upon one of the Southern Kurile
islands belonging to Japan, and wreaked their vengeance
on the unoffending inhabitants, plundering their villages,
killing some of the poor people, and carrying off others in
their vessels. Resanoff died on his way back to St. Peters
burg. Apparently no inquiry was instituted as to his
mean and flagitious conduct ; but his death could not ob
literate the mournful recollections of the poor islanders.
In May, 1811, Captain Golownin was despatched in the
imperial sloop of war the " Diana," to make a survey of the
Kurile group. It has been suspected, though not proved,
that there were ulterior objects, and that Golownin was
instructed to make a new effort at establishing friendly re
lations with the Japanese government. But it was impos
sible that he could complete his survey without coming in
contact with the Japanese authorities. By the 17th of
June, Golownin had made his observations on the islands,
from the thirteenth in the chain down to the eighteenth,
when he found himself near the northern extremity of
Ectoorpoo, which he supposed to be inhabited only by

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 69
Kuriles. On landing, however, he was met by a Japanese
chief, attended by some soldiers, who asked him if the
Russians meant to treat them as the other island had been
treated seven years ago. Golownin thought it best to take
an immediate departure. He then went to the island of
Kunaschier, which is the twentieth link in the chain, and
separated from the thoroughly Japanese island of Matsmai,
by a narrow strait. Entering the harbor of Kunaschier,
two guns were fired at the " Diana " from a fort, hung
round, in the fashion of the country, with blue and red
striped cloth ; and troops were seen in the town and on
the seashore. Golownin endeavored by signals and inge
nious symbols to intimate that he only wanted provisions
and water. After various misunderstandings and adven
tures on the part of the Russians, and very great cunning
on that of the Japanese, Golownin was tempted to land,
with a weak party consisting only of a midshipman, a
pilot, four Russian seamen, and a Kurile interpreter. He
was received with great courtesy, and entertained at din
ner, and treated with tea and sackee, a native drink dis
tilled from rice ; but when he and his party would have
returned to their ships, they were all made prisoners, and
bound with thick cords, and swung up by the arms and
legs to a beam, their pockets having been first searched
and emptied. The Japanese then sat down on their heels
and coolly smoked their pipes for an hour. At the end
of that period the party were loosened from the beam, the
cords were removed from their legs, in order that they
might be able to march, and they were led out of the cas
tle and through a wood, each of them having a conductor
holding the end of the main one of the ropes with which
he still remained bound, and a grim-looking Japanese
soldier by his side.

70 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
On ascending a hill, they heard a cannonade, and saw
their ships standing away, under sail. " There goes our
Diana !— Take a last look of her ! " said the pilot. As
they hurried him along, the rope round Golownin's neck
became so tightened, that he was all but strangled. In
the evening they arrived at a small village, and being car
ried into an empty apartment, were offered boiled rice and
fish, the staple food of these people : they were then
stretched on the floor, and the ropes by which they had
been led, were made fast to strong iron hooks driven into
the wall. Their conductors then sat down to smoke
pipes and drink tea. Such is Japanese custom. At day
light the following morning Golownin was tied down to a
plank or flat tray, like a sheep or dead pig, and carried
away on the shoulders of two strong men, he knew not
whither. He took a last farewell, as he fancied, of his
companions in misfortune. In brief time, however, he
found himself in a boat, into which all the rest of the
Russians were brought, one by one, in the same manner,
with an armed soldier between each of them. The boat
shot across the narrow strait to the island of Matsmai,
where they were placed in other boats. They proceeded
along the shore, which appeared to be very populous, the
whole of that day and the following night.
Though the Japanese would not relax the tight ropes
with which they were bound, they were most attentive to
their wants in all other respects, feeding them with rice
and broiled fish, and constantly flapping away the gnats
and flies which annoyed them. In a village a venerable
old man brought them some sackee, and stood by while
they were drinking it, with marks of pity in his face.
But everywhere they experienced humane and kindly at
tentions from private persons, and Golownin, who, from

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 71
his book, appears to have been rather a weak-headed, but
a very right-hearted man, left Japan, after all his suffer
ings, with the most favorable impressions of the benevo
lence and generosity of the people. His testimony in this
respect may be considered as conclusive and important.
The boats, which were thirty feet long and eight at the
beam, were now dragged up a steep hill, on the other side
of which they were launched into a sort of canal, which
terminated in a large and beautiful lake. They crossed
the lake, and then landed, boat and all. In this way,
sometimes by land and sometimes by water, but always
firmly bound, they were conducted on their way by about
two hundred men. On the ninth day the cords round
their wrists were so far loosened as to allow them to make
some use of their hands. Hitherto they had been fed like
helpless infants, the Japanese putting the rice and broiled
fish into their mouths with little chopsticks. The pri
soners now learned for the first time, that all the apparent
inhumanity was intended as an act of kindness, to prevent
them, in their despair, from committing suicide. This act
not being considered either by the Chinese or Japanese as
a crime, is very frequent in both countries; and as in
both the officers of government are responsible for the
health and safety of those delivered into their custody,
their attentions are officious, incessant, and, in our eyes,
extravagant. Woe to the escort if one of the Russians
died ! Their orders were to carry them alive and safe to
Chakodade, and the orders of government must be ex
ecuted to the letter, even in despite of natural sickness
and disease. The humanity of these soldiers was, there
fore, not altogether unselfish. Every night they carefully
washed the feet of their prisoners with warm water ; by
day they would never suffer them to wet their feet in cold

72 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
water, carrying them over every splash or streamlet they
met. They would not allow them to eat strawberries and
raspberries, lest their bowels should be deranged ; when
they smoked, they held their pipes for them, lest they
should thrust the tube down their throats, and so kill or
injure themselves.
At length they reached (a whole month after leaving
the port in which they were captured) the well-peopled
and prosperous-looking city of Chakodade, into which
they were marched with great pomp, the sides of the road
being crowded with spectators, men, women and children,
who all behaved with the utmost decorum. " I particu
larly marked their countenances," says Golownin, " and
never once observed a malicious look, or any sign of hatred
towards us, and none showed the least disposition to insult
us by mockery and derision."
They were conducted into a large wooden building,
fenced round with bamboo palisades. It consisted of a
long lobby or corridor, with a number of wooden cages
arranged on each side, and into these the unfortunate
Russians were thrust, each having his separate cage.
These cages or cells were about six feet square and eight
* feet high, each having two small windows with iron
gratings to admit light and air. A wooden bench and
two or three mats formed the only furniture. Throughout
the night guards came frequently along the passage to
examine the cages, and, at intervals, the sentinels outside
the prison plied their wooden rattles, to prove that they
were vigilant. [We know not whether the Japanese
borrowed the watchman's rattle from the Chinese, or the
Chinese from the Japanese ; but we took it, perhaps
indirectly, from the Chinese. Our new police have sup
pressed its nocturnal music ; but even in the days of the

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 73
" Charleys," few ever thought of the Oriental origin of
the implement.] Every morning water for washing was
carried to the prisoners, and a Japanese physician made
his appearance to examine into the state of their health.
On the third day they were marched, with ropes round
their waist, and under a strong guard, to the house of the
governor of Chakodade. After being presented with tea
and tobacco, they were asked a number of questions, all
their answers being carefully written down. At length
the governor desired to know if some change of religion
had not taken place in Russia, " as Laxman (who had
been here in 1793) wore a long pigtail, and had thick
hair, covered all over with flour, whereas we had our hair
cut quite short, and did not put any flour on our heads ;
and he could not believe us," says the captain, " when we
told him that in our country religion had nothing to do
with the cut of the hair."
But in Japan every custom is a religion. One question
seems rather to have puzzled the Russians. They were
asked why they had carried off wood and rice from a
village where they had landed, without the consent of the
owners; and whether, under the circumstances of leaving
other articles in lieu, as they had done, any law existed in
Russia to justify the deed '? Golownin acknowledged
that there was no such law ; but added, that if a man
took only what was necessary to support his existence,
and left an equivalent, he would not be considered guilty.
" With us," replied the Japanese, " it is very different;
our laws ordain that a man must sooner die of hunger than
touch, without the consent of the owner, a single grain of
rice which does not belong to him."
At the expiration -of fifty days, the Russians, again
bound with ropes, were marched away from the coast to
4

74 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
the capital of Matsmai, where they were caged as before.
Here they underwent a multitude of examinations before
the Bunyo or viceroy, who was far more inquisitive and
minute than the governor of Chakodade, but mild and
considerate, evidently feeling for their unhappy situation.
They were well fed in their cages, and when the cold
weather came on, — and it was very cold, — they were sup
plied with warm winter clothing. They were now visited
twice a day by a physician, and if anything ailed them, he
generally brought a second doctor with him.
The Russians were astonished to find how many trifling
circumstances, unconnected either with themselves or with
Resanoff, or Chwostoff, were brought to bear on the sus
pected views of the Russian government against Japan.
The visit of Captain Broughton to one of the Kurile
islands, and the visit of an English frigate to the Bay of
Nagasaki, with some insinuations of the Dutch of that
place, had confirmed the Japanese in their belief that the
Russians and the English intended to divide China and
Japan between them.
By the month of March, 1812, the prisoners were, how
ever, permitted to walk about the town with a guard ;
and in April they were released from their prison, and
removed to a private dwelling-house, surrounded by
strong palisades. They resolved to escape from the town,
get to the seashore, seize upon a boat, and stand across
for the nearest part of the Asiatic continent. Having
burrowed the ground beneath the palisades, one night,
at the end of April, they crept out, one by one, and, fa
vored by darkness, struck across the country towards the
sea, directing their course to the northward, and ascend
ing hills covered with snow. Hiding by day, they, for
eight nights, wandered through thickets or scrambled

EUBOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 75
among rocks and precipices, to the great risk of their
necks or limbs. At length they reached a village on
the shore and found two boats, but they were hauled up
on the beach, and, weak and famishing as they were, they
could not launch them. A little farther on they saw a
boat afloat, and near it a tent. One" of the famishing
sailors thrust his hand into the tent, but instead of find
ing something eatable, he grasped the head of a Japa
nese who was sleeping within. The fellow roared out, and
the Russians, fearing that the noise would alarm the
villagers, hastened, back to the hills. On the next morn
ing, when they were completely exhausted and helpless,
they found themselves surrounded by soldiers, who came
upon them very quietly, bound their arms behind their
backs, and led them to a house, where they refreshed
them with sackee, boiled rice, radishes, and tea. The
Russians had been regularly tracked day by day. Go
lownin fancied that the old fear about suicide had pre
vented the Japanese from seizing them sooner. They
were marched back to Matsmai, and safely lodged in the
castle. The viceroy showed no anger at this escapade :
he merely told Golownin that his plan was ill contrived,
and that if he had succeeded, and the Russians had got
off, he and other Japanese must have answered for it with
their lives.
They were soon sent from the castle to a new prison,
and put into separate cages. But at last, when the se
cond year of their captivity was well advanced, they
were restored to liberty, and sent off for their own.
country. The officers of Golownin's ship, the " Diana," on find
ing that the water was too shallow to allow of their get
ting near enough to use the small guns (with which the

76 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
vessel was mounted) with any effect, had hauled off, and
had remained three days near Kunaschier, the place
where their captain was entrapped, in the vain hope of
learning what had become of him. They then landed, at
a lonely village, some linen and other articles for the
captives, and returned with all speed to Okotzk, to lay
before the government an account of what had occurred.
Captain Rikord, of the Russian navy, immediately set off
for Petersburgh. At Irkutzk he learned that the gover
nor had already despatched a report to the capital. But
the distances from Japan to Petersburgh were long;
political events of the greatest magnitude were in pro
gress, and before the report could reach him, the Emperor
Alexander was fully engaged in preparations to meet
the invasion of his dominions by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Orders, however, were at length sent for the " Diana" to
return to Japan. Captain Rikord took with him seven
Japanese, six of whom had been shipwrecked on the
coast of Kamschatka, in the hope of exchanging them for
the seven Russians. They soon made the coast of Japan,
but found that nobody would communicate with them from
the shore. At Kunaschier, the Japanese opened their bat
teries upon them. Captain Rikord then resolved to seize
any vessel he might meet. A bark was soon captured,
but as the crew jumped overboard, and escaped by swim
ming, nothing could be learned from them. But, next
morning, they intercepted a Japanese ship of the largest
size, as she was making for the harbor. On being
brought to, several of the crew threw themselves into the
sea ; of these, some were picked up by the "Diana's" boats,
some swam ashore, and nine were drowned. But the
captain, a lady, and all the rest of the crew, were secured.
Fortunately, the captain was a great shipowner and mer-

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 77
chant, a person of much influence and ability. He and
the lady, his inseparable companion in his voyages, bore
their misfortunes with wonderful composure. With the
exception of four men, all the Japanese sailors were libe
rated, and allowed to proceed in their own vessel. The
captain assured Rikord that Golownin and his com
panions were alive, and in the city of Matsmai. The
season being now too far advanced to allow him to remain
in those stormy seas, with no port open to him, Rikord
steered back to Kamschatka, where he landed with his
interesting captives on the 12th of October. In the mid
dle of the dreadfully cold winter of that country two of
the poor Japanese died. But all were treated with the
greatest hospitality and kindness, and many prejudices
which they had previously entertained against the Rus
sians were removed. The captain betook himself to the
study of the Muscovite language, and was never heard to
utter a word of complaint.
On the approach of fine weather, the " Diana" put
again to sea. She arrived in Kunaschier Bay in June,
but nobody would communicate with her, and not a
living being could be seen along the whole line of coast.
Upon Rikord's insisting that the Japanese captain should
act in a manner which he thought the most likely to open
communications, the captain, in a tone, the earnestness of
which could not be mistaken, threatened to kill him and
then kill himself. But when the Russian officer left this
resolute and clever man to act in his own way, all went
well on shore ; and Golownin and his comrades were soon
liberated. Being landed, on his promise to do his best,
he exhibited a declaration — which had been procured, by
his advice, from the Russian governor of Irkutzk, — that
the violent proceedings at the Kurile island had been

78 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
wholly unauthorized; and of his own knowledge and
experience he bore testimony to the good feelings of the
Russians towards Japan. No doubt he was aided by his
affluence and his connections ; but it would appear that,
but for his extraordinary address and abilities, even he
would have failed.
On the 16th of August, Golownin and those with him
were set at liberty. They soon reached the "Diana,"
which had been allowed to come round to the port of
Chakodade. It must have been long ere they forgot
their caging.*
Some of the last attempts of the English to open a
friendly intercourse, were attended with melancholy con
sequences, and ended in thorough failure. In October,
1808, a European vessel under Dutch colors appeared off
Nagasaki. The usual Dutch trader was expected at the
time ; and therefore the president of the Dutch factory,
* " Narrative of my Captivity in Japan, during the years 1812 and
1813 ; with Observations on the Country and People." By Captain
Golownin, R.N. ; to which is added "An Account of the Voyages to
the Coasts of Japan, and of the Negotiations with the Japanese for the
release of the Author and his Companions." By Captain Rikord.
London: 1818.
These very amusing volumes have been recently republished by
Messrs. Colburn and Co. We recommend to general attention the
worthy Russian captain's minute narrative of his own adventures and
sufferings. They throw much light on the manners of this remark
able people, and bear the stamp of sincerity and thorough truthfulness.
When he describes what he saw himself he is entitled to implicit re
liance. The portions of the work called " Recollections of Japan, com
prising a particular account of the religion, language, government," &c,
is chiefly compiled from Kampfer, Thunberg, and other voyagers ; but
it occasionally presents original remarks, which appear to us to be of
considerable value. Very few will take up the book without reading
it through.

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 79
M. Doeff (who has since written much about Japan), with
out any suspicion, sent off two of his subordinates. In
stead of returning, the two Dutchmen were detained on
board the ship. This circumstance excited both suspicion
and alarm. Preparations were instantly made by the
Japanese for a warlike collision; but their governor
found, to his consternation and horror, that a strong gar
rison placed at a commanding point on the harbor, were
nearly all absent without leave ; that the commander of
the garrison himself was nowhere to be found ; and that
only sixty or seventy men could be collected on the spot.
The governor shuddered at the intelligence, for he fore
saw his inevitable lot — 4eath by the knife. About the
hour of noon a letter was brought from one of the absent
Dutchmen, with these words only, " A ship has arrived
from Bengal. The captain's name is Pellew ; he asks for
water and provisions."
The Dutch president dared not comply, without the
concurrence of the Japanese governor. At midnight, the
first secretary of that high officer visited him, and informed
him that he had orders to rescue the two Hollanders. M.
Doeff asked him how he proposed to do this? The
secretary replied, " Your countrymen have been seized
by treachery ; I shall therefore go alone, obtain admis
sion on board by every demonstration of friendship,
seek an interview with the captain, and on his refusal to
deliver his prisoners, stab him first, and then myself."
The Dutch president dissuaded him from an enterprise
hopeless in itself, and dangerous to his two captured
countrymen. The Japanese governor, adopting the same
view, the secretary's desperate scheme was abandoned.
The plan next adopted was to detain the ship till all
the junks, boats, and forces of the neighboring princes or

80 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
viceroys should be collected for attack; and the night
passed away in military preparation, which, as M. Doeff
says, bore marks of the effect of a want of warlike prac
tice of two centuries' duration. In the afternoon of the
following day, Gozeman, one of the detenus, was landed,
and brought with him the following note : — " I have
ordered my own boat to set Gozeman on shore, to procure
me water and provisions ; if he does not return with such
before evening, I will sail in to-morrow early, and burn
the Japanese and Chinese vessels in the harbor."
The Japanese functionary was unwilling to allow of
Gozeman's return to the vessel ; but was persuaded by M.
Doeff, who considered that measure the only means of
recovering the other man. Gozeman did return on board
with the provisions, and shortly afterwards, both he and
his captured companion reappeared on shore. It now be
came the object of the governor to execute, if possible,
that clause of his commission, which enjoins every one to
detain, till the pleasure of the head government of the
province be known, any foreign vessel which comes too
near, or commits any act of violence or illegality on the
coast. The Dutch president was again consulted. M.
Doeff considered the Japanese not strong or warlike
enough to detain by force a well-armed British frigate
(for such the stranger was), and told them so plainly ; but
he advised them to detain the vessel by some other means,
long enough to permit a number of native vessels, laden
with stones, to be sunk in the narrowest part of a passage
through which the stranger must go on her quitting the
port to put to sea. The Dutchman calculated that this
scheme might be executed in the course of the next day
and night, without being discovered by the English. The
Japanese harbor-master declared that the scheme was

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 81
feasible, and received the governor's orders to make the
necessary preparations. A favorable east wind was blow
ing ; but it was expected that the frigate would wait for
a further supply of fresh water, which had been promised,
with the view of detaining her.
On the following morning, about daylight, the Prince
of Omura arrived, at the head of his troops, and proposed
to the governor to endeavor, with 300 boats, each manned
with three rowers, and filled with straw and reeds, to
burn the frigate. The rowers were to escape by swim
ming. The Prince offered to lead the enterprise in person.
But during this consultation, the frigate weighed anchor,
hoisted her white canvass, and sailed out of the harbor
with a fresh breeze.
In other countries the adventure, once over, would
have excited little more than laughter, at the ruses de
guerre; but in Japan, it was no laughing matter for those
on shore. The rules and laws of government had been
broken, and for this, those who had offended must die the
death. Within half an hour of the frigate's departure,
the governor redeemed himself from impending disgrace,
and his family from forfeiture and an inheritance of in
famy, by the terrible expedient which Japanese custom
dictates on such occasions. The officers of the neglected
post followed the example, and ripped open their bowels.
These men were under the orders, not of the governor of
Nagasaki, but of the governor of the province (Fizen),
who was residing at the time in the distant capital (Jeddo) ;
yet that absent functionary was punished by an imprison
ment of one hundred days, for the delinquency of his
subordinates. The British frigate was the " Phaeton," and her com
mander Captain Pellew (subsequently the second Lord Ex-
4*

82 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
mouth), who had been ordered by Admiral Drury, the head
of our fleets in the Eastern Seas, to cruise off the Japanese
Islands, for the purpose of intercepting the Dutch traders
to Nagasaki. We were at war with Holland, which for
some years had been a mere dependency of France. Her
troops were fighting in the armies of Bonaparte, her ships
were conveying his troops and stores, and her war-ships
and privateers were doing us all the mischief they could.
After cruising in vain for a month in these stormy seas,
Captain Pellew, thinking that the Dutch traders had
reached the harbor of Nagasaki, had determined to look
for them there ; and being there, and finding no Dutch
men, he had merely endeavored to have some little com
munication with the shore, and to ask for provisions and
fresh water. He assuredly never would have gone thither
had he been aware of the mischief his visit would entail
on the Japanese authorities.*
In the summer of 1813, two vessels bearing the Dutch
flag, and showing a private Dutch signal, approached the
coast. A letter was sent on shore, announcing the arrival
of M. W. Waardenaar, formerly president of the factory,
and M. Cassa, appointed to replace M. Doeff, with three
* M. Doeff's account of these occurrences is marked with consider
able prejudice, animosity, and unfairness to the English. But some
thing must be pardoned in the poor Dutchman, who found himself,
for a number of years, completely cut off from all communication with
Europe and with his countrymen in the east, by the conquering ubi
quitous fleets of Great Britain. He and his companions, at Nagasaki,
wore out their last coats, their last pantaloons, and their last shoes
and were obliged to go half naked, or to dress themselves like natives.
They drank out out all their schiedam, and (woe for jovial Dutchmen!)
they could get no more gin.
A moderate and excellent article on this subject will be found in the
" Quarterly Review,'' vol. lvi. p. 415.

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 83
assistants. No suspicion crossed the mind of M. Doeff,
who sent an officer and clerk of the factory on board.
The officer soon returned, saying that he had recognized
M. Waardenaar and the Dutch captain, Voorman, but
that things looked very strange on board the ship, and
that Waardenaar had told him he could deliver the papers
with which he was charged to none but M. Doeff in
person. It was observed that nearly all the people on
board spoke English, but thence it was only concluded
that the vessels were Americans hired by the Dutch,
who, during the war, had very frequently sought security
for person and property under the flag of the United
States. To ascertain the truth, M. Doeff boldly went on
board. There M- Waardenaar, with evident embarrass
ment, handed him a letter. Doeff declined to open the
letter till he should return to his residence, whither he
was presently accompanied by Waardenaar and his clerk.
Being opened at the factory, the letter presented matter
that astounded and bewildered the poor Dutch president,
who for nearly four years had been cut off from the world
by the successful operations of our fleets, and kept in
total ignorance not only of the occurrences in Holland
and the rest of Europe, but also of what was passing in
the Indian Seas. The letter, which announced that M.
Waardenaar was appointed Commissary in Japan, with
supreme power over the factory, was signed, "Raffles,
Lieutenant-Governor of Java, and its dependencies."
"Who is Raffles?" said the puzzled president, who had
never heard the name, and who believed Java to be still
in the hands of the Dutch, as the rich and magnificent
island had been for ages. In reply, M. Doeff was in
formed that Java had been captured by the English ; that
Holland had lost her nationality, and had been incorpo-

84 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
rated with the French empire ; and that Waardenaar,
together with an Englishman, Dr. Ainslie, had been ap
pointed by the British government as Commissioners in
Japan. Doeff instantly refused any compliance with the
order set forth in the letter, maintaining that they came
from the government of a colony in possession of the ene
my, and that Japan was not to be considered as a depen
dency of Java, or affected by any capitulation into which
the Dutch in Java might have entered with the English*
This ingenious and bold attempt to get a footing in the
Dutch factory, and to smooth the way for future inter
course with the exclusive Japanese, proceeded from the
spirit of enterprise which distinguished Sir Stamford
Raffles, one of the many very remarkable men sent out to
the East by the Hon. East India Company. His views
extended all over this vast Archipelago ; his darling object
was to establish an insular empire, as magnificent, and
even more extensive, than our continental empire in
India. Sir Stamford was a great man, yet we cannot but
agree with those (persons friendly to him) who think that
his zeal in this instance overstepped his discretion, and
that he arranged his scheme without a sufficient know
ledge of the country and of the character of the govern
ment and people of Japan. Success could be gained only
by entire acquiescence and collusion on the part of M.
Doeff; and the lives of the crews and of all on board the
two ships (which were only weak trading vessels), were
* Herinneringen uit Japan,—" Recollections of Japan." By Hen-
drick Doeff, formerly President of the Dutch factory at Desima, 4to.
Haarlem, 1835.
This curious Dutch work has not been translated into English, but
numerous passages from it have been given in the " Quarterly Re
view," vol. lvi. 1836.

EUEOPEAN INTERCOUBSE. 85
placed in the hands of that Dutch functionary, who, by a
word, could have given them over as Englishmen and
enemies to the vengeance of a nation revengeful beyond
measure, and still furious with the recollections of the
visit paid to them by the Phaeton frigate.
It appears to us that Doeff, whose hatred to the Eng
lish was intense, and had been increased by years of se
gregation, suffering, and absolute privation, would really
have taken this course, but for the happy circumstance
that M. Waardenaar was not only his countryman, but
his very old friend and patron. Fortunately, too, Waar
denaar was known and respected in Japan, having for
merly been president of the factory ; the ships bore the
Dutch flag, and no suspicion that the English had a Dutch
agent in their service had as yet reached the Japanese
authorities. This rendered it comparatively easy to keep
the secret if M. Doeff would only connive ; and this, upon
certain conditions of commercial profit to his country, he
consented to do. The cargoes of the two ships were de
livered to him in the usual manner, and copper was ob
tained in return, and these transactions being completed,
the "Charlotte" and "Mary" sailed away with all speed.
Those on board were certainly not out of danger until
they were well out at sea, for they were too weak to de
fend themselves against an attack which would certainly
have taken place if the Japanese government had made
any discovery. At the court of Jeddo was established,
at this very moment, in great power and favor, the son
of that governor of Nagasaki who had committed suicide
in consequence of the visit of the English in 1808. At
Nagasaki itself, the garrison consisted of the troops of
the Prince of Fizen, who had suffered 100 days' arrest for
his imputed negligence in the same affair ; and doubtless

86 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
the friends and relations of the other victims of the trans
action were living there and panting for ^vengeance on
any Englishmen that might fall into their hands.
But what would have happened if M. Doeff had obeyed
the orders of Sir Stamford Raffles, and had left his ap
pointed successor and the English surgeon Ainslie to ex
plain to the Japanese the British authority under which
they were appointed? Nothing less, in all probability,
than the destruction of the factory, the execution of its
officers, and the final cessation of all intercourse with
Europe. And these are consequences to be at least ap
prehended, from the armament of the United States,
whether it succeed or fail. Success by diplomacy, we
consider an impossibility. If their force be sufficient, they
may possibly hold for a longer or shorter period, one of
the smaller islands of the group; but, so sure as the
Americans effect this by force of arms, the Dutch will be
expelled, and the ports of Japan will be closed and
barred more strongly than ever against the shipping of
foreign nations.
In the following year (1814) Sir Stamford Raffles re
newed his attempt by sending the Dutch agent Cassa, in
the " Charlotte," to Nagasaki ; but although the enter
prise was conducted with rare skill and circumspection, it
failed most completely.*
In June, 1818, Captain Gordon, of the British navy,
entered the Bay of Jeddo, in a little brig of sixty-five
tons. He was visited immediately by two Japanese of
ficers, whom he supposed to be of high rank. He told
them he had come merely to obtain permission to return
* In relating these English attempts, we have followed M. DoefFs
own account, in his "Recollections of Japan," and the remarks there
on, by the able writer in the " Quarterly Review," vol. lvi.

JSUKOPISAN INTEECOUESE. 87
to them with a cargo of goods for sale. They said he
must unship his rudder and allow it, with all his arms and
ammunition, to be taken on shore. The vessel was then
surrounded by a circle of about twenty small boats, and
beyond them,. by another circle, of about sixty larger
guard and gun-boats, besides two or three junks, which
mounted a number of guns. Two interpreters then came
on board, one speaking Dutch, the other knowing some
thing of Russian, and both a little English. They in
quired if the vessel belonged to the East-India Company,
if the English were now friends with the Dutch. They
knew the names and uses of our various nautical in
struments, and said that the best of these, and other
articles of manufacture, were made in London. At a
subsequent visit, they firmly, but politely, told Captain
Gordon that he could not be permitted to trade to Japan,
as by their unalterable laws, all foreign intercourse was
interdicted, except at Nagasaki, and even there allowed
only with the Dutch and Chinese, and that the governor
of the province desired they would take their departure
the moment the wind should be fair. They declined
some trifling presents which the captain offered, saying,
* that they were prohibited from accepting them. The
rudder, with everything else that had been taken on
shore, was carefully returned, and about thirty boats were
sent to tow the vessel out of the bay. Ten years had
now passed since the visit of the " Phaeton" frigate, and,
very fortunately, Gordon had put into a very different
port, on a different island. He speaks in high terms of
the polite and affable conduct of the Japanese towards
him and his people, and towards one another. He also
speaks of the great mineral riches of Japan, and thinks
that, if their government would only consent, a profitable

88 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
trade might be carried on with them in our woollen cloth
and manufactures. The worthy officer is praised by
those who have seen the details of his expedition, for ad
mirable prudence and conduct. Perhaps, under an infe
rior guidance, the expedition of the little brig would
have ended in some other tragical catastrophe.*
The recent and rapid growth of the whale-fishery in
the Pacific, has caused a much more frequent resort to
the coasts of this empire. Many of the whalers of the
United States have killed their fish in the waters of
Japan. The most recent of all our English writers on the
subject says, — "It appears that the American whalers
have already come into collision with the Japanese gov
ernment. The rising trade between California and Hong
Kong, from which latter place the Chinese proceed in
crowds to the new Dorado (California), joined to the
general increase of navigation and business in the Pacific,
must end in either opening European intercourse with
Japan, or in greatly increasing the pains of the govern
ment to prevent it. It is a circumstance in favor of the
English and Americans that, in common with the Dutch,
they do not profess the Romish religion, against which
the jealousy and hostility of the Japanese has been prin
cipally directed."f
* MS. Journal of Captain Gordon, as cited in " Quarterly Review,"
vol. xx. p. 119.
We met, a quarter of a century ago, a person who had been at Ja
pan in the little brig, and who thought that the people would hospi
tably receive the English and gladly trade with them, if they did not
stand in such dread of their arbitrary government. We believe so,
too ; but how is that dread to be removed ?
t Sir John Francis Davis, Bart, F.R.S., late her Majesty's Plenipo
tentiary in China ; Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the colony

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 89
The results of the British war in China were fully
reported to the Japanese government, and if they have
increased its fears of foreign intercourse, they must, at the
same time, have inspired it with some degree of caution
as to the treatment of foreigners, and the degree of respect
to be shown to visitors. It is assumed that this has been
proved by the conduct of the authorities at Nagasaki to
Captain Sir Edward Belcher, on his visiting that harbor
in the " Samarang," during the year 1845. As the ship
drew near the port, numerous guard-boats pushed off,
and one of them handed a letter on board. The letter,
written in Dutch, as well as French, contained instruc
tions "to anchor off the entrance of the harbor in a
convenient position, until visited by the proper authori
ties." This was done, the pilots and minor guard-boats
showing great anxiety that the "Samarang" should not
enter the port. The officers at length came off, and their
conduct was extremely civil. They stated that notice
had long since reached them, through the Dutch, of the
probability of this visit ; that in 1843 they had letters
from Packunshan, relating all the movements of the
" Samarang" among those islands. That they had recent
letters from Loo Choo describing the visit there, and that
they knew their intentions to be good and well-disposed.
Sir Edward Belcher, in following up his main object,
wished to make astronomical observations on a neighbor
ing island. Great opposition was started by the officers,
but permission was, at last, obtained to land at night to
determine some point by the stars, and complete certain
of Hong-Kong, — " China, during the War and since the Peace ; to
which are added observations on Japan and the Indo-Chinese na
tions."

90 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
magnetic observations. They, however, earnestly im
plored that this might not be repeated until they received
instructions from their superiors. They took down a list
of every article required by the "Samarang," promising
that the whole should be immediately procured ; and they
were given clearly to understand that the English would
pay for these things, and would not accept them as a
humiliating gift. They were anxious to prevent the
immediate departure of the ship, and requested the
captain to delay it two days. On being told that the
" Samarang " would stay four days if they would consent
to farther observations on the island, they were much
disconcerted, and said that such a measure would certainly
lead to their punishment. During the delay of taking in
water, the chief interpreter stated (cautiously, and while
others were absent), that the Japanese would be very
glad to see English ships at Nagasaki.
Our officers were much impressed by the manners of
the people. "The gentlemen of Japan were most polite
and courteous, conducting themselves with refined and
polished urbanity ; and exhibiting in their actions a dig
nified and respectful demeanor, that put to shame the
ill-breeding of the seamen who ventured to laugh at
them."* They had an evident dislike to speak about the Dutch,
but stated that their vessel was in port. All the time the
"Samarang" remained, the hills and outlines of the
villages were marked by batteries, dressed in striped can
vas, in the fashion observed by Golownin. The English
sailors laughed, and said that the Japanese had put their
batteries in petticoats. Nothing, in a warlike sense, is
* Voyage of H. M. S. "Samarang." 1845.

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 91
more contemptible than these batteries! The guns (of
brass) were laid on level platforms, without parapet or
protection of any kind, unless we accept as such the
petticoats, or striped cloth. It was remarked to the
official people on board the " Samarang," that they had
previously fired on an American vessel and driven her
off the coast, when she came, in humanity and friendship,
to restore some shipwrecked Japanese. This happened
in 1837. In the course of the year 1831, a Japanese junk
was blown off the coast into the Pacific Ocean, and, after
drifting for a long time, was cast ashore in America, near
the mouth of the Columbia river. [This incident alone
may help to show how the West may have been peopled
from the East — how the population of the New World
may have sprung from that of the Old.] The poor
castaways were kindly treated, and after four years of
varied adventures, they were conducted to Macao, where
they were taken care of by the English and Americans.
It was reasonably supposed, by those who did not know
the imperial decree of 1637, or who could not conceive
that that decree would still influence the conduct of the
Japanese authorities,* that, to carry the poor people back
to their own country, would be a good and sufficient
reason for appearing at Japan. An American merchant
man, called the " Morrison," was excellently equipped for
the purpose ; but, unfortunately, her guns and armament
were taken out of her, as a recommendation to the confi
dence of the Japanese. This very circumstance became
the cause of her unceremonious expulsion and bad treat-
, ment. The defenceless ship, with a medical missionary
* The second clause of that decree is simply to this effect : — " All
Japanese, who return from abroad, shall be put to death."

92 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
on board, to administer to the sick, reached the Bay of
Jeddo. The first care of the officers who visited her
from shore was to inspect her keenly, and ascertain her
strength, by rowing round and peering in at the sides.
When it was discovered that she was wholly unarmed,
the greatest contempt and insolence were betrayed by
these official visitors, and early the next morning the
"Morrison" was saluted by a discharge of shotted guns
from the shore, at very short distance. Badly as the
guns were directed, their point-blank range, and the
unarmed condition of the ship, made it necessary to
weigh anchor with all speed. The Americans then ran
westward to the neighborhood of Kagosima, the principal
town of the island of Kiutsu, or Kewsew, where they
anchored in a deep and spacious bay.
Mr. C. W. King, a highly respectable merchant of New
York, conducted the negotiations with tact, good humor,
and ability. On his arrival in the port, he prepared a
paper to be laid before the emperor. "The American
vessels," said he, "sail faster than those- of other nations.
If permitted to have intercourse with Japan, they will
communicate always the latest intelligence 
Our countrymen have not yet visited youf honorable
country, but only know that, in old times, the merchants
of all nations were admitted to your harbors. After
wards, having transgressed the law, they were restricted
or expelled. Now we, coming for the first time, and not
having done wrong, request permission to carry on a
friendly intercourse on the ancient footing."
The natives seemed very friendly, and it was thought
at first that the negotiations for landing the shipwrecked
Japanese was in a fair train ; but after a period of uncer
tainty, striped canvas cloths were seen stretched along the

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 93
shore. Their Japanese passengers, in great dismay, told
the Americans that these were warlike preparations ; lines
of this cloth repeated, one in the rear of the other, being
used to deaden the effect of shot, and to conceal the
gunners. The anchor was again weighed, when a battery
on shore opened savagely on the defenceless ship. No
thing was left for it, but to return to Macao with the
shipwrecked people.* On these circumstances being
recalled to the mind of the Japanese authorities at Naga
saki, by Captain Sir Edward Belcher, they merely said,
" We never allow any Japanese to return under such
circumstances. We sent a junk-full back to the Emperor
of China, and he is our ally." Upon the day of the
" Samarang's" intended departure, the chief officers, accom
panied by a numerous suite of attendants, came on board,
bringing the articles the captain had required. The
purser was directed to pay for them, but the officer said,
"If we dared to disobey the mandate of the Emperor,
our heads would answer for it. We must not even dis
cuss such a matter." After sundry manoeuvres, all beto
kening the jealousy of the government, and the dread of
punishment in its officials, the " Samarang" quietly took
her departure. Of the people, Sir Edward Belcher speaks
very favorably, praising their good manners, gentleness,
and urbanity. As far as they are concerned, there can be
httle doubt that a free and open intercourse would be a
matter of no great difficulty ; but then this embarrassing
* C. W. King, " Notes of the Voyage of the ' Morrison' from Can
ton to Japan." New York, 1839.
We have the testimony of Mr. Lawrence, the United States Minis
ter, now in this country, to the excellent character and thorough
truthfulness of Mr. King. Both his works upon Japan are exceedingly
interesting.

94 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
question presents itself, — Are we, for the sake of the de
sired end, to teach these people to revolutionize a govern
ment which, at the least, has given an unwonted degree
of peace, order, and tranquillity to an extensive empire,
with a population of many millions, for the space of two
hundred and more years ?
In the same year, 1845, three Japanese were carried to
Ningpo, in China, by the American frigate " St. Louis."
These three men had been blown or drifted right across
the Atlantic, in a little junk, from the coast of Japan, all
the way to Mexico, where they had remained two
years.* The Chinese authorities were ready and willing
to return these men to their native country, by the annual
* "After this," says Sir John F. Davis, "there can be httle difficulty
in accounting for the original peopling of America from Asia." —
"China during the War and since the Peace," &c.
It should really appear that some Chinese junk was drifted to the
coast of Mexico, and that America was known to that singular people
many centuries before its discovery by Christopher Columbus. In the
year 499, a Bonze wrote an account of a country in the far west, which
he called Fou-Sang, and the description of which closely agrees with
what we know of Mexico in its flourishing and most civilized time. The
only thing that startles belief is this : the Bonze speaks of horses, and
it has always been assumed that there were no horses on any part of
the American continent, until they were carried thither by the Span
iards. The Bonze mentions a sort of deer which the natives of the
country employed as beasts of burden. This was clearly the Alpaca.
The Bonze, though a great traveller, was evidently no great naturalist,
and may have described some other animal as a horse. On this curi
ous subject the reader may be referred to " Recherches sur les Navi
gations des Chinois du Cote" de l'Amerique, &c." Par M. de Guignes.
" Memoires de l'Academie des Inscriptions," &c, vol. xxviii. p. 503.
Paris : 1761 ; and to " L'Amerique sous le Norn de Pays de Fou-
Sang," &c. Par M. de Paravey. Paris: 1844; and to "Nouvelles
Preuves que le Pays du Fou-Sang, mentionne" dans les livres Chinois,
est l'Amerique," by the same author.

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 95
junks which go from Cheepoo to Nagasaki ; but one of
the Japanese objected, on the ground of personal fear of the
consequences to himself. No doubt the poor fellow knew
the law of 1637. It is astonishing that such a law — a law
punishing misfortune as crime, and repelling men who
ought to be endeared by their perils and adventures, and
who would be welcomed back and cherished by every
other country in the world — should continue to be piti
lessly enforced ; but such, it appears, is the fact.*
In 1846, seeing the absolute necessity of protecting their
own subjects frequenting those seas, the United States
made an attempt to open negotiations with the obstinate
court of Japan. The " Columbus," of ninety guns, Com
modore Biddle, attended by the United States frigate
" Vincennes," arrived at the entrance of the Bay of Jeddo
on the 20th of July. The ships were immediately sur
rounded by about four hundred guard-boats, each contain
ing from five to twenty men, who were generally without
arms. Going on board the " Yincennes," the smaller of
the ships, a man placed a stick with some symbol on it at
the head, and another stick of the same sort at the stern.
As the Americans thought that this looked rather like
taking possession, they ordered the stick to be removed ;
and this was instantly done, without any objection on the
* An interesting account of these poor Japanese mariners is given
by the American medical officer Dr. Pickering, in his " Races of Man,
and their Geographical Distribution." According to Dr. Judd, an
American Missionary, who had previously had some communication
with educated Japanese, these poor fellows were fishermen of the
lowest class. Their boat resembled the flat-bottomed skiffs of New
England. Dr. Pickering shows how naturally and almost inevitably *
a bark, carried away from Japan in a storm, would drift to the coast
of Mexico, or California.

96 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
part of the Japanese. Sir J. F. Davis thinks, that in this
respect, the Japanese resemble their Chinese neighbors :
" They go as far as they dare, until a check occurs. Thus
they tried at first to prevent communication between the
' Columbus' and ' Vincennes,' and a triple line of boats
made no attempt to move ; but, on the seamen being or
dered to cut the connecting ropes, no opposition was
made." The interpreter was a Japanese, who, like many
of his countrymen at Nagasaki, understood Dutch per
fectly. The superior officers were very civil, well-conducted,
sociably, and even jovially inclined. The Americans
thought them generally a much better-looking people than
the Chinese. Although the two ships remained ten days
at anchor, not a soul went on shore. A reference being in
the mean while made to the Emperor, the written reply
arrived in about seven days. It was sufficiently curt : —
" No trade can be allowed with any foreign nation, except
Holland." On their departure, the " Columbus" and
" Yincennes" were towed out by the whole fleet of boats.
Here is the substance of the letter of the President of
the United States to his Imperial Majesty of Japan, — a
letter in which we can see nothing to condemn or cri
ticise : —
"I send you, by this letter, an envoy of my own appointment, an
officer of high rank in his country, who is no missionary of religion.
He goes by my command to bear to you my greeting and good wishes,
and to promote friendship and commerce between the two countries.
" You know that the United States of America now extend from
sea to sea ; that the great countries of Oregon and California are parts
of the United States ; and that from these countries, which are rich
in gold and silver and precious stones, our steamers can reach the
"shores of your happy land in less than twenty days.
" Many of our ships will now pass in every year, and some, perhaps,
in every week, between California and China ; these ships must pass

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 97
along the coasts of your empire ; storms and winds may cause them to
be wrecked on your shores, and we ask and expect from your friend
ship and your greatness, kindness for our men and protection for our
property. We wish that our people may be permitted to trade with
your people ; but we shall not authorize them to break any law of
your empire.
" Our object is friendly commercial intercourse, and nothing more.
You may have productions which we should be glad to buy, and we
have productions which might suit your people.
" Your empire contains a great abundance of coai ; this is an article
which our steamers, in going from California to China, must use.
They would be glad that a harbor in your empire should be appointed
to which coal might be brought, and where they might always be able
to purchase it.
" In many other respects commerce between your empire and our
country would be useful to both. Let us consider well what new in
terests may arise from these recent events, which have brought our
two countries so near together, and what purposes of friendly amity
and intercourse this ought to inspire in the hearts of those who go
vern both countries."
Also in the same year, 1845, Nagasaki was visited by
Admiral Cecille, in the French ship " Cleopatre." The
French met with no better success than the Americans and
English have done. Under such circumstances, Sir J. F.
Davis thinks it impossible to do otherwise than subscribe
to the opinion of a correspondent at Paris: — "I do not
believe that the moment is yet come for entertaining much
hope of the commerce of this part of the world. There
will be many bowels opened, and many official suicides,
before European flags will be able to float freely at Jeddo
or at Nagasaki."
" Yet," adds Sir J. F. Davis, " the inevitable collisions
which will arise with the increased frequentation of the
Japanese seas, can scarcely fail to raise questions which
must b.e solved either by negotiation, or, failing that, by
5

98 EMPIEE OF JAPAN. .
the ultima ratio ; and the Japanese have already shown
some disposition to avert the latter. A case occurred in
1849, of several American seamen wrecked or put ashore
from a whaling ship. The China Mail records " the re
turn of the U. S. ship ' Preble' from Japan, whither she
had been despatched by Commodore Geisinger, to take
away some men belonging to the American whaler ' La-
goda.' " As the " Preble" approached the Japanese har
bor, she was warned away by what was meant to be a
tremendous display of batteries in petticoats. A paper
fixed to the end of a long split bamboo, and containing
certain directions in the English language, was tendered
to the captain, who would not take it, and who continued
his course in spite of some strong attempts which were
made to stop the progress of the ship. An interpreter
soon appeared, with orders that the vessel should stop and
anchor at a particular spot ; but the captain, unfolding a
chart, showed where he intended to anchor. Some very
inferior officers being sent on board to inquire into his
business, the captain, very properly, refused to confer with
them. When more befitting functionaries came off and
learned the object of the visit, delays were urged on ac
count of the unavoidable necessity of referring the matter
to the emperor ; but the American captain limited a time,
beyond which he could not defer applying to his com
mander for further and more decisive instructions. The
Japanese understood the menace, and in a very short time
all the wrecked American seamen were sent safely on
board. The Japanese then offered to supply the wants of
the ship, but as they would not, or could not, receive
payment, the offer was, with proper dignity, declined.
We have no authentic information before us, but we
believe that, since the expedition of the " Preble " in 1849,

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 99
some other American whalers have been wrecked on the
coast, and confined in cages like the Russian Golownin.*
We apprehend that the refusal to deliver up such subjects
of the United States, or even a perseverance in the syste
matic imprisonment and harsh treatment of such subjects,
constitutes a casus belli, and justifies a recourse to arms.
As we proceed, we will endeavor to show the other strong
incentives which impel the Americans towards these
islands, and which are connected with the commerce and
civilization of the whole globe. We heartily wish that
our trans- Atlantic brethren may proceed in their mission
with circumspection, gentleness, moderation, and humani
ty ; but we really cannot call in question either the justice,
or the expediency, of their interfering in the affairs of
Japan. Whether a nation which, like Japan, refuses all inter
course with the rest of the world, may claim all those
privileges of neutrality for its harbors which other civi
lized nations have created and sanctioned for their mutual
convenience, is a point of international law very 'open to
discussion and doubt. Whether any nation — barbarous,
semi-barbarous, or civilized — has the right to cut herself off
from all other nations, to shut her ports and harbors of
refuge against the foreign mariner, buffeted by those
stormy seas and struggling on those dangerous coasts, is
very much to be questioned. Can a government which
repudiates the law of nations, and which has never en-
* It is said that some English as well as American whalers have
been put to death for merely landing on the coast. On the other side
it is asserted that some parties of these whalers have attacked and
plundered Japanese villages, killing men and carrying off young wo
men. We have no authentic information, as yet ; but we can easily
credit both stories.

100 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
tered into that compact (for compact it is, or it is nothing),
claim the benefit of that law when it suits its own particu- _
lar and immediate purpose ? We think not. Even if the
rights of nations justified a government playing the part
of the dog in the manger, it would be found that men are
not quite so patient as oxen. The instincts of nature, the
natural law, stronger than all others, will impel mankind
to invade and break up such excluding systems as those
which obtain in Japan, China, and Annam.*
Japan lies on the high road of nations, and cannot, by
any possibility, be left long in the condition of a barrier
and impediment on that road. She possesses in the bosom
of her own soil that mineral which gives wings to trade
and intercommunication, and which is gradually linking
together all the remotest parts of the earth. Assuredly
no link in that chain will be allowed to remain incomplete
out of deference to the whim and tyranny of one or two
ultra-absolute Oriental governments.
It is, indeed, a pity that the civilized world should not
be better represented at the court of Jeddo than it is by
the Dutch, who have submitted to the very extremities
of degradation.
Kampfer, an eye-witness, has told us how the chief of
the Dutch factory was received at court in his time (1691),
and we believe that the ceremonial of the reception has
not been materially improved since then.
" Having waited upwards of an hour in ja large lofty,
rather dark room, the emperor having in. the meanwhile
* This is the proper designation of the Indo-Chinese nation, which
we rather absurdly continue to call Cochin-China. Sir J. F. Davis
remarks : — " It might be as well if the latter unmeaning designation
(the authority for which is very obscure) were abandoned, and the
true name, Annam, adopted."

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 101
seated himself in the hall of audience, Sino Cami and the
two commissioners came and conducted our resident into
the emperor's presence, leaving us behind. As soon as he
came thither, they cried out aloud, ' Now, Mollanda Capi-
tan /'* which was the signal for him to draw near and make
his obeisances. Accordingly, he crawled on his hands and
knees to a place showed him, between the presents
ranged in due order on one side, and the place where the
emperor sate, on the other ; and there, kneeling, he bowed
his forehead quite down to the ground, and so crawled
backwards, like a crab, without uttering one single word.
So mean and short a thing is the audience we have of this
mighty monarch."
This, surely, is not the way to deal with a haughty, half-
civilized government ; it is not by crawling backwards,
like a crab, that the onward march of civilized man is to
be represented. Among all governments in this condi
tion, the more a European or Christian debases himself,
the more humiliation is put upon him, and the more dif
ficulty raised in the way of the interest he is sent to repre
sent and promote. This, quite down to our own day, was
the case at Constantinople, where the ambassadors, to that
decrepit and dying empire, from .the greatest and most
powerful nations in Christendom, verily ate dirt. We
have taught the Turks a better lesson, and the same good
teaching must be given to the Japanese, if we would bring
them to any reasonable arrangement. There is, indeed,
scarcely any limit to the evil consequences of implicit
submission to their will and caprice. With the Ameri
cans, the necessity of negotiation has now become un-
* It appears that the Japanese commonly turn the II into rr, and
pronounce " Horranda Capitan."

102' EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
avoidable, and very much will depend on the manner in
which they may manage these . negotiations. They have
taken the field on a scale, or with a display of power,
which will obviate any chance of insult. But this alone
will not secure success, or lead to a treaty, which ought to
be conceived. in a large and liberal spirit, so as to be bene
ficial alike to Americans, English, Dutch, French, Portu
guese, and Spanish interests. Sir J. F. Davis, whose con
summate ability and very long experience in China and
the neighboring countries, give great weight and value to
any opinion he may deliver on these matters, concludes
some valuable remarks in these words : —
" Much depends on the commencement in Japan, and,
therefore, it seems highly impolitic to permit lines of guard-
boats round our ships. From the treatment of British
and other vessels of war during the last few years, the
Japanese have shown an evident desire to stave off ex
tremities, and are now, probably, more amenable to reason.
Still, the difficulties are not trifling, and it would be far
better not to attempt anything than to fail, as others have
done, were it only for the influence in China.
" But should circumstances alter, and the Saigoun or
Kubo head of the executive government at Jeddo find it
necessary to relax the old restrictions, the strange constitu
tion of the country would have to be considered. Any
thing like a treaty might be invalid, unless it bore the
seal of the Dairi at Miako, as well as the Kubo ;* and
this, besides, must guarantee the adhesion of all the minor

* In this singular government there are two emperors, reigning
conjointly: the Dairi, or spiritual emperor, who resides at Miako;
and the temporal or lay emperor, who usually lives in the great city
of Jeddo. See Chapter on Government and Laws.

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 103
princes, without which it might be mere waste paper.
The land is divided into innumerable principalities, each
with its seignorial rights. In the sixteenth century, each
of the smaller potentates bordering on the sea appears to
have vied with his neighbors in attracting the greatest
amount of foreign intercourse.
"A treaty once concluded with Japan would, certainly,
not be observed with worse faith than in China ; for the
Japanese are, at least, as straightforward as their neighbors,
if not more so.
" Some of the interpreters attached to our consulates
in China have undertaken the study of the Japanese lan
guage ; and there will be teachers enough if Japan fool
ishly persists in excluding all her subjects who have been
driven from the country by accident or necessity. Nothing
could more completely defeat its own purpose than this
sullen policy, for it supplies means and appliances against
itself. With pure Chinese and Japanese, and the addition
of Dutch or even English translations, it would be most
important to avoid the assistance of their official interpre
ters, — a class objectionable on every account, and, if ad
mitted into negotiations, capable of defeating every object.
Many of the expatriated Japanese have learned English,
and could be employed in a foreign dress.
" Consideri1""* Japan as one of the most advanced na
tions of Asia, with a territory and lines of coast equal to
those of the British islands, it would, no doubt, be impor
tant to open such a mart for our capital and enterprise.
Supposing anything should occur to induce Japan to alter
its present policy of entire exclusion, a treaty, modelled
on that of Nanking, with such modifications as past ex
perience or local differences might suggest, would answer
every legitimate object. With the perfect knowledge

104 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
that the Japanese possess of all external matters, it is not
likely that they would go beyond what has been done by
China. To do even this, the first step constitutes the great
difficulty."* In every case, we earnestly hope that the American
expedition may be conducted with firmness, but also with
prudence and gentleness. Should our very enterprising
and energetic brethren begin with a too free use of Bowie-
knives and Colt's revolvers, the history of their mission
will all be written in characters of blood ; slaughters and
atrocities will be committed, and an interesting people
will be plunged back into complete barbarity. Though
unable to contend in the field even with a small disciplined
force well provided with artillery, and good artillerymen,
the Japanese, if we are correctly informed as to their
character, will brave death, and die in heaps. We would
not make any' positive assertion, but we apprehend the
Americans will find that little or nothing can be done by
negotiation. Should force be resorted to, the best means
of proceeding would probably be to take possession of one
of the smaller islands, or of some peninsula or promon
tory that might be easily fortified on the land side. A
line of intrenchments sufficiently strong to keep off any
native force, might soon be made, and easily strengthened
afterwards. On this strong basis negotiations might pro
bably be carried on with a better chance of success.
The very last English visit to Japan, of which we have
any account, was made as late as May, 1849, when the
" Mariner " sloop of war, Commander Matheson, anchored
off the town of Oragawa, twenty-five miles from Jeddo.
On the approach of the ship, some officers came off and
* " China during the War and since the Peace," &c.

JfiUKUl'JJJAN IJNTEECOUESE. 105
presented a paper in French and Dutch, desiring that she
' should neither anchor nor cruise about the bay, but re- .
main out at sea. On this being declined, as the wind fell
light, they offered their boats to tow the ship to her an
chorage. The maritime town of Oragawa appears to be
the key of Jeddo, the capital city, the whole trade of
which touches there at the custom-house, and, with a
moderate force, might be completely stopped by any naval
power. Commander Matheson found the native officers
extremely courteous and obliging : they were very anxious
to gain every sort of information from their visitors, but
they would give none in return, being afraid to speak of
their own country or government.*
As we have an official report of this our last visit of
all, and as it is as brief as it is curious, we will here give
it in full : —
"Edractof a letter from Commander Matheson, of H.M. S. "Mariner,"
to Captain E. M. Trowbridge, of H. M. S. "Amazon ;" dated 14th
July, 1849, at Shanghae. Communicated by the Admiralty.
" Sir, — I have the honor to inform you, for the information of the
Commander-in-Chief, that, in obedience to orders from his Excellency,
dated 14th May last, I proceeded in H. M. S. "Mariner," under my
command, on the 17th of that month, to the coast of Japan, and an
chored on the 29th May, off the town of Oragawa, situated twenty-
five miles from the capital of the empire, three miles further than any
other vessel has been allowed to proceed, sounding all the way across
and along the shore of Japan.
"Having a Japanese on board, who acted as interpreter, he in
formed the authorities of the object of my visit. I sent my card
written in Chinese, ashore, to the Governor, requesting him to name
thetime he would receive me. His reply was, that, out of courtesy
to me, and curiosity to himself to see the ship, he would have liked
very much to pay me a visit, and also entertain me ashore ; but it
* " Journal of Royal Geographical Society," vol. xx. p. 136.
5*

106 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
was contrary to the laws of their country for any foreigner to land,
and that he would lose his hfe if he permitted me to go ashore, or to
proceed any further up the bay.
" When about eight miles from Cape Misaki, which forms the south
west end of the bay, ten boats came alongside, manned with twenty
men and five mandarins in each, all armed with muskets and swords.
The mandarins wore a sword and dagger.
" I allowed the latter on board, when they presented me a paper
written in French and Dutch, desiring me not to anchor or cruise
about the bay, but remain at sea. Finding, however, that I was de
termined to proceed, and the wind falling light when within two miles
of the anchorage, at half-past eight o'clock they offered their boats to
tow us up, which I accepted.
" When the mandarins left the ship, several boats were stationed
all round us during the night. Forts were lighted up, and about 400
boats, all manned and armed, collected along the shore, each carrying
a lantern. By means of my interpreter, who was very much fright
ened, I made them keep at a respectful distance ; had the guns load
ed, and kept a watch on deck, armed, during the night, in case of any
treachery on their part. Othoson, our interpreter, said he would not
land on any account ; that they would murder all of us, and as for
himself, they would torment him all his life.
" Oragawa appears to be the key of the capital of the empire ; con
tains 20,000 inhabitants, and could hold 1,200 junks. All the junks
going and returning from Jeddo arrive here to pass the custom-house ;
and, with a moderate armed force, the trade might be completely
stopped ; for Jeddo depends upon its supplies by sea. From the ad
vantage a steamer has over a sailing vessel, there would be no diffi
culty in her surveying or sounding the passage up to Jeddo, which
you can approach, as I am informed, within five miles. There is a
very good road between the two towns.
"The mandarins appear of an inferior class. They treated us civ
illy; were anxious to gain every information, but to give none in
return. They took sketches of different parts of the ship ; sent us
some water, vegetables, and eggs ; after which they were continually
inquiring when I intended to depart.
" I directed Mr. Halloran, the master, to make a survey of the an
chorage, which I beg tp forward along with his remarks, and some of

V. U iV<JJT JH Ail iivijiEuOuicSE. 107
my own. The day was fortunately clear and fine ; generally speak
ing, it is very foggy and misty.
" On the 31st May I weighed, and proceeded to Semodi Bay, where
I remained four and a half days, to enable the master to take a more
accurate survey of the bay, a copy of which I transmit herewith.
" There are three fishing villages at this anchorage, where I landed
for a short time ; but the mandarins followed, begging and entreating
me to go on board. They supplied us with plenty of fish, and sent
fifty boats to tow us out, so anxious were they to get us away. The
weather detained me, however, two days at this anchorage, and the
governor of the province came on board on the third ; he lives thir
teen miles off, at a town called Miomaki. He was evidently a man
of rank, from the respect shown to him by his followers.
" The Dutch interpreter, from Oragawa, and two other mandarins,
made their appearance (after the second day) to watch our proceed
ings. They appear to be spies one upon the other, and would ex
change scarcely anything, and that only by stealth.
" On the 7th of June I again weighed and returned to this anchor
age on the 2nd of July."*
The attention of the whole civilized world is now fixed
on the American expedition. This cannot be made a
merely national object ; its character must be essentially
cosmopolitan. We rejoice to see that the subject has
* "Journal of the Royal Geographical Society," vol xx. p. 136.
London, 1851.
We observe that our English and American writers are in the habit
of calling the grandees of Japan by the Chinese name of mandarins,
which is very unsuitable to them, and by no means descriptive of
their hereditary rank. Mr. C. W. King (committing the common
error) gives an amusing anecdote : — "We had inquired of the Japa
nese how their officers were to be distinguished — whether they wore
any badges besides the ever-famous ' two sabres.' The answer was,
If you see a man come on board that trembles very much, he is a man
darin." — " Notes of the Voyage of the ' Morrison,' " &c. New York.
1839.

108 EMPIEE .OF JAPAN.
claimed the attention of our own mercantile classes, and
that efforts are making to diffuse authentic information
concerning it. We must not be outstripped in the East
even by the Americans.
It was the opinion of the illustrious Humboldt, that an
opportunity for opening a liberal and honorable commu
nication between Europe and Japan, would not occur
until the two great oceans (the Atlantic and the Pacific)
should be united by a canal cut across the Isthmus of Pana
ma, when the ' productions of the west and northwest
coasts of America, China, and Japan, would be brought
more than 6,000 miles nearer Europe and the United
States, and when alone any great change could be effected
in the political and commercial policy of eastern Asia.
" For this neck of land," said Humboldt, " has been for
ages the bulwark of the independence of China and
Japan." A very recent English writer says, " Since, however,
this opinion was expressed, the bulwark has been breached,
and various circumstances have transpired to alter the
features of the case, and to bring about a rapid change, in
the tide of commerce, and the progress of trade. The
British have established themselves on the frontiers of
China, and in the heart of the Eastern Archipelago, and
have compelled respect to their flag and freedom to their
trade. Energy and enterprise have constructed a railroad
across the Isthmus of Panama, and the gold discoveries
of California, and the colonization of Vancouver's Island,
have settled a vast and industrious population on the
western sea-board of the American continent, and led to
the establishment pf new lines of steam navigation, and
an immense tide of commerce and emigration. The
opening of the Nicaragua, Tehuantepee, and other prao-

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 109
ticable routes of intercommunication between different
points on the Atlantic and Pacific, has been undertaken
by various companies. Steam communication has been
extended from India to China, and recently to our Aus
tralasian settlements, by the way of Singapore and Java.
There has "also been a great increase in the European and
American shipping employed in the India and China trade
in general commerce, and the whale-fishery on the Pacific.
The Americans, particularly, have largely extended their
whaling fleet, and prosecuted the fishery very successfully
to the seas and coasts of Japan and her northern depend
encies, to the gulfs of Tartary and Okotsk, the Sea ot
Kamtschatka, Behring's Straits, and the Arctic Ocean.
" The port of San Francisco, California, is destined to
become the great mart and entrepot for American com
merce on the Pacific, with China, Japan, and all the mari
time countries of Asia, Polynesia, Oceanica, and Aus
tralasia, which embrace an aggregrate population of up
wards of six hundred millions. Our own excellent port
and harbor of Sidney, from proximity and central situa
tion, having now the advantages of regular steam com
munication, possesses even superior advantages for carry
ing on a most extensive and lucrative trade with the coasts
and islands of Asia and the Eastern Archipelago.
"Japan is directly opposite the American possessions
on the Pacific coast, and the two great islands of Niphon
and Jesso from the Strait of Sangar, through which hun
dreds of its whale fleet are compelled annually to pass.
To land, however, on any of the shores of this empire for
supplies of wood, water, or the necessaries of life, or to be
forced upon them by stress of weather, subjects the un
fortunate whaler to robbery and death.
" Japan not only refuses to hold commercial intercourse

110 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
with the rest of the world — a very questionable right;
but she goes further; and, occupying, as she does, an
enormous extent of seacoast, not only refuses to open her
ports to foreign vessels in distress, but actually opens her
batteries upon them when they approach within gun-shot
of her shores. And when driven upon them by stress of
weather, she seizes upon, imprisons, exhibits in cages, and
actually murders the crews of such ill-fated vessels.
" The world, however, is one of progress ; and in the
march of human events it is highly probable that the
Japanese will be persuaded of the error of their present
policy, and induced to pursue a more liberal course.
" The insular geographical position of Japan, her excel
lent ports and harbors, dense and industrious population,
her boundless productive resources and vast capabilities
for commerce, the superior intelligence and refinement of
her princes and nobles, together with the skill, energy, and
enterprise of the Japanese people, justly entitle her to
rank above every other Asiatic nation. By a judicious
relaxation of her restrictive policy, all these unrivalled,
natural, and political advantages, could be made available
for conducting a very extensive and profitable trade with
various countries both on the Atlantic and Pacific, with
out compromising either her sovereignty, national religion,
or peculiar institutions.
" This isolated and mysterious empire, which has been
since 1637 hermetically sealed to all foreign intercourse
and trade, except with the Chinese and Dutch, will now
be compelled by force of circumstances to succumb to the
progressive commercial spirit of the age, and the Japanese
islands will eventually become in the East what the Brit.
ish islands are in the West,"*

'Lawson's Merchant's Magazine, Statist, and Commercial Re-

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. Ill
American papers state that there exists further south a
route vastly superior to the Panama, Nicaragua, and the
Tchuatessed, inasmuch as the new route offers peculiar
facilities for the cheap construction of a canal. They
allude to that of the rivers AtratO and San Juan, in the
republic of New Grenada. The Atrato extends from the
Gulph of Darien, in latitude 8° in a southerly direction,
to latitude 5°, where it approaches very near the head
water of the river San Juan, which empties into the Paci
fic Ocean in latitude 4°, a short distance from Buena
Ventura. Humboldt, when in New Grenada some fifty
years ago, stated that not only was a canal practicable
across the dividing ground between the head-waters of
the two rivers, but that one of small dimensions had
actually been constructed by the natives, who, by its
means, had carried on for many years an extensive traffic
between the towns on the Pacific coast and those on the
Atlantic. A New York company has obtained from the govern-

view," edited by B. H. Strousberg, author of "Practical Finance,"
"Nummus," &c, vol. i. No. 1. London: May, 1852; published by
Eobert Hastings, 13, Carey-street.
We hail with very much pleasure the appearance of this very use
ful, well-conducted work. The first number, which is all that we
have as yet seen of it, does great credit to the editor and his contrib
utors. Some such work was really a desideratum in our literature.
Our brethren across the water have long had a periodical work of the
same nature, entitled, "The Merchant's Magazine and Commercial
Review," published at New York. We have before us the first vol
ume, which appeared in '1839, and which contains some valuable
information about Japan. Of the editor and writers of the English
work we know nothing personally, but we very cordially wish them
success.

112 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
ment of New Grenada a grant for the construction of a
canal along this route ; and an able civil engineer, Mr. J.
J. Williams, has been selected to make the necessary sur
veys. In this connection, we may also give the following
extract from a Report by the Committee on Naval Affairs
to the last Congress, in relation to a line of steam-ships
to connect San Francisco with Macao, or some other port
in China : —
" The acquisition of California presents facilities for trade and inter
course with China which ought not to be neglected. It is believed
that steamers can regularly make the voyage from the Bay of San
Francisco to China in twenty days ; and by the circuitous route over
the isthmus, now necessarily used, communication is maintained be
tween the western coast of our Atlantic cities in httle more than
thirty days. Thus the establishment of a line of steamers on the Pa
cific would place New York within less than sixty days of Macao.
The trade with China in sailing vessels, which go round the Cape, now
labors under a great disadvantage in the length of time required for
the voyage. It may be assumed that an average of ten months is
required to make the return ; and the voyage from Europe to China
and back may be considered as occupying an average of full twelve
months. With the facilities now existing, and with the addition of
the Pacific line proposed by the memorialists, the communication be
tween Liverpool and China would be reduced to sixty days, and the
return of an adventure from London to China might be received by
the way of the United States in less than five months, less than half
the time now required."
This report to Congress has been followed by various
other papers, which have not yet reached this country.
The magnitude of the subject is in every way imposing.
If viewed on this scale, commerce assumes the character
of romance or of lofty poetry.
A recent American writer says : —
" The commerce of India has always enriched the nation enjoying

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 113
it The exports of China have so much value in proportion to their
bulk, that they can well afford to bear the cost of steam transporta
tion. " With all the advantages which will be possessed by a line of six
steamers of enormous capacity for freight, wearing the flag of the
United States, commanded by officers of the navy, making their trips
with regularity, and much more speedily than on any other routes, it
is certain that the rich stream of eastern commerce would flow into
the United States; that new markets would be opened among the
dense population of the East for our varied productions ; and that a
great increase of public revenue would result from increased importa
tions ; and if the goods imported be not entered, but warehoused, vast
advantage would follow to our "commercial and shipping interests.
Shippers of goods to be warehoused and sent to a more favorable
market, would necessarily draw on their consignees, and the addi
tional great commercial advantage of exchange would thus be secured
to our merchants.
" The competitors for the China trade are the British and American
merchants. The commerce of the Hnited States with China has been
steadily increasing, and it can scarcely be doubted that the contem
plated facility Of communication by steam will give to our enterprising
countrymen advantages which cannot be countervailed by those of
any European nation.
" One of the greatest and most important effects of the concentra
tion of this commerce at some point in the Bay of San Francisco
(where must necessarily be located the depot on the Pacific), and the
extension of our intercourse with the Asiatic nations, would be to
hasten the adoption of some practicable plan for connecting the two
oceans by a railroad across the continent ; thus binding together two
widely-separated members of our confederacy, not only by the moral
influence of the same constitution and laws, but by another link in
that vast system of improvement by which the common welfare is to
be so greatly promoted, and by which alone the remote state of Cali
fornia and the coterminous possession of the United States can be
brought into those easy and intimate relations, and that constant
intercourse which ought to subsist between all parts of the same gov
ernment."

114

EMPIEE OF JAPAN.

Mr. J. J. Williams, in a recently published work, gives
the following as the different distances to California :—

From England to San Francisco, round Cape Horn
From England to San Francisco, via. Panama . .
From England to San Francisco, via. Nicaragua .
From England to San Francisco, via Tehuantepec
From New York to San Francisco, round Cape Horn
From New York to San Francisco, via, Panama .
From New York to San Francisco, via Tehuantepec
From New Orleans to San Francisco, round Cape
Horn 
From New Orleans to San Francisco, via, Panama
From New Orleans to San Francisco, via Nicaragua
From New Orleans to San Francisco, via Tehuante^
pec 

NAUTICAL MILES
13,624 7,5027,4016,671
14,194 4,992
3,804
14,314 4,505 3,767
2,704

Mr. Allen M'Donnell, also an eminent English engineer,
in discussing the project of a railroad from Lake Superior
to the Pacific, says, in reference to the isthmus route : —

" Through her geographical position, the United States can more
readily avail herself of the benefits to be derived from this course than
any other nation. Her fleets would steam in one unbroken line
through the Gulph of Mexico : her naval power would overawe our
settlements upon the north-west coasts; and her influence extend
itself throughout all our Indian possessions. The Marquesas Islands,
in case the project be carried into effect, lying directly in the route of
the navigation to India, would, at a step, advance into one of the
most important maritime ports in the world, whilst the Society
Islands, also in the possession of France, would enhance immensely in
their value ; more than all, returning back, the vessels of all Europe
would ere long procure their tropical productions from the newly-
awakened islands in the Pacific Ocean : in just the degree that their
value would increase, the West India possessions would depreciate.
. . . The power and advantage of St. Helena, Mauritius, Cape
Town, and the Falkland Islands, commanding the passage round Cape

EUEOPEAN INTEECOUESE. 115
Horn, would be transferred to New Orleans and other cities of the
United States bordering upon the Gulph of Mexico."*
Enough has been here quoted to show the lofty aspira
tions of the citizens of the United States, and the neces
sity of vigilance, activity, and energy on the part of the
merchants and navigators of Great Britain.*
* For these interesting American extracts we are indebted to
"Lawson's Merchant's Magazine," vol. i. No. 1, May, 1852.
* See Appendix A.

mamBm lllpl

THB FUDSI-JAMMA.

BOOK II.

GEOGEAPHICAL SKETCH OF JAPAN.
This country was altogether unknown to the Greeks
and Romans of the ancient world ; and to the modern
world it was first mentioned, under the Chinese name of
Zipangu, by that truly illustrious traveller Marco Polo,
who was in China, and engaged in the service of the great
conqueror Kublai-Khan at the close of the thirteenth
century. It is to be noted that Marco Polo did not visit the
country in person. He collected his information in China,

118 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
at the court of the great Khan. This is his brief descrip
tion : —
" Zipangu is an island in the Eastern Ocean, situate at
the distance of about fifteen hundred miles from the main
land or coast of Manji. It is of considerable size ; its in
habitants have fair complexions, are well-made, and are
civilized in their manners. Their religion is the worship
of idols. They are independent of every foreign power,
and governed only by their kings. They have gold in
the greatest abundance, its sources being inexhaustible ;
but as the king does not allow of its being exported, few
merchants visit the country, nor is it frequented by much
shipping from other ports. To this circumstance we are
to attribute the extraordinary richness of the sovereign's
palace, according to what we are told by those who have
had access to the place. The entire roof is covered with
a plating of gold, in the same manner as we cover houses,
or more properly churches, with lead. The ceilings of the
halls are of the same precious metal ; many of the apart
ments have small tables of pure gold considerably thick,
and the windows also have golden ornaments. So vast,
indeed, are the riches of the palace, that it is impossible
to convey an idea of them. In this island there are pearlsv*
also in large quantities, of a red (pink) color, round in
shape, and of great size ; equal in value to, or even exceed
ing, that of the white pearls. It is customary with one
part of the inhabitants to bury their dead, and with another
part to burn them. The former have a practice of putting
one of these pearls into the mouth of the corpse. There
are also found there a number of precious stones.
" Of so great celebrity was the wealth of this island,
that a desire was excited in the breast of the Grand Khan

GEOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 119
Kublai, now reigning, to make the conquest of it, and to
annex it to his dominions."*
A glance at the map will show the advantageous geo
graphical position of this empire. From the great Corean
Peninsula, to the jutting promontories of Tarakay, there
is a succession of islands in contiguity — being one vast
volcanic chain — -and this line is continued by the Kurile
Islands, which join, or almost touch, the great peninsula
of Kamtschatka. On the map, these islands look like so
many stepping-stones, to pass from Corea to Kamtschatka. f
Japan consists of an unknown number of these islands,
of very different dimensions. Some of the Kurile group
belong or pay tribute to her, while others are occupied by
Russia, and governed by the Russian authorities in Kamt
schatka.^: These islands may be considered as constituting the
western boundary of the Pacific between 31° and 45° N.

* "Travels of Marco Polo, ' as edited by the late William Marsden,
Esq. An invaluable work to all who are engaged in studying the re
mote countries of the East.
t See particularly " Outline Map of North Eastern Asia and the
Asiatic Islands of the Northern Pacific Ocean," drawn from the latest
accessible authorities, by Aaron H. Palmer, to illustrate his memoir,
geographical, political, and commercial, on Siberia, Manchuria, &c,
addressed to his Excellency James K. Polk, President of the United
States, under date of the 10th of January, 1848, and printed by order
of the Senate of the United States.
I This government has long paid a very laudable attention to the
Japanese language, &c. Even so far back as the time of the adven
turous Count de Benyowsky (a. d. 1771) there were several Russians,
in Kamtschatka and Siberia, who had learned the language from ship
wrecked Japanese. See " Benyowsky.'s Memoirs and Travels," vol. i.
4to. London. 1790.

120 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
lat. ; but the Japanese settlements on the island Tshoka,
or Tarakay, better known by the name of Takhalia, seem
to extend as far north as 47° or 48° N. lat. Between
these islands and the continent of Asia, is a closed sea,
called the sea of Japan, which at its southern extremity
is united to the Tong-Hai, or Eastern Sea of the Chinese,
by the Strait of Corea, and at its northern with the sea of
Okhotsk, or Tarakai, by the still unexplored strait which
divides the island of Tarakai from Manchuria. The Sea
of Japan is united to the Pacific by several straits, which
divide the Japanese islands from one another. The most
remarkable is the Strait of Sangar, between the large is
lands of Niphon and Jesso. Japan is situate between
129° and 150° E. long, from Greenwich. It is divided
into Proper Japan and the dependent islands.
Proper Japan consists of three large islands,— Kioosioo
or Kewsew, Sitkokf, and Niphon or Nifon, which are sur
rounded by a great number of smaller islands. Kioosioo,
the most western, may be about 200 miles long, with an
average breadth of 80 miles, which would give it a sur
face of 16,000 miles, nearly equal to that of the island of
Sardinia. On its western coast are two deep bays ; that
of Simabara in the middle, which is by far the largest,
and that of Omoora, north of it ; at its southern extremity
is the Bay of Kangosima. Kioosioo is separated from
Sitkokf by the Bungo Channel, and from Niphon by the
Suwo Sound and the Strait of Simonoseki. Sitkokf may
be 150 miles long, with an average breadth of 70 miles ;
it probably contains more than 10,000 square miles, and
is much larger than the island of Corsica. The long strait
which divides it from Niphon on the north, is in some
places hardly more than a mile wide, but about the middle
a large bay enters deeply into the island of Sitkokf. The

GEOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 121
eastern extremity of this is separated from Niphon by
the Bay of Osacca, which contains the island of Awadsi.
Niphon, the largest and the principle of the Japanese
islands, has the form of a curve, or, as Kampfer says, of a
jawbone. Its length, measured along the middle of the
island, exceeds 900 miles, and its average width may be
estimated at more than 100 miles ; its surface may, there
fore, cover an area of about 100,000 square miles, or con
siderably more than that of Great Britain. Its largest
bays are along the southern coast ; as Osacca Bay, Mia
Bay, and Yedo, or Jeddo Bay.
The dependent countries are the large island of Yesso,
with some of the Kurile Islands, and the southern dis
tricts of Tarakay. Yesso has a very irregular form ; its
length, from west-south-west to east-north-east, is more
than 250 miles, and its average width, perhaps, does not
fall short of 100 miles. This gives a surface of 25,000
square miles, or somewhat less than that of Ireland. Only
the two southernmost of the larger Kurile Islands, Kun-
ashir and Uturup, are now regularly occupied by the
Japanese ; the others, as we have said, belong to the. Russian
empire. The island of Tarakay, whose southern portion
is called Tshoka, is divided from Yesso by the Strait of
La Perouse. It is certain that the Japanese have formed
some settlements here, but it is not known how far they
extend northward. According to this rough estimate, and
excluding the settlements on the island of Tarakay, the
Japanese empire contains about 160,000 square miles.
All these islands are very imperfectly known ; not even
the coasts are laid down with any degree of correctness.
This arises partly from natural causes. Nearly all the
coasts are very difficult of access, being surrounded by
numerous rocks and islands, and by a very shallow sea.
6

122 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
This shallowness is most remarkable in the numerous
inlets and bays'with which the southern coast is indented.
The harbor of Jeddo or Yedo, for instance, is so shallow,
that even small boats cannot approach the beach : the
larger Japanese vessels keep far out to sea, and a Euro
pean ship would be obliged to anchor at five leagues'
distance. The harbor of Osacca is not much better. This
circumstance may, in some measure, account for the
smallness of Japanese vessels.
The sea, besides containing numerous rocks, has some
very dangerous whirlpools, two of which especially have
been noticed by navigators : one near the island of Ama-
koosa, at the entrance of the Bay of Simabara, and the
other near the southern extremity of Niphon, between
the bays of Osacca and of Mia.* To this must be added,
that no part of the ocean is subject to heavier gales than
the sea which surrounds Japan.
Some of our travellers (Thunberg, for instance) assert
that the whole surface of these islands is only a succession
of mountains, hills, and valleys ; but Kampfer expressly
says that he passed-through several plains of considerable
extent : as that which runs from the town of Osacca to
Miaco, a distance of about seventy miles ; and a similar
plain west of Jeddo, and extending to that town. A large
plain occurs also along the northern shores of the Bay of
Mia, and numerous smaller plains are noticed by Kampfer.
But generally the hills run down close to the sea, or leave
only a narrow strip of level ground between them and

* Striking descriptions of these phenomena will be found in Kamp-
fer's valuable old book. The Japanese give the most fabulous account
of them. They appear to be constantly mentioned by their poets and
other writers.

GEOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 123
the seashore. Though Japan is doubtless a very hilly
country, it can hardly be said to be monntainous, as by
far the greatest number of the eminences are cultivated
to the very top, and those few which are not cultivated
are left in their natural state on account of the sterility of
the soil. The Dutch have observed only one single peak
of great elevation, — the Fudsi Jamma, not far from the
Bay of Tomina, west of the Bay of Jeddo. They com
pare it in shape with the Peak of Teneriffe, and observe
that the snow seldom melts on its top. Recent Dutch
writers estimate the height of this remarkable peak at
11,000 to 12,000 French feet. According to the accounts
of navigators, however, it would seem that the northern
part of Niphon is traversed by a continuous chain of moun
tains with several peaks. Volcanoes, either in an active
state or extinct, are numerous ; to the latter class the Fudsi
Jamma certainly belongs. Some active volcanoes occur on
the islands scattered in the Strait of Corea ; as the Sulphur
Island, noticed by Captain Basil Hall.
From the peculiar form of these islands, it may be pre
sumed that they have no large rivers ; and the rapidity
with which the streams run down shows that the country
in the interior rises to a considerable height. Many of
them are so rapid that no bridges can be built over them,
and they are not passed without danger. Several others
are less rapid, and though they cannot be navigated, tim
ber and wood are floated down them. A considerable
number, however, seem to be navigable for small river-
boats to a distance of some miles from the sea. The most
considerable and important of those which are known is
the river Yedogawa, in Niphon, which rises in the Lake
of Oity, a sheet of water sixty miles in length but of in
considerable width. After leaving this lake, it traverses

124 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
the fine plain which extends from its shores to the harbor
of Osacca, and in all this course it is navigated by river-
barges. Boating is a favorite pastime with the Japanese
ladies and gentlemen. It appears from the accounts of
several travellers, that they have rendered some of their
rivers navigable for considerable distances by artificial
means, and that they have some canals connecting their
rivers and lakes.
We are, of course, very imperfectly acquainted with
the climate of Japan, the meteorological observation
made by Thunberg at Nagasaki only extending over one
year. The southern part seems to resemble, in many
points, the climate of England. In winter it does not
freeze and snow every year, though in most years it does.
The frost and snow, when there is any, lasts only a few
days. In January, 1776, the thermometer descended at
Nagasaki to 35° Fahr., but it was considered a very mild
winter ; in August, it rose to 98°, and that was considered
as the average heat of the season. The heat would, con
sequently, be very great but for the refreshing breeze
which blows during the day from the south, and during
the night, from the east. The weather is extremely
changeable, and rains are abundant all the year round ;
but they are more heavy and frequent during the satkasi,
or rainy season, which occurs in June and July. Storms
and hurricanes seem to occur very frequently, and the
descriptions of them in Kampfer and Langsdorf are truly
terrific. Thunder-storms are also common, and earth
quakes have successively destroyed a great part of the
most populous towns. Only a few spots appear to be
exempt from these terrible phenomena. It is observed
by Kampfer that waterspouts are nowhere of such fre
quent occurrence as in the seas inclosing Japan.

GEOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 125
All travellers speak of the populousness of the country,
and the extent of the villages, which frequently occupy
two English miles and more in length. In some more
fertile districts, they are so close to one another as to form
nearly one continuous street ; as, for instance, in the plain
which extends from the harbor of Osacca to Miaco.
The smaller towns commonly contain five hundred
houses, and the larger two thousand and upwards ; and
though the houses have generally only two stories, they
are occupied by a comparatively large number of persons.
I. The island of Kioosioo or Kewsew, is extremely
well cultivated and generally fertile, with the exception
of its eastern coast, bordering on the Bungo Channel,
where it is mountainous, barren, and comparatively thinly
inhabited. The best-known towns of importance are,
Nagasaki, Sanga, and Kokoora.
Nagasaki, sometimes pronounced Nangasaki,* the only
place open to foreigners, lies on a peninsula formed by
the deep Bay of Omura, in 32° 45' N. lat. and 129° 15'
E. long, Its harbor is spacious and deep, extending in
length about four miles, with an average width of more
than a mile. At its entrance is the small island of Pa-
penberg, where the water is twenty-two fathoms deep,
but it grows shallower as it proceeds inward, so that,
opposite to the town, it has only a depth of four fathoms ;
so far "it runs north-east, it then turns north, and has less
depth. The town is built on its eastern shores, in a
narrow valley which runs eastward. It is three quarters
of a mile long, and almost as broad, and inclosed by steep,

* The proper name is certainly Nagasaki. We find it written and
printed in a perplexing variety of ways. The old Spanish and Portu
guese writers frequently turn it into Langasaki, or Lampsaki.

126 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
though not lofty, hills. There are some good buildings
in the town ; as the palaces of the two governors, and
those of some princes and noblemen of the empire, but
especially the temples, which were sixty-two in number,
within and without the town, in the time of Kampfer
(1692.) The population may amount to 40,000 or 50,000
souls. It is one of the five imperial towns of the empire.
Sanga, situated on a fine and well-watered plain at the
northern extremity of the large Bay of Simabara, the
capital of the fertile province of Fisen, is a very large
and populous town, with canals and rivers running
through its wide and regular streets.*
Kokoora, built near the entrance of the Strait of
Simonoseki, has a shallow harbor, but carries on a con
siderable trade. The town, which in the time of Kamp
fer had much decreased, was found in a thriving state, in
1775, by Thunberg.
H. The island of Sitkokf, according to a Japanese geo
grapher, cited by Kampfer, contains many mountainous
and barren districts, and is, on the whole, less fertile than
the other large islands.
III. Nipon, or Nifon, or Niphon, which constitutes the
main body and strength of the empire, is, as far as it has
been seen by Europeans, well cultivated and fertile, with
* We are indebted for most of this well-condensed information to
that excellent work the "Penny Cyclopsedia," art. Japan. The geo
graphical articles in that publication are particularly admirable. The
whole work has now an established reputation in every part of the
civilized world. We cordially wish its enterprising projector and pub
lisher, Mr. Charles Knight, every encouragement and success in his
new and greatly improved edition, which wiU bear the name of the
"Imperial Cyclopasdia," and will be dedicated to Her Gracious Majesty
Queen Victoria, who greatly admired the original work.

GEOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 127
the exception of a few barren tracts of moderate extent.
The name Nipon, commonly applied by the Japanese to
the whole of their empire, signifies source or fountain of
light (Fuente de luz). The island contains the largest
towns, and the manufactured articles produced in this
island are considered the best. The important towns
visited by Europeans, along its southern side are, —
Simonoseki, built at the foot of a mountain, on the
shore of the narrow strait which bears its name, and which
is only one mile and a half wide. It is not very large, but
it carries on a very active coasting trade with all the dis
tricts to the east of it.
Muru, opposite the north-eastern coast of Sitkokf, con
sists only of about 600 houses ; but its harbor is very safe,
being well defended by a mountain ; for which reason it
is resorted to by the coasting vessels, of which frequently
more than 100 are anchored there. It is noted for its
tanneries, where horse-hides are tanned in the manner of
the Russian leather.
Osacca, one of the five imperial towns, and the most
commercial place in the empire, is situate in the northern
angle of the Gulf of Osacca, on the banks of the river Yedo-
gawa, which, near the town, divides into three branches,
and, before it falls into the sea, into several more. The
middle or principal branch of the river, though narrow, is
deep and navigable. From its mouth, as far up as the
town, and higher, there are seldom less than a thousand
barges going up and down. Several navigable canals,
which derive their water from the river, traverse the prin- '
cipal streets of the town, and serve as means for convey
ance of goods. The banks of the river and of the canals
are of freestone, coarsely hewn, and formed into ten or
more steps, so as to resemble one continued staircase.

128 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
Numerous bridges, built of cedar-wood, are laid over the
river and canals, some of them are of large dimensions,
and beautifully ornamented. The streets are narrow, but
regular, and cut each other at right angles ; though not
paved, they are very clean. A narrow pavement of fiat
stones runs along the houses for the convenience of foot-
passengers. The houses are not above two stories high,
and built of wood, lime, and clay. At the north-east ex
tremity of the city is a large castle. The population is
very great. According to the exaggerated account of the
Japanese, an army of 80,000 men may be raised from
among its inhabitants. Many of the residents are very
wealthy men, especially the merchants, artists, and man
ufacturers. The Japanese themselves call Osacca the uni
versal theatre of pleasure and diversion ; and plays are
daily exhibited in public and private houses. South of
Osacca, on the shores of the same gulf, is Sakai, another
imperial town.
Miaco, or Kio, the residence of the ecclesiastical em
peror, or Da'iri, is about twenty miles from Osacca, and
contained, in the time of Kampfer, according to a census,
more than 500,000 inhabitants, besides the numerous
court of the Dairi. From the latest Dutch accounts, it
should appear that the population has greatly diminished,
while that of Jeddo has greatly increased. All the au
thorities we have consulted agree in representing this
holy city as the most immoral, profligate place in the Ja
panese empire. It is nearly four miles long and three
wide. The Dairi resides on the northern side of the city,
in a particular ward, consisting of twelve or thirteen
streets, and separated from the city by walls and ditches.
On the western part of the town is a strong castle, built
of freestone, where the Kobo, or secular emperor, resides

GEOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 129
when he comes to visit the Dairi. The streets are narrow,
but regular, and always greatly crowded. Miaco is the
principal manufacturing town of the empire, where every
kind of manufacture is carried to the greatest perfection.
Nearly every house has a shop, and the quantity of goods
which they contain is astonishing ; at the same time, it is
the centre of science and literature, and the principal place
where books are printed. The town is united by a wide
canal to the river Yedogawa, which flows not far from its
walls. Kwano and Mia are two very considerable and thriving
towns on the Gulf of Mia, each containing 2,000 or 3,000
houses. Yedo, or Jeddo, the capital of the empire, is situated
at the northern extremity of the gulf of the same name,
in an extensive plain. According to the Japanese, it is
about ten miles long, seven wide, and nearly thirty miles
in circuit. All travelers agree that it is the largest and
most populous town in the empire, but no one of them
has recently ventured to state the number of its inhabit
ants. M. Fischer, however, states that the populousness,
activity, and bustle of the place reminded him of London ;
and there can be no doubt that the census would reach an
enormously high figure. An old Portuguese writer
roundly asserts that, in his time, the population amounted
to 2,000,000. Some of the old Dutch writers fix it at
1,500,000. A large river runs through the town and
sends off a considerable arm, which incloses the imperial
palace, or that of the Kobo, or secular emperor. There
are several good bridges over the river. The principal
is called Niponbas, or the Bridge of Japan, and from it
the milestones are counted, which are erected along the
principal roads that traverse the empire. Jeddo is not so
6*

130 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
regularly built as Miaco, and the private houses do not
differ from those of Osacca ; but as the families of all the
hereditary princes, lords, and noblemen are obliged to re
side at the court the whole year round, the town contains
a great number of fine palaces. Rows of trees are
planted along the numerous canals which traverse the
town, to prevent the fires from spreading. The Japanese
have several curses in common with their cognate race the
Turks. Fires are as frequent at Jeddo as at Constantino
ple ; and, as the houses are chiefly of timber and bamboo,
thousands of them often perish in one 'conflagration.
Jeddo is not less famous for its manufactured goods than
Miaco. The palace of the Kobo is built in the middle
of the town. It consists of five palaces or castles, and
some large gardens behind it, and is more than eight
miles in circumference.
IV. The island of Yeso is very imperfectly known.
On its western coast are lofty mountains. Its eastern
and southern coast seem to be very thickly inhabited.
Near the Strait of Sangar are two considerable towns,
Kokodade* and Matsmai. The latter is the capital, and
the residence of the governor, f
The Portuguese, Dutch, and other writers, are unani
mous in representing the Japanese as an active, enterpris
ing, commercial people. According to recent writers,
some of their merchants are possessed of enormous ca
pital, and are truly, " merchant princes."^ Their liberality
keeps pace with their riches.
All over the empire the inland trade is very consi
derable. The coasting trade is much favored by the
great number of small harbors, and the interior commu-
* Often written Chocodada t " Pen. Cyclopaedia."
t MM. Doeff and Fischer.

GEOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 131
nication by well-planned and well-maintained roads, which
are always thronged with carriages and people. Most of
the roads are wide, and ornamented with lines of trees.
The foreign commerce is now limited to the Dutch and
Chinese. The Chinese, like the Dutch, are shut up in a small is
land, but are permitted to visit a temple in the town of
Nagasaki. Their trade is much more extensive. About
seventy junks arrive annually from the ports of Amoy,
Ningpo, and Shanghae.
, In the time of Kampfer, there was still some trade car
ried; on..with. Cored, and the Loo-Cbao Islands : but this
trade ; had, cpased at. the time of Thunberg (1775)j and
Siebold (1830) speaks of it as no longer existing. A few
Coreans occasionally steal into the country in Chinese
junks. Their race or nation is bitterly hated by the Ja
panese, who once held dominion over them.
Notwithstanding the rigid prohibitions of their laws,
Japanese vessels occasionally carry on trade with foreign
ers covertly at Quelpaert's Island, the Majicosiana group,
the Philippines, and the Loo-Choo and Bonin Islands.
The latter are about 500 miles from the coast of Japan,
possess safe harbors, and have been recently brought into
a good state of cultivation by a small colony of English,
Americans, and persons of other nations, who have made
settlements and afford supplies to whalers, &c.*
After a careful comparison of authorities, we are in
clined to think that the entire population of the Japanese
empire can scarcely be taken at less than 25,000,000.f

* Lawson's " Merchant's Magazine."
t Mr. J. R. MacCulloch says that the population has been fixed by
some writers at rather more than 50,000,000. See "Geographical,

132 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
To give a clearer idea of the towns, we subjoin the
description of one of them by an old Dutch voyager : —
"Nanguesaque (Nagasaki) lies in 33° 15' northerly
latitude, in a very pleasant landship, and is both very
great and populous ; but like most of the towns of Japan,
lies without walls. It is seated upon a very commodious
bay, or road, fit to receive ships of the greatest bur
then. It has a very magnificent prospect from seaward,
having an infinite number of towers, temples, and spacious
palaces. The houses are mostly built of wood, for the
ground is weak, and frequently subject to earthquakes,
so that they cannot use stone. But the poorer sort have
httle cottages made of twigs and plastered over with clay,
as in Brabant, Germany, and other countries. They are
covered with planks, which shoot far out over the walls
like a pent-house, to shelter them from sun and rain.
They have upon each house several tubs with water,
which is kept in case of fire, to which such buildings are
liable. And certainly, were it not for the great benefit of
the water running through the town in ditches, as it does
in most towns in Holland, it would be suddenly reduced
to ashes, and for this reason have they built several
houses of stone where to secure their goods upon such
occasions. The houses in the city are uniform, and the
streets regular, there being eighty-eight streets, each 400
feet long, which are all fenced off with palisades at the
end, and lanterns set up. Here they have also their
watch-houses, and none are suffered to pass by night ; no,
not to fetch either doctor or midwife, without a pass from
Statistical, and Historical Dictionary," vol. ii. We consider this num
ber to be exaggerated, particularly as it excludes the inhabitants of
the Japanese dependencies.

GEOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 133
the governor. This watch is set always at ten o'clock, -
after which hour few people are seen upon the streets.
This is a good means to prevent theft and mutiny, but is
a great inconvenience if fire do happen to break out ; for
no street or ward can have the assistance of another in
such a case; besides the great danger that the people
themselves are in, being sometimes so narrowly pent up.
An instance of this happened in the year 1646, when a
dreadful fire happened in a house where several Dutch
had their lodgings, which, on a sudden, had consumed a
great part of the street and several houses on both sides,
burnt down to the ground. The Dutch then seeing them
selves in such peril, chose rather to hazard the effects of
the governor's displeasure for that time, than to be
roasted alive, and so broke up the fence and saved them
selves."* As there is considerable variety of opinion as to the
climate of Japan, we will quote a passage from the Rus
sian writer who resided a considerable time on one of the
islands : —
" On a comparison of the geographical situation of the
* Struys. The title is not the least curious part of this rare and
very curious old book. Here it is at full length : —
" The Voyages and Travels of John Struys, through Italy, Greece,
Muscovy, Tartary, Media, Persia, East India, Japan, and other coun
tries in Europe, Africa, and Asia; containing remarks and observa
tions upon the manners, religion, politics, customs, and laws of the
inhabitants, and a description of their several cities, towns, forts, and
places of strength, together with an account of the author's many dan
gers by shipwreck, robbery, slavery, hunger, torture, and the like, and
two narratives of the taking of Astracan, by the Cossacks, sent from
Captain D. Butler, illustrated with copper plates, designed and taken
from the life by the author himself. — Done out of Dutch, by John
Morrison. London. 4to. 1684."

134 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
Japanese possessions, with that of the countries of the
Western hemisphere, under the same degrees of latitude,
it might be imagined that the climate, the changes of the
seasons, and the atmosphere, were alike in both ; but
such, a conclusion would be very erroneous.*^ The diffe
rence of these two parts of the world, in this respect, is so
striking, that it deserves particular notice. I will take,
as an example, Matsmai, where I lived two years. This
town lies in the forty-second degree of latitude, that is, on
a iparalJel with Leghorn in Italy, Bilboa in Spain, and
Tqulpuse>.in .France. r;; , ..;.;¦, ,:i. ,.,,-.-.,¦
,;:" In jtb^e-. places, the inhabitants hardly .k^oWjWhaj;
frost is; and. never see any snow except. pn the tops of
high mountains : in Matsmai, on the contrary, the ponds
and lakes freeze, the snow lies in the valleys and plains,
from November till April, and gales, besides, in as great
abundance as with us in St. Petersburgh. Severe frosts
are, indeed, uncommon ; yet the cold is often fifteen de
grees of Reaumur. In summer, the parts of Europe under
the same latitude as Matsmai enjoy serene warm weather;
in Matsmai, on the contrary, the rain pours down in tor
rents, at least twice a week, the horizon is involved in
dark clouds, violent winds blow, and the fog is scarcely
ever dispersed. In the former, oranges, lemons, figs, and
other productions of the warm climates, thrive in the
open air ; in the latter apples, pears, peaches, and grapes,
hardly attain their proper ripeness.
" I have not, it is true, been in Niphon, the principal

* Charlevoix states that the Japanese are much prejudiced in favor
of their own climate, and acknowledges that it must be very healthy,
since the people are long-lived, the women very prolific, and diseases
very uncommon.

GEOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 135
island of the Japanese possessions ; but I have heard from
the Japanese that, in Jeddo, the capital city of the empire,
in the thirty -sixth degree of latitude, snow often falls, in
the winter nights, to the depth of an inch or more. It is
true it melts immediately the next day ; but if we consider
that Jeddo is under the same latitude as Malaga, in Spain,
we shall be convinced that the climate of the Eastern he
misphere is much ruder than that of the Western. The
Japanese assured me that, on the southern part of Sagaleen,
ijj, thcforty-seyenth degree of latitude, the ground^ is: often
^hawpd, during the sujmrner, only, to a depth of a;fopt and
a half. If we compare with this ;the climate of a place In
Europe, the latitude of which corresponds, for example,
Lyons, in France, how different are the results ! That the
accounts given by the Japanese are true, I cannot doubt,
for we ourselves met with great fields of ice, so late as the
month of May, off the Kurile island, in latitude 47° 45'.
At this season, no ice is to be seen with us in the Gulf of
Finland, in 60° north latitude ; though the water there,
from being so confined, has not power to break the ice,
which vanishes more in consequence of the rays of the
sun. Off Japan, on the contrary, the waves of the ocean
must break it up much sooner, if the sun acted with the
same power.
" This great difference of the climate proceeds from
local causes. The Japanese possessions lie-in the Eastern
Ocean, which may be truly called the Empire of Fogs. In
the summer months, the fog often lasts three or four days
without interruption, and there seldom passes a day in
which it is not, for some hours, gloomy, rainy, or foggy.
Perfectly clear days are as rare in summer there, as fogs
in the Western Ocean. Though the fine weather is more
constant in winter, yet a week seldom passes without two

136 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
or three gloomy days. These fogs, and this gloomy
weather, make the air cold and damp, and hinder the
beams of the sun from producing so much effect as in other
countries, which enjoy a clear sky. Besides this, the
northern parts of the islands of Niphon, and Matsmai,
and Sagaleen, are covered with extremely high mountains,
the summits of which are mostly above the clouds, whence
the winds that blow over these mountains bring an ex
traordinary degree of cold with them. It is also to be
noted that the Japanese possessions are separated from
the continent of Asia by a strait, the greatest breadth of
which is 800 wersts, and that the country of the Mant-
chous, and Tartary, which from the east frontier of Asia,
towards Japan, are nothing but immense deserts covered
with mountains and innumerable lakes, from which the
winds, that blow over them, bring, even in summer, an
extraordinary degree of cold. These may be the three
causes of the striking difference of climate in the countries
situated on the eastern side of the old world, and those of
the western hemisphere under the same degree of lati
tude."* It appears, however, that, taking its whole extent, from
south to north, and counting all its islands, Japan will
afford the cultivator all the productions both of tropical
and temperate climates; and that it is a most healthy
country to live in. " The air of all these islands," says an

* Captain Golownin, "Recollections of Japan." We believe, as we
have already declared, that this Russian officer is entitled to full credit
whenever he speaks of the things which came under his own observa
tion. It must, however, be borne in mind that he was a prisoner all
the time he was in Japan. The atmosphere of a prison does not
improve one's notions of the climate of any place.

GEOGEAPHICAL SKETCH.

137

old Spanish writer, "is very salubrious. The soil is very
fertile, the fruits are most delicious."*
The abundance of running water affords everywhere the
means of irrigation ; and, in this art, the Japanese seem
even to surpass the Chinese. The longevity of the peo
ple appears to be a well-established fact.f

* Don Pedro Hurtado de Mendoza, "Espejo Geographico." Ma
drid. 1690.
Count Benyowsky speaks of the excessive heat of the climate in
the month of July.
t " Ambassades Memorables," &c. By Jacob Van Meurs ; Kamp-
fer's "History of Japan;" Charlevoix, "Histoire et Description GS-
nerale du Japon ;" Thunberg's " Travels in Europe, Africa, and Asia ;"
Benyowsky, "Memoirs and Travels;" Adventures and Recollections
of Captain Golownin ; Siebold's " Japan ;" Extracts from Fischer and
Meylan ; " Journal of Education," vol. vi. p. 370 ; and vol. x. p. 184.
For some further geographical notices, see Appendix B.

THE CRATER OF THE F U D S I - J A M UL A .

DIVINITIES,

BOOK III.

EACE — PEOBABLE COUESE OF MIGEATION — SUMMARY OF
HISTOBY.
If you ask a Japanese of what race they are, or whence
they came, he will tell you with great pride, that they
are lineally descended from the gods, and had their origin
in the islands which they now inhabit. They consider
themselves affronted by those who attempt to draw their
descent from the Chinese. Because a good many Chinese
usages prevail among them, the belief in this descent long
obtained in Europe. The stock to which they really be
long is the great Mongol race, which has peopled so vast
a portion of the Eastern world, and which now fills the
undefined -country of Tartary, a great part of the Russian
empire and central Asia, and is found, in other offshoots,
in the Turkomans, Calmuks, Turks, Tongus, and the like.
The same race conquered China, but at a period long sub
sequent to the peopling of Japan.
Ethnologists are now agreed as to this Mongol assimila
tion. Although the Japanese, in their writing and print
ing, frequently drop in a Chinese character, to express a
Chinese thing or idea, the two characters, however identi
cal in their origin, are now totally distinct. Nor is there
any affinity between the two languages, although the
Japanese frequently borrow Chinese terms, rather to

140 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
parade their learning than from any deficiency of equiva
lent expressions in their own tongue.
There can scarcely be a greater difference than in the
pronunciation of the two peoples: it should seem, as
Kampfer remarks, that the very instruments of voice are
different in the Japanese to what they are in the Chinese.
The pronunciation of the Japanese language, in general,
is sharp, articulate, and distinct, there being seldom, ac
cording to our alphabet, more than two or three letters
combined together in one syllable ; the pronunciation of
the Chinese, on the contrary, is nothing but a confused
noise of many consonants, pronounced with a sort of sing
song accent, very disagreeable to the unaccustomed ear.
The same strong difference appears with regard to parti
cular letters. Thus the Chinese pronounce our letter h
very distinctly, but the Japanese can give it no other
sound but that of an / Again, the Japanese pronounce
the letters r and d very distinctly, while the Chinese
always make an I of them, even such as are well skilled
in the European languages. There are other instances
equally striking. We allude to the language in this place
merely as connected with the question of race, reserving
for a future chapter some ampler observations on it, and
on the characteristic literature of Japan.
Another argument against the descent of the the Ja
panese from the Chinese, is drawn from the difference
between the ancient religions of the two nations. If the
Japanese were a colony of the Chinese, they would have
brought with them into these islands the faith and worship
of their mother country. But the original religion of the
Japanese, by them called Sintoo, is peculiar to their own
country, and has not the slightest resemblance to the
ancient belief of the Chinese. Buddhism exists in both

EACE. 141
countries, but is to both of exotic growth, and was not
introduced into either until a comparatively recent period.
Besides, the Japanese say that they received Buddhism
not from China but from Corea.
There are also differences in physical conformation.
Although strongly marked with the Mongol type, the
Japanese bear a stronger resemblance to the European
family, and their eyes are not so deeply sunk in their
heads as those of the Chinese. Generally, it may be said
that the Japanese are not so strong as Europeans ; but
they are well made and have stout limbs. Their eyes
show their Mongol origin, not being round, but oblong
and small. Their hair is black, thick, and shining, and
their noses, although not fiat, are rather thick and short.
Their complexion is yellowish. They seem to resemble
most the inhabitants of Corea and the Ainos, on the
island of Tarakai. In a country so vast and so various in
climate as China, there are great differences between the
inhabitants of the several provinces ; but, in general
terms, it may be admitted that the Japanese are a
stronger, hardier, and a braver race than the Chinese.
In some parts of the islands, even the common people,
if dressed in our costume, might pass for Portuguese, or
southern Italians, or Sicilians. Many of the Upper
classes, or members of the old families, are tall exceed
ingly handsome in figure and countenance, and are far
more like Europeans than Asiatics.
Then again the Japanese greatly differ from the Chi
nese in many of their customs and ways of life, as in
eating, drinking, sleeping, dressing, shaving of the head,
saluting, sitting, and many others. There is also a re
markable difference in the national characters of the two.
The Chinese are peaceable, timid, much given to a sedate,

142 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
ruminating way of life ; cunning, suspicious, greedy, and
much addicted to fraud and usury ; the Japanese are quick
and volatile, daring, fond of an active, exciting life, frank,
liberal, and open-handed, having many of the virtues of
the nomadic tribes. Of course we speak of the people and
not of the government.
In their governmental and municipal institutions, in
their law of primogeniture, in their hereditary nobility,
and in many other institutions, they widely differ from
the people of the Celestial Kingdom.
Although this singular people seem always to have
been somewhat jealous of intermixture, or even of inter
course, with foreigners, they appear to have admitted
from time to time small colonies from China, Corea, and
perhaps from some other neighboring countries* The
Japanese themselves make frequent mention in their his
tories of learned Chinese, who brought over into Japan
their books, and the knowledge of useful arts and sci
ences, though not until the latter ages, when their own
original stock had vastly increased and multiplied, and
Japan had already become a powerful empire. " And,
indeed," says old Kampfer, " since so few foreign words
have been brought into the Japanese language, that it is
hardly visible that there hath been any alteration at all
made in it, and since the religion and old customs subsist
* Nothing was done by war, or invasion and conquest. The Chi
nese never made good an invasion of Japan. But the Japanese
invaded, and for a time occupied, Corea, or, at least, the maritime
parts of that peninsula, and- made frequent inroads on China. As we
speak of virgin fortresses, so we may call Japan a virgin empire, for it
has never been conquered by any foreign foe. This, in spite of the
oppressiveness of their internal government, no doubt contributes
materially to the independent bearing of the people.

MIGBATION. 143
till now, it appears plainly that whatever foreign colonies
did from time to time voluntarily or by chance come over
into Japan, their number must have been very incon
siderable with regard to the bulk of the Japanese nation."
The same ingenious old writer, whose facts are still in
valuable, and whose theories are deserving of all respect,
draws a pleasant and very creditable itinerary. At the
confusion of languages, or dispersion of peoples, he brings
the Japanese family, by slow marches, from Mesopotamia,
to the shores of the Caspian Sea, where they would find a
large and fertile country extending itself far eastward,
offering abundance of pasture to their cattle and their
flocks, and the means of easily and leisurely pursuing
their journey. He supposes that they then proceeded
through the valleys of the Yenisi, Silinga, and parallel ri
vers until they came to the Lake of Argueen, where the
cold northern climate would not invite a long stay. From
that lake arises a large river of the same name, the valley
of which would bring them to the still more considerable
river, the Amoor, which runs E.S.E., and the long val
ley of which would bring them to the eastern coasts of
Asia, into the then uninhabited peninsula of Corea, where
the Amoor loses itself in the Eastern Ocean. Once at
Corea, the passage over to Japan was neither long, nor (in
the summer weather) dangerous, especially as there are
many little islands at almost regular distances between
the main and the large islands which constitute the Ja
panese empire. In fact they might have crossed over in
common fishing-boats. In the many broad rivers and
vast lakes they had crossed, or on whose banks they had
sojourned during their long migration, they must have
made themselves familiar with the use of boats, and a

144 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
short residence in Corea, on the coast of a sea abounding
with fish, must soon have made fishermen and expert
boatmen of these pastoral tribes.
It is not supposed that this immense march was made
in one, in fifty, or in a hundred years. The ancestors of
the Japanese would probably remain in any favorable
region until they felt their rear pressed upon, or their
flank annoyed, by other nomadic tribes. Then they
would collect their flocks and herds, and move forward
in quest of other regions and " pastures new." They
could make a home .wherever they could find streams of
pure water and pasture for their flocks and herds. Some
thing of the same sort may still be seen in many parts of
the East. Even so near as Asiatic Turkey, when certain
pastoral tribes are oppressed in one pashalic, they move
on, with all that they possess, to another ; and should the
same inconvenience follow them, they go on to a still
greater distance ; and were the countries in their front not
occupied (however thinly), it would be difficult to put an
imaginable limit to "their migrations. What Kampfer
fancies is, that from the purity or freedom from admixture
of the Japanese language, that people could not have
made any very considerable stay in any one country, or
with any one people then existing. ¦ Had they made such
stay, they must have adopted some words of the language
of that nation into their own. Having brought them
across the seas to Niphon, the most considerable of their
islands, he carries them from the western coast to the
southern extremity of the land, where the soil is most
fruitful, the air most mild and salubrious, and where
every advantage was offered in the way of security, tran
quillity, and pleasant abode. To this day the Japanese

HISTOEY. 145
look upon this part of their country as the place where
their ancestors first dwelt, and as such they honor it with
frequent pilgrimages and other acts of devotion.
Whatever may have been their original course and the
time of their arrival in the islands, it appears to be in a
high degree probable that the Japanese, at a remote period,
peopled at least apart of the great American continent.*
The Japanese have in their literature many histories,
if that name can be conferred on wild chronicles and semi-
fabulous annals. Though pretending to a descent from
the gods, and of course to a remote antiquity, their writers
are not so ambitious in the latter respect as are those of
the Celestial Empire. Passing over the obscure times
when the country was divided into clan or tribe govern
ments, they fix the foundation of their monarchy, under
Syn Mu, about the year before Christ 660. The govern
ment was strictly hereditary and theocratical : Syn Mu
* "The Polynesian groups are everywhere separated from South
America by a vast expanse of ocean, where rough waves and perpet
ually adverse winds and currents oppose access from the west. In
attempting, from any part of Polynesia, to reach America, a canoe
would naturally and almost necessarily be conveyed to the northern
extreme of California ; and this is the precise limit where the second
physical race of men makes its appearance. So well understood is the
course of navigation, that San Francisco, I am informed, is commonly
regarded in Mexico as "'being on the route to Manila.' Again, the
northern extreme of California is as favorably situated for receiving a
direct arrival from Japan. At the present day, owing to a change in
national policy, Japanese vessels are only by accident found at large.
But, within a few years, one has been fallen in with by a whale-ship
in the north Pacific; another has been wrecked on the Sandwich
Islands ; and, a case more in point, a third has been drifted to the
American coast, near the mouth of the Columbia river." — " The Races
of Man, and their Geographical Distribution." By Charles Pickering
M.D., Member of the United States Exploring Expedition.

146 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
was at once the high priest, or representative of the divi-^
nities, and king or emperor of the people. He civilized,'
the inhabitants of Japan, introduced chronology among
them, dividing the time into years and months, and re
formed the laws and government of the country. Having
fully secured the throne to his posterity, and attained to
the fabulous age of 156 years, he died, full of honor
and sanctity. If there were troubles in the islands, they
appear not to have been recorded ; one "theocrat quietly
succeeding to another in their annals. But when the em
pire was about 200 years old, a civil war is first mentioned
by their historians. For a long succession of years,
nothing is chronicled but an occasional earthquake, vol
canic eruption, meteoric phenomenon, comet, or fiery
dragon, always excepting, however, great efforts made by
emperors and sages to discover the philosopher's stone, or
the elixir vitse, or some compound which should make
the life of man immortal. In the same ages, and long
after, the same fancies haunted the imaginations of the
emperors and philosophers of the Celestial Empire. From
the east, the whim flew to. Europe ; and, as an old
writer slily observes, the Europeans were not more un
successful than the Japanese in their pursuit of the means
of transmuting metals and prolonging hfe.
In the nineteenth year of the reign of the Emperor
Siunsin (before Christ 78) merchant ships and ships of
war were first built in Japan ; and under Siunsin's son
and successor, "it rained stars from heaven in Japan." It
is also noted that in this same reign of Synin, the Japan
ese first began to make fish-ponds in their islands, and to
cultivate rice-fields, and to inclose the same with ditches.
This emperor was on the throne at the time of our Sav
iour's birth, and also at the time of the Crucifixion.

HISTOEY. 147
These emperor-theocrats, called in the language of the
- country Mikados, claimed to rule by divine right and in
heritance. They were high priests as well as kings ; they
were held as representatives of the gods upon earth, and
like gods they were worshipped. No subject ever ad
dressed them except on his knees. They were thoroughly
despotic; and even after they had ceased to head their own
armies, and intrusted the military command to sons and
kinsmen, their power long remained undisputed and un
controlled. " Even to this day," says Kampfer, " the
princes descended from the family, more particularly those
who sit on the throne, are looked upon as persons most
holy in themselves, and as Popes by birth. And, in order
to preserve these advantageous notions in the minds of
their subjects, they are obliged to take an uncommon
care of their sacred persons, and to do such things, which,
examined according to the customs of other nations, would
be thought ridiculous and impertinent. ' It will not be
improper to give a few instances. The ecclesiastical em
peror thinks that it would be very prejudicial to his dig
nity and holiness to touch the ground with his feet : for
this reason, when he intends to go anywhere, he must be
carried thither on men's shoulders. Much less will they
suffer, that he should expose his sacred person to the open
air; and the sun is not thought worthy to shine on his
head. There is such a holiness ascribed to all parts of
the body, that he dares to cut off neither his hair, nor his
beard, nor his nails. However, lest he should grow too
dirty, they may clean him in the night when he is asleep ;
because, they say, that what is taken from his body at
that time, hath been stolen from him, and that such
a theft doth not prejudice his holiness or dignity. In
ancient times, he was obliged to sit on the throne for some

148 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
hours every morning, with the imperial crown on his
head, but to sit altogether like a statue, without stirring
either hands or feet, head or eyes, nOr indeed any part of
his body, because, by this means, it was thought that he
could preserve peace and tranquillity in his empire ; for
if, unfortunately, he turned himself on one side or the
other, or if he looked a good while towards any part
of his dominions, it was apprehended that war, famine,
fire, or some other great misfortune, was near at hand to
desolate the country. But it having been afterwards dis
covered, that the imperial crown was the palladium,
which, by its immobility, could preserve peace in the em
pire, it was thought expedient to deliver his imperial per
son, consecrated only to idleness and pleasure, from this
burthensome duty, and therefore the crown, alone, is at
present placed on the throne for several hours every
morning. His victuals must be dressed every time in
new pots, and served at table in new dishes : both are
very clean and neat, but made only of common clay, that,
without any considerable expense, they may be laid aside,
or broken, after they have served once. They are gene
rally broken, for fear they should come into the hands of
laymen ; for they believe religiously, that if any layman
should presume to eat his food out of these sacred dishes,
it would swell and inflame his mouth and throat. The
like ill effect is dreaded from the Dairi's sacred habits ;
for they believe that if a layman should wear them, with
out the emperor's express leave or command, they would
occasion pains in all parts of his body."*
The latest Dutch accounts leave it doubtful whether the

* Kampfer. See also A. Montanus; Mr. Rundall's excellent "Me
morials of the Empire of Japan;" Titsingh, "Illustrations," &c.

HISTOEY. 149
Dairi, or ecclesiastical emperor, is not still kept a per
petual prisoner in his palace in the city of Miaco, and
still precluded from setting his foot to the earth, or al
lowing the sun to shine upon him.*
In the twenty-third year of the reign of Keikoo (about
A.D. 93), there was great volcanic action, and a new island
rose up from the bottom of the sea. Perhaps all the
islands, both great and small, had no other origin. This
particular island was called Sikubasima, and consecrated
to Nebis, the Neptune of the Japanese. Three years af
terwards a Mia or temple was built upon it in honor of
Nebis, and a sufficient number of bonzes or priests were
sent to attend it. This temple, in the course of ages, be
came very famous and rich, and the island itself is said
to have been always free from those terrible earthquakes
which have waved and tossed the rest of the empire, and
which, at this day, are of unpleasant frequency.
Women can sit on the throne of the ecclesiastical em
peror, and the Japanese have had many brilliant female
reigns. The system, which is found to prevail in various
parts of southern India, has obtained occasionally in
Japan ; a decided preference being shown to the female
line. Usually on the death of a Mikado, the ministry
and council put upon the vacant throne whomsoever they
thought the nearest heir, without regard had to age or to
sex. Hence it often happened that princes under age, or
young unmarried princesses, ascended the throne. It is
also said that there are instances of the widow of a de
ceased emperor succeeding her husband on the throne.
Singukogu was an empress of great renown, who began
her reign with the third century of the Christian era
* Fischer.

150 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
She was the widow of the Emperor Sin Ai, and his blood
relation in the fifth degree. She is described as an Amazon.
She carried on war against the Coreans, and at the very
beginning of her reign went over to that country with a
numerous army, which she commanded in person. But,
finding herself in an interesting situation, she hastened
back to Japan, and was delivered of a son, who, in due
course of time succeeded her, and was so renowned a-
monarch that at his death he was honored with the divine
title of the " God of War." This empress, according to
the ancient annals, consulted by Kampfer, reigned glori
ously for the space of seventy years, and dying, in the
hundredth year of her age, was placed by her grateful
people among the gods and goddesses of the country.
It may be here noted that the Japanese bestow a marvel
lous longevity on all their good and great sovereigns.
An age equal to that of Methusalem is by no .means a
rarity in their earlier mortal reigns. Their celestial kings
reigned their millions of years.
Frequently allusions are made to the contemporary his
tory of China, and there appears to have been, through a
long series of years, a free and active intercourse between
the two nations. Under the Emperor Kin Mei — a very
religious prince, who reigned about the middle of the
sixth century — there was a great importation of priests
and idols from China, and the Buddhist worship was
spread with great success in Japan. Abundance of idols,
idol-carvers, and priests, also came over from several other
countries beyond the sea. At the end of the sixth, and
beginning of the seventh century, there was another
female reign. In the sixth year of this empress, some
crows and peacocks were brought over from beyond sea
as presents to her. " Both kinds of birds are still subsist-

HISTOEY. 151
ing, and the crows particularly multiplied to such a degree
that at present they do a great deal of mischief."* Dur
ing her reign all Japan was shaken by earthquakes in a
dreadful manner, and vast numbers of buildings were over
thrown and swallowed up. The next year after these
calamities, fire fell from heaven, and after that there fell
such a quantity of rain, that many towns were laid under
water. It is said that during the reign of this empress
gold was brought over into Japan from the " barbarous
country of Corea." After the death of her son, who
reigned from a.d. 629 to 642, the succession fell to anoth
er female, the widow of the late monarch, and a very few
years after this an unmarried princess ascended the throne.
About the year 672, the succession was disputed by
two brothers, and a mournful civil war took place.f But
the younger brother being entirely defeated in battle,
put an end to the war by ripping open his bowels, more
Japonico. At short intervals we find several other female
reigns. About the end of the eighth century, a foreign
people, " who were not Chinese, but natives of some more
distant country," came over to invade Japan in an hostile
manner. The Japanese did what they could to get rid of
them, but as their losses in battle were constantly made
up by fresh recruits who arrived from beyond sea, this
work was very difficult, and the strangers were not en
tirely defeated and dispersed till eighteen years after their
first arrival. Some have thought that these strangers
proceeded from the Malayan Peninsula, others that they
* Kampfer.
t It will be understood that we speak rather doubtingly of these
dates in early Japanese history. In fact their whole chronology, as
well modern as ancient, abounds in difficulties. Mr. Edwin Morris's
valuable notes upon the Japanese era will be found in Appendix C.

152 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
came from the Peninsula of Kamtschatka, or from Siberia
and the regions round the Baikal Lake. Between the
ninth and twelfth centuries several new religions or
idolatries are mentioned as being introduced by foreign
priests, or by Japanese returning from foreign countries.
About the year 987, the Emperor Quassan, a very young
man, was suddenly seized with such a desire of retirement
and a religious life, that he left his palace privately in
the night time, and retired into the lone monastery of
Quansi, where he changed his name, and caused his head
to be shaved like the rest of those monks or bonzes. He
lived twenty -two years in this manner, and was only forty
years old when he died. From various causes, abdications
of the throne were very frequent. This need not excite
surprise if we reflect upon the imprisoned, constrained,
monotonous kind of life the Japanese emperor then led
in the palace at Miaco. He was allowed for his solace
one wife and twelve concubines, plenty of pipes for smok
ing, and such diversion as music, poetry, and study could
afford him. He certainly was nothing more than the
shadow of sovereignty. All the powers of the state were
in the hands of the court and council, formed of a long
hierarchy of spiritual officials. Sometimes the father re
signed the crown successively to one or more of his
children, in order that he and their mothers, while yet
alive, might enjoy the pleasure of seeing them fill the
throne. All this was done at court with as little trouble
and noise as possible. A Mikado might die or resign,
and another be put into his place, without anybody,
beyond the precincts of the court, knowing anything of
the matter until it was all over and settled.* It, how-
* Kampfer. Charlevoix.

HISTOEY. 153
ever, occasionally happened that those members of the
imperial family who considered themselves entitled to the
succession, but were excluded, maintained their rights or
pretensions by force of arms, endeavoring to turn out the
emperor whom they thought unlawfully possessed of the
throne. Hence arose civil wars very prejudicial to the
empire. The princes of the empire espoused different
interests, and these quarrels seldom ended but with* the
entire destruction of one of the contending parties, fol
lowed by a cruel extermination of whole families. It
would appear, however, that these civil wars in Japan
were of rarer occurrence, and were waged with far less
ferocity than similar contests in the Celestial Empire.
We nowhere read of such wholesale massacres, such
suicides by thousands and tens of thousands at a time, as
cast so deep a shade of horror over Chinese history.
Horace Walpole might have swelled his catalogue of
royal authors from the annals of Japan. Several of the
emperors, while sitting on the prison-throne, or after their
abdication, wrote books. Nearly all of them encouraged
letters, and such sciences as the country possessed. The
reign of the emperor Itsi Sio (987 — 1012) was famed for a
great epidemic and mortality all over Japan, and for many
eminent and learned men who then flourished at court.
His grandson and successor set the fashion of ecclesiastics
being drawn in covered chariots by two oxen, " which
was so well liked, that the whole ecclesiastical court soon
followed the example." His reign was further illustrated
by the appearance of two moons, another dreadful plague
or epidemic, and a fall of snow which covered the ground
to the height of five feet. Under the reign of Go Rei Sen
(1046 — 1069) there was a rebellion in the province of Osju.
The rebels kept their ground for five years, till a great

154 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
general, the commander-in-chief of all the imperial troops,
defeated them, and slew their two great leaders. This
rebellion is described at great length in the Japanese book,
called " Osju Gassen," or, the Wars in Osju. In the reign
of To Ba (1108 — 1124), a strange noise was heard in the
air, as if drums (fifes are not mentioned) had been beating,
which continued for several days together ; aud a rebel
lion Vas made by Kijomori, a prince of the blood, very
famous in Japanese story. He assumed the title of Da'iri,
or Emperor, and made himself a court and government.
But not being able to maintain his title and dignity, he
was forced to fly to the celebrated monastery of Midira,
on the mountain Jeesan, where the monks protected him
against the imperial court. He changed his name, got his
head shaved, and turned monk. He lived fourteen years
in this condition, unmolested and safe, but when he died,
it was of a malignant burning fever, which made the body
look red, as if it had been all on fire, a just punishment
according to the Japanese history, for his presumptuous
revolt against his lawful sovereign.
Some of the Japanese traditions, though included in
their histories, and placed under comparatively modern
dates, are sufficiently startling, and have a smack of the
fabulous history of the Greeks, and the twelve labors of
Hercules. Thus, under the emperor Konjei (1142 — 56),
there lived Jorimassa, a prince of the blood, and another
Japanese Hercules. By the assistance of the God of
War, Jorimassa killed with his arrows the infernal dragon
Nuge, who had the head of a monkey, the tail of a ser
pent, and the body and claws of a tiger. This monstrous
beast inhabited the emperor's own palace, and was ex
ceedingly troublesome, both to his sacred person and to
all his court, particularly in the night-time, making very

HISTOEY. 155
improper noises and frightening them, and disturbing the
poor courtiers out of their sleep. This is, of course, a
myth, upon the interpretation of which we need hardly
venture. The Japanese take the story in its natural, or
rather, non-natural sense ; and they have many such.
The same dragon-slayer, Jorimassa, bore an heorical part
in the civil wars carried on between the four most power
ful families of the empire, and was slain in battle, after
which his whole family was extirpated. But these sharp
executions did not put an end to the dissensions of the
country. In fact, Japan seemed on the point of resolving
herself into her primeval condition, — or that of a conge
ries of small independent states, with about as many
princes and governors as there were provinces in the
islands. The early Portuguese and Spanish writers,
speaking of the state of the -country in the old times, enu
merate as many as sixty or sixty-eight principalities, or,
rather kingdoms (Reynos), which all managed separately
their own affairs, and did Httle more than acknowledge
the nominal suzerainty of the one emperor. About the
middle of the twelfth century, during the reign of the
above-named emperor, Kon Jei, these provincial poten
tates formed confederacies hostile to the central govern
ment. " It was about this time," says Kampfer, " that the
supreme and unlimited authority of the Dairi, or ecclesi
astical hereditary emperor, began to decline. The princes
of the empire, governed by ambition, jealousy, and envy,
abandoned by degrees the duty and allegiance they owed
to their sovereign, assumed an absolute power in the
government of their dominions and principalities, entered
into alliances for their own defence, and carried on war
one against another." In this situation of affairs, the
court thought it expedient to entrust the command of its

156 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
entire army to the celebrated Joritomo, a young soldier of
high birth (he was a scion of the ancient imperial stock),
very valorous, successful and ambitious. He was the first
that received the office and title of Ziogun, or general
issimo of the crown. Men intrusted with extraordinary
power seldom care to part with it. "This," adds Kamp
fer, " was the case with Joritomo, who gladly embracing
so favourable an opportunity, increased his power to that
degree, as not only to arrogate to himself an absolute
authority in the decision of all the secular affairs of the
empire, but to leave to his successors a plausible pretext
to claim and exercise the same. Thus, in the twelfth
century, the power of ecclesiastical hereditary emperors
received at first a fatal shock by the disobedience and
quarrels of the princes of the empire, and was at last
entirely taken from them by the usurpation of their crown
generals, though without prejudice to their supreme dig
nity, rank, holiness, and some other rights and prero
gatives." The office of Ziogun, or generalissimo, soon became
strictly hereditary, and though that high functionary did
not, for a very long time, assume the title, he was, in ef
fect, a joint emperor with the Dairi, and had the supreme
management of all affairs not ecclesiastical.* Abdications
became still more frequent. The brother and successor
of the emperor Kon Jei shaved his head and turned monk.
The following is a remarkable instance of the accessibility

* In Turkey, we have given the name of a place or building (the
Sublime Porte) to the government. In Japan, Europeans have given
the name of the palace to the ecclesiastical emperor. The word Dairi
means court or palace. The proper style and title of this emperor
would be Ddiri-Sama, or Great Lord of the Palace.

HISTOEY. 157
to high places and commands afforded to ladies in Japan.
On the death of the first great Ziogun Joritomo, his widow
renounced the world and became a Buddhist nun. But an
infant being called, by hereditary right, to succeed to the
post of generalissimo, the widow returned from her con
vent, and governed for the minor, retaining all that high
military and political authority until the day of her own
death. The Japanese annalists call her the Ama Ziogun,
or Nun General. An empress, as we have seen, had gone
to the wars, but this lady, the widow of the great Jori
tomo, appears to be the only instance of a female general
issimo. The conquest of China by the Mongol Tartars (a.d.
1260 — 81) carried alarm to Japan, and induced that cau
tious government to break off all intercourse with the
Chinese. In the year 1268, the great Mongol conqueror,
Kublai Khan, sent a letter and envoys to Niphon to call
upon the Japanese emperor for his alliance, offensive and
defensive, and to apprise him of the far-spreading power
and the irresistibility of the Mongols. " I apprehend,"
said Kublai, " that the true state of things is not, as yet,
well known and understood in your land, and, therefore,
I send envoys with a letter, to acquaint you with my
views. I hope we may understand each other. Already
philosophers desire to see all mankind form one family.
But how may this one-family principle be carried into
effect if friendly intercourse subsist not between parties ?
I am determined to call this principle into existence, even
though I should be obliged to do so by force of arms. It
is now the business of the wang (king) of Niphon to decide
what course is most agreeable to him." The course most
agreeable to the Japanese emperor and the Ziogun, was to
have nothing to do with Kublai Khan or his Mongols.

158 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
They refused to admit the envoys to an audience at court,
and dismissed them without any answer to their great
monarch's epistle. Two other missions dispatched by Ku
blai, one in the year 1271, and the other in 1273, were
treated precisely in the same manner. The haughty con
queror then resorted to arms. In 1274* a Mongol-Chinese
fleet and army, with a contingent drawn from a part of
Corea which had been conquered by Kublai, appeared off
the coast of Japan. But the Japanese had taken warning,
and were well prepared. The Ziogun came down to the
coast with an immense army, and the ecclesiastical emperor,
in the quiet recesses of his palace, put up prayers to the
gods, and appointed general prayer days to be observed
throughout the empire. Some of the old Japanese an
nalists assert that the enemy merely ravaged a small part
of the island of Kewsew, and then retreated in dismay
and confusion ; but others affirm that the Mongols were
defeated, with great loss, in a general action. Marco Polo,
the great Yerretian traveller, who was, afterwards, actively
engaged in the service of Kublai Khan has left us a short
but very curious account of the expedition.
" In order to effect his purpose, the khan fitted out a
numerous fleet, and embarked a large body of troops, un
der the command of two of his principal officers, one of
whom was named Abbacatan, and the other Vonsancin.
The expedition sailed from the ports of Zaitun and Kinsai,
and crossing the intermediate sea, reached the island in
safety ; but in consequence of a jealousy that arose be
tween the two commanders, one of' whom treated the
plans of the other with contempt, and resisted the execu
tion of his orders, they were unable to gain possession of
* Marco Polo dates this expedition a few years earlier.

HISTOEY. 159
any city or fortified place, with the exception of one only,
which was carried by assault, the garrison having refused
to surrender. Directions were given for putting the
whole to the sword, and in obedience thereto, the heads
of all were cut off, excepting only eight persons, who, by
the efficacy of a diabolical charm, consisting of a jewel or
amulet introduced into the right arm, between the skin
and the flesh, were rendered secure from the effects of
iron, either to kill or wound. Upon this discovery being
made, they were beaten with a heavy wooden club, and
presently died.
" It happened after some time that a north wind began
to blow with great force, and the ships of the Tartars.
which lay near the shore of the island, were driven foul
of each other. It was determined thereupon, in a council
of the officers on board, that they ought to disengage
themselves from the land ; and accordingly, as soon as the
troops were re-embarked, they stood out to sea. The
gale, however, increased to so violent a degree that a
number of the vessels foundered. The people belonging to
them, by floating upon pieces of the wreck, saved them
selves upon an island lying about four miles from the
coast of Zipangu. The other ships which, not being so
near to the land, did not suffer from the storm, and on
which the two chiefs were embarked, together with the
principal officers, or those whose rank entitled them to
command an hundred thousand or ten thousand men,
directed their course homewards, and returned to the
Grand Khan. Those of the Tartars who remained upon
the island where they were wrecked, and who amounted
to about thirty thousand men, finding themselves left
without shipping, abandoned by their leaders, and having
neither arms nor provisions, expected nothing less than to

160 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
become captives or to perish; especially as the island
afforded no habitations where they could take shelter and
refresh themselves. As soon as the gale ceased, and the
sea became smooth and calm, the people from the main
island of Zipangu came over with a large force, in numer
ous boats, in order to make prisoners of the shipwrecked
Tartars, and having landed, proceeded in search of them ;
but in a straggling, disorderly manner. The Tartars, on
their part, acted with prudent circumspection, and being
concealed from view by some high land in the centre of
the island, whilst the enemy were hurrying in pursuit of
them by one road, made a circuit of the coast by another,
which brought them to the place where the fleet of boats
was at anchor. Finding these all abandoned, but with
their colors flying, they instantly seized them ; and, push
ing off from the island, stood for the principal city of
Zipangu, into which, from the appearance of the colors,
they were suffered to enter unmolested. Here they found
few of the inhabitants besides women, whom they retained
for their own use, and drove out all the others. When
the king was apprised of what had taken place, he was
much afflicted, and immediately gave directions for a strict
blockade of the city, which was so effectual that no person
was suffered to enter or to escape from it, during six
months that the siege continued. At the expiration of this
time, the Tartars, despairing of succor, surrendered upon
the condition of their lives being spared. These events
took place in the course of the year 1264. The Grand
Khan having learned some years after that the unfortunate
issue of the expedition was to be attributed to the dissen
sion between the two commanders, caused the head of one
of them to be cut off, the other he sent to the savage
island of Zorza, where it is the custom to execute crimi-

HISTOEY. 161
nals in the following manner. They are wrapped round
both arms in the hide of a buffalo fresh taken from the
beast, which is sewn tight. . As this dries, it compresses
the body to such a degree, that the sufferer is incapable of
moving, or in any manner helping himself, and thus
miserably perishes."*
Kublai Khan, however, would not forego his " one-
family " principle. In the very next year he sent fresh
envoys to Japan. This time the Tartars were admitted
to the presence of the Ziogun, or crown general ; but the
answer they got from him was not very satisfactory:
" Henceforth no Mongol subject shall set foot upon this
soil under pain of death." In spite of this warning,
Kublai sent over some other ambassadors ; and the Japan
ese, firm in their resolution, cut off the head of every man
of them 1
In the year 1280, when Kublai had completed the con
quest of China, and reduced all the neighboring nations
to pay him tribute, he resolved to take vengeance on
Japan ; and orders were forthwith given for the prepara
tion of a mighty Mongol Chinese armament, with contin
gents from Corea and other regions.
This great expedition took its departure for Japan in
the summer of 1281, under the command of a Tartar
general named Mooko. If we are to believe some of the
Japanese annalists the fleet consisted of 4,000 sail, and
the number of men embarked amounted to 240,000. But
other and rather more credible accounts diminish the
number of the ships, and bring down the combatants to
100,000. Again the Japanese were found well prepared
* " Travels of Marco Polo," edited by William Marsden, p. 569 to
p. 571.

162 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
for defence. But this time also the elements fought for
them. The gods of the country, and protectors of the
empire, say their writers, were so incensed at the insult
offered them by the Tartars, that they excited a dreadful
tempest, which destroyed all this reputed Invincible Ar
mada. Mooko himself perished in the waves, and but
few of his men escaped. This was a catastrophe very
likely to befall Chinese junks in so stormy a sea, and on
a coast so completely rock-bound. But it is reported that
the invaders did not all find so easy a death as that of
drowning; that many thousands escaped from the storm by
landing on the coast, and that they were there massacred
in cold blood by the Japanese, who spared only three of the
number, in order that they might go back to China, and
report to Kublai Khan the fate of his vast armament.
For the sake of striking terror, the Japanese government
and its writers may have exaggerated numbers ; but it
will remain an historical fact that, in the time of Kublai
Khan, a fearful loss was twice sustained by an invading
force. For the space of nearly a hundred years, during which
the Mongols held dominion in China and the adjacent
states, the Japanese would have no intercourse with any
of them, enforcing the law of proscription and death
which they had pronounced to the envoys of Kublai ;
but when, in 1366, the Chinese dynasty of Ming expelled
the Mongols, and re-established the ancient government,
communications were reopened both with China and Co
rea, and a commercial intercourse was renewed upon the
old cautious conditions. It appears, however, that the
number of annual junks from those countries was strictly
limited, that every vessel on her arrival in a Japanese
port was subjected to a most rigid search, and that the

HISTOEY. 163
foreigners were placed under strict surveillance during all
the time that they remained in the country.
We trace in another succession of voluntary or forced
abdications of the spiritual imperial crown, the growing
prepotency of the Zioguns, who were then very efficient
and active rulers, and not the secluded inactive princes
they now appear to be. Ever since the time of Joritomo,
these high functionaries had, as we have noted, virtually
held the sovereign power. At last they possessed them
selves of the name as well as the substance. The dis
turbed state of the country again called for a man of
action, — a man of the sword. This was found in the
celebrated Taiko-Sama, a soldier of fortune, who is said
to have raised himself merely by his courage and merit.
The spiritual emperor invented new titles for him, and in
trusted him not only with the supreme command of all
the troops, but also with the management of all the secu
lar affairs of the empire. About the year 1585, this
Taiko-Sama took to himself the title of Koboe, or lay em
peror. He is considered as the first absolute secular mon
arch of Japan, that is, ' the first who assumed to himself
the absolute government of the empire, whereof the ec
clesiastical hereditary emperors had, till then preserved
some share.* Ever since that time the Koboe, or secular
monarch, has continued almost entirely independent of
the ecclesiastical emperor, except in matters spiritual.
We know of no other example of so singular a division of
power. To this day, the Dairi and Koboe reign simul-
* The word Koboe does not strictly mean emperor; and it appears
that the Japanese angrily deny that there is any other emperor than
the Mikado, or Daiiri. The power, however, of the Koboe is de
cidedly imperial, and far greater than that of the Daiiri. See Titsingh,
"Illustrations of Japan."

164 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
taneously and conjointly, and Japan has two emperors!
Yet the evils which might have been expected from such
a state of things do not appear to have arisen. A judi
cious English writer, to whose remarks we have been
much indebted, says, — "From the close of the sixteenth
century, when the Japanese Maire du Palais, Taiko Sama,
separated the empire into its two lay and spiritual di
visions, civil war has ceased, the pageant of government
has been played on, without interruption, by the two
principal actors and their subordinates, and the operations
of the real executive have been continued with all the
regularity and precision of machinery. The founder
of these institutions must, surely, have been no ordinary
legislator. The sceptre, which he wielded has, indeed,
become a bauble in the hands of his descendants, for the
Koboe, or lay emperor, equally with his spiritual counter
part, wears out his life in one long dream of ideal sov
ereignty; and so profound and subtle is the spell of habit,
custom and etiquette, which wraps them in that charmed
sleep, that it is impossible to anticipate the period of its
dissolution, or the process by which it can be broken."*
Taiko Bama,\ the most celebrated character in the an-

* " Quartely Review," vol. hi., 1834.
t Taiko Sama was known by various names, viz.: — 1. Toyotomo;
2. Toquixero; 3. Cicuquidono ; 4. Faxiba; "dont la signification,"
Charlevoix observes, "faisoit allusion aux armes ou quelque devise du
Roi de Nanguto," who had been in rebellion, and was reduced to sub
mission by Faxiba, on whom the Ziogun, Nobounanga, conferred the
title. 5. Quabaucondono, which, by some writers, is said to mean
" The Lord of the Treasure." Captain Cock states (East-India House
MSS.), it is equivalent to the " Cccsar" of the Romans. 6. Tmk>
Sama, which signifies " The Most Sigh and Sovereign Lord." — Ran
dall's "Memorials."

HISTOEY. 165
nals of Japan is represented to have been ill-favored, if
not absolutely ugly and repulsive in person. He was be
low the average height, and corpulent to excess ; but,
withal, endowed with immense strength, extraordinary ac
tivity, and a spirit of daring beyond conception. On one
hand he had six fingers ; his eyes were so prominent that
they seemed ready to start from their sockets ; his chin was
destitute of the appendage of a beard ; and his features,
altogether, were of so singular a mould, that he obtained
the unenviable cognomen of " The Ape."* Yet these
disadvantages were overcome by the high qualities of his
mind. He commenced his career as a hewer and carrier
of wood. From this menial occupation he was taken into
the service of an officer attached to the court of Noboun-
anga, the Ziogun. In the capacity of a private soldier,
he attracted the attention of the Ziogun, who had the
reputation of being a shrewd judge of men. His ad
vancement was rapid. At length he obtained a separate
command, and in a short space of time was recognized
as one of the most skilful generals of the empire. His
patron, the Ziogun, now reaped the fruits of his discern
ment ; and Taiko zealously strove to repay to his sove
reign the favors he had received from him. It was owing
to his skill and valor, that the cause of Nobounanga was
maintained against a host of powerful opponents. But,
though powerful against hosts, Taiko was unable to re
strain private malice. Nobounanga fell beneath the sa
bre or dagger of an assassin ; leaving, as his successor, a
grandson, a youth possessed of little influence or talent.
Presently, on the death of Nobounanga, the most disaf
fected, turbulent, and ambitious of the princes and nobles
* According to Charlevoix. Titsingh says, Sarout Soma, or "Mon
key Face."

166 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
of the land, flew to arms, contending among themselves
for the seat of power. For a time anarchy reigned ; but,
at length, Taiko, who had been fighting the battles of his
late sovereign in a distant part of the land, arrived, by a
succession of rapid marches, at the scene of action ; and,
falling suddenly on the contending parties, put their
forces to the rout. The leader of a numerous and well-
disciplined army, Taiko felt his power, and installed him
self the successor of Nobounanga.
The superiority of the Mikado was at first acknow
ledged by the new Ziogun. After a few months, he de
clared himself independent and absolute. Irresistible in
might and skill, he crushed every attempt at opposition ;
and, ruling the princes and nobles with a rod of iron, he
reduced them to a state of abject submission. Adding
policy to force, he declared war against Corea, which,
in the lapse of ages had regained its independence, and
despatched a force of 200,000 men for the conquest of that
country. In this army the most dangerous characters of the em
pire were absorbed. Few of the leaders returned to their
native land, and the few who did return were not in a
condition to excite any apprehension for the peace of the
country. So far successful, he proceeded to devise means
by which the restless spirits in the realm might be per
manently kept in subjection. The measures he adopted
remain part of the policy of Japan to the present day,
and have proved efficient.
As a legislator, as well as warrior and politician, Taiko
distinguished himself. He introduced laws which bear
the impress of great severity, but they were necessary to
meet the exigencies of the times, and were adapted to the
temper of the people ; which, at that period, whatever it

U1BXIUI I .

may be now, is represented to have been " no less fiery
and changeable, than the neighboring sea is stormy and
tempestuous." — (Kampfer.)
Magnificence and profusion were two of the leading
habits of this Ziogun ; but, as he taxed the aristocracy,
and left the people unburthened with imposts, the plebeian
part of his subjects were well content.
The renown of Taiko was not confined within the limits
of the empire. It extended to China, and was acknow
ledged in Europe. His alliance was courted both by the
Emperor of the Celestials, and by the King of Spain.
In reply to the overtures of an Ambassador despatched
by the Yiceroy of the Spanish Indies, the Ziogun gave
the following brief account of his career : — " The kingdom
of Japan," he said, "containeth above sixty states, or ju
risdictions, which, from long time, had been sorely afflicted
with internal broils and civil wars ; by reason that wicked
men, traitors to their country, did conspire to deny
obedience to their sovereign lord. Even in my youth
did this matter grieve my spirit, and from early days I
took counsel with myself how this people might best be
made subject to order, and how peace might be restored
to the kingdom. That so mighty a work might be brought
about, I especially essayed to practise these three virtues
which follow : — Therefore I strove to render myself affable
to all men, thereby to gain their good will : I spared no
pains to judge all things with prudence, and to comport
myself with discretion : nothing did I omit to do that
might make men esteem me for valor of heart and forti
tude of mind. Now, by these means, have I gained the
end I sought. All the kingdom is become as one, and is
subject to my sole rule. I govern with mildness, that
yields only to my energy as a conqueror. Most especially

168 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
do I view with favor the tillers of the ground ; they it is
by whom my kingdom is filled with abundance.
" Severe as I may be deemed, my severity is visited
alone on those who stray into the ways of wickedness.
Thus hath it come to pass, that at this present time, peace
universal reigns in the empire ; and in this tranquillity
consisteth the strength of the realm. Like to a rock,
which may not be shaken by any power of the adversary,
is the condition of this vast monarchy under my rule."
Testimony to the merits of Taiko Sama is borne by
Charlevoix ; and he derived his information entirely from
Roman Catholic sources. In a style of admirable candor,
the learned Jesuit gives the following review of this
Ziogun's reign : — " Never," he says, " was Japan better
ruled than under Taiko ; and the condition of the country
at that period affords a proof that the Japanese, as well as
most other nations, only require to be subject to a man
who knows how to govern, to conduct themselves peace
ably and obediently. Yice was punished, virtue was
rewarded, merit was acknowledged, and occupation was
found for the restless, or they were coerced into quietness.
Excepting the persecution of the Christians, in which,
however, the emperor exhibited a degree of moderation
hardly to be expected from a man of his character, no just
complaint can be urged against his government. It is
true he was not an object of affection ; but he was feared
and admired. Moreover, the traditions of the country
seldom fail to do justice to the memory of a sovereign,
whether meriting applause or approbation. To the present
day, the name of Taiko Sama is revered throughout Japan ;
and his actions continue to be the theme of admiration."*
The Lutheran Kampfer is equally warm in his praise
* Charlevoix. "Nipon o Dai'," by Titsingh and Klaproth.

HISTOEY.

169

of this rare man, — a warrior and a statesman suited to his
country and to the times in which he lived*
There have been some civil wars since this division of
authority, but, on the whole, Japan has enjoyed more
tranquillity than ever it did before, and certainly more
internal peace, and more uniformity of government
than has been known by any European nation during
the nearly three hundred years which have elapsed
since 1585. One of the very latest of the Dutch writers
conjectures that by a quarrel between the Koboe and
the Dairi, and by such an event alone, can any innova
tion or revolution ever take place in the existing poli
tical institutions of Japan.f He does not indicate the
nature of the contingency which could produce the
collision between the two rulers ; but it is not difficult to
conjecture various means by which such a collision might
be brought about. The very peculiar system is indeed
fenced in with innumerable laws, regulations, and precau
tions ; but these may all be taken as indications of doubt
and apprehension, if not as something very like proofs,
that the Japanese grandees, governing under the empe
rors, are oppressed with a conviction of the frailty of the
institutions. Suspicion and distrust prevail through every
link of the social chain, and the precautions against
foreigners are said to be equalled by those adopted against
innovation or disturbance within. Japan is a country
filled with spies. A system of espionage extends itself
* In this account of Taiko Sama we have been greatly indebted to
Mr. Rundall's valuable " Memorials of the Empire of Japan, in the
16th and 17th centuries," published by the Halduyt Society. Lon
don. 1850. We have compared Mr. Rundall's text with most of his
original authorities, and have never found him incorrect.
I J. F. Fischer.

170 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
throughout the empire, embracing not only every public
functionary — including the Dairi and the Koboe them
selves — but every component part of society.
Taiko Sama, who is still considered by the Japanese as
one of their greatest heroes, is said to have contemplated
the conquest of China, when his brilliant career, in 1598,
was arrested by death. His son and successor highly
favored the Japanese Christians and their teachers, and
was strenuously supported by the Jesuits in his conten
tions and wars with some refractory native princes and
provincial chiefs. It was fully expected that the young
man would openly profess Christianity ; but he was sup
planted in the Ziogunship by a near relative, from whom
is lineally descended the emperor who now occupies the
lay throne.
This brief sketch brings down the history of Japan be
yond the period of the Portuguese settlement in the islands.
All the subsequent interesting events, or all that the
European reader will care for, have been given, in a con
densed shape, in our first chapter. The Japanese annalists
mention the volcanic birth of another island, which rose sud
denly out of the sea, in the form of a great mountain ; at the
early part of the seventeenth century, a Chinese embassy
sent to compliment their secular emperor ; a rain which
brought down with it from the heavens a prodigious quantity
of hair; a comet such as had never been seen before; sundry
earthquakes, and terrible conflagrations. Fires do, indeed,
appear to be as great a curse in this country as in Turkey.
In' the year 1657, a dreadful one broke out at Jeddo, the
residence of the Koboe, and, continuing to burn with great
violence for three days, it laid the greatest part of that
immense city in ashes. M. Wagenaar, who was at Jeddo
at the time, with the annual mission, saw this conflagra-

HISTOEY.

171

tion, and wrote an account of it, which may be compared
with the account of another fire at the same city in 1806,
as given by M. Doeff.*
* The description of tho fire at Jeddo, 1657, is inserted in the cu
rious compilation of Arnold Montanus, Amsterdam. 1670. See
Appendix C.

PART OP JEDDO.

BUDDHIST T E M 1J 1. Ii .

BOOK IV.
EELIGION — GOVEENMENT — LEGISLATION.
An old Dutchman says, with the brevity and directness
of a sailor, " There are twelve several religions in Japan,
and eleven of them are forbidden to eat meat." If sects
be counted, the number will greatly exceed twelve, or
even twenty. Liberty of conscience, so far as it did not
interfere with the interests of government, or affect the
peace and tranquillity of the empire, was for a long time,
allowed in Japan, and (exception being had to Christianity)
may be said still to obtain to a very remarkable degree.
There were, no doubt, preceding and ruder forms of
faith ; but what is now considered the original, national
religion of Japan, is called Sinsyn ; from the words Sin
(the gods), and Syn (faith) ; and its votaries are denomin
ated Sintoos.*
All primitive mythologies are coupled with, and made
to rise out of, cosmogony. The cosmogony of the Ja
panese is of the wildest sort. From primaeval chaos,
there sprung a self-created, supreme God, who fixed his
* Dr. Von Siebold, however, says that the proper native name of
this religion is Kami-no-Mitsi, signifying " the way of the Kami," or
gods ; that the Chinese translated this compound word into Shin-Tao,
and that the Japanese adopted the Chinese term, and according to the
genius of their language, softened it into Sintoo.

174 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
abode in the highest heaven, and could not have his tran
quillity disturbed by any cares. Next there arose two
plastic, creative gods, who framed the universe out of
chaos. The universe was then governed, for myriads of
years, by seven gods in succession. They are called the
Celestial Gods. The last of them was the only one that
had a wife, and to him the earth we inhabit owes its exist
ence. Once upon a time he said to his wife, " There
should be, somewhere, a habitable earth. Let us seek it
under the waters that are seething beneath us." He
plunged his spear into the water, and as he withdrew it,
the turbid drops that trickled from the weapon, congealed
and formed a great island. This island was Kewsew, the
largest of the eight which then constituted the world — for
Japan was then all the world. Eight millions of gods
were then called into existence, and the ten thousand
things necessary to mankind were created. The plastic
divinity then committed the government of the whole to
his favorite daughter, Ten-sio-dai-zin, the Sun Goddess,
whose reign was shortened to the space of 250,000 years.
She was succeeded by four other gods, who altogether
reigned two million and odd years. These are the Terres
trial Gods. The last of them, having married a terrestrial
wife, left a mortal son upon the earth, named Zin-mu-ten-
wou, the ancestor and progenitor of every Dairi or Mikado
that has ruled in Japan.
Of all these gods of Sintoo mythology, none seem to be
objects of great worship except the Sun Goddess; and
she is too great to be addressed in prayer, except through
the mediation of the inferior Kami or of her lineal de
scendant, the Mikado. The Kami consists of 492 born
gods, and 2,640 canonized or deified mortals. All these
are mediatory spirits, and have temples dedicated to
them.

EELIGION. 175
We speak doubtingly of this ancient faith, for it has
evidently been mixed up with other worships and super
stitions, and the amount of the foreign admixture seems
very much to vary in different parts of the country. In
all probability the Sintoos have nowhere preserved its
original simplicity. The only decorations of the old tem
ples consisted of a mirror, the emblem of the soul's
purity, and a gohei, which is formed of many strips of
white, spotless paper, another emblem of purity. The
temples now possess images of the Kami to whom they
are dedicated ; but it is assumed that these idols are not
set up to be worshipped, that they are kept in secret
recesses, and exhibited only upon particular festivals.
Private families are said to keep images of their patron
Kami, in shrines and chapels. Meylan asserts, that every
Mya, or temple, was originally dedicated to one supreme
divinity. We much question this pure theism in such a
state of society as that of the early Japanese. Siebold
considers every idol or image as a corrupt foreign inno
vation. He is of opinion, that, originally, the Sun God
dess alone was worshipped, that the Kami are analogous
to Roman Catholic saints, and that no images of them
existed prior to the introduction of the Buddhist idola-
tory. To us it appears, that the Sintoo worship is now
thoroughly permeated with Buddhism. Religious festivals
and holidays appear to be as numerous among the Ja
panese as among any other people in the world.
According to Dr. Siebold, the Sintoos have some vague
notion of the immortality of the soul, of a future state
of existence, of rewards and punishments, of a paradise,
and of a hell. "Celestial judges call every one to his
account. To the good is allotted paradise, and they enter
the realms of the Kami ; the wicked are condemned, and

176 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
thrust into hell." The duties enjoined by this ancient
religion are : — 1. Preservation of pure fire, as the emblem
of purity, and means of purification. 2. Purity of soul,
heart, and body. The purity of the soul is to be pre
served by a strict obedience to reason and the law ; the
purity of the body, by abstaining from everything that
defiles. 3. An exact observance of festival days. 4.
Pilgrimage. 5. The worship of the Kami, both in the
temples and at home.
. External purity is most rigidly enforced ; and, in too
ftiany cases, stands in lieu of everything else. Impurity
is contracted in various ways : by associating with the
impure, by listening to impure language, by eating certain
meats, by coming in contact with death or with blood.
Whosoever is stained with his own, or with the blood of
another man, is fusio for seven days ; that is, impure, and
unfit to approach holy places. If, in building a temple, a
workman should happen to cut or hurt himself so as to
bleed, it is reckoned a very great calamity, and the man
is thereby rendered altogether incapable of working for the
future on that sacred edifice. If the same accident should
happen in building or repairing any of the temples of
the Sun Goddess, at the holy town of Isye, the misfortune
does not affect the workmen alone, but the temple itself
must pe pulled down and built anew. With this incul
cated abhorrence of blood, it is curious to see the Japan-
nese government so much addicted to blood-shedding, as
it indisputably is. Whosoever eats the flesh of any four-
footed beast, deer only excepted, is fusio for the term of
thirty days. On the contrary, whoever eats a fowl, wild
or tame (water-fowls, pheasants, and cranes, excepted), is
fusio for only one Japanese hour, which is about equal to
two of ours. Whoever kills a beast, or is presents an

EELIGION. 177
execution, or attends a dying person, « or comes into a
house where a dead body lies, is fusio that day. But, of
all the things which make us impure, none is reckoned so
contagious as the death of parents and near relations.
The nearer you are related to the dead person, so much
the greater the impurity is. All ceremonies which are to
be observed on this occasion, the time of mourning and
the like, are determined by this rule. By not observing
these precepts, people make'themselves guilty of external
impurity, which is detested by the gods, and they become
unfit to approach their temples.* In serious cases of im
purity, the fusio is not to be removed without a long
course of purification, consisting of fasting, prayer, and
the solitary study of devotional books. All the period
appointed for mourning on the death of a relation, is sup
posed to be thus spent. When purified, they throw aside
their mourning dress, which is not black, but white, and
return to society in festal garments.
The religious observances on festival days appear to be
very simple, and very short. The worshipper, clad in his
best clothes, approaches the temple, performs his ablutions
at a tank, kneels in the veranda opposite a grated window,
through which he can fix his eyes on the mirror ; he then
offers up his prayers, and a sacrifice of rice, fruit, tea,
sackee, or the like ; deposits a little money in a box, and
takes his departure, to spend the rest of the day in sports
and pastimes, or in the manner he thinks best. Accord
ing to Kampfer, they conclude their ceremonies at the
temple, by striking three times upon a bell, which is

* Kampfer. Dr. Von Siebold, M. Fischer, and other recent writers
appear to agree very closely with, and not unfrequently to follow, thia
excellent old observer. 8*

178 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
hung over the door, believing the gods to be highly
delighted with the sound of musical instruments. " All
this being done, they retire, to divert themselves the
remaining part of the day with walking, exercises, sports,
eating and drinking, and treating one another to good
things." The temple must not be approached with a down
cast spirit or a sorrowful countenance : for that might dis
turb the placid beatitude of the Kami. This ancient re
ligious rule appears to have had an effect on the national
character. The early Dutch writers observed that the
Japanese hardly ever betrayed any outward emotion of
sorrow or grief ; that they had a wonderful degree of re
signation under misfortune ; that they were hardly ever
heard to murmur or complain, and that they went even
to execution and a horrible death, with placid and even
cheerful countenances.*
At home in every Sintoo house, each meal is preceded
by a short prayer, and in nearly every garden or court
yard attached to such house, there is a miniature mya, or
temple. The Sintoo priests are called Kami-Nusi, or the
hosts or landlords of the gods ; they dwell in houses built
within the grounds attached to the temples. The money
deposited by the worshippers goes into their purse, and
the oblations of rice, fruit, tea, and the rest, go to
their kitchen and table. They have thus the means of
hospitality, and are said to exercise it liberally to stran
gers. The Dutch, however, always found, that in their
case, a return in solid cash was expected, and that these
temple-visits were very expensive. Celibacy is no tenet

* Arnold Montanus. " Remarkable Embassies of the EasUndia
Company of the United Netherlands to several Emperors of Japan,"
&c. Amsterdam. 1670.

EELIGION. 179
of the Sintoos : the Kami-Nusi marry, and their wives
are priestesses, to whom specific rites and duties are allotted.
It appears that they act as godmothers-general to all the
female children of their sect that are born in Japan, giv
ing them their names, sprinkling them with water, and
performing other ceremonies.*
But pilgrimage is the grand and most sanctifying act
of Sintoo devotion. There are no fewer than twenty-two
shrines in different parts of the empire, which are fre
quented annually, or more frequently by the devout.. The
most conspicuous, and most honored of all — the very
Loreto of the Japanese — is Isye, with its ancient temple
of Ten-sio-dai-zin, or the Sun Goddess. The principal
temple is surrounded by nearly a hundred small ones,
which have little else of a temple than the mere shape,
being, for the most part, so low and narrow, that a man
can scarcely stand up in them. Each of these temples, or
little chapels is attended by a priest. Near to them live
multitudes of priests and functionaries, who call them
selves the messengers of the gods, and who keep houses
and lodgings to accommodate travellers and pilgrims.
Not far off lies a considerable town, which bears the same
name (Isye) as the temple, and is inhabited by inn-keepers,
paper-makers, printers, book-binders, turners, cabinet
makers, and such other artisans, whose business is in any
way connected with the holy trade carried on at the place.
[This is very like Loreto, the principal trade of which is
carried on with pilgrims.] The principal temple itself is
a very plain, unpretending edifice, and evidently of great
antiquity, though not quite so old as the priests and de
votees pretend. According to the latter, the Sun Goddess
* Siebold.

180 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
was born in it, and dwelt in it, and on that account it has
never been enlarged, improved, or in any way altered.
Among the priestesses of the temple, there is almost al
ways a daughter of a spiritual emperor.
" Orthodox Sintonists," says Kampfer, " go in pilgrim
age to Isye once a year, or at the very least once in their
lifetime ; nay. it is thought a duty incumbent on every
true patriot, whatever sect or religion he otherwise ad
heres to, and a public mark of respect and gratitude
which every one ought to pay to the Sun Goddess, as to
the protectress, founder, and first parent of the Japanese
nation. . . . This pilgrimage is made at all times of
the year ; but the greatest concourse of people is in their
three first months, March, April, and May, when the
season of the year and the good weather make the jour
ney very agreeable and pleasant. Persons of all ranks
and qualities, rich and poor, old and young, men and
women, resort thither; the lords only of the highest
quality, and the most potent princes of the empire ex
cepted, who seldom appear there in person.
" An embassy from the emperor is sent there once every
year, in the first month, at which time also another with
rich presents goes to Miaco with presents to the ecclesias
tical hereditary monarch. Most of the princes of the em
pire follow the emperor's example. As to the pilgrims,
who go there in person, every one is at liberty to make
the journey in what manner he pleases. Able peo
ple do it at their own expense in litters, with a retinue
suitable to their quality. Poor people go on foot, living
upon charity, which they beg upon the road. They carry
their beds along with them on their backs, being a straw
mat rolled up, and have a pilgrim's staff in their hands,
and a pail hung by their girdle, out of which they drink,

EELIGION. 181
and wherein they receive people's charity, pulling off their
hats much after the European manner. Their hats are
very large, twisted of split reeds. Generally speaking,
their names, birth, and the place from whence they come,
are writ upon their hats and pails, that in case sudden
death or any other accident should befal them upon the
road," it might be known who they are, and to whom they
belong. Those that can afford it, wear a short white coat
without sleeves over their usual dress, with their names
stitched upon it before the breast and on the back. Mul
titudes of these pilgrims are seen daily on the road. It is
scarce credible what numbers set out only from the capital
city of Jeddo, and from the large province Osju. It
is no uncommon thing at Jeddo for children to run away
from their parents, in order to go in pilgrimage to Isye.
The like attempt would be more difficult in other places,
where a traveller that is not provided with the necessary
passports, would expose himself to no small trouble. As
to those that return to Isye, they have the privilege, that
the ofarria which they bring from thence, is allowed every
where as a good passport."
This ofarria, or "capital purification," is considered
equivalent to the absolution and remission of their sins,
and is given to the pilgrims by the priest " for a small
consideration." It appears to be nothing more (in its
cheap or ordinary shape) but a scrap of paper with a few
Japanese characters written upon it, — not unlike the things
which are sold by the wandering dervishes in Turkey and
Persia, and the fakirs in India. But the superstitious be
lieve that, coupled with the pilgrimage they have per
formed, these vouchers secure them health, prosperity,
and children in this world, and a happy state in the world
to come. The priests drive a great trade in the article.

182 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
As there are very many who stay at home, and think it
sufficient for the ease of their consience to purchase these
indulgences, great quantities of ofarrias are sent every
year from Isye to all parts of the empire.
The Mikado, or Dairi, did not always get the pilgrimage
performed vicariously. At one period both he and the
lay emperor went in person to the shrine, at least once or
twice during their lives. Motives of economy are thought
to have put an end to those journeys, and to those of the
great lords and princes, from whom great donations were
expected ; but it is probable that the disuse has in part
arisen from a decline in Sintoo piety, or from an addiction
to other forms of worship.
Anchorites and hermits are numerous, but they appear
to hold rather loosely to the ancient Sintoo creed. One
set, called Jummabos, or "mountain soldiers," lead a very
secluded, austere life, spending most of their time in going
up and down holy mountains, and washing themselves in
cold springs or rivers. The poorer sort of them go strol
ling and begging about the country. The order is said to
have been founded more than 1,200 years ago, by a strange
adventurous man, who consumed nearly all his days in
wandering through deserts, mountains, and wild unin
habited places, which, in the end, proved of considerable
service to his country, as he thereby discovered the
situation and .nature of such places, which nobody before
him had ventured to visit, and thus found out new, easier,
and shorter roads from district to district, to the great ad
vantage of travellers. We believe also, at this day, that
the houses or cells of many of these hermits are very use
ful to wayfarers in the remote and rugged parts of the
islands, particularly when the mountains are covered with
snow. They may be said, in this manner, to represent

EELIGION. 183
the monks of St. Bernard, the Camaldolenses, and other
monastic orders of Europe, who affect wild countries and
lonely places. As everything in Japan seems to have a
tendency to split into two, so this order divided itself into
two, each of which has its general or superior, residing in
considerable pomp at Miaco, near the palace of the spiritual
emperor. These hermits are mostly married like the
priests, they pretend to practise magic, to influence rain,
snow, thunder, and lightning, to control the winds, to
foretell future events, to discover thieves and recover
stolen property, to explain dreams, and to cure desperate
distempers.* They admit the worship of a number of
foreign idols.
There are many other religious orders and societies es
tablished in the country. The most interesting of these
are the two associations of the blind, — ancient and nume
rous bodies, composed of persons of all ranks and profes
sions. Originally, they made up but one society. In
process of time, however, they too split into two separate
bodies, one of which is called Bussets-Sado, or the blind
Bussets, and the other Feki-Sado, or the blind Fekis.
The original founder of this " Order of the Blind" was
the son of an emperor who reigned in very remote ages.
This young prince, say the Japanese historians, wept
himself blind for the' loss of his beautiful beloved prin
cess; and thereupon, with his father's leave, and under
an imperial charter, he erected a society, wherein none
were ever to be admitted but such as had the misfortune

* The passion of the Japanese for these pretended magical arts, 4s
in itself a proof of their Mongol origin. Wherever that race has ex
tended itself, from Lapland with its witches and drums, to the centre
of Asia, and to the extremity of the Japan Islands, there we are sure
to find hosts of magicians or conjurers.

184 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
to be blind. The society prospered exceedingly, and was
held in great repute at court, and all over the empire, for
many centuries.
The native annalists relate a characteristic, thoroughly
Japanese legend to account for the rise of the Feki-Sado.
During the dreadful civil wars between the great families
of the Feki and Gendzi, Kakekiko, a very renowned
general of the Feki party, was defeated and made pri
soner by the celebrated Joritomo, who had slain the
generous prince to whom Kakekiko had been devotedly
attached. Instead of putting his prisoner to death, ac
cording to the usual practice in those times, Jeritomo
treated him with the greatest kindness, allowed him much
liberty, and endeavored to persuade him to enter into his
service. One day, when he was pressing him in this
manner, and offering him whatever conditions he might
please to demand, the captive general said, " I was once a
faithful servant to a kind master. He is dead, and none
other shall ever have my faith and friendship. You have
laid me under obligations ; I owe to you my life ; yet can
I never set my eyes on you without a design of avenging
my dear dead master by slaying you. These, therefore,
these designing instruments of mischief, I will offer up to
you, as the only acknowledgment for your generous be
havior towards me, that my unhappy condition allows me
to give." And having thus said, he plucked out both his
eyes, and presented them on a plate to Joritomo, who,
astonished at so much magnanimity and resolution, forth
with set him at full liberty. The dramas of the Japanese
seem chiefly made up of incidents like these, in which the
passion of revenge stands out most prominently. The
blind general retired into a distant province, where he
learned to play upon the bywa, or Japanese lute, and

EELIGION. 185
gave birth to the society of the Feki blind, of which he
himself was the first head. These Feki do not live upon
charity, but make a shift to get a livelihood for them
selves and contribute to the maintenance of their con
vents, by following various professions or callings not
altogether inconsistent with their unhappy condition of
total blindness. The greater number of them apply them
selves to music, and find employment in the houses of
princes and great men, as also at weddings, festivals, pro
cessions, and all public solemnities. It appears that the
orchestras of all the theatres in the empire are filled by
members of the Feki society. At least, travellers tell us
that all the musicians they saw in the theatres were blind
men. Mention is made of nunneries, and of an order called
by Europeans, Mendicant Nuns. But the members of
this society appear to be of no particular faith, and of
very doubtful morality. On one of his journeys Kamp
fer fell in with them several times.
"Among the pilgrims we met there was a woman well
dressed in silk, with her face well painted, leading a blind
old man, and begging before him, which we thought a
very extraordinary sight. We also met several young
Bikunis, a sort of begging nuns, who accost travellers for
their charity, singing songs to divert them, though upon a
strange wild sort of tune. They will stay with travellers
as long as they may wish for a small matter. Most of
them are daughters of the Jammabos, or mountain priests,
and are consecrated as sisters of this holy begging order,
by having their heads shaved. They go neatly and well
clad, wearing a black silk hood upon their shaven heads,
and a light hat over it to defend their faces from the heat
of the sun. Their behavior is, to all appearance, free, yet

186 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
modest, neither too bold and loose, nor too dejected and
mean. As to their persons, they are as great beauties as
one shall see in this country. In short, the whole scene
is more like a pretty stage comedy than the begging of
indigent poor people. It is true, indeed, their fathers
could not send out, upon the begging errand, persons
more fit for it, since they know not only how to come at
travellers' purses, but have charms and beauties enough
to oblige them to farther good services. For distinction
sake, from other begging nuns, they are called Komano
Bikuni, because they go always two and two, and have
their stations assigned to them only upon the roads here
abouts. They are obliged to bring so much a year, of
what they get by begging, to the temple of the Sun God
dess at Isye, by way of tribute."*
There are numerous nunneries or societies of females,
who appear to follow the Buddhist religion, without any
intermixture of the Sintoo, or old national faith.
Buddhism, the most widely diffused of all Eastern
creeds, f seems, from all accounts we have read, to be, at
present, the prevalent faith in Japan. Yet it cannot be
called dominant, and it may be doubted whether it exists
anywhere in the remoter parts of the country without an
admixture of the old Sintoo.
It is not necessary to out present purpose to give any
* In another place our learned old German doctor says, that the
Bikuni were certainly the handsomest girls he saw in Japan ; that the
daughters of poor parents, if they be handsome and agreeable, easily
obtain the privilege of begging in the habit of nuns ; and that they
particularly watch along the roads for gentlemen of rank and fashion.
t It has been calculated that there are in the world 252,000,000
Mahometans, 111,000,000 followers of Brahma, and 315,000,000 of
Buddhists.

EELIGION. 187
detailed account of doctrines so well known (particularly
through our connection with India) as those of Buddhism.
Some excellent recent notices of the religion as it exists
among the Chinese, Tartars, and Thibetans, will be found
in that most amusing of books, " Huck's Travels in Tar-
tary, etc.," and in the recent work of Mr. T. Prinsep*
It will be enough for the reader to remember here, that
the leading dogma of Buddhism is the metempsychosis ;
from which belief arises the prohibition to take animal life ;
that the Buddhist believes that man, after going through a
variety of animal forms, as an elephant, a dog, a horse, or so
on, will in the end, when purged of all his sins upon earth,
be absorbed into the divine essence ; that they worship a
countless number of uncouth idols ; that they have the
notion that the Delhi Lama, or high-priest-king, never
dies ; that their priests form a distinct order in the state, and
are bound to celibacy. There is a difference of opinion
as to the dates of the introduction and establishment of
Buddhism in Japan ; but the probability is, that the faith
was first brought into the country from India or from
Corea, at the close of the sixth century of our era.f The
government appears to have tolerated it from the be
ginning ; but the people several times rose in tumult,
killed the bonzes, burned their idols, and levelled their
temples with the ground. But as this spontaneous popular
persecution passed away, and as Buddhism gradually
blended itself with some of theold national faiths, it became
* "Tartary and Thibet," 1 vol. 8vo. ' London. 1851.
t Those who are curious on this subject may be referred to the pub
lications of Klaproth and Von Siebold, who both give their statements
upon the authority of Japanese writers. Yet the same two learned
Europeans differ as to the dates.

188 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
an established religion, and gained innumerable converts.
It should seem that at least in the maritime parts of the
empire, there are twenty Buddhist to one Sintoo temple.
In Japan, as in every other country where it exists, Budd
hism is divided into a high, pure, mystic creed for the
learned, and a gross idolatry for the unlearned and common
people. We believe that none of these creeds have now any
great hold on the popular mind, and that what has been
said by an able writer of the Chinese may, with equal
justice, be said of the Japanese.
"It is rather extraordinary that foreigners, though con
versant with every part of Chinese literature, know so
little about their religious writings. One reason may be
found in their being written in a style almost unintelligi
ble to the common reader. The Buddhist works are full
of expressions from the Pali, of which the sound is clumsily
imitated in Chinese characters. Even few priests of that
sect know the true meaning, and the same set of phrases
are chanted by the votaries, over and over, for ages, with
out a single thought being bestowed upon their import.
The religion of Taou, which is a national superstition, has
clothed its votaries in mysterious laconism ; many sen
tences admit five or six different versions, and when the
student imagines that he has caught the real signification,
he finds himself puzzled by a new maze of vagaries.
Only truth can show her face unveiled, error requires the
fanciful and dark envelope of unmeaning language, for,
if seen in its nakedness, it would be loathsome. The re
ligious works of the literati are mere treatises on cere
mony, dry and uninteresting to the general reader, and
only of value to the master of rites to exercise himself in

EELIGION. 189
the prescribed prostrations, genuflexions, and bows. The
work before us* is intended as a comprehensive statistical
account of the gods, including all the fables that have
been propagated about them, and describing their various
offices and functions, nature, attributes, etc., without re
gard to connection and system. The author first treats
upon that large class of beings known under the name of
genii, who are the special objects, of adoration amongst
the Taou sect. He then expatiates upon Buddha and his
fellows, and finally treats upon the sages and worthies
that claim the veneration of scholars. It is a very pan
theon — a labyrinth through which, even with the clue of
Ariadne, it is difficult to thread our way.
" To understand the book thoroughly, one ought to be
intimately acquainted with the absurdities suggested by
a disordered fancy, one ought to study the deviations from
common sense, and hear patiently the ravings of a dis
eased mind.
" We frankly confess that we have not yet come to a
satisfactory conclusion regarding the religious opinions of
the Chinese as a nation.
" The general division of their creed into the sects of
Taou and Buddha, and the religion of the state, holds only
true regarding the initiated, the priests, and their imme
diate adherents, whilst the mass of the people, devoid of
religious instruction, combine all in one, and individuals
are either entirely indifferent towards all superstitions, or
each cherishes his own peculiar tenets. All religious
persons are stigmatized with popular contempt, and
viewed in no other light but as mountebanks and quacks,

* "Shin Seen Tungkeen," a general account of the gods and genii;
in twenty-two Chinese volumes.

190 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
who practice their unhallowed arts in order to gain a
scanty livelihood. Under such circumstances, it is extra
ordinary to see so many temples and shrines, some of
them richly endowed. But it ought never to be forgotten,
that the Chinaman loves show, and that he must have a
public house, where he may occasionally spend an idle
hour, consult his destiny, burn incense and offer sacrifices,
upon which he afterwards may feast. We do not think
that many of these edifices were erected from religious
motives, but are mere matters of convenience, and are al
ways viewed in that light.
" But there is none so poor that he fits not up a little
shrine, or corner, with an inscription, or a bit of an idol,
before which he every day burns incense.
" You may find these in the very sheds of beggars, and
the small boats of Tauka-women are never without this
appendage. It must be confessed, on the other hand, that
the majority of the people view these images in no other
light than as a child its doll, which old custom has taught
them to have always at hand. We have never yet heard
a pagan Chinese pray; he considers it is the business of
the priest to rattle off a few unmeaning sentences, and that
it is quite sufficient that he should just utter a few pious
ejaculations. If you discourse with him about his reli
gious opinions, he will always come forward with Heaven
and Earth, the two grand objects of his veneration. There
is no work exclusively on religion to which he may refer.
If he consult the classics, he will be told that filial piety
and loyalty constitute true religion ; but no hint is given
him that there is an omnipotent Creator and Preserver,
to whom he owes his first and most sacred duty. It has
again and again been asserted, without a shadow of truth,
that the Chinese acknowledge one Supreme Being; if

EELIGION. 191
such a confession is ever made, it is by men who have
come in contact with foreigners, and are anxious to avoid
the ridicule which attaches to a votary of idols. Nor are
the impressions of polytheism so very easily removed
from the mind ; and though the absurdity may be fully
admitted, the son of Han cleaves tenaciously to his an
cient superstition. God alone can change this state of
things, and open the heart of their understanding to per
ceive the truth."*
Sato, meaning " the way of philosophers," is always
called another leading Japanese religion, although it is,
in reality, much rather a philosophic school or sect, incul
cating no particular faith, and being compatible with
almost any faith, whether true or false. It is evidently
an importation from China, consisting almost entirely of
the moral doctrines taught by Confucius, and of some
high Buddhist mystic notions concerning the final condi
tion of the human soul. It is totally unconnected with
any mythology, and it has no religious rites or ceremonies.
We believe that Sintoo never made much progress among
the vulgar, but that it is very generally followed by the
nobility and all the educated classes, who may therefore
be described as men of no religion. This philosophy, as
Kampfer correctly calls it, may be reduced to five points,
which they call Dsin, Gi, Re, Tsi, and Sin. Dsin teaches
them to live virtuously ; Gi, to do right and act justly
with everybody; Re, to be civil and polite; Tsi sets
forth the rules for a good and prudent government ; and
Sin treats of a free conscience and uprightness of heart.
They have no metempsychosis, but, although they do not
admit the transmigration of souls into mortal bodies, they
* " Chinese Repository," vol. vii. p. 505. Canton. 1839.

192 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
believe in a universal soul, spirit, power, or real essence,
which is diffused throughout the universe, which animates
all things, which re-assumes the departing souls of men,
as the ocean receives the rivers and waters that flow into
it from all parts of the globe. This universal spirit is not
our Supreme being, but what we may call Nature. They
thank Nature for the food on their tables, and for all the
necessaries and blessings of life. Kampfer, whose account
of this sect has never been improved, says : —
"Some among them, whom I conversed withal, admitted
an intellectual, or incorporeal being, but only as governor
and director, not as the author of nature ; nay, they pre
tended, that it is an effect of nature produced by In and
Jo, — heaven and earth, one active, the other passive ; one
the principle of generation, the other of corruption : after
the same manner, also, they explained some other active
powers of nature to be spiritual beings. They make the
world eternal, and suppose men and animals to have been
produced by In and Jo, — the heaven and five terrestial
elements. Admitting no gods, they have no temples, no
forms of worship. Thus far, however, they conform
themselves to the general custom of the country, in that
they celebrate the memory of their deceased parents and
relations, which is done by putting all sorts of victuals,
raw and dressed, on a Biosju, as they call it, or table pur
posely made with this view ; by burning candles before
them ; by bowing down to the ground, as if they were yet
alive; by monthly or anniversary dinners, whereto are
invited the deceased's family and friends, who appear all
in the best clothes, and wash and clean themselves by way
of preparation, for three days before, during which time
they abstain from all impure things ; and by many other
tokens of respect and gratitude. As to the burial of their

EELIGION. 193
dead, they do not burn them, but keep the corpse three
days, and then lay it on the back in a coffin, after the
European manner, with the head raised. Sometimes the
coffin is filled with spices and sweet scented herbs, to pre
serve the body from corruption, and when everything is
ready, they accompany it to the grave, and bury it with
out any further ceremony.
"These philosophers do not only admit of self-murder,
but look upon it as an heroic and highly commendable
action, and the only honorable means to avoid a shameful
death, or to prevent falling into the hands of a victorious
enemy. They celebrate no festivals, nor will they pay
any respect to the gods of the country, any more than
common civility and good manners require. The practice
of virtue, a free conscience, and a good and honest life, is all
that they aim at. They were even suspected of secretly
favoring the Christian religion, for which reason, after the
said religion had been entirely abolished by cross and fire,
and violent means taken to prevent its ever reviving
again, they also were commanded to have each an idol, or,
at least, the name of one of the gods worshipped in the
country, put up in their houses, in a conspicuous and
honorable place, with a flower-pot and incensory before
them."* Nearly all our early writers assert that by far the greater
part of the Japanese men of learning follow this doctrine ;
and that, notwithstanding the infinity and variety of gods
or idols introduced into the country, most of the grandees
are either free-thinkers or downright atheists.
An industrious and accurate writer sets down the num
ber of religions or sects, quite distinct from Buddhism,

* "History of Japan."

194 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
at thirty-four* It would be difficult to find in any other
country (not England or the United States of America)
such striking instances of religious toleration. As far as
regards-' the State, all these sects indulge their several
opinions without restraint. The fact is, the Japanese
government exhibited a rare and wonderful indifference
to mere matters of doctrine, so long as they did not inter
fere with the public tranquillity. When the bonzes of all
the sects concurred in a petition to the emperor Nobunanga
that he would expel the Jesuits and all the Romish monks
from Japan, that prince, annoyed by their importunities,
inquired how many different religions there were in
Japan? " Thirty-five," said the bonzes. " Well," said the
emperor, "where thirty-five religions can be tolerated, we
can easily bear with thirty-six : leave the strangers in
peace."f In emoluments and dignities, all sects are pretty nearly
on an equality. On these points, causes for dissension
cannot often arise. -Occasionally (but not recently), when
disputes on doctrinal points were running rather high, the
government decided them in a summary manner, whip
ping, and even beheading, some of the fiercest of the
controversialists. Even in the time of the tolerant empe
ror Nobunanga, a terrible controversy was settled quite in
the manner of our Henry VIII. in the last years of his
reign. But this was not until the peace of the country
* T. Rundall, Esq. " Memorials of the Empire of Japan," etc.
t " Summary of the Journal of Don Rodrigo de Viveroy Velasco,"
in Asiatic Journal, July, 1830.
This Don Rodrigo, a favorite of one of the wives of Philip II., was
governor of the Philippine Islands, and was shipwrecked upon the
coast of Japan in the year 1608. The account of his journey to Jeddo
is exceedingly interesting.

EELIGION. 195
had been seriously disturbed. " Never," says Mr. Meylan,
" do we hear of any religious dispute among the Japanese,
much less discover that they bear each other any hate on
religious grounds. They esteem it, on the contrary, an
act of courtesy, to visit, from time to time, each other's
gods, and do them reverence. While the Koboe sends
an embassy to the Sintoo temple at Isye, to offer prayers
in his name, he assigns, at the same time, a sum for the
erection of temples to Confucius ; and the spiritual empe
ror allows strange gods, imported from Siam or China, to
be placed (for the convenience of those who may feel a
call to worship them) in the same temples with the Japa
nese. If it be asked whence this tolerance originates, and
by what it is maintained, I reply from this, that worship
pers of all persuasions in Japan acknowledge and obey one
superior, namely the Dairi, or spiritual emperor. As the
representative and lineal descendant of God on earth, he
is himself an object of worship, and as such, he protects
equally all whose object it is to venerate the Deity ; the
mode of their so doing being indifferent to him. Let it
not be thought that I prize this tolerance too high, nor let
the cruel persecutions of the Christians in Japan be
objected to me : I ask whether this toleration was not one
of the causes which so far facilitated the introduction of
Christianity there ? But that which with me is conclusive
is, that could the preachers of the gospel in Japan have
been tolerant as the Japanese, — had they not mocked and
despised the gods of the country, — could it have been
possible that the bishops chosen from the first missionaries
should have receded from insisting on their right of total
independence, and could they have been contented to
place themselves under the protection of God's represen
tative on earth, which the Japanese acknowledge in their

196

EMPIEE OF JAPAN.

Dairi, — lastly, could they have forborne to meddle in
affairs of politics and government, then would no persecu
tion of Christianity, in all human probability, have taken
place, and perhaps, at this moment, the doctrine of Jesus
would have been triumphant over that of Confucius."
Thunberg, Golownin, Fischer, Siebold, and all the re
cent writers about the country, are agreed as to this easy
toleration. Every Japanese citizen has a right to profess
whatever faith he pleases — provided only it be not Chris
tianity, — and to change it as often as he may think fit.
Nobody concerns himself whether he does so out of con
viction, or out of regard to his wordly interests. It is said
to happen frequently, that the members of one family
follow different faiths or sects, and that the difference of
belief does not disturb the family harmony.

FAMILY WOHSHIP.

From all we can collect on this subject, we are inclined

EELIGION. 197
to believe that if the government could only be relieved
of its prejudices and implacable animosity against the
Romanists, or thoroughly convinced of the difference be
tween the church of Rome and the reformed churches,
that a troop of reformed missionaries might have a better
chance of success than a powerful fleet and a great army
of soldiers. But the missionary ought to be kept apart
from every political scheme, and from every display of
military force. Should the Japanese government suspect
the Americans of any extensive design of occupation,
conquest, or annexation, its hatred of the religion they pro
fess will, no doubt, become quite as inveterate as that
which has for more than two centuries been nourished
against the Portuguese and the church of Rome.

M »i(Sil E KIN-CIS-

BOOK V.

GOVEENMENT — LEGISLATION — POLICE.
The government of Japan is an absolute despotism, yet
far from being altogether arbitrary. Everything and
everybody are under a system of ancient, unchanging
laws. No individual in the whole empire, however eleva
ted in rank, is above the law. Both sovereigns, the spir
itual and the temporal, are as completely enthralled by
Japanese despotism as the meanest of their subjects, if
not more so. This despotism is in the law and custom of
the land, and operates by and through them. Law and
custom press upon all with the same tyrannous weight.
Scarcely an action of life is exempt from their rigid and
inflexible control ; but he who complies with the dictates
of law, and with the established usages, seems rarely to
have cause to apprehend any other arbitrary power or
capricious tyranny.* In times of successful usurpation,
some of the laws have been set at nought, and occasion
ally the court and great Council of State, who, in reality,
administer the government, have been irregular and arbi
trary ; but the number of these exceptional cases is said
to be inconsiderable.
* "Manners and Customs of the Japanese." New edition. Lon
don. 1852.

200 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
We have already dwelt upon the remarkable anomaly
presented by Japan of two co-existing sovereigns, each
maintaining a state independent of the other, both being
the objects of homage on the part of the people, and neith
er of them, as far as can be seen, betraying any dissatis
faction at the amount of allegiance that is tendered to him.
One of the sovereigns, — the Mikado, or Dairi-Sama, —
rules by " right divine," or by virtue of his attributed
descent from the gods. The other sovereign, — the Ziogun,
or Koboe-Sama, — rules by the "right of might," or by
virtue of his ability to maintain the power wrested by his
predecessors from the Mikado. Sovereign de jure, the
Mikado is supreme in rank, but according to all appear
ances, quite insignificant in political importance :* the
veneration which is paid to him, falls little short of the
honors which are paid to the gods themselves ; yet he is
little more than a prisoner ; for he is brought into the
world, and he lives and dies within the precincts of his
court. The Koboe-Sama, sovereign de facto, is inferior in
station, but uncontrolled, except by law and usage, in
political authority.
The numbers of the grand Council of State, or of those
who govern in the emperor's name, are variously given by
different writers ; but the best, or the latest, authority
makes them thirteen : to wit, five councillors of the first
class, selected from the princes of the empire ; and eight
of the second class, selected from the old nobility, f
There appears good reason to doubt whether all these
high offices are not hereditary ; in which case there can
" Rundall, " Memorials."
t Siebold. Kampfer gives a different number ; but there may have
been some slight change since his time.

GOVEENMENT. 201
be no selection or election. Under these, in regular, and
apparently interminable gradations, are other state func
tionaries ; as lords or guardians of the temples, commis
sioners of foreign affairs, ministers of police, superinten
dents of agriculture, etc. etc. It appears that all the
offices of government are filled, not by the relatives of the
spiritual, but by those of the temporal sovereign. Per
sonal interviews happen very rarely between the two
potentates : the Ziogun is now said to visit the Mikado
only once in seven years. It appears, however, that the
temporal emperor frequently sends embassies and rich
presents to the holy court at Miako, in return for which
the spiritual emperor sends back his blessing and prayers.
This, it has been observed, is no more than an equitable
arrangement : for the temporal emperor has the revenues
of the whole country in his hands, whereas the spiritual
emperor must be content with the revenues of his limited
principality of Kioto. There he governs, or is governed
for, as an independent prince, or Damjo, as the Japanese
call them, only with this difference, that the princes, or
Damjos, maintain their military at their own expense,
while the Mikado, or god-descended Dairi, is not allowed
to have any soldiers.*
The dignity of each of the emperors is inherited by the
eldest of their male descendants. In default of male issue,
they adopt the eldest son of some prince of the empire,
who is nearest to them in blood. There appears to be a
head councillor of state, with functions and powers cor
responding to those of the grand vizier in Turkey. He
is called the " governor of the empire," and all the other
councillors are strictly subordinate to him. No public
* Golownin, " Recollections of Japan."
9*

202 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
affair of any consequence can be undertaken without him.
The councillor of state, as we have said, transacts the
business of the whole government ; decides upon every
measure ; sanctions or reverses every sentence of death,
wherever it may be pronounced ; appoints to all offices
and employments, and corresponds with all the chief au
thorities of the empire. Whenever law or usage is not
perfectly clear, he must be consulted before anything is
done. The council, collectively, have the power of de
throning the lay emperor. When they adopt any impor
tant resolution, it is laid before the emperor for his
approval. This is usually given as a matter of course,
without any delay, or any inquiry into the matter. But if,
by any extraordinary accident, he should trouble himself
about the concerns of his empire, attempt to examine for
himself, and then withhold the expected fiat, the measure
is referred to the arbitration of three princes of the blood,
the nearest kinsmen of the monarch, and their decision is
final, and very often attended with melancholy and fatal
circumstances. Should their verdict coincide with the
sentiments of the council, the Ziogun must forthwith ab
dicate in favor of his son, or other legal heir. This des
potic sovereign, as Europeans have considered him, has
not, in these State cases, the liberty of retracting an
opinion. On the other hand, should the three arbitrating princes
pronounce the monarch to be in the right, and the coun
cil in the wrong, the consequences are still more serious.
The minister who proposed the obnoxious act must die
the death ; the ministers who most warmly seconded him
must frequently die also, and, occasionally, all the mem
bers of the council, with the vizier or governor of the
empire, at their head, must rip open their bowels. Under

GOVEENMENT. 203
such responsibility, men must be little disposed to attempt
new laws, or any sort of innovation. When to this we
add, that the whole council, collectively and individually,
is perpetually surrounded by spies (some known, and
some unknown), employed by superiors, inferiors, rivals,
and by themselves, the one against the other, it will be
evident, that these seemingly absolute ministers cannot
venture upon the slightest infraction of the law without
fear and trembling.
If we turn to the vassal princes of the empire we find
that they are the objects of as much caution as the mem
bers of the supreme council. It is, indeed, against these
princes, that the jealousy of the Ziogun and council is
chiefly directed.
There were, originally, sixty-six or sixty-eight princi
palities, which had previously been so many independent
kingdoms. As principalities, they were hereditary, but
subject to forfeiture in case of rebellion or other treason.
As many of the princes incurred this penalty of forfeiture,
advantage was taken of the circumstance, by splitting the
forfeited principalities into many fragments ; and instead
of sixty-six or sixty-eight, there are now said to be six
hundred, and four distinct administrations, including great
and small principalities, lordships, imperial provinces, and
imperial towns.
The vassal princes still govern with all the outward
forms and appearances of actual sovereignty, and each,
by means of the nobles who are his vassals, keeps up his
own army. But this sovereignty is little more than an
appearance : the princes can do nothing, can propose no
thing, without the consent and concurrence of the Ziogun
and his council ; they are entangled in a most intricate
web of policy and state craft, they are kept under the

204 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
perpetual surveillance of spies and informers, who watch
their private and domestic, as well as their political or
public conduct. The real administration of every prin
cipality is conducted, not by the prince himself, or by
ministers of his own choice, but by two secretaries, ap
pointed by the supreme council. Of these two secretaries
one resides in the principality, and the other at Jeddo,
where the family of the absent secretary is detained in
hostage for his fidelity. We have before noted the strong
tendency of the Japanese to duality. These double ap
pointments extend to all high provincial posts, and it is
only by the annual alteration of the situation of two
official colleagues, that men holding such posts ever see
their families ; for, the functionary on duty for the year
in the provinces must leave his family in the capital, and
when, at the expiration of the term, he returns thither,
his colleague must go to the provinces and leave his family
behind him.
Each alternate year the vassal princes are allowed, or
rather compelled to reside at Jeddo, near the Ziogun's
palace. They are then reunited to their families, but con
tinue under the same surveillance as ever. In fact, so long
as they retain their principalities, their life is one of con
stant inquietude and restraint. Hence the very prevalent
practice among them of abdicating in favor of a son or
other lawful heir. It has been remarked, that a reigning
prince, of advanced age, is rarely seen in Japan. They
¦ vacate the throne, or they die prematurely upon it, of
grief or ennui. Whatever it may be for the governed,
the Japanese system seems to be a wretched one for the
governors. Spiritual emperor or lay emperor, vizier or
vassal prince, supreme council or provincial secretary, all
are "cabined, cribbed, confined," and condemned to a

GOVEENMENT. 205
state of existence, which would be, to a European, about
as insupportable as that of a galley slave.
The government of the lordships (which are merely
small inferior principalities) is managed and controlled
upon the same jealous system as that of the principalities
themselves ; and the same may be said of the provinces
and cities called Imperial, and which have been retained
as imperial domains. To the government of each of
them) two governors are appointed, who live alternately
at their posts and at the capital, where their wives and
children must always be in hostage. These governors of
imperial provinces, or imperial cities, are not named by
hereditary right, but are selected from among the nobility
by the Jeddo vizier and council, who appoint their secre
taries, sub-secretaries, police-officers, spies, and all their
official establishment. At Nagasaki, where European
observations have been most frequently made, only the
treasurer, the military commandant, and the inferior
police officers are allowed to have their families with them.
All the rest, so long as they are in the service of govern
ment, must leave their wives and children either at Jeddo
or at the capital of the province or principality, in which
they are stationed. Whether at Nagasaki, or in any other
place, the functionaries who are allowed the comforts of
domestic life, are perpetually surrounded by spies — one
spy watching another, one delator informing against
another. It may well be called '' a government of spies."
These spies are said to be of every rank in life, from
the lowest to the highest, beneath that of a prince. The
proudest of the nobility have been known to undertake
the office, either out of the ambitious hope of succeeding
to the places and emoluments of those whom he might
denounce, or in dread of the consequences of a refusal.

206 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
Where a man, if nominated, must be a spy, or rip open
his own bowels, it is not wonderful that there should be
so many spies, of all classes, ages and conditions.
Complaints of the governor of Matsmai were remitted
to the court at Jeddo, where the counsel resorted to its
usual method for ascertaining the truth. The obnoxious
governor was soon displaced, but it was not without as
tonishment that the people recognized, in his successor, a
journeyman tobacco-cutter, who, a short time before, had
suddenly disappeared from his master's shop. The jour
neyman tobacco-cutter had been personated, for the nonce,
by a noble of the land, who had assumed that disguise in
order to perform the office of a spy, for which he had
been sent to Matsmai by the court.*
Yet, living under so detestable a governmental system,
the people of Japan are, almost always, described as frank
in their manners, free and open in speech, and most sensi
tively alive to the point of honor. We should have
much difficulty in believing the fact if we had not, our
selves, seen precisely the same thing in the Ottoman em
pire. There, nearly every Turk unconnected with gov
ernment may be described as a frank, honest, truth-loving,
honorable man ; while every Turk at all connected with
government (with remarkably few exceptions) may be,
with equal safety, set down as the very reverse — as a
man capable of playing the spy, or of resorting to any
other iniquity or baseness. And, let the most honest-
hearted Turk, by ambition or by accident, or by the ca
price of some great man, only once get involved in the
governmental meshes, and, at once, his nature is changed.
With our experience of this seeming anomaly, we can
* Meylan.

GOVEENMENT. 207
give credit to the favorable reports of the character of the
Japanese people.
Savary, and Fouche" himself, might have taken lessons
from the Japanese in that art of mystery and spying.
" Not only," says M. Meylan, " is the head of every fa
mily answerable for his children, his servants, and the
strangers within his gates, but the city being divided into
collections of five families, every member of such division
is responsible for the conduct of the others, and, in con
sequence, that which, according to European ideas, would
be the height of indiscretion, becomes here the duty of
every man ; for every extraordinary occurrence which
falls out in a household is reported by four several wit
nesses to the members of the civil administration. House
arrest is usually the penalty of the irregularities thus re
ported ; and a severe one it is. The doors and windows
of the offender's house are closed, generally for a hundred
days; his employments are suspended; salary, if any,
stopped ; and the friend and barber alike forbidden en
trance.* Every household is held bound to produce a
man capable of bearing arms ; a division of five constitutes
a company ; twenty-five such companies are arrayed under
an officer, and constitutes a brigade of six or seven thou
sand men ; and tnus the force of the city, apart from
the regular military or police, can be presently mustered.
* This system of house arrest is very common among the Turks.
In Constantinople, in 1828, and again in 1848, we frequently saw a
house having all its windows blocked up with deal boards, roughly
nailed on the outside. It was the konak or town residence of some
pasha, bey, or other official, who had fallen into disgrace. So long as
those boards remain up, the man is cut off from all society. If his
nearest relative has courage enough to visit him, he does so under
cover of night, and by stealing in at the baok door.

208 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
Guard-houses are established in every street, in which a
guard is on duty every night, and on occasions of festivi
ty, or other cause of popular concourse, by day. Each
street has a rail or barrier at its issues, and can conse
quently be cut off from communication with the rest of the
city at a moment's notice."
No one can change his residence without obtaining a
certificate of good conduct from the neighbours he is
about to leave, and permission from those among whom
he wishes to go. The result of this minutely ramified
organization is said to be, that the whole empire affording
no hiding-place for a criminal, there is no country in the
world where so few robberies are committed. It is even
said that, with valuable property within, the doors of the
house may be left open all night with impunity.
Although not divided, like the Hindoos and other Ori
ental peoples, into castes, the Japanese may be said to be
nearly, if not strictly, divided into hereditary classes. To
be respected, every man must remain through life in the
class in which he was born, unless exalted by some very
rare merit, or very peculiar circumstance. Generally, the
Japanese abhor parvenus. But it is very discreditable to sink
below one's original class. These classes are eight in number.
Class I. is that of the hereditary vassal princes.
Class II. consists of the hereditary nobility under the
rank of princes. These nobles hold their lands in fief, by
military service, due to these several princes, or, in the
imperial provinces, to the Ziogun. The number of fighting
men to be furnished by each lord is regulated by the size
and value of the estate he holds. Each lord has generally
sub-vassals under him, who are bound to furnish their
quotas. This closely resembles our old feudal system;
but assuredly the condition of a feudal lord in England or

GOVEENMENT. 209
in Normandy was one of independence, freedom, and
happiness, compared with that of the Japanese prince or
noble. It is from this second class that the officers of state,
governors, generals, and the like, are selected. Wherever
they may be employed, they are all subjected to long
separations from their families. They are also compelled
to live a part of their time in the capital, and there to in
cur heavy expenses, it being the policy of. this suspicious
government to keep all its officers and servants out of the
way of accumulating wealth ; — for wealth is power as well
in Japan as elsewhere.
Class III. comprises the priests (apparently indiscri
minately) of all the religions and sects that flourish in the
empire. Class IV. consists of the military, or the vassals fur
nished as soldiers by the nobility.
All these four classes, who constitute the higher orders
of Japanese society, enjoy the envied privilege of carrying
two swords, and of wearing a sort of loose petticoat trou-
ser, which none beneath them dare ever put on. Thus,
unless he be disguised to do spy work, the way to tell
whether a man belongs to the upper classes, is to look at
his sword-belt and breeches.
Class V. appears to comprehend what we call the upper
portion of the middle classes ; consisting of medical men,
government clerks, and other professionals, and employes.
Class VI. consists of the more considerable shopkeepers
and of merchants, who, whatever may be their wealth or
intelligence, are held at a very low price by the Japanese.
According to Kampfer, the very gods they worship are
rated as sordid, inferior divinities. The gentleman, or
even the common soldier, that should engage in any trade
or traffic, would be thereby disgraced for ever. Yet

210 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
among these trading classes are to be found the only very
rich men in the country. Speaking of his residence at
Jeddo, M. Doeff says, " There is here an extensive dealer
in silks, by name Itsigoja, who has large establishments
besides in all the other great cities of the empire. Any
customer who conveys his purchase to another of these
cities, Nagasaki, for example, and there tires of his acqui
sition, may give it back and receive the price in full. The
wealth of this man must be enormous, as the folio win 2
will show : — During my residence at Jeddo, there occurred
a vast fire, which consumed everything within a space
three leagues in length and a mile and a half in breadth ;
among the rest, our lodging. Itsigoja lost his entire shop,
and a warehouse containing more than a hundred thousand
bales of silk thread ; which loss was unmitigated ; for the
Japanese knew nothing of insurance. He, nevertheless,
sent to our assistance forty of his servants, who stood us
in great stead ; and on the second day he was already
actively engaged in rebuilding his premises, paying every
carpenter six florins per diem."*
Nor is such a case of commercial wealth by any means
rare in the great cities of the empire. A merchant, or an
aspiring shopkeeper of London, Paris, or other European
capital, may spend his money as he gets it, — or faster
than that, — by taking a house in a fashionable quarter, by
setting up fashionable equipages, by giving costly enter
tainments, and by imitating, in all things, the style and
magnificence of the wealthiest and most profuse nobleman.
But the Japanese merchant can do nothing of the sort :
his style of living is strictly regulated by sumptuary laws,
which he dare not infringe. He cannot even have the
* "Recollections of Japan."

GOVEENMENT. 211
satisfaction of wearing the single sword, unless he attach
himself in a menial capacity to the household of some
great lord. It appears, however, that not a few of them
take this degrading course, and that the impoverished
nobility are generally very ready to swell the number of
their nominal retainers upon considerations given and paid. *
But no amount of money or patronage can procure for
the merchant the inestimable honor of wearing petticoat
trousers. Class VII. is composed of retail dealers, little shop
keepers, pedlars, mechanics, and artisans of all descrip
tions. It also includes painters and other artists, who
might have been expected to occupy a somewhat higher
grade in the social scale.
Class VIII. consists of the peasantry, agricultural la
borers, and day-laborers of all kinds. The mass of the
peasantry are said to be little better than the serfs, or
villeins, attached to the soil, and the property of the
landholder. There is, however, a class who hire and cul
tivate land on the metayer system, so common in many
parts of the European continent, — that is, they divide the
produce of the estate and farm with the landed proprietor,
according to certain proportions previously agreed upon
* Something like the system obtained in England down to " the
happy days of good Queen Bess." The retainers of the Earl of Leices
ter, as painted by Sir Walter Scott, in his " Kenilworth," were living
realities. The practice continued in the reign of Charles I., and many
traces of it are found in the reign of Charles II., and down to the
Revolution of 1688.
It appears, however, that though these Japanese sometimes pay for
the privilege of wearing a sword, they rarely use the weapon ; that
they are not brawlers and fighters, as the retainers of our nobility, in
the olden time, were wont to be.

212 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
between them. Unfortunately, it is added, that the Ja
panese landlords take the lion's share, and leave so little
to the farmers, that they are generally found as indigent
as the serfs.
There is another class, which is held to be so vile, that
it is not even enumerated or set down in the list. They
are the very pariahs of Japan. All tanners, curriers,
leather-cutters, and, in fact, every man connected in any
way with the preparation of leather, or the leather trade,
lie under ban and interdict. They are not permitted to
dwell in any town or village with other classes of men ;
but they live in detached huts, or in hamlets exclusively
their own. They are not even numbered in the census
of the population, which appears to be taken, with con
siderable care, at certain intervals. They may not enter
an inn, public-house, tea-house, or any place of public
entertainment. If they are travelling, and in want of
food or drink, they must wait humbly outside the wall,
and be there served in their own bowl or platter ; for no
one but a man or woman of their own class would ever
use the vessel out of which they have eaten or drunk.
They are ¦ the public executioners and gaolers in most
parts of the empire. It is conjectured that this banning
of a whole class originated in the Sintoo doctrine of de
filement by contact with any dead body.*
Although the Japanese have been so long at peace, in
ternally as well as externally, and although they govern
rather by spies, policemen, and other civilians, than by
soldiers, it should appear, from all accounts, that a very
considerable standing army is kept up in the empire. It
is, however, very difficult, from the data before us, to
* Meylan, Siebold, Kampfer. See Appendix E.

GOVEENMENT. 213
come to any conclusion as to the actual number of this
force. It is divided into two classes: 1. The imperial
guards, or the troops of the Ziogun. 2. The vassal sol
diers of the nobility. It has been asserted that the first
of these amount to 100,000 foot, and 20,000 horse ; but
this appears to be exaggerated.
As, by the military tenure, every prince, sub-prince, or
lord, must furnish his full contingent of able-bodied men
whenever called upon, by the lay emperor, so to do, we
might form some estimate of the number of combatants
that could be brought into the field, if we only knew the
total amount of the population of the empire. But al
though the census is taken, it is kept a state secret, and,
as we have stated, there is a great difference of opinion on
the question of population. The Ziogun's own troops are
far superior in appearance to those furnished by the vas
sal princes and lords. The fact is mentioned in one of the
early Dutch accounts. This old writer, after speaking of
the military tenure, and of so many armed men being
raised and maintained for so much land, praises the order,
discipline, dress, and silence of the imperial guards, and
concludes by calling them "all chosen, brave fellows, clad
in rich black silks."* Golownin, at first, mistook all the
privates for officers. In ancient times they were highly
esteemed for their valor in actual combat, for their
celerity on the march, and for their perseverance and
cheerfulness under fatigue and privation; and, with a
very few exceptions, they may probably be found, at this
day, the bravest of Asiatic nations.
Anterior to 1615, Japanese served as soldiers of fortune
in many of the neighboring countries, and were highly
* "A Collection of Voyages, &c." 6 vols, folio. London. 1732.

214 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
esteemed by the princes who retained them. On more
than one occasion they fought side by side with Spanish
and Portuguese troops, at that time as good soldiers as
any in the world. As for discipline, as we now under
stand that word, we should be inclined, with due defe
rence to the old Hollander sea-captain, who wrote his
account 200 years ago, that they have none of it. Their
formations, their manoeuvres, their tactics, would no
doubt excite the derision of the least martial of European
nations. Apparently they know next to nothing of mili
tary architecture, or of the art of defending or attacking
fortresses or fortified positions. Their gunnery appears to
be of the very worst sort, although their guns are beauti
fully made. Their portable fire-arm is the old, long,
slow matchlock, which from prejudice, they will not
change for our modern muskets and rifles, with which
they are well acquainted, and with which they could be
well supplied by their own native artisans. But even the
matchlock appears to have a very confined range ; for
bows and arrows, awkward spears, long and weak in the
shaft; javelins, and even wooden clubs, are often men
tioned as common Japanese arms. Their sword-blades,
however, are of admirable temper, and many of the
Ziogun's picked men are said to be expert swordsmen.
But, in modern battles, the amies blanches of chivalry
really count for little.
In the old times, the Japanese made use of curious chain
armor, and, occasionally, their officers are still seen wear
ing these coats of mail over their silk jerkins, having
below their jerkins the wide silk petticoat or petticoat-
trousers. Notwithstanding the 200 years of profound peace (which
may have deteriorated the military virtues of the nation),

GOVEENMENT. 215
the military profession is held in great honor. In conver
sation, the common people, and even the rich merchants,
give the common soldier the title of Sama, or my lord,
and address him with all possible respect. To turn a sol
dier out of his profession is considered the greatest punish
ment that can be inflicted on him. Every soldier, what
ever may be his rank, has the right to wear two swords,
or a sabre and dagger, like the first lord of the empire. It
is said that the common men have such a keen sense of
the point of honor, that they frequently resent affronts by
fighting duels with one another, or by ripping themselves
up, in order to show that they prefer death to dishonor.*
If they really retain this mettle, they are troops that will
assuredly stand and fight. Beaten they must be by men
such as those who marched from the United States into
Mexico ; but we cannot, without emotion, think of the
numbers that may be slaughtered before any surrender,
capitulation, or military or political settlement whatsoever
can take place.
The severity of the Japanese laws are Draconic. They
may really be said to be written in blood, as death is the
allotted punishment for every offence, and, not unfre
quently, whole families are involved in the fate of a single
offender. Death, by decapitation at the hands of the
common executioner, or by instant self-murder — and no
thing short of death is considered an atonement of the
slightest breach of the law or of public tranquillity, or of
disobedience to any order or instruction of government.
Imprisonment, exile, or relegation in distant, cold, and
desolate islands appear to have fallen out of use since the
troubles of the seventeenth century. In the rare occasions,
* Golownin. "Recollections of Japan."

216 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
on which they are now resorted to, they seem to be ex
tended not only to the offender, but to his wife and chil
dren, however innocent, and however young.
Apparently they have no condensed, written Code of
Laws. Their laws consist of edicts issued in the name of
the emperor from time to time. They are said to be ex
ceedingly simple in their construction, and to possess the
somewhat rare merit of- being intelligible to the common
est capacity. On the issue of every new edict, the ma
gistrates, in the first instance, assemble the people, and
proclaim, by word of mouth, the will of the emperor.
Next, the edict is extensively circulated in a printed form,
and, as nearly every man and woman in the empire is said
to be able to read, the law must thus become well known.
But they have yet another method of giving it publicity :
the edict is placarded, for a permanency, in a public hall
or place appropriated to the purpose, in every city, town,
and village, throughout the empire.
" I have often admired," says Kampfer, " while travel
ing through this country, the shortness and laconism of
these tables, which are hung up on the roads, in places
especially appointed for the purpose, to notify to the
public the emperor's pleasure, and to make known the
laws of the country ; for it is mentioned, in as few words
as possible, what the emperor commands to be done or
omitted by his subjects. There is no reason given how
it came about that such and such a law was made; no
mention of the law-giver's views and intention ; nor is
there any certain determined penalty put upon transgres
sion thereof. Such conciseness is thought becoming the
majesty of so powerful a monarch."*
* "History of Japan." Appendix E.

GOVEENMENT. 217
The Japanese have laws, and lawgivers, but no profes
sional practising barristers or lawyers of any kind. Every
man is considered competent to be his own lawyer or
pleader. We will here quote from the most recent Eng
lish writer on the subject of Japan, to whom we have
repeatedly acknowledged our obligations. Mr. Thomas
Rundall, who has consulted and condensed all the best
authorities, says : —
" The proceedings under the laws are as simple as the laws
themselves. " The Japanese system does not admit any technical
and complicated forms; and, consequently, there is no
professional class required to elucidate, or, as the case may
be, further to perplex what is already obscure. In the
empire, a party feeling himself aggrieved, appeals direct
to the magistrate. The case is stated in presence of the
accused, and he is heard in reply. Witnesses are ex
amined. Sentence is then passed, and generally carried
into execution instanter. In trivial cases, the parties are
usually ordered to retire and settle the difference, either
between themselves, or with the assistance of mutual
friends; and the matter may be considered to be adjusted.
" It is perfectly well understood, that persisting in the
dispute would lead to unpleasant consequences. Should
both parties appear to be blameable, the judge makes his
award accordingly, and neither escapes without censure.
When false accusations are preferred, the false accuser is
punished ; and should malice be apparent, the punishment
is augmented in proportion.
" In cases of great importance, the magistrate has the
option of referring the matter .to the Chief Justice at
Miaco, or to the Emperor in Council ; but when a decision
10

218 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
is once given, there is no appeal.* Towards the conclu
sion of the seventeenth century, Kampfer makes the fol
lowing remarks on the Japanese system of administering
justice. He says : — " Some will observe, that the Japa
nese are wanting in a competent knowledge of the law.
.... But I would not have the reader imagine that the
Japanese live entirely without laws. Far from it. Their
laws and constitutions are excellent, and strictly observed."
" Coming down to the present century, competent au
thorities concur in bearing testimony to the purity with
which justice is administered in the empire :• to the great
solemnity and strict decorum with which the proceedings
are conducted before the tribunals : to the ardent desire
manifested by the magistrates to elicit the truth ; and to
the remarkable acumen they display in detecting false
hood."! ^ the; representations on the subject be not
overcharged, the judicial institutions of the empire appear
to realize, in a great degree, the maxim propounded by
one of our most profound thinkers, that " Truth is but
justice in our knowledge, and justice is but truth in our prac
tice.^ " In the theory of Punishment, it is not considered

* No superior court hath it in its power to mitigate the sentence
pronounced in another, though inferior. . . Although it cannot be de
nied but this short way of proceeding is liable to some errors and
mistakes in particular cases, yet I dare affirm that, in the main, it
would be found abundantly less detrimental to the parties concerned,
than the tedious and expensive lawsuits in Europe. — (Kampfer, Ap
pendix, vol. ii. p. 64.)
\ Doeff, Fischer, Siebold, etc. ; quoted in " Manners and Customs
of the Japanese in the 19th century."
X Milton, "Answer to Eikon Basilike."

POLICE. 219
' qySun hommependu est un homme perdu.1* As a principle,
death is the punishment for all offences.
"It does not, however, appear to have been adopted
either from caprice, or through wanton disregard of human
life ; but may be traced rather to an erroneous conception
of the means of doing equal justice. It is maintained,
that justice would be violated, unless all persons, whatever
their ranks, guilty of similar offences, were punished in
an equal manner ; and it is conceived that death is the
only penalty that affects alike prince and peasant. ' Jus
tice,' says William Adams, 'is very severe, having no
respect to persons.' Accordingly, the only favor exhibi
ted in regard to the man of rank, is that of his being per
mitted to anticipate the act of the executioner by the
commission of suicide.
"But though sanguinary in principle, the laws are
greatly modified in practice.
" The power of inflicting death appears to be permis
sive, not compulsory, on the magistrate ; and accordingly,
a very wide discretion is exercised. From this discretion
murder alone is excepted, including homicide of any kind,
even in its least aggravated form. This appears to have
arisen from the disposition of the population, represented
to have been originally, but probably now tempered by
altered circumstances, ' no less fiery and changeable than
the neighboring sea is stormy and tempestuous.' On the
principle of equal justice, pecuniary fines are not tolerated.
Recourse is had to imprisonment as a punishment, which
is rendered more or less severe according to the place in
which incarceration takes place. One description of
prison is called raya or cage. Here due provision is made
* " Voltaire, " L'Homme aux Quarante Ecus."

220 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
for cleanliness and ventilation, and a fair proportion of
wholesome food is provided. The other description of
prison is denominated gokuya, or hell. It is a dungeon,
generally within the walls of the governor's house, into
which from fifteen to twenty persons are usually thrust,
or at least more, ordinarily, than the place can conveni
ently accommodate. The door is never opened but for
the admission or release of a prisoner. A hole in the
wall serves as the means of ejecting the filth, and of re
ceiving food. Except from a small grated window at the
top, there is neither light nor ventilation. Books, pipes,
all kinds of recreation are prohibited. No beds are
allowed, and, as a mark of disgrace which is acutely felt, the
prisoners are deprived of their silk or linen waist girdles,
for which bands of straw are substituted. A singular
regulation is connected with these hells. The diet is
limited in quantity, and execrable in quality ; but on a
certain condition, prisoners who have the means, or who
have friends willing to assist them, are allowed to be pro
vided with good and sufficient food. The condition on
which this indulgence is granted, is, that it shall be shared
equally by all the inmates of the dungeon. It is utterly
repugnant to the Japanese notions of justice, that a crim
inal of wealth, or influence, should fare better than those
who may be destitute. Banishment seems not to extend
beyond the persons of the nobles attached to the imperial
court, with some political offenders of high rank. These
parties are deported to certain barren islands, from whence
escape is impracticable. Food is provided for them, but
they must work for their living. Their usual employment
is the manufacture of silk goods, which are represented to
be of an exceedingly fine description, and to be highly
prized.

POLICE. 221
" Corporal punishment is inflicted frequently, and with
great severity. Torture is resorted to but rarely, prin
cipally in cases of religious apostasy or political delin
quency. " The substance of the following proceeding, derived by
Titsingh from a native source, is given in his ' Illustra
tions of Japan,' and will afford an idea of the manner in
which the discretionary power, vested in the magistrate,
may be exercised.
" A man was charged by his master, a trader in Osacca,
with having robbed him of five hundred kobans, equiva
lent in sterling value to about £700. The charge was
made before the governor. The accused solemnly pro
tested his innocence ; and the accuser, supported by the
testimony of other servants, as solemnly maintained the
truth of the charge. Circumstances were against the
prisoner ; but the evidence was of that doubtful nature,
that the magistrate did not feel himself warranted in con
victing or discharging the man. He, therefore, to use a
familiar phrase, remanded him. At the end of some days,
the magistrate called the parties before him again ; and he
remonstrated with the accuser, but ineffectually. At
length he required the charge, and the demand of the ac
cuser, to be submitted to him in writing. This was done
in the following terms : — 'Tchoudjet, servant to Tomoya,
has robbed his master of five hundred kobans. This we
attest by this writing, and we demand, that by way of
example, he be punished with death.' ' We, the servants
and relatives of Tomoya-Kiougero, have confirmed this
writing, by affixing our signatures and our seals, the
second month of the first year Qeu-boun (1736).' The
governor, Kavatche-no-kami by name, read the paper at
tentively, and then said to Tomoya : ' Good. Now am I

222 EMPIEE OF JAPAK.
absolved from responsibility. Depart. Be assured justice
shall be done.' So Tomoya and his party went away re
joicing. A short time afterwards a convicted felon con
fessed himself guilty of the robbery with which Tchoudjet
had been charged ; and Tomoya, with all his people were
straightway summoned into the presence of the governor.
' What is this thing ye have done ?' said the governor.
addressing the party sternly ; ' Know ye not, that your
false accusation hath tended to cause the death of an in
nocent man ? Know ye not the law, that ye have put
your own lives in jeopardy? that thou, thyself, Tomoya,
thy wife, and thy people, may be delivered over to the
executioner ? And behold me, should I not die the death,
because I have not looked with greater care into this
matter. Prepare for doom.' Thunderstruck, the terrified
wretches threw themselves on their knees and implored
for mercy. The magistrate beheld their abject state for
some time in silence. He kept them in agonizing sus
pense, willing to give them a lesson they should not
speedily forget. At length he exclaimed : — ' Be of good
cheer. The man is not dead. I doubted his guilt, and I
have kept him in concealment, hoping that, in process of
time, his innocence might be brought to light. Most sin
cerely do I rejoice that my precaution hath proved of
avail. Let Tchoudjet be brought in.' The order was
obeyed, and the governor, resuming his address, said:
' Tomoya, behold an innocent man, who might have fallen
a victim to thy unjust accusation. A grievous injury hast
thou inflicted on him. Thy life I spare, because his has
not been taken ; but for what he has suffered through thy
injustice, thou owest him reparation. Pay unto him, then,
the sum of five hundred kobans, and thenceforth cherish
him as a faithful servant. Go thy ways. Justice is now

police. 223
done.' In due course, this proceeding was reported to
the Emperor. What had been done by Kavatche was
approved, and he was in a short space of time appointed
to the lucrative and high posts of Inspector of the Cham
ber of Accounts, and Governor at Nagasaki, where his
good qualities endeared him to the people, his memory
being held in reverence in the time of the European nar
rator of the transaction."*
According to some writers, torture is very common
where the crime is heinous, or where the evidence is de
ficient ; but we are disposed to believe with Mr. Rundall,
that it is now but rarely resorted to. We have also our
doubts as to some other horrible, revolting stories which
have been told by travelers, and which seem to be op
posed to the character given to the Japanese by these
very travelers themselves. It has been said, for example,
that public executions, not by one merciful stroke, but by
slow torture, are by no means unfrequent ; that the
young nobles are accustomed to lend their swords to the
torturing executioner, in order that the edge and temper
of the blade may be tried ; that they take great delight in
witnessing tortures, particularly when the criminal is en
veloped in a thick close-fitting garment or shirt made of
reeds, and to which fire is applied; that they laugh and
applaud, as at a dance in the theatre, when the poor
victim feels the flames, and runs and leaps about in his
agony, and that this they call by the pleasant name of the
" Death-dance." Several executions witnessed by the Dutch near Naga
saki were conducted with decency and humanity. The
* " Memorials of the Empire of Japan," etc. Printed for the Hak-
luyt Society. London. 1850.

224 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
prisoner was carried to the place of execution — a large
open field outside the town— on a horse, his legs and arms
being bound with cords. On his way thither any person
might give him refreshment. At the appointed spot
were the judges, with their assistants and insignia of
office. Here the victim to the laws received from the
executioner a cup of cheering sackee, with its usual ac
companiments, dried fish, fruit and pastry, which he was
allowed to share with his relatives and friends. He was
then seated upon a straw mat between two heaps of sand,
and his head was struck off with a sharp sword. The
severed head was set upon a stake, to which was affixed a
placard, indicating the crime for which he had died. At
the end of three days, the relations were allowed to take
down the head, and bury it and the body in their own
way. It is stated, though not upon the very best authority,
that in certain cases, involving the honor of wives or
daughters, the Japanese may take the law into their own
hands, and that fathers have the power of life and death
over their refractory, wicked children. Although the
contrary has been stated, it does not appear, — except in
very peculiar cases, — that the lord has the power of life
and death over his serf. We have somewhere seen it
stated that he cannot inflict any severe punishment, unless
he previously take the serf before a magistrate.
To return from criminal to civil jurisprudence, or prac
tice, it is stated that the law of primogeniture is so tho
roughly recognized and established, that family disputes
about property very rarely occur. The younger sons have
small portions, regulated according to usage, and of which,
if old enough, they are put in possession during their
father's lifetime. If of noble birth, they are regarded

THE POET OF SIMONESEKI

police. 225
with respect, however poor they may be. The pride of
"birth seems to be very strong among all the upper classes.
As a general rule, the daughters even of the high nobility
have no fortunes or dowry on marriage. On the contrary,
if they are considered very handsome, amiable in temper,
and very accomplished, the parents expect the bridegroom
to pay down to them a handsome sum of money, or to make
over to them some other valuable property.
Whatever may be the extent of his harem, the Japanese
can have only one lawful wife at a time ; and she must be
of the same rank as her husband. Her issue alone can
inherit family property, titles, and honors. It appears,
however, to be very easy for a man to put away his wife
and take another, — at least, as far as any law exists to the
contrary. But this tendency to divorce is said to be
checked by serious financial considerations. If he sends
one wife back to her home, he does not recover the money
he paid for her ; and if he gains the evil reputation of
being a capricious, inconstant husband, the price in the
matrimonial market is raised upon him, and he must
disburse largely before he can get another wife.
These are, of course, some lingering remains of the old
Mongol barbarism ; but, whether it be by law or by usage,
by the edicts of emperors, or by a natural gallantry in
the people, the position of women in Japan is far higher
and better than in any other essentially Asiatic country.
A lady at Jeddo enjoys a hundred times more real liberty,
and is treated with immeasurably more respect, than a
Turkish lady at Constantinople, — and this, after all the
reforms or innovations of Sultans Mahmoud and Abdul-
Medjid. 10*

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TUkT^&

'^l|i£llllilllilifc

THE KlfllSIMA JAMMA.

BOOK VI.

MINEEAL WEALTH, PEAELS, PEECIOUS STONES.
" These islands," says a Spanish writer of the seven
teenth century, " are excessively rich in gold and silver.
The abundance of these metals is scarcely credible. In
Jeddo, the capital, not only the palace of the emperor,
but also many houses of great lords, are covered with rich
plates of gold."* " The greatest riches of the Japanese
soil," says the careful and accurate Kampfer, " and those
* Don Pedro Hurtado de Mendoza, "Espejo Geographico."

228 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
wherein this empire exceeds most known countries, con
sist in all sorts of minerals and metals, particularly in
gold, silver, and copper."* On this point, all the old
writers are agreed.
Gold is dug out of the mines in many provinces. The
greatest quantity of it is melted out of its own ore. Some
is washed out of gold sand, and small quantities are said
to be contained in the copper. The richest gold ore, and
that which contains the finest gold is mined in one of the
northern districts of the great island Niphon. There is
also a very rich gold sand in the same part of the island.
But gold ore, or gold in dust, appears to be found in in
numerable parts of the Japanese Archipelago.f Deterred
by superstitious fears, the native miners have seldom pe
netrated far into the earth, but have rested satisfied with
the gold found near the surface.
In a memorandum laid before the Dutch governor-gene
ral at Batavia, in 1744, is a calculation, showing that in
the beginning of the seventeenth century, when the trade
with Japan was an open one, the export of gold and
silver was ten millions of Dutch florins, or about £840,000
per annum. This export was first contracted, and in 1680,
entirely forbidden. The same calculation goes on to
prove that, in the course of sixty years, the export of gold
and silver must have amounted to the enormous value of
from twenty-five to fifty millions sterling.
In a good many old accounts of India (both French and
* "History of Japan."
t We have seen some gold articles of Japanese manufacture, in
which the precious metal was uncommonly pure and beautiful, — tho
roughly virgin gold. The same may be said of some of their silver,
which we have examined.

MINEEAL WEALTH. 229
English), we find frequent mention made of " the gold lin-
gots of Japan." About the middle of the seventeenth
century, these lingots appear to have abounded in Bengal.
But at an earlier period, or between 1545 and 1615, it is
notorious that the Portuguese obtained in Japan, in ex
change for merchandize, enormous quantities of the pre
cious metals.*
Silver-mines are described as being quite as numerous
as the gold mines, and their produce as excellent in qua
lity. In one year we find the Portuguese exporting 2,350
chests of this fine silver, valued, in round numbers, at
£587,500 sterling. To the east of Japan lie two islands,
called, par excellence, the " gold and silver islands." These
have never been touched by Europeans.
Copper abounds all through the group, and some is said
to be the finest in the world. It is refined and cast into
small cylinders about a foot long and an inch thick. It
was formerly one of the chief commodities purchased in
Japan by the Dutch, who brought it into Europe, and
carried on a great trade in it. There is also a coarser kind
of copper, which is cast into large roundish lumps or
cakes. The Dutch have in some years carried off from thirty
to forty thousand pekuls of this copper, each pekul being
about 133 pounds weight English. Alarmed at the amount,
the Japanese government decreed that instead of two
yearly ships, only one should be allowed to carry off cop
per, but, in 1820, the restriction was mitigated, and the
number of vessels and amount of copper were again in
creased. It may be said that all the Japanese metals are
everywhere esteemed for their high degree of purity. H
* T. Rundall, " Memorials."

230 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
they have exhausted their old copper mines, there can be
little doubt that new ones would easily be found, if the
restrictive and tyrannical government did not interfere
with, and almost entirely check, private enterprises.
Both lead and quicksilver are said to be abundant.
Tin, so fine and white, that it almost comes up to silver,
is found in small quantities. As this metal is not much
used or prized by the natives, it has probably not been
much sought after.
Iron is dug up only in three of the provinces, although
it may very likely exist in many other parts of the isl
ands. The Japanese smelt it on the spot, and cast it into
small bars or cylinders. It is of admirable quality, as is
also the steel which they make from it. Although they
have great ingenuity in smelting and refining metals, and
in working them, there can be little doubt that modern
European- science would turn all these mines to an incom
parably greater account.
Coal, which gives wings and life to steam navigation,
and so tends to unite together all portions of the globe, is
the mineral for which the Americans profess to have the
greatest desire. Indeed, they declare that their main ob
ject in fitting out their Japan expedition is to obtain from
the emperor permission to purchase from his subjects the
supplies of coal which their steamers in their out and in
ward voyages may require.* " They have no want of coals
in Japan," says Kampfer, " they being dug up in great
quantities in the province of Sikusen, and in most of the
northern provinces." Von Siebold speaks of coal as being
in common use in the country. At Koyanose, in very

* See instructions to Commander Aulick, as given in the
newspaper, of May 12th, 1852.

MINEEAL WEALTH. 231
cold weather, he found a comfortable coal fire. At Wu-
ku-moto he visited a coal mine, and although he was not
permitted to descend quite to the bottom of the shaft, he
saw enough to convince him that the mine was skillfully
worked. The upper strata were only a few inches thick,
but he was told that the lower beds measured many feet,
and he saw some very thick blocks which had been
brought up. It appears that, for domestic uses, the na
tives convert this coal, which is very bituminous, into
coke. The value of these beds can scarcely be over esti
mated. They will contribute wonderfully to the interests
of commerce, and may, indeed, be considered " a gift of
Providence, deposited by the Creator of all things in the
depth of the Japanese islands for the benefit of the hu
man family."* Without free access to this coal, the chain
of steam navigation must remain broken. In this sense,
it is to be considered of more value than all the mines of
gold, silver, and copper, that the islands may contain.
Pearls are fished up on nearly all parts of these coasts,
and they are frequently of great size and beauty. The
native Japanese put little or no value upon them, till they
found that the Chinese were ready to pay high prices for
those of the finest qualities. Mother-of-pearl, of great
size, transparent and beautiful, is found in abundance, as
are also corals, corallines, sea-fans, and other submarine
productions. Naphtha, ambergris, and sulphur (the last
in inexhaustible quantities) are to be numbered among
the exports of the islands, which abound in volca-
nos, extinct or in action. Fine pure native sulphur is
found at many of these volcanos, in broad deep beds,
* Mr. Webster's Letter of Instruction to the Commodore of the
American Expedition.

232 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
and may be dug up and removed with as much ease as
sand. One small volcanic island renders, or rendered, by
its sulphur, a considerable annual revenue to the govern
ment. We have mentioned in our historical sketch how, at
comparatively recent dates, volcanic islands have been
projected from the depths of the sea. It should seem that
some of these have disappeared, like the volcanic island
which rose so suddenly off the coast of Sicily some twenty
years ago ; but others have not only remained, but have
gradually increased in size. Adjoining to the department
of Satsuma is an island covered with sulphur. Kampfer
states that the Japanese did not venture there more than
a hundred years before his time. " The island was
thought to be wholly inaccessible, and by reason of the
thick smoke which was observed continually to rise from
it, and of the several spectres and other frightful appari
tions which people fancied to see there, chiefly by night,
it was believed to be a dwelling-place of devils ; but, at
last, a resolute man obtained permission to go and examine
it. He chose fifty bold fellows for this expedition ; upon
going on the shore they found neither hell nor devils, but
a large flat piece of ground at the top of the island (the
crater originally), which was so strongly covered with sul
phur that wherever they walked a thick smoke issued
from under their feet. Ever since that time this island
brings in, to the prince of Satsuma, about twenty chests
of silver per annum."
Agates, cornelians, jaspers, fine variegated marbles, and
other precious or valuable stones are brought down from
many of the mountains. Some of the agates are uncom
monly fine, of a bluish color, and not unlike sapphires.
Of diamonds we find no mention. It is rather singular

MINERAL WEALTH. 233
in a people so keenly alive to all that is rich and beauti
ful, that the Japanese have entirely neglected the arts of
the lapidary, and hold jewels in hardly any esteem. All
the precious stones of which travellers speak, appear to
have been found by them in the rough, unpolished, uncut
state. It is conjectured that some properly skilled men
might drive a very profitable trade in this line.
We have the testimony of Tavernier to the size, purity,
and value of the pearls of Japan, and we could hardly
look for a better authority on such a point, as Tavernier
was a thorough proficient, and gained a great estate by
trading in gems and jewels.*

* "Travels in the East," etc. The first edition of this valuable
work appeared at Paris, in 1676. The author of it, a traveller of the
right stamp, and one who, according to Gibbon, united the soul of a
philosopher with the pursuits of a jeweller, died, on his way to Mos
cow, in July, 1689, in the 84th year of his age.
The reader may also be referred to Captain Alexander Hamilton :
— "A New Account of the East Indies," etc., etc., 2 vols. 8vo. Edin
burgh. 1727. This Hamilton spent his time from the year 1688 to
1723 in trading, and travelling by sea and land, in most of the coun
tries between the Cape of Good Hope and the islands of Japan. On
matters of trade his book is worthy of consultation. It has been
republished in Pinkerton's Collection of Voyages and Travels. See,
also, Appendix P.

¦«*&$£!

lit. 'a ' - -ISPl^

M

-J^gS

JAPANESE G A R B- E N .•

BOOK VII.

SYLVA — FOEEST TEEES — FEUIT TEEES — PLANTS —
FLOWEES.
Though, to some extent, rocky or mountainous, the
islands may be described as well-wooded and shaded.
Firs and cypresses are the most common trees in their
woods and forests. Of both there are several different
sorts. In the plains, the natives who, like the Chinese,
make the most of every inch of ground, take care to
plant them in barren and sandy soils, which are fit for
nothing else. For the sake of ornament and shade, they
are, however, planted in rows along the roads, and over
the ridges of hills. This gives great beauty to the coun
try, and renders travelling in warm weather very plea
sant. A noble Spaniard, who was shipwrecked on the coast,
and made a journey to the emperor's court in the year
1608, says: — "On whichever side the traveller turns his
eye he perceives a pleasant concourse of people, passing
to and fro, as in the most populous cities of Europe ; the
roads are lined on both sides with superb pine trees, which
keep off the sun ; the distances are marked by little emi
nences planted with two trees."*
* " Journal of Don Rodrigo de Vivero y Velasco." — Asiatic Journal,
July, 1830. The whole of this paper is in the highest degree inter
esting.

236 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
No firs nor cypress-trees are allowed to be cut down
without permission of the local magistrate, and for every
full-grown tree that is felled, a young one must be plant
ed. From remote time the Japanese appear to have
bestowed an exceedingly great care on the growth and
preservation of their timber-trees, thus shaming some
nations of Europe, who pretend to more wisdom and
civilization than they.
Cedars of great size and beauty, and compared with
those that once flourished so luxuriantly on Mount Lebanon,
are very frequently met with. A Portuguese missionary,
who was in the country in 1565, vividly describes the
approach to one of the temples, which was through an
avenue of pines and cedars intermixed, the trees uniting
over head, so as entirely to exclude the heat and glare of
the hot summer sun. Some of the cedars he measured
were more than eighteen feet in girth. The roof of the
temple was supported by ninety columns of cedar, of pro
digious height, regular in the stem, and perfectly round*
The Jesuit Charlevoix was much struck with one par
ticular camphor-tree. One hundred and thirty-five years
after his time, Von Siebold visited the same tree, and
found it still healthy and rich in foliage. It had attained
to the circumference of fifty feet. Captain Sir Edward
Belcher, being in want of some small spars, was supplied
with a quantity at Nagasaki. They were all cedar, and
measured about ninety -six feet in length.
The views of Japanese scenery, published in the works
of M. Fischer and Von Siebold, convey the idea.of a superb
sylva, and of a luxuriantly wooded country. It should
appear that all the temples, of any size or consideration,
* P. Almeyda, as quoted by Mr. Rundall, "Memorials."

SYLVA. 237
are approached through an avenue of evergreen trees.
The cedar timber would, no doubt, prove a valuable ar
ticle of export.
The oak flourishes in two varieties, both of which are
very different from any that grow in Europe. The acorns
of the larger oak are boiled and eaten by the common
people, and are said to be nutritious and not unpalatable.
The mulberry-tree grows in most parts of Japan, but in
greatest plenty in the provinces of the north, where many
towns and villages subsist almost entirely upon the silk
manufactures. But the silk of Japan is coarse, and very
inferior to that of China, a circumstance which arises
from the natives allowing their mulberry-trees to grow to
age and size, instead of keeping up a constant supply of
young dwarf trees. The coarseness of the leaves of the
old tree imparts its quality to the silk. Wherever fine
silk is produced, the worms are fed on the leaves of sap
lings. The Japanese mulberry -tree grows with surprising
quickness, and spreads its branches to a great extent. It
is found in its wild state in the country, but, on account
of its great usefulness, the people transplant it and culti
vate it. From its bark they make much of their curious
paper, as also ropes, matches, coarse stuffs for dresses, and
several other things.
The urusi or varnish-tree, of which they make so exten
sive a use, is a noble tree when grown to its full size. On
incision it yields a rich, milky, glutinous juice, out of
which the Japanese make the celebrated varnish, known
in Europe by the name of Japan. With this varnish they
cover and coat all their household furniture, all their
dishes and plates, and all their drinking vessels, whether
made of wood or of paper. The use of plate, or porcelain
or glass, appears to be very limited, and is probably inter-

238 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
dieted by some rule of nationality or religion : from the
emperor down to the meanest peasant, all make use of
the light varnished or japanned cups and dishes, the inner
substance of which is wood or paper, or what we term
papier-mache. Another tree, called forasi, renders a varnish of an in
ferior quality.
The camphor-tree exists in many parts, and bears black
and purple berries which are pleasant to the sight. The
country people make the camphor by a simple decoction
of the stem and roots cut into small pieces. The tea-plant,
which was long believed to be peculiar to China, thrives
luxuriantly, and the Japanese are great tea-drinkers. The
pepper-tree, or a tree which supplies the place of pepper,
is common. They have three different sorts of fig-trees,
one of which, introduced by the Portuguese, produces a
fruit larger and of better flavor than any in Europe. The
chestnut-tree is still more plentiful, and the fruit of it ex
cellent. The walnut-tree flourishes, but chiefly in the
northern provinces. In the same provinces is a tree called
by the natives kaja, which produces an oblong nut, in
closed in a pulp, and not unlike, in size and shape, to the
areca nut. The oil compressed out of these nuts is very
sweet and agreeable, resembling the taste of the oil of
sweet almonds. It is much commended for its medicinal
virtues. They make much use of it in dressing their food.
The condensed smoke and soot produced by the burning
of the shells of these nuts is the chief ingredient of the
best and blackest Japanese ink, much of which is sold in
Europe under the name of Indian ink. Another sort of
nuts grow very plentifully almost everywhere, on a fine
tall tree, with large, beautiful leaves. The nuts yield
plenty of oil, which is also much commended for several

SYLVA. 239
valuable properties. The orange-tree and the lemon-tree
grow very plentifully, and are of several sorts. The juice
of a very small but delicious lemon is commonly used in
cookery. The plum-tree, the cherry-tree, and the apricot,
are cultivated. But the cherry-tree and the plum are
valued chiefly not for their fruit but for their flowers.
The people improve them so much by a peculiar culture,
that the flowers become as large as roses,* and, in the
season when they are in full blossom, these trees afford
a delightful sight, about their temples, in their gardens,
and public walks. The vine is not much grown.
They take great delight, and have extraordinary skill as
well in enlarging as in dwarfing all manner of plants.
The branches of some of their trees, springing at the
height of seven or eight feet from the ground, are oc
casionally led out across ponds, and supported on props,
so as to afford a shade and covering of 300 feet in circum
ference. There are various other trees, not easy to describe,
which appear to be peculiar to Japan and the neighboring
islands. " Assuredly," says an old Neapolitan monk and mis
sionary, " this is a right pleasant land, and abundantly
supplied with fair, tall trees." Nobody that has ever
been in the East can forget the soft, fascinating, poetical
odor emanating from groves of cypress and clumps of
cedar. It is a natural, living, growing incense, offered up
to heaven at all seasons of the year, at all times of both

* Kampfer saw cherry-blossoms, on the common cherry-tree, as
large as roses. Meylan observed plum blossoms four times the size of
our cabbage roses.

240 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
night and day, and the man has no poetry nor devotion
in him, if he fail to be soothed and enchanted by it.
The noble Spaniard whom we have repeatedly quoted,
felt the charms of these woods and groves as a man of
taste and sentiment ought ; and he was so pleased with
the whole aspect of Japan that he declared, "if he could
have prevailed upon himself to renounce his God and
his king, he should have preferred that country to his
own."* The bamboo, which is applied to many purposes, and
so extensively used throughout India and all the eastern
countries, is very common in Japan. It supplies mate
rials for .almost everything, from the partition walls of
their houses and the fences of their gardens to the sails of
their boats and junks. The fine sort of bamboo, which
the Dutch exported by the name of rattan, and sold for
walking-canes, was a Japanese production and prepara
tion. Both firs and bamboos are highly prized among the
natives, for their constant verdure, and from a supersti
tious belief that they have an influence over the happy
occurrences of human life. The ap'proaches of their tem
ples and other holy places, are fringed with them ; and
they make frequent allusions to them in their poet
ical writings, particularly in congratulatory poems, for,,
they believe that the fir. and the bamboo, if respected by
the elements and not disturbed by man, will live and
flourish for an almost indefinite period of time. Thus,
" May you live as long as the bamboo," is considered, no
bad compliment.
The jusnbki is a species of iron- wood which also is very _t
much used in building. r
* Don Rodrigo de Vivero y Velasco.

FLOWEES. 241
The country abounds in flowers and flowering shrubs.
The subacid is a pretty large shrub, growing in woods and
hedges, and bearing flowers not unlike roses. There is a
vast variety, the Japanese in their copious language,
giving 900 names to the different sorts of subacki. The
satsuki is another shrub bearing flowers like the lily, and
offering many varieties. The two sorts which grow wild,
one with purple, the other with scarlet flowers, are a great
ornament to the hills and fields in the proper season,
" affording," says the old German traveler, " a sight
pleasing beyond expression." The momidsi is a kind 01
maple, having leaves of a beautiful purple color. Our
bulb-lily, narcissus, and gilliflower, are both cultivated
and found growing in the wild state. There are other
.flowers, peculiar to the country, too numerous to be
named, and all said to be superior to ours in brilliancy of
color, but inferior in odor. "Indeed," says Kampfer,
"I think that Japan may vie with most if not all known
countries, for a great variety of beautiful plants and
flowers wherewith kind nature had most liberally and
curiously adorned its fields, hills, woods and forests.
Some of these they transplant into gardens, and improve
by assiduity and culture to the utmost, and indeed to a
surprising degree of perfection."
This love of flowers is one of the most pleasing features
in the character of these most singular people. Nearly
every house has its little garden in its Tear, and a few
flowering shrubs in its front. The garden is commonly
square, and very neatly walled in. " It cannot be denied,"
adds Kampfer, " that the great number of beautiful incar
nate, and double flowers, which they bear in the proper
season, are a surprisingly curious ornament to the back
part of the house. In some small houses and inns of less
11

242 EMPIRE OF JAPAN.
note, where there is not room enough either for a garden,
or for a large flowering tree, they place in the back win
dow one or two flower pots, or some dwarf trees, or some
little plants which will grow easily upon pumice, or other
porous stone, without any earth at all, provided the roots
be supplied with water ; and they generally add to these
a small vessel full of water, with a few gold or silver fish
in it." The gardens' attached to the better sort of houses
are kept with uncommon care and neatness, and, though
somewhat artificial in their arrangement, are described as
being very delightful. They are laid out by professional
gardeners, who do no other work, and who proceed upon
certain established and ancient rules. In such a garden
there must be a small rivulet falling over rocks, or tink
ling among stones.
As florists and gardeners they are indeed conspicuous,
and the beauty of a production of the soil in this depart
ment is seen in the Camelia Japonica, now found in every
English greenhouse. Like the Chinese, they possess the
singular art of producing miniature samples of the larger
products of vegetation, an art scarcely known in Europe,
and only to be admired as a curiosity. A box was offered
for sale to the Dutch governor of Nagasaki, in which were
flourishing a fir-tree, a bamboo, and a plum-tree, the lat
ter in blossom, and the box was only three inches long
and one inch wide. The account is given by an eye
witness, who adds that the price demanded for so great a
curiosity was 1,200 florins.* Another very small box is

* "Account of Japan," by Door G. P. Meijlan. Amsterdam, 1830,
as quoted in the " Quarterly Review," vol. Iii.
The Chinese method of producing these miniature plants is given in
G. Bennett's "Wandering in New South Wales," etc. More informa-

GAEDENS. 243
mentioned as having contained miniature specimens of
every tree that grows on the islands.
The great industry, and even the skill of the Japanese,
as agriculturists, have been praised by all the travelers
who have visited and written about their country. Kamp
fer says they are perhaps as good husbandmen as any in
the world. This he attributes not only to the extreme
populousness of the country, but chiefly to the circum
stance that the natives, being denied commerce and com
munication with foreigners, must, of necessity, support
themselves by what they can produce by their own labor
and industry on their own soil. Hence, the laws on this
head are very particular and severe, the state making it
its business to see not only that the lands are cultivated,
but also that they are cultivated in the best manner, or, at
least, according to the best rules of such agricultural science
as the country possesses. Not only the fields and flat coun
try, which are seldom or never turned into meadows, or kept
for pasture, but likewise the hills and mountains," are made
to produce corn, rice, pease, pulse, and numerous edible
plants. Every inch of ground is improved to the best ad
vantage ; and it was not without astonishment that Kamp
fer and his traveling companions, on their journeys to
and from the imperial court, beheld mountains inaccessible
to cattle, cultivated up to their very tops. This is man
aged by a succession of walls and terraces, rising above
each other, and by the people ploughing or hoeing with
out the help of oxen. The same system obtains in many
tion will be found in a recent French work, Le Baron Leon de Saint
Denys' " Recherches sur 1' Agriculture et l'Horticulture des Chinois."
Paris. 1850.

244 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
parts of China, and in not a few parts of Europe. The
Japanese are skillful in manuring their grounds, and use a
variety of substances for manures. Their rice, — their
main food, — grown in the low country, is said to be the
best of all Asia. It is perfectly white, and so nourishing
and substantial, that foreigners, not used to it, can eat but
little of it at a time. The rice- fields are cut through and
through by little canals, and irrigated in the most careful
manner. The rice grown in the upper grounds, where
irrigation is difficult, is of an inferior quality. From rice
they brew a sort of strong thick beer called sackee.
Among their many laws relating to agriculture, there is
one by virtue of which whosoever leaves his ground un
cultivated for the term of one year forfeits his title and
possession. All lands must be surveyed every year by
certain officers who are called Kemme, and who are held
in such repute that they have the privilege of wearing
two swords, which is otherwise allowed to none but the
nobility and soldiers.
Maize, or Indian corn, millet, and, in general, all sorts
of grain are said to grow well in most of the islands. Tur
nips are exceedingly plentiful and of very large size. They
have pease; horseradishes, carrots, fennel, lettuces, cucum
bers, gourds, and good melons. The natives also derive
sustenance from a variety of wild plants and roots, as well
as from the leaves of certain trees, and from the flowers
and berries of certain shrubs. They possess the art of
depriving poisonous plants of their noxious qualities, and
rendering them edible. The mushroom, under several
varieties, is found everywhere. Both hemp and flax
thrive well under Japanese management, and the people,
being great smokers, grow vast quantities of tobacco. In

AGEICTJLTUEAL LAWS.

245

fact, through the goodness of the soil and the skill and
care of the natives, all the most valuable of the produc
tions of the earth are brought to great perfection.
If we assume the perfection of the arts of tillage and
manufacture as a test of civilization. Japan may, at least,
compete with any Oriental nation. ,M. Meijlan places it
higher than any. The same recent Dutch observer be
stows an amount of praise on their field cultivation which
could not be justly applied to many European nations.*
* "Account of Japan." Quarterly Review, vol. hi.

ws^s^&SBf

OLD CAKPHOK-THEE.

A JAPANESE PISHING FAMILY.

BOOK VIII.

ANIMALS. — EEPTILES. — BIEDS. — FISHES.

Though abundantly stocked with pictures and carv
ings, with chimeras and all other sorts of monsters, bor
rowed from the Chinese, the Japanese empire is but
sparingly provided with four-footed beasts, wild or tame.
The country is too much cultivated and peopled to afford
cover to the wild quadrupeds, and the tame are bred only
for carriage and agriculture. The use of animal food is
interdicted by the national religion, and they have not left

248 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
pasture enough to support many sheep and oxen. The
horses are generally small, but there is a breed said to be
not inferior to that imported into India from the Persian
Gulf. But the horses of this kind now appear to be rare.
In the time of old Captain Saris they were common
enough. " Their horses are not tall, but of the size of
our middling nags, short, and well trussed, small headed,
and full of mettle, in my opinion far excelling the Spanish
jennet in pride and stomach."* The Japanese relate most
marvellous stories of the performance of some of their
steeds. There is also a breed of ponies, which, though
small, has been much admired. Oxen and cows are kept
only for ploughing and for carriage. Of milk and butter
the Japanese know nothing. They have a large humped
buffalo, sometimes of a monster size, which they train to
draw carts or to carry heavy goods on their backs. The
elephant, the camel, and the ass, are unknown animals.
Sheep and goats were kept formerly at the Dutch settle
ments", in the neighborhood, of which some few may yet
be found. They may be bred in the country to great ad
vantage, if the natives were permitted to eat the flesh,
or knew how to manage or manufacture the wool. They
have a few swine, which were brought over from China,
and which some of the country people near the coast still
keep, not, indeed, for their own use, but to sell to certain
Chinese junks which are allowed to come over to trade,
most of the Chinese mariners being addicted to pork.
Captain Sir Edward Belcher was supplied with some hogs
that were overwhelmed with their own fat, and weighed
about 150 lbs.
Dogs or common curs they have, — and in superfluous

* Saris's " Narrative in Purchas.'

ANIMALS. 249
numbers. These dogs are as much the pest of the towns
of Japan as they are of Constantinople and the other foul
cities and towns of the Ottoman empire. This vast in
crease of the canine species, and the encouragement and
immunity accorded to it, arose (according to the popular
account), out of a curious superstition and an extravagant
imperial decree. An emperor who reigned at the close
of the eighteenth century chanced to be born under the
Sign of the Dog, the Dog being one of the twelve celes
tial signs of the Japanese. For this reason, the emperor
had as great an esteem for dogs as the Boman emperor
Augustus is reported to have entertained for rams. When
he ascended the throne, he willed and ordained that dogs
should be held as sacred animals ; and, from that time,
more puppies saw the light and were permitted to live in
Japan than in any other country on the face of the earth,
Turkey, perhaps, excepted. These dogs have no masters,
but lie and prowl about the streets, to the exceeding great
annoyance of passengers, especially if they happen to be
foreign travellers, or Christians in Christian dresses. If
they come round you in packs, barking, snarling, and
showing their teeth, — nay, even if they fall upon you and
bite you, you must on no account take the law into your
own hands, and beat them off or shoot them. To kill
one of them is a capital crime, whatever mischief the
brute may have done you. In every town there are Guar
dians of the Dogs, and to these officers notice must be given
in case of any canine misdemeanor, these guardians alone
being empowered to punish the dogs. Every street must
keep a certain number of these animals, or at least provide
them with victuals ; huts, or dog-hospitals stand in all
parts of the town, and to these the animals, in case of
sickness, must be carefully conveyed by the inhabitants.

250 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
The dogs that die must be carried up to the tops of moun
tains and hills, the usual burying places of men and women,
and there be very decently interred. Old Kampfer says :
— " The natives tell a pleasant tale on this head. A
Japanese, as he was carrying the carcase of a dead dog to
the top of a steep mountain, grew impatient, grumbled,
and cursed the emperor's birth-day and whimsical com
mand. His companion bid him hold his tongue and be
quiet, and, instead of swearing, return thanks to the gods
that the emperor was not born under the Sign of the Horse,
for, in that case, the load would have been heavier."
We give the pleasant tale as we find it, but we do not
believe that it points to the real origin of the superstitious
regard for dogs, which many of the Mongol race share
with the Japanese and Turks. That superstition had its
origin in the wilds of Tartary, or in whatever other part
of the world it was that served as the cradle and great
starting point of the wide-spread Mongol race. The dog
must have been in a manner deified, when they first put
him among their celestial signs.
Among some of the Mongolian tribes, the dog is the
indicator of fate, the harbinger of death; and among
others, the dog is an object either of dread or devotion.*
But our learned German "is not always so facetious
about this monstrous annoyance of street dogs. On reach
ing Nagasaki, he says, " The street dogs also deserve to
be noticed among the inhabitants of this city, they being
full as well, nay, better maintained and taken care of than
many of the people, and although the imperial orders on
this head are not regarded and complied with at Nagasaki,
with that strictness as they must be in other parts of the

* Appendix G.

ANIMALS. 251
empire, which are not so remote from court, yet the streets
be full of these animals, leading a most easy and indepen
dent life, giving way neither to men nor horses. The
town is never without a great deal of noise from these
animals."* The Japanese have no dogs of superior breed, but they
have cats of a peculiarly beautiful kind. These are of a
whitish color, with large yellow and black spots, and a
very short tail : the ladies carry them about as lap-dogs.
In the islands are found deer, wild boars, and hares,
but apparently in no great numbers. There are also
monkeys, wild dogs, foxes, some curious animals that
look like a cross between the fox and the wolf, and a few
small bears in the secluded parts of the northern provinces.
The fox bears not the very best of characters among the
Japanese ; the peasantry believe him to be in league with
all evil spirits or devils, and to be himself the very incar
nation of craft, malice, and wickedness ; " but," says old
Kampfer, "the fox-hunters are expert in conjuring and
stripping this animated devil, his hair and wool being
much coveted for writing and painting pencils." The
weasel and ferret are found. Bats and mice swarm
throughout the country, for the beautiful cats, being pets,
have no turn for mousing. The rats are tamed by the
natives, and taught to perform several tricks, and form a
common diversion for the poorer people. We find men
tion made of two small animals of a red color, that live

* The nocturnal noise made by the dogs of Constantinople can
never be forgotten by those who have heard it. Such as have had
the fehcity of passing a long dreary winter in that comfortless city, are
apt to have their dreams disturbed, years after, by the yelling of dogs,
and the nightly cry oiyang-m wart firel fire!

252 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
under the roofs of the houses, and are very tame. They
are called the itutz and the tin.
The destructive white ant, that great annoyance of most
parts of the East Indies, is very common. The Japanese
call them do toos or piercers, a name they well merit, for
they perforate whatever they meet, stones and metals only
excepted, and when once they get into a merchant's
warehouse, they in a very short compass of time can
destroy or ruin an amazing quantity of his best goods.
Nothing has been yet found that will keep them off, ex
cept salt laid under the goods and spread about them.
The common European ants are their mortal enemies, and
wherever these have been introduced, the do toos have
rapidly disappeared, like the original English rat before
the invasion of the Norwegian.
The islands, however, may be said to be remarkably
free from insects and obnoxious reptiles. There are but
few snakes, and hardly any of them appear to be ven
omous. One of these is of a beautiful green color, with
a very flat head. Japanese soldiers cook it and eat its
flesh, in the belief that it imparts courage and audacity.
The natives also calcine the flesh in an earthen pot her
metically sealed, and derive from it a powder, which they
believe to possess the most extraordinary medicinal vir
tues.* There is a water snake of monstrous size, and
another very large snake, of black color, but quite inoffen
sive, is found in the mountains. Both are very scarce,
and when taken are shown about for money.
Birds are rather numerous. Of tame poultry they keep
only fowls and ducks. They sell them sometimes to

* The bite of this snake is, however, considered very dangerous.

253
foreigners, but never eat them. Cocks are highly prized
by the religious orders, because they mark the time, and
foretell changes of the weather. Indeed, they are chiefly
kept up as time keepers.
The crane is the chief of the wild birds of the country ;
but like the heron, and the stork, which also abound, they
can scarcely be called wild, for they are held as sacred
birds, and nobody must injure or molest them. They
thus become quite familiar, and mix with the people, and
throng the market places, just as the storks do in all towns,
villages, and bazaars in Turkey, where they are equally
objects of affection and veneration. No doubt this feel
ing also had its rise in the Tartarian regions. When the
conquering Turks first came into Europe, they were ac
customed to say that the stork had a singular affection for
their race, and that whithersoever they might carry their
victorious arms, the stork would follow them and live with
them. In Japan the country people never call the crane
by any other name than that of 0 Tsurisama, " My great
lord crane." There are two sorts of them : one white as
snow, and the other gray. They portend good fortune, and
long life. For this reason the imperial apartments, the
walls of temples, and other happy places, are commonly
adorned with figures of them. Cranes are also painted
on dishes and drinking cups, and reproduced on articles of
domestic furniture. We have seen native paintings of
these birds that are exquisitely beautiful, as true and cor
rect in drawing as beautiful in finish and coloring. They
are among the very best specimens of Japanese art.
The tortoise is another happy and sacred creature, and
is represented on walls, and reproduced in the same
manner. Wild geese and wild ducks are very abundant, and

254 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
very tame. There are several species of both. One kind
of duck is of immense size and of wonderfully brilliant
and beautiful plumage. Pheasants, wild pigeons, and
woodcocks, are very common birds. Hawks also are
common. Bavens are scarce. Our common European
crows, as also parrots, and other Indian birds, are never
to be met with.
Of singing birds, Kampfer mentions only larks and
nightingales ; but he says that both of these sing more
sweetly than with us. The natives highly prize the night
ingale, and large sums are paid for a caged one, with a
good voice.
They have plenty of bees, and, consequently, honey
and wax are produced.
The shrill cicala, or winged-grasshopper, peoples the
pines, and fills the woods and mountains with its incessant
song. Butterflies and beetles are numerous and diversi
fied, some of both kinds being very beautiful. Among
the' night-moths there is one sort which the Japanese
ladies keep in little cages, as pets and curiosities. This
moth is about four inches long, slender, round-bodied,
with four wings, two of which are transparent, and con
cealed under the other pair of wings, which shine like
polished metal and are most curiously and beautifully
adorned with blue and gold lines and spots. The follow
ing graceful fable owes its origin to the matchless beauty
of this moth. All other night-flies fall in love with it ;
and to get rid of their importunities it maliciously bids
them, as a trial of their devotion and constancy, to go and
fetch it fire. The blind lovers, obedient to command, fly
to the nearest lamp or candle, and never fail to get burned
to death.
The sea all about Japan is plentifully stocked with all

FISHES. 255
sorts of fish, and the natives are very expert fishermen.
In the time of Charlevoix and Kampfer, and eariier tra
vellers, the whale fishery was carried on to a great extent,
particularly in the sea which washes the southern coasts
of the great island, Niphon. The common way of catch
ing them was by harpooning, in the manner of our
Greenland fishermen ; but the Japanese boats seemed to
be fitter for the purpose than ours, being small, narrow,
tapering at each end into a sharp point, and rowing with
incredible swiftness. " About 1680 a rich fisherman, in
the province of Omura, found out a new way of catching
whales with nets made of strong ropes, about two inches
thick. This method was afterwards followed with good
success by another man of the country. They say that,
as soon as the whale finds its head entangled in a net, he
cannot, without great difficulty, swim away or dive, and
may be very easily killed with the harpoon in the com
mon manner. The reason why this new method hath not
been universally received is, because it requires a greater
and much more expensive set of tackle than common
fishermen can afford."*
They enumerate six kinds of whales, differing in name,
form, and size. Of all these several kinds nothing was
thrown away by the Japanese as useless. They boiled
the fat or blubber into train oil ; they pickled, boiled,
roasted, or fried the flesh, and ate it ; they even reduced
the cartilaginous bones into food ; they made cords, ropes,
and strings for their musical instruments out of the nerves
and tendons ; they made a great use of the fins ; and out
of the jaw-bones, and other solid bones, they manufac-
* Kampfer.

256 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
tured numerous articles, particularly their fine steelyards
for weighing their gold and silver.
The Japanese fishermen attribute to the flesh of the
whale their favorite food, their strength and hardihood,
and their extraordinary capability of enduring exposure
to cold and foul weather.
It was in pursuing the whale to the coasts of Japan
that the American ships met with those disasters, and
that inhospitable treatment, which first made the govern
ment of the United States turn its attention in this direc
tion. Turtles of enormous size are said to abound on the
southern or eastern coasts. Salmon, soles, turbot, a sort
of cod, smelts, and other delicious sea fish, together with
all sorts of lobsters, crabs, shrimps, oysters, muscles, &c,
are taken in surprising abundance ; and there are other
fish of species unknown to us, and of which, some are
said to be delicious. It is fortunate for the natives that
their prejudices and superstitions allow them to eat fish.
In the larger islands every part of the coast is thickly
strewed with buildings, and at every second or third mile
are populous villages, from which extensive fisheries are
carried on.* In fact, the Japanese are essentially ichthy-
ophagi. Aided by a good growth of potatoes, or an ade
quate supply of rice, the sea alone would support a vast
population. Without going into further detail, enough has been said
* Golownin. — As this Russian captain and fellow-captives were
conveyed along the coast, they were fed with rice and broiled fish, the
natives putting the food into their mouths with their little sticks,
which are like the chop-sticks of the Chinese.

J A 1' A N E S i: F I S II- E U MEN.

FISHES. 257
to convey to the reader an adequate notion of the natural
riches and ample resources of this beautiful and healthy
country.

\/ » I' ,1 r t 'J'i JUl

ORNAMENTAL V a S E S

BOOK IX.
ARTS — MANTJFACTUEES — SHIPPING, NAVIGATION, ETC.
Thebe is but one opinion as to the industry, ingenuity,
and manual dexterity of the Japanese. These people, to
use the words of an old Italian missionary, work admi
rably well in iron, silver, gold, and all metals ; also in
wood and bamboo, and in all such materials as they pos
sess in that fair country. They also have the art of mak
ing good use of many materials which by us are thrown
away as of no value.
" Arts and manufactures," says Thunberg, " are carried
on in every part of the country, and some of them are
brought to such a degree of perfection, as even to surpass
those of Europe; whilst some, on the other hand, fall
short of European excellence. They work extremely
well in iron and copper, and their silk and cotton manufac
tures equal, and sometimes even excel, the productions
of other eastern countries. Their lacquering in wood,
especially their ancient workmanship, surpasses every at
tempt which has been made in this department by other
nations. They work likewise with great skill in sowas,
which is a mixture of gold and copper, which they under
stand how to color blue or black with their tousche, or
ink, by a method hitherto unknown to us. They are
likewise acquainted with the art of making glass, and can

260 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
manufacture it for any purpose, both colored and un-
colored. But window-glass, which is flat, they could not
fabricate formerly. This art they have lately learned
from the Europeans, as likewise to make watches, which
they sometimes use in their houses. In like manner, they
understand the art of glass-grinding, and to form teles
copes with it, for which purpose they purchase mirror-
glasses of the Dutch. In the working of steel, they are
perfect masters, of which their incomparable swords afford
the most evident proof. Paper is likewise manufactured
in great abundance in this country, as well for writing
and printing as for tapestry, handkerchiefs, cloths for
packing of goods, &c, and is of various sizes and qualities.
They prepare it from the bark of a species of mulberry-
tree, — Morus papyrifera. The method is as follows : After
the tree has shed its leaves, in the month of December,
they cut off the branches about three feet in length, which
they tie up in bundles, and boil in a ley of ashes, standing
inverted in a covered kettle, till such time as the .bark ia
so shrunk, that half an inch of the woody part is seen
bare at the ends. They are then taken out and left in
the open air to cool, cut up lengthwise, and the bark is
stripped off. Upon this the bark is again soaked, three
or four hours, in water, and when it is become soft, they
scrape off the fine black skin with a knife. The next
thing to be done is, to separate the coarse bark from the
fine, which produces the whitest paper. The older the
branches are, the coarser is the paper. The bark is now
boiled again in fresh ley, and the whole continually stirred
with a stick, and fresh water added to it. A nice and
delicate operation is then performed in a brook, by means
of a sieve, by stirring the bark incessantly about till the
whole is reduced to the consistence of a fine pap,, and,

MANUFACTTJBES. 261
thrown into the water, separates in the form of meal. It
is then further mixed in a small vessel with decoction of
rice and the Hibiscus-manibot, and stirred well about, till
it has attained a tolerable consistence. After this it is
poured into a wider vessel, from whence the sheets are-
taken and put into proper forms, made of grass straw, and
laid one upon another in heaps, with straw between, that
they may be easily lifted up. They are further covered
with a board, and pressed, at first lightly, but afterwards,
and gradually, harder, till the water is separated. When
this is done, they lay the sheets upon a board, dry them,
in the sun, and then gather them into bundles for sale and
use. An inferior kind of paper is likewise manufactured
from the Morus Indica.
" The lacquered wood- work, which is executed in Japan,
excels the Chinese, the Siamese, and, indeed, that of all
other nations in the world. For this purpose they make
choice of the finest sort of firs and cedars, and cover them
with the very best varnish, which they prepare from the
Rhus vernix, a tree that grows in great abundance in
many parts of the country. This varnish, which oozes
out of the tree on its being wounded, is procured from
stems that are three years old, and is received in some
proper vessel. When first caught, it is of a lightish color,
and of the consistence of cream ; but grows thicker and
black on being exposed to the air. It is of so transpa
rent a nature, that when it is laid, pure and unmixed,
upon boxes and other pieces of furniture, every vein of
the wood may be clearly seen. For the most part a dark
ground is spread underneath it, which causes it to reflect
like a looking-glass ; and for this purpose recourse is fre
quently had to the fine sludge which is caught in the
trough under a grinding-stone. At other times, ground

262

EMPIEE OF JAPAN.

charcoal is used, and occasionally some blacker substance
is mixed with the varnish, and sometimes leaf-gold, ground
very fine, when it is called Salplicat. This lacquered-
work is afterwards, for the most part, embellished with
gold and silver flowers and figures laid on upon the
varnish, which, however, are liable to wear off in time."*
Fashion, that most absolute of all tyrants, has almost
entirely exiled these beautiful Japanned wares from our
houses ; but we are old enough to remember the time
when nearly every respectable drawing-room, dining-
room, and boudoir, presented specimens of them, in the
shape of screens, desks, cabinets, caskets, or other objects

OKNiMENTAl. CANDLESTICKS.
of ornament and utility. They were rather more numer
ous in Scotch than in English houses, and this from the

* "Travels in Europe, Africa, and Asia, made between the years
1770 and 1779." Pour vols. 8vo.

MANUFACTUBES. 263
very obvious reason that, mainly in grace of the patronage
of hearty Henry Dundas, Lord Melville, so many Scotch
men sought and found fortune in the East. Many of
these articles were most admirable specimens of the arts
of the cabinet-maker, japanner, and gold-embosser. It is
said, however , that the finest specimens were never allow
ed to be exported out of Japan. The finest collections
existing in Europe are those of Von Siebold and His
Majesty the King of the Netherlands, at the Hague.
Generally, Japanese workmanship has more strength,
solidity, and real finish than that of the Chinese. They
seem to have a contempt for all that is flimsy. Their
common packing-cases are nearly always strong and finish
ed specimens of materials and workmanship. There may
be said to be about the same difference between Chinese
and Japanese work that there is between French and En
glish ; but, if the French, in most things, can claim, over
us, a superiority in taste of design, no such superiority
can be claimed by the Chinese over the workmen of Japan.
In the art of making and tempering steel, they must
possess some valuable secret or most extraordinary skill.
The finest blade we ever handled was an indisputable old
blade of Japanese make. It beat all the Damascus blades
and Adrea-Ferraras we ever saw. It is mentioned, as a
notorious fact, that a sword of this sort would, at a blow,
cut a man's body in two.
" With respect to steel manufactures," says Golownin,
"the Japanese sabres and daggers surpass all others in
the world, those of Damascus, perhaps, excepted. They
bear extraordinary trials. The edge of the sabre is kept
as sharp as that of a razor. The Japanese are extremely
skilful in polishing steel, and all other metals. They make
metal mirrors, which, for their object, are scarcely inferior

264 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
to our looking-glasses. We often saw carpenters' and ca
binet-makers' tools, made in Japan, which may be com
pared with the English. Their saws are so good that the
thinnest boards may be sawed out of the hardest wood."*
In cotton fabrics they appear to have little skill. They
use a coarse, thick spongy paper, made from a tree, for
pocket-handkerchiefs, for napkins, and for other purposes
in which we employ calico, silk, or muslin.
We have mentioned the inferiority of the native silk ;
but rich and beautiful articles are manufactured out ot
silk imported from China. These valuable silk goods are
said to be produced only by unfortunate noblemen and
gentlemen, who are exiled to a lonely island, and com
pelled to work for their own livelihood.
Both in carving and in die-sinking, the Japanese are
very skilful. Their copper coinage is stamped, and very
good.f The metal, that pure, matchless copper of Japan,
after being roasted and smelted at various smelting-houses,
is always refined and manufactured at Miako, where also
all the coin is struck and stamped.^
The Japanese understand the art of casting metal
statues, and abundant employment is found for artisans
of this class in furnishing temples, joss-houses, and dwel
ling-houses with idols, large and small.
Some of the trades are followed up in a grand, whole-

* "Recollections of Japan."
t It appears that this is their only coinage, gold and silver being cut
and weighed, as among the Chinese.
J "We give this last fact, with some doubt, on the authority of old
writers. We have heard, or somewhere read, that, since the decline
of the power of the spiritual emperor, the mint has been transferred
from his residence, Miako, to Jeddo, the residence of the lay emperor.

MANUFACTUEES. 265
sale way. Among these are their iron-works, tobacco-
manufactories, breweries, and distilleries. Some of the
last are said to be very extensive. Many thousands are
constantly employed in the manufacture of straw shoes,
straw hats, and mats. The consumption of this straw,
made out of a native grass, must be truly prodigious.
" When on a journey," says Thunberg, " all the Japan
ese wear a conical hat, made of a species of grass, platted,
and tied with a string." He also observed, that all the
fishermen wore hats of the same material and shape.
But, in addition to this extensive use, the Japanese hardly
ever wear any shoes or slippers but such as are made of
platted straw. " This," remarks the same excellent trav
eller, " is the most shabby and indifferent part of their
dress, and yet in equal use with the high and the low, the
rich and the poor. They are made of rice-straw platted,
and by no means strong." They cost, however, a mere
trifle ; they are found exposed for sale in every town, and
in every village, and the pedestrian supplies himself with
new shoes as he goes along, while the more provident man
always carries two or three pair with him for use, throw
ing them away as they wear out. " Old worn-out shoes
of this description are found lying everywhere by the
sides of the roads, especially near rivulets, where travel
lers, on changing their shoes, have an opportunity, at the
same time, of washing their feet."* In very wet weather
they use wooden clogs, which are attached to their straw-
platted shoes by ties also made of straw-plat. People of
very high rank sometimes wear slippers made of fine slips
of rattan neatly platted.
It is said that the common people count the length of a
!• " Thunberg's Travels," vol. iii.
12

266 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
journey by the number of these straw shoes that they
wear out in making it.
" The Japanese have little furniture in their houses,
beyond the apparatus for their kitchen and what they use
at their meals. Of these, however, as likewise of clothes
and other necessaries, one sees such an incredible quantity
exposed for sale in the shops of their tradesmen, both in
town and country, that one is led to wonder where they
can find purchasers, and would be apt to suppose, that
they kept magazines here to supply the whole world.
the native may select, according to his varying taste and
fancy, all his clothes ready made, and may be furnished
with shoes, umbrellas, lacquered ware, porcelain, and a
thousand other articles, without having occasion to be
speak anything beforehand."*
In their great fondness for dishes and vessels of light
lacquered ware, they rather neglect the porcelain fabrics ;
but they are said to produce, in this line, some articles
that far exceed the finest Chinese.
Nothing can well be more light, neat, and graceful, than
the superior kinds of their lacquered cups. They are
generally painted in a very pretty style, and are so ex
ceedingly light as scarcely to be felt in the hand through
their weight.
Although these various manufactories are spread all
over the empire, the principal ones are said to be confined
to the cities of Miako, Jeddo, and Osacca. f
As no Japanese is allowed to leave his native land, the
long voyages which the people of this nation formerly
undertook in their own vessels to Corea, China, Java,
Formosa, and other places, can be no longer performed,

* Thunberg. Kampfer. f Golownin.

SHIPPING. 267
and the art of navigation must of course be upon the de
cline. This, however, does not prevent them from making
short voyages among the rocks, with an inconceivable
number of trading vessels, of different sizes, as likewise
with fishing-smacks. They seldom venture out far
enough at sea to lose sight of land, and always take care
to have it in their power to run every evening into some
port, or else to come into some other place of safety, in
case of sudden storms. Yet they are provided with a
compass, which is not divided into so many points as
those which the Europeans make use of; but their vessels
are open at the stern, so that they cannot weather the
open sea ; and their rudders are large and inconvenient.*
This is but a landsman's account, and it explains very
little. We, therefore, subjoin some sketches given by an
American seaman, who went to Japan and the Loo-Choo
Islands in the ship "Morrison," with Mr. King.
" In the afternoon one of the Japanese junks left the
harbor, laden with upwards of 200 peculs of sugar, bound
for Satzuma, a port in Japan, lying about 400 miles
N.N.E. from Loo-Choo. In coming out, she struck on a
reef, but was soon got off without apparent damage, and
as she passed the ship, we went in the gig to examine her.
The hull was made of pine, and, in its general form, re
sembled a Chinese fast boat ; the bow was sharp, without
bowsprit ; but, instead, there was a high beak, like that of
an ancient galley, with a fender, in case- she should run
stem on. The solitary mast was about forty feet high,
and supported by a huge forestay, under which hung a
yard, in form like two cones united at their bases ; this
was raised by halliards passing over the top of the mast,
* Thunberg.

268 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
aft, to the quarters, where they went over a sort of wind
lass, and then round a capstan, below deck. The sail
was made of very coarse heavy cotton, and the bolts were
loosely laced together with cords, each being- four or five
inches apart, giving the sail a singular appearance ; at the
bottom, several ropes secured it in its proper place.
There was. no sternpost, and the open work permitted us
to look directly into the cabin, where, at this time, the
crew were hoisting sails with loud cries. The rudder
was about fifteen feet long and eight broad, with a tiller
like a spanker-boom, reaching forward nearly to the mast.
The long-boat was lashed athwart the vessel, near the
bow, the ends projecting over each side about five feet,
placed, one would suppose, in a very hazardous manner.
Three or four grapplings lay on the bows attached to
large hawsers ; and a double-headed one was placed athwart
the vessel near the mast, with the flukes outside, for the
purpose of strengthening the sides. The stern was high
out of the water, as in the junks of China, and upon it
was her name, Sozammah, painted in large Chinese char
acters ; upon the bow was a bird rudely carved, and the
character pin, 'ashore,' all neatly ornamented with copper,
which here, as in other parts of the vessel, was laid on
profusely. The capstan stood in the cabin, which, like
every other part of the vessel, was kept very clean; her
sides fell in above the water-mark, and she was rudely,
though strongly built. The crew numbered about fif
teen, one or two of whom wore the singular leggings seen
in Japanese pictures ; but most of them were scantily
clad."* * "Narrative of a Voyage of the ship 'Morrison,'" etc. By S
Wells Williams. Not possessing this work, we are indebted for our
extracts to the " Chinese Repository," vol. vi. Canton. 1838.

SHIPPING. 269
On making the Bay of Jeddo, the same writer says : —
" As the ship approached the land, the number of junks
and boats in sight increased; at one time we counted
between forty and fifty ; most of them bound westward,
right before the wind. Iwakitchi, who was pretty good
authority in such matters, having been at Jeddo upwards
of twenty times, according to his own account, said that
the fleet had probably been wind-bound, and prevented
coming out of the bay, — not an unusual occurrence. There
were boats and junks of many sizes, from a fishing-smack
up to a junk of 200 or 300 tons, all in their general form
and rigging resembling those at Napa Keang. The single
mast was supported by a large forestay and by several
backstays, passing to the sides of the vessel. Off the wind,
they sailed with a rolling motion ; and when close-hauled,
made much leeway, being, like the Chinese vessels, with
out keels.
" They neither avoided nor sought us, though their
proximity to the shore prevented our speaking or ap
proaching any of them.
"Towards evening their number decreased, and by
nightfall, whatever may have been the reason, there was
not one to be seen, except a few at anchor in an inlet.
Ginsabaru, who appears to be well informed in naval
affairs, says that the names of vessels are usually three
Chinese characters, the last one of which is always fan
(all), applied in this case to mean a vessel."*
This passage, in the correctness of which we have full
confidence, invalidates the statement, which has been
frequently made, that the size of the Japanese junks is
strictly limited to about sixty tons. Here we see junks

* S. Wells WiUiams, "Narrative of a Voyage," etc.

270 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
of 300 tons. We believe, however, that the awkward
rudder, the open stern- quarter, and other things about
the craft, are prescribed by law, in the view' of preventing
the people from undertaking long voyages.
In another place the same writer says : — "The boats' in
which the natives came off were rudely, though strongly,
built of pine ; and most of them carried a sail of coarse
cotton canvass, suspended from a single moveable mast.
Their progress was accelerated by three or four large
sculls attached to each side, near the stern, on pivots, and
formed of two pieces lashed together like the Chinese ;
with this difference, that the loom was very broad at its
lower end, in its general shape resembling a paddle ; the
upper surface was convex, and the rounded edges made
the under somewhat concave: this form appeared to be
for convenience in sculling. Some of the largest of the
boats were thirty feet long and six wide, having the two
ends open like a scow, and carrying between twenty and
thirty men. In two or three were a few women, of whom
we did not see much ; for they were fully occupied in pro
tecting themselves from the rain, piling bamboo cloaks
and hats upon their persons, in a very singular manner,
while they lay in the bottom of the boats." *
The number of these boats and junks was such as to
denote a most active coasting trade ; and, it seems, that '
we might exclaim now as honest old Kampfer did more
than a century and a half ago: — "How much commerce
is carried on between the several provinces and parts of
the empire I How busy and industrious the merchants
everywhere are ! How full their harbors of ships ! How
many rich and mercantile towns up and down the country!
* "Narrative of a Voyage of the ship 'Morrison,' " etc.

FLOWER BASKETS AND VASES

SHIPPING. 271
There are such multitudes of people along the coasts and
near the seaports, such a noise of oars and sails, such num
bers of ships and boats, both for use and pleasure, that
one would be apt to imagine that the whole nation had
settled there, and that all the inland parts of the country
were left quite empty and deserted."
Yet, according to every account that we have been able
to procure, trade is as active in the interior of Niphon and
the other great islands, as it is along the coasts. The
roads appear to be excellent and admirably kept. They
have not yet arrived at the art of tunnel-making. In the
more rugged parts of the country, where high and very
steep mountains are to be crossed, they carry their roads
zig-zag, and cut the rocks into steps. Stables, inns, tea-
shops, and other resting-places occur, at regular distances,
in all parts of the country. But in many parts, town joins
on to town, and village to village, for the extent of very
many miles, and the road is like one continuous street.
The noble Spaniard who travelled in 1608 says, that be
tween Sorongo and Jeddo, a distance of 100 leagues, a
large city, town, or village, occurred at every quarter of a
league, with an average number of inhabitants for each
place of 100,000 ; and that from Sorongo to Miako, also
about 100 leagues, the inhabited places were equally
numerous and populous. Abundance, he adds, reigned
in them all, provisions being so cheap that the poorest
could purchase them.* Captain Cock, who succeeded that
* Don Rodrigo de Vivero y Velasco.
This very attentive observer makes the following entries as to pop
ulation : — Miako .... 1,500,000
Jeddo .... 700,000
Sorongo .... 600,000

272 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
very great man, the general and ambassador Saris, in 1614,
equally bears testimony to thedenseness of the population,
and the activity of trade in the interior. In the diaries of
his journeys between Firando and Jeddo, he is constantly
speaking of the great wealth of many of the traders.
Kampfer, who came nearly a century after Cock, says : —
"The country is, indeed, populous beyond expression, and
one would scarce think it possible, that, being no greater
than it is, it should nevertheless maintain and support
such a vast number of inhabitants. The highways are
almost one continued line of villages and boroughs. You
scarce come out of one, but you enter another ; and you
may travel many miles, as it were, in one street, without
knowing it to be composed of many villages, save by the
differing names that were formerly given them, and which
they after retained though joined to one another. It hath
many towns, the chief whereof may, of a certainty, vie
with the most considerable in the world, for largeness,
magnificence, and number of inhabitants." As to the
extent of Jeddo, the same honest German says, — "Thus
much I can affirm from my own certain knowledge, that
we were one whole day, riding at a moderate pace, from
Sinagawa, where the suburb begins, along the main street,
which goes across, a little irregularly, indeed, to the end
of the city." MM. Doeff, Meylan, Fischer, and Siebold
all confirm these accounts of populousness and active
trade. As we have already mentioned, any theft or robbery is
a most difficult matter in Japan. The roads are perfectly
safe. The merchant loads his bullocks with the richest
goods, or with gold and silver, and travels cheerily along
without any fear of robbers. This result is not all pro
duced by legislation, severe laws, and municipal and po-

SHIPPING.

273

lice regulations ; the Japanese, as a proud people, have a
contempt or abhorrence of cheating, pilfering, stealing,
or robbing. In this respect they are most advantageously
contrasted with the Chinese.
If a free intercourse could be established, there is no
calculating to what an extent foreign trade might be
carried in Japan.

JAPANESE MERCHANT.

JUGGLERS OR TUMBLER!

BOOK X.

POPULAR AMUSEMENTS — DOMESTIC MANNEES —
GENEEAL CHAEACTEB.
The Japanese are everywhere described as being es
sentially a social, pleasure-seeking people. They work
hard the greater part of their time, but they must have
their feasts and their frolics on the great holidays, which
appear to occur rather frequently.
Music, dancing, and the theatre, are favorite amuse
ments with all classes. Mummers and mountebanks pa
rade the streets. Tumblers, conjurers, and all manner of
jugglers exercise their callings to the great delight of the
common people. We do not see any mention of Punch ;
but, as that mysterious personage, — that great universali
ty, — flourishes in China, and has been traced in Tartary
and all through the Asiatic continent to the Bosphorus
and Constantinople, there can be little doubt that he has
some modified form of existence in the islands of Japan.
Besides thronging the public theatres, the Japanese very
frequently get up plays and farces among themselves in
their own houses. Private theatricals, indeed, seem to
be even more fashionable with them than with us.
Fun and drollery appear to be very liberally diffused.
Their beggars are merry rogues.

276 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
"The mendicants exhibit touches of humor; a troop
apparently of ' halt, lame, and blind,' will one moment
solicit alms in doleful strains, and the next, throwing off
disguise, leap about, and chant merrily, in return for the
guerdon that may have been bestowed on them ; or, cal
culating that they are more likely to gain their object by
mirth, than by persisting in the assumption of distress,
the unreality of which can be easily detected. During
fine weather, junketing parties into the country are uni
versal. The more wealthy place themselves under the di
rection of the professional master of the ceremonies. He
amuses the company by retailing the tattle of the town,
by his ' quips and cranks,' and by a certain degree of buf
foonery. Yet, should any of the party, in the exube
rance of their spirits, encroach on decorum, he immediately
interposes his authority, and is implicitly obeyed."*
Every writer who has treated of the subject, praises the
great urbanity, mutual respect, and formal, but real polite
ness of the people.
Their theatrical entertainments are said to be far supe
rior to those of the Chinese in respect to scenery, costume,
and decoration. Their theatres have usually three tiers
of boxes, in the front of which all the ladies who are
young and pretty, or fancy themselves so, take care to
show themselves. The milliners of London might derive
great benefit if our beau monde would only adopt a Ja
panese fashion during the opera season. " The ladies,"
says M. Fischer, "who frequent the theatre make a point
of changing their dress two or three times during the re
presentation, in order to display the richness of their ward-
* T. Rundall, "Memorials of Japan," etc. Notes in Appendix.

P0PULAE AMUSEMENTS.

277

robe; and they are always attended by servants who
carry the necessary articles of dress for the purpose."
With these frequent transmutations, the dear creatures
must afford as much amusement as the actors on the stage.
Play-bills, or printed programmes of the piece about to
be represented, are always in circulation, and, no doubt,
the playgoer at Miako or Jeddo is invited to " buy a bill
of the play" just as if he were going to a London theatre.
The Dutch writer from whom we last quoted throws an
air of poetry as well as truth over some of his descriptions
of social enjoyments. We have before hinted, that Se
cretary Fischer had a lively eye for female beauty, and a
susceptible heart. It will be as well to inform the reader
that the passage of English verse is of his own quoting.
" In the great world the young ladies find delight, at
their social meetings, in every description of fine work,
the fabrication of pretty boxes, artificial flowers, painting

1.A DT PAINTING.

278 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
of fans, birds, and animals, pocket-books, purses, plaiting
thread for the head-dress, all for the favorite use of
giving as presents. Such employments serve to while
away the long winter evenings. In the spring, on the
other hand, they participate with eagerness in all kinds of
out-door and rural amusements. Of these the choicest
are afforded by the pleasure-boats, which, adorned with
the utmost cost and beauty, cover their lakes and rivers.
In the enjoyment of society and music, they glide in these
vessels from noon till late in the night, realizing the rap
turous strain of the author of Lalla Bookh : —
" 0 1 best of delights, as it everywhere is,
To be near the loved one ! what a rapture is his,
Who, by moonlight and music, thus idly may glide,
O'er the Lake of Cashmeer with that one by his side I"
"This is an enjoyment which can only be shared under
the advantages of such a climate and scenery; viz. the
climate of Nice and the scenery of Lugano. Their lakes
and rivers are, after sunset, one blaze or illumination, as
it were, with the brightly-colored paper lanterns display
ed in their vessels. They play meanwhile that game with
the fingers, which has been perpetuated from classic times
in Italy. A floating figure is also placed in a vase of
water ; as the water is stirred by the motion of the boat,
the figure moves. The guests sing to the guitar the
strain ' Anataya modamada,' — 'He floats, he is not still,'
till at last the puppet rests opposite some one of the party,
whom it sentences to drain the sackee bowl, as the pleas
ing forfeit of the game. All this stands out in cheerful
contrast to the dull debaucheries of the men, and the
childish diversions of the women, among other oriental
nations. The female sex, at least, have greatly the ad-

POPULAE AMUSEMENTS. 279
vantage over the scandal of the Turkish bath ; and the
man has, equally with the Turk, the resource of his pipe,
in the intervals of those better enjoyments which the
admission of the female sex into society affords him, and
which are prohibited to the Mussulman."*
Assuredly, these are captivating, delicious pictures of
life and manners.
I shall never forget the testimony borne to the charming
manners of the Japanese ladies by the accomplished old
friend whom I have named in my preface.f " They have
a natural grace which cannot be described. The Japanese
are the most facscinating, elegant ladies that I ever saw
in any country in the world. Take away a few peculiari
ties, to which one soon gets accustomed by living among
them, and they would, at their first debut, be admired at
St. James's, or in any other court of Europe."
And he who bore this high testimony was a great
traveller, who had been in nearly every country, and who
had lived, in each of them, in the most refined, most ac
complished circles of society. As these words were spoken
many years ago, I need not now be much ashamed of con
fessing that it was they that first excited me to a deep and
lively interest in the subject of Japan.
In manners it is woman that makes the man. Where
the gentler sex are graceful, elegant, and refined, the other
sex are never found to be coarse, ungainly, and vulgar.
At least, such has been our own experience in all the
countries we have visited. The Japanese gentleman is
* Kscher, " Japan."
1 1 cannot deny myself the pleasure of naming him once more — the
late James Drummond, Esq., Commissary-General, Commissioner of
Accounts at Paris, etc.

280 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
invariably described as a person of pleasing address and
most polished manners. Even among the commonest
people, brawlers, braggarts, loud-tongued disputants, dirty
slovens, or men with coarse repulsive manners, are very
seldom met with. The poorest laborer, toiling by the
wayside for his daily bread, expects a civil question, and is
always ready with a civil answer. In their most familiar
intercourse with one another, they scrupulously observe
the set forms of politeness. Unless it be some person in
authority, they will not reply to the man that addresses
them in an insolent or rough way. They will even refuse
to work for a violent or coarse-tongued employer.
Thunberg says : " Although gravity forms the general
character of the Japanese nation, this serious disposition
does not prevent them from having their pleasures, their
sports, and festivities. These are of two kinds — occasional
or periodical — and constitute part of their worship. Their
chief festivals of all are the ' Feast of Lanterns,1 and what
is called the Matsuri.
" The Lantern Festival, or Feast of Lamps, is celebrated
towards the end of August, and is called by the natives
Bong. It lasts three days ; but the second afternoon, with
the following night, are kept with the greatest festivity.
It was originally instituted in memory and honor of the
dead, who, they believe, return annually to their kindred
and friends on the first afternoon of these games, every
one visiting his former house and family, where they re
main till the second night, when they are to be sent away
again. By way of welcoming them on their arrival, they
plant stakes of bamboo near all the tombs, upon which
they hang a great number of lanterns, with lights, and
those so close to each other, that the whole mountain ap
pears illuminated : these lanterns are kept alight till nine

POPULAE AMUSEMENTS. 281
or ten o'clock at night. On the second evening, when
the spirits of the defunct are, according to their tradition,
to be sent away again, they fabricate a small vessel of
straw, with lights and lanterns in it, which they carry, at
midnight, in procession, with vocal and instrumental
music, and loud cries, to the sea-shore, where it is
launched into the water, and left to the wind and waves,
till it either catches fire and is consumed or is swallowed
up by the waves. Both of these illuminations, consisting
of several thousand fires, exhibit to the eye an uncom
monly grand and beautiful spectacle.*
" The feast of Matsuri," continues Thunberg, " is cele
brated upon some certain festival-day, and in honor of
some particular god. Thus, for instance, in the town of
Nagasaki, where I was present at one of these festivals, it
is celebrated in memory of Suwa, the tutelar deity of the
town. It is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth
month, which is the day of the idol's nativity, with games,
public dances, and dramatic representations. The festival
commences on the seventh day, when the temples are
frequented, sermons preached, prayers offered up, and
public spectacles exhibited ; but the ninth day excels all
in pomp and expensive magnificence, which they vary
every time in such a manner, that the entertainments of
the present year bear no resemblance to those of the last ;
neither are the same arrangements made. The expenses
are defrayed by the inhabitants of the town, in such man
ner, that certain streets exhibit and pay the expenses of
certain pieces and parts of the entertainment. I, together
with others of the Dutch, had an invitation sent me, to be

* Thunberg. Kampfer.

282 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
a spectator of this festival, in 1776, which was celebrated
in a large open spot in the town of Nagasaki. A capa
cious house, resembling a large booth, raised upon posts,
and provided with a roof and benches, was erected on one
side, for the convenience of the spectators. These con
sisted not only of the magistrates and ecclesiastics, but
likewise of foreigners ; and a guard was placed to keep off
the crowd. First of all appeared the priests, carrying the
image of the idol Suwa; and took their places, habited in
black and white. A company of ten or twelve persons
played upon instruments of music, and sang the exploits
of their gods and heroes ; in the mean time that a party
of virgins dancing, displayed the most enchanting elegance
in their gestures and deportment. The music consisted
in a mere rattling noise, which might, perhaps, sound
more grateful in the idol's than in human ears. A large
parasol was next introduced, inscribed with the name of
the street, and emblazoned with its coat of arms, followed
by a band of musicians, in masks, with drums, flutes,
bells, and vocal music. These were succeeded by the
device itself, which was different for every street; then
followed a band of actors ; and, lastly, the inhabitants of
the street, in solemn procession, with an innumerable and
promiscuous crowd at their heels. This progressive march
lasted nearly a whole hour, after which they marched
back again in the same order, and a second procession
succeeded in its place : this was followed by a third ; and
so on, during the whole forenoon. The inhabitants of
each street vied with each other in magnificence and in
vention, with respect to the celebration of this festival,
and in displaying, for the most part, such things as were
characteristic of the various produce of the mines, moun-

POPULAE AMUSEMENTS. 283
tains, forests, navigation, manufactures, and the like, of
the province from which the street derived its name, and
whence it had its inhabitants."*
Kampfer enumerates three other great annual festivals.
We cannot do better than give, at full length, his account
of one of them, because it contains, in addition to some
very agreeable pictures of festive life, a wild Japanese
romance or legend. The passage may, therefore, be taken
as a specimen of old native literature as well as an illus
tration of manners and customs : —
"The second sekf or great yearly festival, is called
Sanguatz Sannitz, because of its being celebrated on the
third day of the third month. On this, also, after the
usual compliments and visits, which friends and relations
pay one to another, and inferiors to their superiors, every
one diverts himself in the best manner he can. The
season of the year — the beginning of the spring, the trees,
chiefly plum, cherry, and apricot trees, which are then in
full blossom, and loaded with numberless white and incar
nate flowers, single and double, and no less remarkable
for their largeness and plenty, than for their singular
beauty, invite everybody to take the diversion of the
country, and to behold nature in her new and inimitable
dress. But this same festival is, besides, a day of pleasure
and diversion for young girls, for whose sake a great en
tertainment is commonly prepared by their parents, where
to they invite their nearest relations and friends. A large
and spacious apartment is curiously adorned with puppets
to a considerable value, which are to represent the court
of the Dairi, or ecclesiastical hereditary emperor, with the
* " Travels in Europe, Africa, and Asia, made between the years
1770 and 1779."

284 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
person of Finahuge. A table, with Japanese victuals, is
placed before each puppet, and among other things cakes,
made of rice and the leaves of young mugwort. These
victuals and a dish of sackee the guests are presented with
by the girls, for whose diversion the entertainment is in
tended ; or if they be too young, by their parents.
" The following story gave birth to this custom: — A
rich man, who lived near Rinsagava, which is as much as
to say, the Bird Biver, had a daughter called Bungjo, who
was married to one Symmias Dai Miosin. Not having any
children by her husband for many years, she very earnestly
addressed herself in her prayers to the Kamis or gods of
the country, and this with so much success, that soon after
she found herself big, and was brought to bed of 500 eggs.
The poor woman, extremely surprised at this extraor
dinary accident, and full of fear that the eggs, if hatched^
would produce monstrous animals, packed them all up
in a box, and threw them into the river Binsagava, with
this precaution, however, that she wrote the word fosjoroo
upon the box. Some time after an old fisherman, who
lived a good way down the river, found this box floating,
took it up, and having found it full of eggs, he carried
them home to present them to his wife, who was of
opinion that there could not be anything extraordinay in
them, and that certainly they had been thrown into the wa
ter for some good reason ; and therefore she advised him to
carry them back where he found them. But the old man
replied : ' We are both old, my dear, and just on the
brink of the grave ; it will be a matter of very little con
sequence to us, whatever comes out of the eggs, and there
fore I have a mind to hatch them, and see what they
will produce.' Accordingly he hatched them in an oven,
in hot sand, and between cushions, as the way is in the

POPULAE AMUSEMENTS. 285
Indies, and having afterwards opened them, they found in
every one a child. To keep such a number of children
proved a very heavy burden for this old couple. How
ever, they made a shift, and bred them up with mugwort-
leaves minced, and boiled rice. But in time they grew
so big, that the old man and his wife could not maintain
them any longer, so that they were necessitated to shift
for themselves, as well as they could, and took to robbing
on the highway. Among other projects, it was proposed
to them to go up the river to the house of a rich man, who
was very famous for his great wealth in that part of the
country. As good luck would have it, this house proved
to be that of their mother.
" Upon application made at the door, one of the ser
vants asked what their names were, to which they an
swered, that they had no names, that they were a brood
of 500 eggs, that mere want and necessity had obliged
them to call, and that they would go about their business
if they would be so charitable as to give them some
victuals. The servant having taken the message in to
his lady, she sent him back to inquire whether there had
not been something writ upon the box in which the eggs
had been found, and having answered that the word fosjo-
roo was found writ upon it, she could then no longer doubt
but that they were all her children, and, accordingly, ac
knowledged and received them as such, and made a great
entertainment, whereat every one of the guests was pre
sented with a dish of sokana, with cakes of mugwort and
rice, and a branch of the apricot-tree. This is the reason
they give, why, on this festival, branches of the apricot-
tree are laid over the kettle, and cakes made of mugwort
and rice, which they call futsumotzi, that is, mugiuort cakes,
and prepared after the following manner -.—The mugwort-

286 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
leaves are soaked in water over-night, then pressed, dried,
and reduced to powder, afterwards mixed with rice, which
hath been boiled in water, then again reduced to powder,
and mixed with boiled rice and adsuki, or red beans,
grossly powdered, and so baked into cakes. The mother
of these children was afterwards translated among the
goddesses of the country, by the name of Bensaitree.
They believe that she is waited upon, in the happy re
gions of the gods, by her five hundred sons, and they
worship her as the goddess of riches."*
At one of the five great annual festivals, in the midst
of good eating and drinking, the school-boys erect poles
or posts of bamboo, and tie to them verses of their own
making. At another — " Joy, mirth, and hospitality are
universal. Not even strangers are suffered to pass by
without being invited to make merry with the company.
In short, one would imagine that the Bacchanals of the
Bomans had been brought over into Japan and established
there. All sorts of diversions and public shows, dancing,
plays, processions, and the like, so greatly divert and
amuse the people, that many choose rather to lose their
dinners, than to give over sauntering and staring about
the streets till late at night."f
In addition to these five great yearly festivals, there are
many more holidays observed at different seasons of the
year. Honest old Kampfer found them so numerous, that
"it would be almost endless to mention them all.";):
But, with all these holidays, and out-of-door pastimes,
* " History of Japan."
t Kampfer.
J For further particulars of feasts, ceremonies, etc., the reader may
be referred to the curious but somewhat tedious book of M. Titsingh,
"Illustrations of Japan."

THE TEA-PARTY.

DOMESTIC MANNEES. 287
the Japanese do not neglect in-door amusements and en
tertainments. Never did English dame or dowager, in the
days of our good old great-grandmothers, or in those of
the Tatler and Spectator, more rejoice in her tea-parties
and their concomitants, than do the ladies of Jeddo and
Miako at the present day. It is at these parties that they
display their newest dresses, and discuss the latest bit of
fashionable news. No doubt if we could have their tittle-
tattle properly done into English, it would be found pret
ty much to resemble the gossip of some of our own soirees.
To conduct a Japanese tea-party com/me il faut, requires
education and long training. Kampfer says : — " It is a
particular art to make the tea, and to serve it in company,
which, however, consists more in certain decent and agree
able manners, than in any difficulty as to the boiling or
preparation. This art is called Sado and Tsianoi. As
there are people in Europe who teach to carve, to dance,
to fence, and other things of the like nature, so there are
masters in Japan- who make it their business to teach
children of both sexes, what they call Tsianoi, that is, to
behave well when in company with tea-drinkers, and also
to make the tea, and to present it in company, with a
genteel, becoming, and graceful manner."
The rules and laws which govern these matters and
numerous others contingent on them, are formed into a
regular system, and printed and published in books, which
must be diligently studied by every young lady at school.
There are various sorts of tea-parties, and various
methods of making and serving out the beverage. At a
very grand party the cups and bowls, and all the utensils
or implements employed, must be ornamented, and of high
price. Here the matron takes that pride in showing her
lacquered ware that our grandmothers used to feel in dis-

288 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
playing their rare and costly china. The silken napkins,
the little stools, the trays, must all be of the very finest
qualities. At these parties the best sorts of tea are ground
to powder ; a tea-spoonful of this powder is, with all the
necessary graces, put into a richly ornamented bowl, boil
ing water is then poured upon the powder, and the whole
is stirred or whipped with a piece of split bamboo, till it
creams. In a morning call, pipes and tea are as invariably brought
in at Jeddo, as pipes and coffee at Constantinople. At
the conclusion, of such call, sweetmeats or other dainties,
to be eaten with chopsticks, are served up on a sheet of
paper, sometimes purely white, and sometimes ornament
ed with tinsel or bright colors. Pocketing is not a vul
garism, but a duty strictly imposed by etiquette. If the
visitor cannot eat all the dainties, he must fold up the re
mainder in the sheet of paper, and deposit them in his
wide sleeve, which serves as a pocket. At grand dinners,
each guest is expected to take with him a servant or two, to
carry off, in baskets, the remnants of the banquet. We are
not told whether, at these social meetings, the ladies smoke,
as well as the gentlemen, but we are afraid that they do.
A Japanese feast usually consists of seven or eight
courses. During the several removes, the master of the
house walks round, and drinks a cup of sackee with each
guest. This is their way of hobnobbing, or " taking wine."
The viands consist of game, venison, poultry, fish, and all
kinds of vegetables, seaweeds not excepted. Fish is,
however, the piece de resistance, the standing dish, the roast
beef of the Japanese. As we have already mentioned,
they eat of all sorts, not excluding the whale, nor even
the shark. Each guest is served with a portion of every
dish in a small, light lacquered bowl. Another bowl of

DOMESTIC MANNEES. 289
the same description is placed at his side, and kept con
stantly replenished with rice. As whets, servants, of both
sexes, from time to time, hand round soy, other sauces,
pickled or salted ginger, and small nicely-cut morsels of
salted fish, which are all eaten with the Chinese chopstick.
It is expected that the guests compliment the giver of the
feast on the beauty of his lacquered ware, on the splendor
of his bowls, and on the richness and beauty of his domes
tic utensils, and furnishing in general.
None but personages of high hereditary rank dare pre
sume to give a feast of the first order. ' A wealthy mer
chant must on no account entertain his friends like a lord
or prince. It is, however, believed, that when a wealthy
trader can conciliate all the spies that are watching over
him, by making them partakers of the banquet, he some
times ventures to give, sub rosd, as grand a " spread " as
any of his betters.*
It appears that the feasts are generally enlivened by
music, and followed by music and dancing, and copious
libations of sackee and tea. Occasionally some new little
play or interlude, analogous to the occasion, is introduced

* For further particulars, see Titsingh, " Ceremonies Usitees au Ja-
pon," etc. 8vo. Paris. 1819 ; " Manners and Customs of the Japa
nese," 8vo. New edition. London. 1852 ; Kampfer, Golownin,
Fischer, and the old compilation which goes under the name some
times of T. Meurs, and sometimes under that of Arnold Montanus.
It appears that Meurs, who was an engraveras well as a bookseller,
really compiled the work, and that the person designated on the title-
page as Arnold Montanus, merely put in the learning, furnishing the
classical allusions, Latin quotations, and the like. The engravings,
which are very curious, and very full of character, appear all to have
proceeded from the industrious hands of the engraver-bookseller
Meurs. 13

290 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
and performed by amateur actors. According to honest
Captain Cock, all the Japanese in his time were much ad
dicted to the good old hospitable fashion of giving " house-
warmings," and considered that no dwelling could be
prosperous, or stand long on its foundations, that was not
(on its being finished) opened with a banquet and a jovial
carouse. But it was the custom, on every such occasion,
for all the neighbors of the master of the new house to
send him liberal presents of eatables and drinkables.*
The interior of the Japanese houses — even among those
of the poorer classes, — are said to be remarkably clean,
neat, and orderly, everything being in its place, and there
being a place for everything, — a golden domestic rule, the
more easily to be observed by them, as they do not crowd
their apartments with cumbrous and useless furniture.
The old friend, to whom we have more than once referred,
spoke almost with rapture of some of the villas of the
nobility. Generally the Japanese seem to merit the praise of being
a cleanly people. All classes of them make a very frequent
use of the bath, and are scrupulous as to partial ablutions,
at certain fixed periods of the day. This alone does not
insure cleanliness. The Turks bathe, or rather stew them
selves, as often as the Japanese ; but the Turk puts on
foul, unchanging clothes over a clean skin, and has gene-
* " Journal and Notes," as given by Mr. Rundall, " Memorials of
the Empire of Japan."
In Cock's time no English or Dutch vessel was ever allowed to
leave port for Batavia, or for Europe, without receiving presents, and
holding a good drinking bout. The people went off to the ship, car
rying with them good store of foreign wines, and of native potables,
to drink success to the voyage. The Japanese, like our English tars
of tho old school, had no notion of "parting dry."

COUNTRY HOUSE.

DOMESTIC MANNEES. 291
rally a house encumbered with filth, and swarming with
bugs, fleas, and other intolerable vermin ; but the Japan
ese contrives usually to put clean clothes over his clean
skin, and to be neat and tidy at home. Kampfer ob
serves: — "They are indeed very nice in keeping them
selves, their clothes, and houses, clean and neat." To
every house of any pretension to respectability, there is
attached an apartment called a " Fro," which is fitted up
with vapor-baths, and with warm and cold baths. One
or the other of these the Japanese use every morning and
every evening. The loose nature of their costume renders
the operations of undressing and dressing very quick and
easy. Unfasten the girdle that encircles the waist, and
the whole of the simple habiliments drop at once to the
ground. It is mainly to this practice of constant bathing
that our learned German doctor attributes the generally
robust health and longevity of the people in this empire.*
Both hunting and hawking are frequently mentioned
by the early travellers as common pastimes of the nobility
and. gentry. Hawks of a wonderfully fine breed, and of ad
mirable training, are not mentioned occasionally. It should
appear, however, that these sports are not now very com
mon, and that the Japanese grandees have quite lost their
taste for equitation, although, when rich, they always keep
a numerous, if not good stud in the stable, and are very
rigorous with the grooms who neglect the feeding and
proper cleaning of their horses. Some of these stables are
said to be as neat as a drawing-room.
The rich Japanese make a great show with their equi
pages. The princes and most distinguished people have
* Kampfer, in vol. ii. p. 424, of his excellent history, gives a minute
description of the fro, or bath, with the process of heating it.

292 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
carriages which resemble our old-fashioned ones, and
were introduced into Japan by the Dutch. They are
often drawn by horses, but for the most part by oxen.
But the grandees are more commonly carried in chairs,
like the sedan-chairs of Europe. They also ride on horse
back, but consider it as vulgar to hold the bridle them
selves. The horse must be led.*
Golownin says : " We once saw the governor of Mats
mai ride on horseback to a temple, where thanksgivings
were to be celebrated, and where he must go once every
year in spring. The high priest, the priests and officials,
and officers who were obliged to be present, were gone
there before. He rode alone, without ceremony ; a small
train attended him on foot. To the horse's bit there were
fastened, instead of the bridle, two light blue girdles,
which two grooms held fast on each side of the horse's
mouth ; the two ends of these girdles were held by two
other grooms, who went at a little distance from the
others ; so that these four men occupied almost the whole
road. .The tail of the horse was covered with a light silk
bag. The governor, dressed in his usual clothes, in which
we had often seen him, sat without his hat, upon a mag
nificent saddle, and held his feet in wooden japanned stir
rups, which resembled little boxes. The grooms who
* This is not unlike the style of riding now in fashion among the fat
and dignified pashas and effendis of the Ottoman empire, where eques
trianism and every other manly exercise, or manly virtue, seems dying
out. The horse of the pasha is not led ; the great man holds the reins
himself, but two grooms walk on foot at the horse's head, while two
other grooms, one on each side, walk on a line with the stirrup-irons,
to prop up his greatness, by catching him under the arm-pits, in case
the horse should fall or stumble, — no uncommon event where the
roads are execrable, and good horses an exceeding great rarity.

AN EQUESTRIAN PARTY.

GENEEAL CHAEACTEB. 293
held the horse at the bit, continually cried : ' chai, chai,'
that is, softly, softly ; however, they pushed on the horse,
and made it jump and go quick ; the governor therefore
stooped and held fast to the saddle with both hands. At
a short distance before him, went some soldiers in a
row, with two Serjeants, and though nobody was in the
way, they continually cried, ' Make room ! make room !'
Behind the governor followed the armor-bearers, who car
ried all the insignia of his dignity in japan cases. This
was to signify that the governor was incognito."*
Incognito or not, this certainly looks very much like a
decay in the noble art of horsemanship. Perhaps, how
ever, it may be found that gentlemen, remote from court
and great cities, and not puffed up with the pride of office,
may still delight in the saddle, and ride like men, instead
of being carried like bales of silk or satin. We hope that
such may really prove to be the fact ; for no nation that
is not equestrian can pretend to be a nation of gentlemen.
As we have repeatedly stated, the condition of women
— that real test of true civilization — is incomparably better
and higher in Japan than in any other Oriental country. It
may, indeed, be safely said, from all the evidence before
us, that " Japanese women are subjected to no seclusion ;
they hold a fair station in society, and share in all the
innocent recreations of their fathers and husbands. The
fidelity of the wife and the purity of the maiden are com
mitted wholly to their own sense of honor, somewhat
quickened, perhaps, and invigorated, by the certainty that
death would be the inevitable and immediate consequence
of a detected lapse from chastity. And so well is this

* " Recollections of Japan."

294 EMPIEE OF* JAP AN.
confidence repaid, that a faithless wife is, we are univer
sally assured, a phenomenon unknown in Japan."*
From the highest down to the very lowest, every Japan
ese is sent to school. It is said that there are more
schools in the empire than in any other country in the
world, and that all the peasants and poor people can, at
least, read. This is surely a noticeable fact, and a most
honorable distinction. The minds of the women are as
carefully cultivated as those of the men. Hence, in the
array of the most admired poets, historians, and other
authors are found very many females.
Among the rich and great, the husband, in general, is
very far from corresponding to the fidelity of the wife ;
and, among all classes, those pleasant vices that turn
themselves into scourges to whip themselves, appear to be
exceedingly prevalent. Incontinence is, in fact, as we
have already declared, on many good current authorities,
the great national vice of the Japanese. Yet the purity
of mothers and wives remains an indisputable and strik
ing fact. Innumerable native stories bear testimony to
it, and innumerable incidents, related by different travel
lers and their own writers, prove the respect in which a
married woman is invariably held by the men.
The women of Japan strongly resent dishonor; and
there is more than one instance recorded of death having
been inflicted on her dishonorer by the injured woman.
As an evidence of determination of character, the follow
ing anecdote is related: — "A man of rank went on a
journey, and a noble in authority made overtures to his
wife. They were rejected with scorn and indignation,

* " Manners and Customs of the Japanese."

GENEEAL CHAEACTEE. 295
but the libertine, by force or fraud, accomplished his ob
ject. The husband returned, and was received by his
wife with affection, but with a dignified reseve that excited
his surprise. He sought explanations, but could not ob
tain them at once. His wife prayed him to restrain him
self till the morrow, and then, before her relations and the
chief people of the city, whom she had invited to an
entertainment, his desire should be satisfied. The mor
row came, and with it the guests, including the noble who
had done the wrong. The entertainment was given in a
manner not unusual in the country, on the terraced roof
of the house. The repast was concluded, when the lady
rose and made known the outrage to which she had been
subjected, and passionately demanded that her husband
should slay her as an unworthy object unfit to live. The
guests, the husband foremost, besought her to be calm ;
they strove to impress her with the idea that she had done
no wrong, — that she was an innocent victim, though the
author of the outrage merited no less punishment than
death. She thanked them all kindly. She wept on her
husband's shoulder. She kissed him affectionately, then
suddenly escaping from his embraces, rushed precipitately
to the edge of the terrace and cast herself over the para
pet. In the confusion that ensued, the author of the
mischief still unsuspected, for the hapless creature had
not indicated the offender, made his way down stairs.
When the rest of the party arrived, he was found welter
ing in his blood by the corpse of his victim. He had
expiated his crime by committing suicide in the national
manner — by slashing himself across the abdomen with two
slashes, in the form of a cross."*
* Rundall. " Memorials."

296 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
Incidents like these furnish the ground-work of many
of their dramas and popular novels.
Other tales are told in honor of female presence of mind,
courage, and fortitude.
A great lord, named Tchouya, with his friend named
Ziositz, entered into an extensive conspiracy against the
emperor. Tchouya had a wife who had been greatly cel
ebrated as well for her beauty as for her wit and heroic
constancy. " An act of indiscretion on the part of Tchouya, after
so many years (nearly fifty) of prudence, betrayed the
conspiracy, and orders were issued for his arrest and that
of Ziositz. It was deemed important to seize both, if
possible, or at least Tchouya, who resided at Yeddo,
alive, in the hope of extorting further disclosures. To
effect this, it was indispensable to surprise him, and mea
sures were taken accordingly. An alarm of fire was
raised at Tchouya's door, and when he ran out to ascer
tain the degree of danger threatening his house, he was
suddenly surrounded and attacked. He defended himself
stoutly, cutting down two of his assailants, but, in the end,
was overpowered by numbers and secured. His wife,
meanwhile, had heard the sounds of conflict, and appre
hending its cause, immediately caught up those of her
husband's papers which would have revealed the names
of his confederates (among whom were men of distinction
and princes of the land), and burnt them. Her presence
of mind remains even to this day a topic of admiration in
Japan, where the highest panegyric for judgment and re
solution that can be bestowed upon a woman is to compare
her to the wife of Tchouya."*
* Rundall. " Memorials."

GENEEAL CHAEACTEE. 297
The love, obedience, and reverence manifested by chil
dren towards their parents are stated to be unbounded.
On the other hand, it is said that the confidence placed by
parents in their children is equally without limit. Parents
frequently select their elder sons to be arbitrators in their
disputes with others, and submit implicitly to their deci
sions. It is also a very common practice with parents to
resign their property and state to a son who has attained
a suitable age, remaining for the rest of life dependent on
him for support ; and it is added that any abuse of this
trust is unknown in the country.
Next to the vices to which we have made allusion, the
great defect of the national character — though coupled
with a keen sense of the point of honor, — appears to be
the thirst and madness of revenge. This passion, as we
have intimated, also furnishes great staple materials for
their dramatists and other writers ; and it seems to be il
lustrated in numerous popular stories.
Some of these tales throw more light on the Japanese
character than can be derived from any other source.
" Fakaki-fikoyemon, the governor of Nagasaki, having
obtained permission of the Djogoun to wear two sabres,
and to have a pike in his coat of arms, his people became
in consequence so insolent that they treated every one
with the utmost haughtiness and disdain.
" On the 20th of the 12th month of the 14th year Gen-
rok (1701), they were carrying his daughter in a sedan-
chair to the temple, to receive a name.* Heavy rains
had rendered the road very muddy. Fokka-fouri-kouan-
* The children of persons of distinction receive a name the seventh
day after their birth. Among the lower classes, boys are not named
till the expiration of thirty days, and girls at thirty-one.
13*

298 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
seimon, that is, the governor of the village of Fokka-fouri,
hastily passing by the chair, had the misfortune to splash
it. Fikoyemon's people began to abuse him, and regard
less of his excuses, fell upon and beat him, and then ran
to his house in the street called Ouya-goto-matche, where
they destroyed all the furniture.
" The servants of Kouanseimon took a boat, and lost no
time in carrying to him intelligence of what had happend.
After deliberating on the means of revenging this insult,
which could not be washed away but with blood, they re
turned to Nagasaki, with several of the inhabitants of
Fokka-fouri, assembled to the number of more than two
hundred before the residence of Fikoyemon, and as soon
as the door was opened, rushed in and attacked the
master and his people. Fikoyemon valiantly defended
himself; but his foot having unfortunately slipped, his
adversaries fell upon him and cut off his head, which they
carried in triumph to Fokka-fouri, as a trophy of their
vengeance.* " It was conveyed to Nagasaki, and interred with the
body near the temple of Fon-ren-si, together with a white
dog, which had rushed among the assailants to defend
his master, and been killed after wounding several of
them. " Two of Kouanseimon's people ripped themselves up
on the bridge, near the residence of Fikoyemon, calling
loudly upon the people to witness the courage with which
the inhabitants of Fokka-fouri suffer death in order to re
venge injuries, "f
* " While I was in Japan, a woman was still living at Nagasaki,
who recollected seeing the murderers pass by, holding by the hair his
head dripping blood." Titsingh.
t Titsingh. "Illustrations of Japan."

GENEEAL CHAEACTEE. 299
" M. Caron relates a remarkable instance, which oc
curred within his own knowledge. It appears that two
high officers of the court met on the palace-stairs and
jostled each other. One was an irascible man, and imme
diately demanded satisfaction. The other, of a placable
disposition, represented that the circumstance was acci
dental, and tendered an ample apology : representing that
satisfaction could not reasonably be demanded. The
irascible man, however, would not be appeased, and find
ing he could not provoke the other to a conflict, suddenly
drew up his robes, unsheathed his cattan, and cut himself
in the prescribed mode. As a point of honor, his adver
sary was under the necessity of following the example,
and the irascible man, before he breathed his last, had the
gratification of seeing the object of his passion dying by
his side."*
"Having a keen sense of the slightest insult, which can
not be washed away but with blood, they are the more
disposed to treat one another in their mutual intercourse
with the highest respect."f
Whatever the people or the government may be, both
are certainly raised far above the contempt with which
Europeans usually regard Asiatics. We cannot find a
single writer, whether of a remote or of a recent period,
that gives other than a high, manly character to the Ja
panese. The reader will remember the opinions delivered
by Adams the mariner, and Xavier the sainted mission
ary. Father Froes, after a residence of some years, elo
quently defended the people against all detractors. " They
are," said he, " as gifted a nation as any in Europe."
In another letter the same missionary says, — "That
* Rundall. "Memorials." t Titsingh.

300 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
which is proper to give great consolation and joy, and
Christian hope for the future, is the good natural disposi
tion of these people : the young men we have in our sem
inary at Arima are so well conducted. They are nearly
all of noble birth : they live like so many devout recluses ;
they are modest, quiet, and studious, friends of purity,
most tractable and obedient, and quick at their studies.
They literally adhere to the rules set down for them.
Their hours are so distributed that they never lose any
valuable time. They learn our languages and literature,
as also music, both vocal and instrumental. In sooth, they
are by nature docile and of a lively genius."*
Don Bodrigo, the noble viceroy, who suffered shipwreck
on the coast, gives the people a very high character ; but,
like a sober Spaniard, he blames the men for being too
fond of drink. '
We need not repeat the many recent and favorable
glimpses of character afforded by late voyagers and resi
dents. On the whole, it appears to us that there is no
disputing the short, general estimate presented by a very
recent English writer, who had carefully collected and
perused all accessible authorities.
" To sum up the character of the Japanese: They carry
notions of honor to the verge of fanaticism ; and they are
haughty, vindictive, and licentious. On the other hand,
brawlers, braggarts, and backbiters, are held in the most
supreme contempt. The slightest infraction of truth is
punished with severity ; they are open-hearted, hospitable,
and, as friends, faithful to death. It is represented
that there is no peril a Japanese will not encounter to
serve a friend ; that no torture will compel him to betray
* " Nuovi Avvisi del Giapone." Venetia. 1586.

GENEEAL CHAEACTEE.

301

a trust ; and that even the stranger who seeks aid will be
protected to the last drop of blood. The nation, with all
their faults and vices, evinced qualities that won the hearts
and commanded the esteem of the missionaries."*

* Rundall. "Memorials.''

JAPANESE WRESTLERE

2-i^i^S^MiL^^^^^

iJABAVIHG BLOCKS FOR PRINTING.

BOOK XL
LANGUAGE — LITEBATUEE — SCIENCE — MUSIC — PAINTING.
One of the old Jesuits felt quite certain that the lan
guage and the letters of the Japanese had been invented
and rendered difficult by Satan himself, in order to per
plex poor missionaries, and impede the progress of the
true faith.
Although, as yet, very few Europeans have acquired
anything like a perfect familiarity with this tongue, it ap
pears to be less difficult than several other Oriental lan
guages. Should friendly relations be established with the
government, and a greater freedom of intercourse allowed,
we, no doubt, shall soon have accomplished Japanese
scholars among American citizens and British subjects.
There are very strong incentives to the study, for the
patented native interpreters, as Sir F. Davis has remarked,
are not to be trusted in diplomacy, and without a know
ledge of the tongue they speak, it will be found very diffi
cult to make any progress with the people. There al
ready exist, in different European languages, grammars,
vocabularies, and other books, quite sufficient to teach the
rudiments. We are indebted to a kind friend — a learned and most
ingenious philologist — for the remarks on language which
immediately follow : —
" The Japanese language has been usually said to be
unlike all the languages of the globe, and, in one point of

304 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
view, the statement is true; but it is in its structure anal
ogous to the languages of the Tartar or Scythic class ;
and although in the lexicographic portion of the lan
guage differs from all others of that class, so far as we
know, this can hardly be a foundation for making a
general distinction, because they differ very considerably
from each other in this respect. It would seem as though
languages less fully organized than those of the Indo-
Germanic class, those which are merely pegged together
and not dovetailed like the work of a cabinet-maker —
to use Dr. Johnson's metaphor — do more readily change
the form and meaning of their words ; and that while
Sanskrit and English, for instance, after a separation of
half the age of the world, still retain very many roots
perfectly alike, two tongues like the Mordwin and Chere-
miss, spoken by neighboring tribes on the Volga, who
were probably one not many centuries ago, have now dis
tinct words in most cases for their most ordinary ideas.
We may be theorizing too far, perhaps ; much of the va
riation may have arisen from the fact that those languages
have never been cultivated, and that the people who speak
them are nomad.
The features of the Japanese language which coincide
with those of the Tartar tongues are these : — the substan
tives have no gender ; they form all their cases and other
modifications by subsequent particles ; and these particles
are too numerous to come under our strict ideas of gram
matical declension. As an instance, we take the word fito,
man ; fito-bito,fito-dono,fito-tato, and some other expressions,
signify men ; fito-no, or fito-ga, of a man ; fito-ni, or fito-ye,
to a man ; there is also fito-wa, fito-wo, fito-yori, &c., and
these are not indiscriminately used, but they answer to
what the Finnish grammarians call the predicative, factive,

LANGUAGE. 305
adessive, allative, and other cases, in addition to our well-
known datives and accusatives.
" There is a very singular fact in relation to the pro
noun, which we believe to be unknown to any other lan
guage: it is that the same word may be I, or thou, or he,
according to circumstances : in fact, that the so-called
personal pronoun is not personal at all, or that it belongs
to any person. Landresse, in his Supplement to "Bod-
riguez' Japanese Grammar," Paris, 1826, 8vo., states that
Watakusi is the pronoun of the first person, according to
Bodriguez, and of the second according to Oyanguren ;
waga is made " thou" by Bodriguez, and " I" by Oyan
guren. Bodriguez makes konata, thou and he, and Oyan
guren makes the same word I and thou. Collado makes
konata, I, thou, and he.
"In our ignorance of native Japanese works, it is diffi
cult to find a way through this labyrinth, but in all proba
bility there is in Japanese something like what we find in
some European languages, in Italian for example, where
ella means she and you; or in German, where the word
sie is used for they and you, although grammatically dis
tinct, and when er is used for he and you ; these distinc
tions being determined by recognized modes of politeness,
which may be still further extended in Japan.
" The verbs have their tenses produced by additions to,
and not changes of, the root ; the word yo, to read, may
be an example. We have yomi, I read ; yoda, I did read ;
yomo, yomozu, or yomozuru, I shall read ; yomolcasi, might
I read ; gomeba, when I read ; yomaba, if I read, &c, &c,
to a considerable extent ; there is also, as in Turkish, a
negative incorporated with the verb, as Yomami, I do not
read : Yomananda, I did not read, &c, and through all
the same variations as the affirmative verb.

306 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
"The Japanese say they have two languages — Yomi
and Koye — but the fact is, that Koye is pure Chinese with
a different pronunciation, though still monosyllabic. As
the Japanese write the Chinese sounds with alphabetic
symbols, these Japanese pronunciations may represent
the sounds of the Chinese characters as they were fifteen
or twenty centuries ago, for an alphabet, however imper
fect, must contribute to retain more of the sounds than
any ideographic character, and a study of these sounds
might be useful in comparisons of tongues, and help to
form a judgment upon the ethnographical position of the
Chinese nation.
"Practically, the Japanese mix the Koye or Chinese
with their own language to the best of their ability ; the
most learned inflicting such a mass of Chinese upon their
readers, or hearers, as to be unintelligible to all but those
as learned as themselves.
They speak of two kinds of styles — the mai-den, or the
most learned or religious style, and the gheden, the secu
lar ; each of these has its subdivisions, but scarcely any is
free from admixture with Chinese words. Japanese poe
try is composed- most commonly in yomi only, in feet of
five or seven syllables : it is now and then mingled with
prose, as is done by Persians and Turks, and even the
prose has often a cadence or rhythm in imitation of poetry.
The recitation is said to be very harmonious. The writer has
heard the language recited by two Europeans who spoke
the language, and can testify to its rather agreeable sound.
The language is usually written with a syllabarium of
forty-seven characters, each character representing a sylla
ble. There are in fact two systems in use, one very easy,
and the other extraordinarily difficult, and of course the
latter is selected for general use, the easy one being em-

LANGUAGE. 307
ployed only for notes, glosses, and interlineary versions.
The latter, which is called katagana, is very simple, each
sound having one invariable representative. — " The other
sFyle, called hiragana, employs at least six characters, radi
cally different from each other, for each sound ; varying
each of these characters at the pleasure of the writer, and,
notwithtstanding this barren redundancy, employing, in
addition, any Chinese character which the writer may
choose to adopt, twisted into any cursive form he pleases,
instead of using one of the characters more generally
known.* " The probability is, that it is this habit of adapting new
Chinese characters which has caused the hiragana sylla-
barium to grow to its present incredible extent, and bids
fair to render it at last utterly illegible. The extent of this
system may be judged from the fact, that the Vienna print
ing office, in order to produce a copy of a Japanese novel
with moveable types, was obliged to cast a fount of four
hundred and eighty-one Japanese types for the ordinary
syllabarium, and two hundred and twenty-seven more for
the additional Chinese types which the writer chose to
adopt ; and the learned scholar, Pfitzmayer, who has, with
much learning and incredible pains, edited the above
novel with a translation, complains that the types are not
nearly numerous enough to represent the variety of forms

* "In the early part of the eighth century, the syllabic systems,
denominated katagana and hiragana, were invented and found com
pletely adapted to the idiom of the country. The use of this species
of writing is now almost universal in Japan ; it is rare to find a person
unable to read it." " Chinese Repository," vol. iii. p. 206. Canton.
1835. The authority quoted is that of the learned Orientalist, Klap
roth.

308 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
used. All this is for an ordinary tale, intended to be in
telligible to the many.
" The translation of the Gospel of St. John, which was,
I believe, made by Gutzlaff, with the aid of a native, is
printed very judiciously in the easy, or Katagana cha
racter. " It must be admitted that a good proportion of this
large number of types cast by the Vienna type-founders
was unnecessary, many of them being required merely to
imitate the irregular writing of the Japanese scribe."
But such errors have not often been committed, and the
liberal and extraordinary efforts made by the imperial
government of Austria (without any immediate view to
self-interest) to promote Oriental learning, and facilitate
the means of studying the languages of the East, entitle
that government to the gratitude of the whole civilized
world, and are deserving of far more praise than they
seem hitherto to have obtained. Certain deep-rooted, ill-
considered prejudices, arising chiefly out of political feel
ings, cool or entirely suppress European gratitude. It
has been a fashion to consider the ancient house of Aus
tria as an enemy rather than friend to letters, science,
and art. Yet that house is now, and has long been,
spending annually vast sums of money upon these objects,
while, from our own constitutional and liberal government,
it is always a most difficult task to procure a grant of a
few hundred pounds for any such purpose. It will be
found out some day, — perhaps, when too late, — that all
things cannot be conducted by private enterprise, and
upon purely commercial principles, and that the applica
tion of those principles is, in certain cases, detrimental to
the national spirit, to real intellectual progress, and to the
honor and even safety of the country.

LANGUAGE. 309
Where is the enterprise among booksellers, where the
commercial principle by which so elaborate and costly a
work as the immense Japanese dictionary of Professor
Pfitzmayer, now in course of printing at Vienna, could
have been produced?* We may safely venture to say
that by such means, the book could not have been brought
out in any country in Europe. Yet no one will deny the
value and importance of the work, or question the now
increasing necessity of our possessing such a lexicon.
Private speculation has its limits, and it is when it reaches
them, and halts upon them, that the State ought to step
in. Societies or learned associations may do a good deal,
and some of them have done much, but it should seem
that their resources are far too narrow, and the number of
their subscribers too uncertain, to permit of their prose
cuting any very extensive enterprises and labors. Where
is now the Oriental Translation Fund attached to the
Boyal Asiatic Society of Great Britain ? To retain its '
valuable vitality, it ought to have been nourished by an
annual government grant.
But we must return to our own immediate subject.
" The Japanese alphabet," says another writer, " con
tains forty-eight letters, and is written in two different
ways, somewhat analogous to the printed and written
forms used in our own language.
" The first, which is called the Katagana, is the clearest
and most definite, and is chiefly used in dictionaries and
works of science ; the other, called Hiragana, is more like
a running hand, and is the character generally in use in
all kinds of light reading, and in the transaction of the
* It is calculated that, if this dictionary be continued and concluded
on its present ample scale, it will run to twenty volumes.

310 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
common business of life ; it is also called the female
character, from its being usually employed by the fair
sex."* It appears to us that what are here called letters are
syllables, and that the Japanese have rather a syllabarium.
than an alphabet. They do not write, like us, across the
page from the left hand to the right, nor, like the Per
sians, Arabs, Turks, and so many other eastern nations,
from the right hand to the left; but, like the Chinese,
they write, in lateral straight lines from the top of the
page to the bottom. Some specimens of their writing
and printing which have come under our observation are
uncommonly neat and clear, but are quite crowded with
Chinese characters.
Paper came into use in Japan as early as the beginning

* " Chinese Repository," vol. hi. The authority here followed is
that of Mr. Medhurst, of Batavia, author of a Japanese vocabulary.
The clearest and briefest Japanese grammar that we have examined
is the following: — "Blemens de la Gramrnaire Japonaise; par le P.
Rodriguez. Traduits du Portugais sur le Manuscrit de la Bibliothe'que
du Roi, et soigneusement collationnes avec la G-rammaire publi^e par
le m£me auteur a Nagasaki, en 1604; par M. C. Landresse, Membre
de la Socie'te' Asiatique ; precedes d'une explication des syllabaires
Japonais, et de deux planches contenant les signes de ces syllabaires ;
par M. Abel Remusat. Ouvrage public par la Societe Asiatique."
Paris. 1825.
There is » supplement to this work also published by the Asiatic
Society of Prance. " Supplement & la Grammaire Japonaise, du P.
Rodriguez ; ou, Remarques Additionnelles sur quelque points du sys-
teme grammatical des Japonais, tirees de la Grammaire composee en
Bspagnol; Par le P. Oyanguren, et traduites par M. C. Landresse,
Membre de la Socie'te' Asiatique ; pre'ce'de'es d'une notice comparative
des Grammaires Japenaises des P. P. Rodriguez et Oyanguren ; par M.
le Baron G. de Humboldt." Paris. 1826.

•UAJNUUAliJ!;.

311

of the seventh century; and printing, from engraved
wooden blocks, in the Chinese manner, was introduced
A. D. 1206, about two hundred and fifty years before that
invaluable art was invented in Europe.
From the moment the Japanese acquired a written lan
guage, their literature advanced rapidly, and it appears
to have improved from age to age. Unfortunately, in
Europe, it is scarcely known ; but from the few Japanese
books that have fallen into the hands of learned foreign
ers, and from the accounts left us by the missionaries and
other travellers, it is evident that these people possess
works of all kinds, — historical compositions, geographical
and other scientific treatises, books on natural history,
voyages and travels, moral philosophy, cyclopeedias,
dramas, romances, poems, and every component part of a
very polite literature.
The wide diffusion of education, which has been more
than once mentioned, is of no recent date. The first of
all the missionaries who visited the country found schools
established wherever they went. The sainted Xavier
mentions the existence of four " Academies" in the vici
nity of Miako, at each of which education was afforded
to between three and four thousand pupils ; adding, that
considerable as these numbers were, they were quite in
significant in comparison with the numbers instructed at
an institution near the city of Bandone ; and that such
institutions were universal throughout the empire.*
Nor does it appear that these institutions have decreas
ed in modern days. Speaking of the early part of the
present century, M. Meylan states that children of both
sexes and of all ranks are invariably sent to rudimentary
* Charlevoix.

312 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
schools, where they learn to read and write, and are ini
tiated into some knowledge of the history of their own
country. To this extent, at least, it is considered neces
sary that the meanest peasant should be educated. Our
officers, who visited the country as late as the year 1845,
ascertained that there existed at Nagasaki, a college in
which, additionally to the routine of native acquirements,
foreign languages were taught. Among the visitors on
board our ship, many spoke Dutch. Some understood a
little French. One young student understood English
slightly, could pronounce a few English words, caught.
readily at every English expression that struck him, and
wrote it down in his note-book. They all seemed to be
tolerably well acquainted with geography, and some of
them appeared to have some acquaintance with guns, and
the science of gunnery. The eagerness of all of them to
acquire information greatly delighted our officers.*
The Japanese printers keep the market well supplied
with cheap, easy books, intended for the instruction of
children, or people of the poorer classes. The additions
or impressions of books of the higher order appear to be
uncommonly numerous. Most of these books are illus
trated and explained with frequent woodcuts,, which are
engraved on the same wood-blocks with the type. Like
the Chinese, they only print on one side of their thin pa
per. An imperial cyclopaedia, printed at Miako, in the
spiritual emperor's palace, is most copiously embellished
with cuts.
All are agreed that reading is a favorite resource and
recreation with both sexes, and that the Dairi, or court of
the Mikado, is eminently a bookish, literary court.
* "Narrative of the Voyage of H. M. S. Samarang," vol. ii.

LANGUAGE. 313
It is said that few sights are more common in Japan,
during the sunny seasons of the year, than that of a group
of ladies and gentlemen seated by a cool, running stream,
or in a shady grove, each with a book in hand. What
ever their literature may be, it is evident that it delights
them, and that it has polished their manners.
It is scarcely fair to judge of the literature of any coun
try by mere translations. The difficulty of so judging is
vastly increased when the language of the original writer
and that of the translator differ so entirely as does the Ja
panese from Dutch, German, French, English, or any Eu
ropean dialect. Then again, we possess, as yet, but very
few and fragmentary translations from the Japanese, of any
kind. In this our uninformed condition, it appears to
have been rather premature in any English writer to sit
in judgment on the literature of these people. The few
specimens of their histories or annals have been called
jejune, trivial, and monotonous; the specimens of their
geographical works, dry and dull. But in the multipli
city of native authors and books, the best may not have
been chosen, or the very few Europeans who have tried
their hands at the task may not have been the best of
translators. It is said that every Japanese is fond of quoting poetry,
and enlivening his conversation with verse. So far, he
seems to be a perfect Doctor Pangloss. But of the metre,
or rhyme, or construction of Japanese poetry, we can
scarcely be said to know anything. It appears pretty
evident that their poets delight in point, antithesis, epi
grammatic turns, and what we call concetti, or conceits.
Here are a few specimens, with the somewhat doubtful
translations of M. Titsingh.

14

314 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
A princess, afflicted by the death of dear relatives, com
posed these lines : — " Woudje kotowa
Tsoukouki ga fara na
Tsougou namida
Kousa na tomoto wa
Nava sigoure tsousou."
[Our misfortunes follow one another like the links of a
chain. Though my garments are moistened with my tears,
my eyes are incessantly filled afresh with them.J
Another princess, a daughter of the Daira-Sama, or spir
itual emperor, was married to the lay emperor, and carried
from Miako to Jeddo. Living very unhappily with her
husband, and regretting her native home, she thus gave
vent to her feelings : —
" Omo'i na ki,
Mini si nare domo
Faro sato no
Namo no tsouka siki
Miyako tori kana."
[Never did I conceive the idea of marrying the Ziogun.
Since this union I am cut off from the privilege of going
out into the world. Miako is ever present to my thoughts,
and if I perceive any object that reminds me of it, my
sorrows are aggravated.]
Another poet thus sings of happiness or longevity, and
its popular emblem, the bamboo : —
" Take-no-kotoba no
Podomo yokou
Tjiyo no fourou mitji
Piki tarasou
Modita karikerou
Tokito kaya."

POETEY. 315
[The knots of bamboo are all at equal distances from
one another : years and ages roll away without producing
any alteration in this arrangement. Thus our happiness
will be eternal.]
The next verses are interesting, as illustrating the
frequency of conflagrations. After a terrible fire at Miako,
a poet improvised these lines : —
" Kaze faya to
Kikoumo ouramesi
Teyono fi o."
[Whenever I hear a violent wind, I dread the breaking
out of a fire while it blows.]*
To which one of his rhyming companions! immediate
ly subjoined : — " Simisoudani tote,
Takemo no karesou."
[Were it even in a valley, watered by a running stream,
everything would be consumed.]

* Among the Turks, in our time, it was a common police regulation
n many of their towns, that blacksmiths should cease from their work,
iand that all fires should be extinguished whenever a hurricane began
to blow.
In a storm of this sort, some forty years ago, the wind blew the
charcoal embers from a smith's shop to the shop of a carpenter, where
the fire so took and spread that nearly the whole of the city of Brusa
was burnt to the ground. In 1848, we saw some of the ancient stone
buildings of that place still bearing on the blackened or almost cal
cined face of their walls, marks of this extensive combustion of the
wooden houses of the Turks.
* It appears that improvisatori are common among the Japanese,
and that, like the Italians, they can throw off, at their festive meet
ings, brindisi, or impromptu- rhymed toasts.

316 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
According to M. Titsingh, there is in these two im
promptus, as in very many of their longer and more
studied productions, a double meaning, or a play upon
words. The same writer, who lived long in Japan as chief
agent to the Dutch East India Company, at Nagasaki,
declares that the Japanese suffer no event at all worthy
of notice to pass without making it a subject for exercis
ing their passion for poetry. They have many historical
ballads, which really appear to be not very unlike our
Chevy Chase. M. Titsingh gives a version of a very
curious old ballad on the death of Yamassiro, a councillor
of state, who was assassinated and much regretted by the
people. It runs thus : [We may dispense with the Japa
nese lines.]
" That the young councillor is cut off at the castle on
the hill by a new guard, exciting a mob, I have just
heard. " Yamassiro's white robe being dyed with blood, every
one sees in him the reddening councillor.
"Along the eastern way, through the village Sanno,
the flowing waters rushed, burst the dyke of the swamp,
and the mountain-castle fell.
" The precious trees planted in vases, the plum-trees
and cherry-trees beautiful with their blossoms, who threw
into the fire ? It was Sanno that cut them down.
" A councillor, in madness, is cut down. We may say,
if such things had ever before been heard of, this was a
judgment of heaven."
In the Japanese original is one continued pun, or play
upon the name of the hero of the ballad, Yamassiro.
Yama means " mountain," and siro, " castle."
The Japanese have the counterpart of our very useful
lines: —

P0ETEY. 317
" Thirty days have September,
April, June, and November,"
but they do not make up the months of the year as we do.
Here is the curiosity : —
" Si yo da'i mi o
Mou sio ni nikou mo ou,
Nanats ou bo si
I ma si kou si re ba
Si mo no si ya wa si."
These lines contain the names of all the Japanese
months of thirty days, as well as of those that have but
twenty-nine days. Yet the same verses, being read in
their ballad sense, signify —
" All the grandees of the empire abhorred the bear (the
arms of Yamassiro, which are seven stars) ; let it shine
no more ; it is a happy event even for the lowest ser
vants." They appear to have a great many of these aids to
memory, some of their verses fixing the dates of historical
events, like the late Dr. Valpy's chronology in rhyme,
which we learned by heart in our schoolboy-days, and
which still clings to our memory in spite of the mediocrity
of its verse : —
" Through sixteen centuries the revolving sun,
And summers fifty-six his course had run, '
When sinful man drew heaven's just vengeance down,
In one wide deluge the whole earth to drown," &c.
Some of the Japanese ballads seem to start off in the
good old style of our nursery stories, " once upon a time,"
&c. M. Titsingh gives the following stanzas, which he in
forms us are set to the tune of an old and popular Japa
nese ballad.

318 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
" I de so no to ki ni " In illo tempore
Pa si no gi va Res magni momenti (evenit),
To no ma ya sanno ni Tonoma a sanno.
Era reta yo na Prostratus cecidit.
Sono fin pa o Prope regiam.
Kan no ni o-ota Kanno et Oota

Yetchou ni Sakan ra da

Et Yetchou ab ostio postico
(palatii).
r. , ¦ a ~ Ad portam anteriorem Sougi-
O ote ni Sougi yama * 5
yama
Ava si te sanga Simul pergebant
Sio no san ki son Vulneratus est triplici loco.
Chi chi san sa ni Pater ejus miser
Ita ron ura de Pactus est hoc (casu).
So o uro a ri so na Sic profecto
Zi zito no sio Ejus hora advenerat.
Tango in tori tsouki Tango superbiens
Kago in no ri te zo ro Ad currum eum duxit.
The lines may be thus Englished : —
" Once upon a time an event of great moment occurred.
Tonoma was slain by Sanno near the palace : he was
going with Kanno, Oota, Yetchou, and Sougiyama, from
the back-door towards the front door. He was wounded
in thrpe places. His father was wretched on account of
this deed. It was so decreed ; his time was come. Tango
proudly conducted him to his carriage."
Some of their poems seem to consist of religious dogmas
or moral apothegms. The following might have been
uttered by a pious Christian : —
" Kokoro da ni makoto,
No mitri ni kana fi naba
I ! no ra tsoe to te mo kami,
Jamo mo ramoe."
" Upright in heart be thou and pure,
So shall the blessing of God

P0ETBY. 319
Through eternity be upon thee ;
Clamorous prayers shall not avail,
But truly a clear conscience,
That worships and fears in silence."
Many of their prosetales and romances appear to be ex
ceedingly interesting, and far more imaginative, and at
the same time more natural, than the general run of Ori
ental narrations.f We have given some short specimens,
and more will be found in the works of Titsingh.
The dramas, which so attract and fascinate the Japanese,
are said to admit, in one and the same piece, a Shaksperian
mixture of the tragic and comic, and to bid a bold defiance
to what classicists and the French of the old school call
the " Unities." They think nothing of passing, in the
twinkling of an eye, from one island to another, or from
Japan to China or Corea, or from earth to heaven, or to
the regions under the earth. We have already indicated
the favorite staple materials of the plots of these plays.
They are generally founded on national history or tra
dition, presenting the exploits, loves and adventures of
Japanese heroes and gods. Some of them may be called
didactic, as they are designed to illustrate and enforce cer
tain moral precepts. Their general tendency is said to be
elevating, patriotic, and excellent, but they sometimes ex
hibit, in broad and revolting light, the unfavorable features
of the national character, such as a demoniacal passion of
* We have mislaid our note on the subject, and have forgotten the
authority, but we have somewhere seen it stated that the Japanese
have a complete corpus poetarum, or collection of all their poets, with
short memoirs to each.
t The monotony and unimaginativeness of real Eastern tales, almost
force us to adopt the theory of the brilliant author of Eothen — that the
Arabian Nights' Entertainments had a Greek origin.

320 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
revenge, and a fondness for witnessing punishments and
tortures. M. Fischer saw, on the stage, at Osacca, the
representation of one of their punishments by torture,
which he describes as astoundingly cruel.
It appears that more than twoactors are seldom, if ever,
upon the stage at the same time.* The theatres are very
large, and, to fill them with their voices, the actors have a
sad habit of roaring and ranting. As, in the old times, in
England and every other European country, the female
parts are filled not by actresses, but by smooth-chinned
boys. This we believe to arise, in Japan, from the ex
cessive fatigue attendant on the profession, to which no
woman's strength would be equal. The players begin
business soon after the hour of noon, and seldom leave off
until late at night. The actor is most esteemed who can
most frequently change parts in the same piece, in the
manner of Charles Matthews, of facetious and yet of mourn
ful memory. The "stars," or very great favorites, are
said to be enormously paid. But the profession is held in
great contempt, the Japanese maintaining that the man who
will give up his own character to assume that of another,
for pay and profit, can have no sense of honor. As a natural
consequence of their ban and proscription, the Japanese
actors are the most immoral, licentious, and depraved
people in the empire.
But the most singular point of all that has been told us
about the Japanese stage, is the order of performance.
Three long pieces are frequently represented on the same
day ; not, as with us, one after the other, in wholes, but in
portions, namely, first, the first act of one, then the first
act of a second, then the first act of a third ; then, returning
* Thunberg.

SCIENCE. 321
to the first play, the second act of it, and, successively, the
second acts of the second and third plays, and so on till
all the three plays are played out. By this curious ar
rangement, any of the audience who wish only to see one
of these pieces or who have not patience to sit out the
whole, may withdraw to attend to business or to other
diversion, or to smoke their pipes and drink rice-beer,
whilst the dramas they have no wish to see take their
turn on the stage ; and they can then return, refreshed, to
see and hear the next act of their favorite play. It is
said, however, that the Japanese ladies seldom avail
themselves of this facility, having no objection to sit out
all the three intermingled pieces, and employing some of
their time in changing their dresses in the manner already
related. Little more is known of their theatres, except
that, in general, the actors are magnificently attired, and
change their dresses on the stage, still more frequently
than the ladies change theirs in the boxes.
In science the Japanese have particularly cultivated
medicine, astronomy, and mathematics. Unfortunately,
their abhorrence of everything that is dead has prevented
any proper study of anatomy by dissection. They can
not, therefore, be good surgeons. But as physicians, they
very frequently give the best test of ability, for they cure
their patients of alarming, and even dangerous diseases.
Kampfer, Thunberg, and nearly all the medical men who
have ever travelled in the country, speak favorably both
of their skill and of their ardent desire to acquire profes^
sional European knowledge.*
Acu-puncture and mocca-burning are both Japanese in
ventions. We believe that they are now almost entirely

* See particularly Dr. von Siebold's valuable work.
14*

322 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
superseded among us by other processes, productive of
the like effects ; but they were brought from Japan into
Europe, and were, during a very long series of years,
adopted in the practice of every European country.
Of some of their medicinal preparations the most marvel
lous stories are related. The following is told by M. Tit
singh, whose veracity has not been impeached, and who
speaks from his own personal knowledge and experience.
" Instead of enclosing the bodies of the dead in coffins
of a length and breadth proportionate to the stature and
bulk of the deceased, they place the body in a tub, three
feet high, two feet and a half in diameter at the top, and
two feet at the bottom. It is difficult to conceive how
the body of a grown person can be compressed into so
small a space, when the limbs, rendered rigid by death,
cannot be bent in any way.
" The Japanese to whom I made this observation told
me that they produced the result by means of a particular
powder called Dosia, which they introduce into the ears,
nostrils, and mouth of the deceased, after which the
limbs, all at once, acquire astonishing flexibility. As they
promised to perform the experiment in my presence, I
could not do otherwise than suspend my judgment, lest I
should condemn as an absurd fiction a fact which, indeed,
surpasses our conceptions, but may yet be susceptible of
a plausible explanation, especially by galvanism, the re
cently discovered effects of which also appeared, at first,
to exceed the bounds of credibility.
" The experiment accordingly took place in the month
of October, 1783, when the cold was pretty severe. A
young Dutchman having died in our factory at Desima I
directed the physician to cause the body to be washed and
left all night exposed to the air, on a table placed near an

D0SIA POWDEES. 323
open window, in order that it might become completely
stiff. Next morning several Japanese, some of the officers
of our factory, and myself, went to examine the corpse,
which was as hard as a piece of wood. One of the in
terpreters, named Zenby, drew from his bosom a santock,
or pocket-book, and took out of it an oblong paper, filled
with a coarse powder resembling sand. This was the fa
mous Dosia powder. He put a pinch into the ears, another
pinch into the nostrils, and a third into the mouth ; and,
presently, whether from the effect of this drug, or of some
trick which I could not detect, the arms, which had be
fore been crossed over the breast, dropped of themselves,
and in less than twenty minutes, by the watch, the body
recovered all its flexibility.
" I attributed this phenomenon to the action of some
subtle poison, but was assured that the Dosia powder, so
far from being poisonous, was a most excellent medicine,
in child-bearing, for diseases of the eyes, and for other ma
ladies. An infusion of this powder, taken even in perfect
health, is said to have virtues which cause it to be in great
request among the Japanese of all classes. It cheers the
spirits and refreshes the body. It is carefully tied up in
a piece of white cloth and dried, after being used, as it
will serve a great number of times before losing its
virtues. " The same infusion is given to people of quality when
at the point of death ; if it does not prolong life, it pre
vents rigidity of the limbs ; and the body is not exposed
to the rude handling of professional persons — a circum
stance of some consequence in a country where respect
for the dead is carried to excess.
" I had the curiosity to procure some of this powder,
for which I was obliged to send to Kidjo, or the nine

324 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
provinces, to the temples of the Sintoos, which enjoy the
exclusive sale of it, because they practise the doctrine of
Kobou-Daysi, its inventor. It was after the death of Ko-
bou-Daysi, in the second year of the nengo-zio-wa (a.d. 825),
that this sand came into general use in Japan, The quan
tity obtained in consequence of my first application was
very small, and even this was a special favor of the priests,
who otherwise never part with more than a single pinch at
a time. " At my departure, in 1784, however, I carried with
me a considerable quantity of the Dosia powder. Part
was put up in lots of twenty small packets each, with the
name written on the outside in red characters ; the rest
was in small bags ; this was only a coarse powder, in which
were to be seen here and there particles of gold, and which
probably was not yet possessed of the requisite virtues.
One small packet only had undergone the chemical opera
tion which ensures its efficacy, and this was a powder as
white as snow.
"The discovery of the Dosia powder is ascribed to a
priest named Kobou-Daysi : he became acquainted with
the properties of this wondrous mineral on the mountain
of Kongosen or Kinbensen, in the province of Yamatto,
where there are many mines of gold and silver, and he
carried a considerable quantity of it to the temple to
which he belonged, on the mountain of Kojas-an.
" The priests of this temple continue to chaunt hymns
of thanksgiving to the gods who led Kobou-Daysi to the
important discovery. When their stock is exhausted,
they fetch a fresh supply from the mountain of Kongosen,
and carry it away in varnished bowls. In all ages the
common people are apt to attribute phenomena surpassing
human comprehension to the agency of celestial spirits ;

CHEMISTEY. 325
and, accordingly, the priests do not fail to pretend that
the Dosia powder owes all its efficacy to the fervor of their
prayers. As soon as the new supply arrives, it is put
into a basin, varnished and gilt, and set before the image
of the god Day-nitsi, or Biron-sanna. The priests, ranged
in a circle before the altar, and turning between their
fingers the beads of a kind of rosary, repeat, for seven
times twenty -four hours, a hymn, called Guomi-singo, the
words of which are :
" Ou o bokja Biron saunanomaka-godora mani
Fando ma, zimbara gara, garetaga won."
The priests assert that, after this long exercise, a kind of
rustling is heard in the sand ; all the impure particles fly
out of the vessel of themselves, and nothing is left but the
purified Dosia powder, which is then divided among all
the temples of the Sintoos."*
Chemistry appears to be very imperfectly studied.
Botany, on the other hand, is said to be diligently and
successfully cultivated, at least as far as it is connected
with the knowledge of simples. Some of the vegetable
medicines are described as effective and excellent. The
people, however, place their main dependence upon diet,
and upon acu-puncture, and the moxa, which are still
universally practised among them.
In astronomy, their proficiency really appears to be
very considerable. They pursue this study with great
ardor. Their best astronomers are said to be well ac
quainted with Lalande's Treatises, and other profound
works which have been translated into Dutch. This
surely disproves the assertion that they have only " some
* Titsingh. " Illustrations of Japan," &c.

326 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
little knowledge of mathematics." They have learned
the use of most of our astronomical instruments. They
have even taught Japanese artisans to imitate and repro
duce them to perfection. They have excellent telescopes,
chronometers, barometers, and thermometers of native
workmanship ; and they have learned to measure the
height of mountains by the barometer. The courts of
both the emperors are centres of science as well as of liter
ature. Good almanacs, including the calculation of eclip
ses, are annually published by the colleges of Jeddo and
Miako. From the few observations made by the officers
of the " Samarang," we are disposed to believe that if we
only knew more of them, the Japanese would be found
to be in possession of far more scientific knowledge than
the amount for which they have received credit.
It is quite clear that they are skilled in trigonometry,
and in some of the best principles of civil engineering.
The mechanical arts, or all such portions of them as
tend to abridge manual labor, and deprive people of the
employments to which they have been bred, are dis
couraged, and, in fact, repressed by the government. The
Ziogun would not accept, as a present, a European oil-
mill : he said that it was very ingenious, but that if such
a machine were generally adopted in the country, it would
throw all the old Japanese oil-presses out of work and out
of bread.
Although they are passionately fond of it, the national
music — like that of all Oriental nations — appears to be
utterly insupportable to European ears. Perhaps, how
ever, this condemnation is too sweeping and general.
We have heard some of the music of the Japanese ladies
highly commended by one who possessed a good musical
ear. The samsie, or-native guitar, is even more invariably

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

MUSIC AND PAINTING. 327
a part of female education than is the pianoforte in Eng
land. Its touch is the signal for laying aside ceremony
and constraint. The Japanese gentleman — truly a gentle
man in this respect — has no notion of social enjoyment or
conviviality without the company of the ladies. Every
fair one takes with her to their parties her samsie, and they
sing and play by turns, while the gentlemen smoke their
pipes and take the cheering glass. At every feast it is
the lady of the house that presides.
In the arts of design and painting they certainly possess
both skill and taste, although they are somewhat negli
gent in the study of " the human form divine."
" This art," says M. Fischer, "appears to have devel
oped itself, to a considerable degree, in very early times.
Many screens and decorated walls in their temples have
the stamp of a remote antiquity. Yet I never heard of a
good portrait-painter in Japan, and am of opinion that a
reluctance exists among their artists to devote themselves
to this branch of their profession, founded on supersti
tious feelings. In all such works their attention is prin
cipally directed to accuracy in the details of costume and
to the general air ; the face is never a likeness."
It has been appositely remarked that " their Tartar
brethren of St. Petersburgh, whose criticism on the por
trait of Alexander, by Lawrence, was first directed to the
great painter's delineation of his Imperial Majesty's epau
lettes, crosses, and ribbons, displayed similar feelings with
respect to the fine arts."*
It is curious to trace over the broad earth these Mongol
affinities — these long lingering proofs of a common origin
among so many and such distant nations. Those other

* " Quarterly Review," vol. hi.

328 EMPIEE OF JAPAN.
brethren of the Japanese, the Osmanli Turks, would not,
until quite a recent period, allow the human face or the
human form to be depicted, or carved, or sculptured at
all. It is true that the Koran prohibits all such repre
sentations ; but we believe that the old Mongol antipathy
had more to do with the interdict than any religious feel
ing or scruple, for we have seen Turks, who had no re
ligious convictions whatever, express a strong dislike at
the sight of a very agreeable English portrait.
The illustrations of M. Fischer's own book, all copied
from the productions of Nagasaki artists, would, in them
selves, be sufficient to prove that their painters have really
very considerable skill, and can give to their works all
that beauty of finish which we find in the illuminations
of the best of our old missals. It is at least reasonable to
suppose that the artists of Jeddo or Miako surpass those
of the provinces, as our London painters and the other
artists excel those of our provincial towns. Considering
the interdict laid upon exportation, we may also imagine
that the best specimens, the capi d? opera, of Japanese art
have not yet reached Europe, or been seen and examined
by competent European conoscenti.
The native delineations of flowers, fruits, and more es
pecially of birds, are exquisitely beautiful. We have fre
quently had in our hands a small cup, or rather saucer,
which is ornamented with the figures of two cranes.
Nothing can be more perfect in drawing, more true in
coloring, and more perfect in finish than this admirable
miniature. The object is preserved in the Museum of
the Boyal Asiatic Society, New Burlington-street, and
may be seen by any one, upon application to the Secre
tary, or to a member of the said Society.
Japanese artists produce beautiful maps of their own

FINE AETS.

329

country, which, by law, are not allowed to be exported, or
even to be seen by foreigners. It was in procuring copies
of the best of these maps of the empire that Dr. von Sie
bold became involved in very grievous troubles. An
English officer — a very competent judge of such matters —
to whom we have been indebted for some valuable assist
ance, saw these Japanese copies of the Imperial maps,
three years ago, in von Siebold's own house at Leyden,
and he assures us that they are most admirably executed.
If we had more good specimens before us we might, no
doubt, have much more to say on the subject of the fine
arts in Japan, but we trust that enough has been said to
impress the reader with the belief that these people —
super-refined Tartars — have, at least, artists of high taste
and very extraordinary skill.

IB INSTRUMENTS OP Wi«,

APPENDIX.

A.
EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE.
It has been made a matter of disputation whether Fernam Mendez
Pinto was not really the first European, or in company with the first
European party, that visited Japan.
In the year 1542, just half a century after the discovery of America
by Columbus, two different parties of Portuguese were driven, by
stress of weather, almost simultaneously, upon different islands of the
Japanese Archipelago. One party consisted of Fernam Mendez
Pinto, Diego Zeimoto and Christ. Borello; the other, of Antonio
Mota, Francisco Zeimoto, and Antonio Pexota. Pinto gives an ac
count of his visit, but is careless as regards dates, so that it is doubtful
which of the two parties is entitled to the honor of the first arrival.
Pinto was then one of a party of desperadoes, who came to Ningpo,
in China, and having, with his party, plundered the tombs of some
Chinese kings, on a neighboring island, was afterwards captured, car
ried to Peking, and imprisoned. He was released from durance by
the Tartars, who were then invading the country. After having spent
some time in the service of his liberators, he returned to Ningpo, and,
with his two companions, soon afterwards sailed from thence, or from
Lampagao, a Portuguese settlement near Macao, in a Chinese piratical
junk, for Loo Choo.
Meeting with adverse winds, they were unable to reach those
islands, and were finally compelled to make for the Japanese coast,
where they landed upon the island of Tansimmaa, a dependency of
the king of Bungo.
The strange vessel was hospitably received, and the governor of the
island, having come on board, was much struck with the appearance
of the Portuguese, and eagerly inquired of the captain what country
men they were, and from whence he had brought them. The answers
which he gave were satisfactory, and, on the third day, he and his

332 APPENDIX.
passengers landed, and paid a visit to the governor. Here the Portu
guese were objects of great curiosity, and were questioned as to the
extent and riches of the kingdom of Portugal, and the greatness of its
monarch. Pinto confesses that, in his answers, he had less regard for
the truth, than for the necessity of inspiring the Japanese with great
ideas respecting the grandeur and power of his nation and Bovereim
Accordingly he vouched for the statements previously made by the
Chinese, that Portugal was greater and richer than China— that his
sovereign had conquered the greater portion of the earth; and upon
being asked if it were true that his prince had 2,000 houses full of gold
and silver, replied that he was not exactly informed as to the number
of palaces in the possession of the king, because he had never thought
it necessary to take an account of them. The strangers were treated
with much hospitality, and an arquebuse which they had with them
excited great curiosity and interest. Pinto presented it to the gover
nor, and the ingenuity of the Japanese artisans enabled them, in a
few days, to manufacture others from the pattern. After a stay of a
month they were preparing to depart, when a message arrived from
the prince of Bungo, inviting them to his court. Pinto accordingly
proceeded to him at Usugui, or Vosugui, and having relieved the
prince of a fit of the gout, was received into high favor. But soon
afterwards he was very near losing it, together with his life, through
an unfortunate accident which happened to the son of the prince.
This young man, after much importunity, had been allowed to borrow
the arquebuse, and, having overloaded it, the weapon burst in his
hands, and wounded him severely. The accident was, by the popu
lace, attributed to design on the part of the Portuguese, and they
called loudly for vengeance; but the prince and his son shielded
Pinto, and he successfully employed his knowledge of surgery to
relieve the young man ; so that he was retained in favor. After a
short stay he returned to the port, and soon afterwards sailed with
his companions, in the vessel which had brought them, for China.*
Of the adventures of the other party little more is recorded than
the mere fact of their having been wrecked on the island of Kangusi-
ma,t in the kingdom of Satzuma, when on a voyage from China to

* P. M. Pinto's Adventures, &o. ; French translation, edition of Paris, 1830 ;
printed at the expense of the French government. Sir John F. Davis's admirable,
unique work, " The Chinese," etc.
(• " Asiatic Journal.''

APPENDIX. 333
^Macassar. This visit, however, seems to have attracted greater atten-
!tion than that of Pinto, as the following curious note of it is found in
the Japanese annals : —
i "Under the Mikado Konaru, and the Ziogun Yosi-nao, in the
twelfth year of the Nengo Tenbun, on the twenty-second day of the
eighth month (October, 1543), a strange ship made the island Tanega-
Sime,* near Koura, in the remote province Nisimura. The crew, about
two hundred in number, had a singular appearance ; their language
was unintelligible — their native land unknown. On board was a Chi
nese, named Go-hou, who understood writing; from him it was
gathered that this was a nan-ban ship (southern barbarian; in the
Japanese form of the Chinese words nan-man). On the 26th this ves
sel was taken to Aku-oki harbor, on the north-west of the island ;
and Toki-taka, governor of Tanega-Sime, instituted a strict investiga
tion concerning it, the Japanese bonze Tsynsynzu acting as inter
preter, by means of Chinese characters. On board the nan-ban ship
were two commanders, Mura-Syukya and Krista-Moota ; they bring
fire-arms, and first make the Japanese acquainted with shooting
arms, and the preparation of shooting powder."
At this period the Japanese were a mercantile people, carrying on
an active and lucrative commerce with, it is said, sixteen different
countries. Their kindness to the strangers who had been wrecked
upon their coasts, and the accounts given by them of their wealth and
commercial character, soon brought many other traders and adven
turers to the islands. All were kindly received, the new merchandise
and wares which they brought found a ready market, and a steady
intercourse arose between the western parts of Japan and the Portu
guese settlement of Lampagao. So ready were the natives to asso
ciate with the strangers, that they gave their daughters in marriage to
some of those who settled among them.
The ever watchful activity of the Society of Jesus was soon attract
ed by the accounts given by the travellers of the extent and wealth
of the islands, and the character and disposition of the inhabitants.
Accordingly, Xavier, with two other Jesuits, three converts, and
some other Christians, sailed from India for Malacca, and from thence,
* It has been said that Zime means " island," whence it follows that Siebold's
expression, "the island, Tanega-Zime," is tautological; but, in translating a
language, and speaking of a country so little known, such tautology could hardly
be avoided at a less sacrifice than that of perspicuity.

334 APPENDIX.
in a Chinese junk, to Japan. After a stormy passage of seven weeks,
they landed at Kangasima on the 15th of August, 1549. Here they
were very graciously received, the prince of Satzuma admitted Xavier
to an audience, and gave him permission to teach and preach the
Gospel. At this period the Japanese empire was the scene of frequent com
motion and internal strife. The different princes were almost inde
pendent sovereigns. Contending with the supreme government, and
with each other, they eagerly embraced every opportunity for real
izing the objects of their ambition. The few years of intercourse with
the Portuguese had sufficed to enlighten them upon the advantages
and profits to be gained from their trade. Every encouragement was
consequently given to the traders and settlers, and every facility
afforded them for carrying on their commercial concerns.
When Xavier arrived at Kangasima, the prince of Satzuma was not
slow in observing the great respect and homage paid him by the mer
chants. To serve his own interests he, too, paid marked attention to
Xavier, and endeavored by persuasion and kindness to retain him at
his court; conceiving that if he could conciliate Xavier, and induce
him to reside in his state, the commerce of the Portuguese would also
find its seat there, and prove a source of great revenue to him.*

The following notices of visits to Japan are extracted from the Chi
nese Repository, printed at Canton in 1838-9, (pp. 221 and 538). The
first is from the Journal of Captain Gordon (to which some allusion
has been made), who sailed in a small brig, " The Brothers," from the
Bay of Bengal for Okotsk in 1818, and on his way touched the Japan
coast. His narrative thus commences : —
"On the 17th of June, 1818, we stood into the Bay of Yedo, and
having joined with some junks which were apparently bound the
same course as ourselves, were at sunset close in with the land, with
out having been recognized as a stranger, a circumstance which gave
me much pleasure, as it was my wish to push directly for the capital,
and I hoped, moreover, to be at the gate of the Zeogun's palace by
daylight; but falling calm in the night, the vessel drifted near a rock,
and we were obliged to anchor. At daylight we were visited by
many boats, which came from several towns and villages about two
* Charlevoix. Von Siebold. " Chinese Repository." Klaproth.

APPENDIX. 335
miles off; and in the course of the morning many officers of govern
ment came on board, among whom were two of higher rank than the
others, to whom great respect was paid by their attendants. I made
known to this party my wish to proceed to Yedo, and acquainted
them that the object of my visit was to obtain permission to return
with a cargo for sale. As the wind and tide were against us, they
advised us to remove the vessel into a neighboring bay, for shelter,
and offered a pilot and two boats to assist, which I readily accepted,
as I knew that we must wait an answer from the court, about sixty
miles distant* I was requested to allow the arms and ammunition
to be landed, and subsequently to unship the rudder and send it
ashore, with both of which I complied, knowing it was customary at
Nagasaki ; but I declined dismantling the vessel, on account of the
loss of time it would occasion ; the spare sails were, however, landed.
The vessel was soon after encircled by twenty small boats, fastened
to each other, at the distance of a few yards from us ; and beyond
this cordon lay about sixty larger boats and gun-boats, besides two or
three junks, each equalling our own vessel in size, and mounting sev
eral small guns. Our floating-guard often amounted to a thousand
men ; and it was never less than half that number ; it was incredible
how good a look-out they kept, and how narrowly all our actions
were watched ; they noted every transaction, and made drawings of
all the objects which attracted notice.
"At first our visitors were inconveniently numerous, and came on
board continually, but after the first day the guard prohibited all
strangers from approaching us. The shore was daily crowded with
spectators, a very great majority of whom were females. On the
fourth day of our stay in the bay, I was gratified by a visit from two
interpreters, one of whom was a perfect master of the Dutch lan
guage, and the other was partially acquainted with the Russian.
They could also both speak a httle Enghsh, but ah our communication
was carried on in Dutch, and through this medium I was enabled to
explain my motives for coming to Japan more fully than I had before
been able to do, and to give an account of the vessel and crew. Cap
tain Golownin's name being mentioned, they inquired very particu
larly if he was at Ochotsk. They also asked if the Dutch and Enghsh

* " We suppose the place whither Capt. Gordon removed his brig was the Bay
of Shimoda, in the principality of Izu, on the western side of the entrance of the
large estuary going up to the Bay of Yedo."

336 APPENDIX.
nations were at peace, and receiving an affirmative answer, the inter
preter added, that he understood there had been peace throughout
Europe during two years. When I remarked that I hoped permission
would be granted for the vessel to return the next year, they replied
that the laws of Japan were very hard, and that a similar request
made thrice by Russia had been as often negatived. On taking leave,
they said, that, if I would allow them, they would do themselves the
pleasure of calling on board daily during our stay ; to which I said,
nothing could gratify me more than their doing so.
"The following day, about noon, we observed the arrival of a nori-
mor at the governor's house, and imagined it contained an important
personage, from the respect shown to it in passing. At two o'clock
the interpreters favored us with a second visit, and inquired the place
of birth of each person on board. They were particularly minute in
their inquiries respecting my own family and its several members.
On producing some vaccine scales, I was happy to find that the peo
ple of Japan were aware of the cow-pox, the advantages attending it
having been made. known by Captain Golowning, and its introduction
was ardently desired. Nothing, however, could be done concerning
a trial of the vaccine without advice from the superiors. Observing
that one person was desirous of having a few grains of our paddy for
the purpose of planting it, I brought forward a variety of garden
seeds, and requested his acceptance of them ; but they refused them,
adding that the laws of Japan were so strict regarding intercourse
with foreigners, that if we did not obtain permission to trade, they
would not be allowed to accept anything from us. While on board, I
took another opportunity of saying to them that, even if we were
refused permission to return, I hoped we could leave the vaccine mat
ter with them, together with the sheep, pigs, goats, and seeds, all of
which had been taken on board for the express purpose of being left
wherever they might be of use. I also said it would afford me plea
sure to leave with them newspapers and other publications relating
to the political state of Europe, as well as a few maps and books on
geography, seeing they were particularly anxious to acquire informa
tion on these subjects, and moreover were able to understand English
books by the aid of the Dutch-English dictionary, which was always
brought on board with them.
" Our visitors asked the name of the king of Holland, as well as that
of the family to which he belonged. In answer, I informed them
that he was formerly prince of Orange, and had returned home after

APPENDIX, 337
a residence of about twenty years in England. His age, and that of
his son, were asked, which led to the mention of the marriage of the
latter with a sister of the emperor of Russia. The name of the king
of Prance, and the present abode of Napoleon, were inquired for, and
if the English still kept possession of the Cape of Good Hope and of
Java. I told them that we did not now own the island ; and they
wished to know if such had not been the case ; to which I replied
that we had occupied it and all the other Dutch settlements while the
French overran Holland, but had restored them when the Dutch
regained their independence. Reference having been made to the
return of Napoleon, and to the battle of Waterloo, our visitors were
much interested in the account of that engagement, and an enumera
tion of the different states who were then combined against France.
The interpreters remarked that they had heard of the appointment of
Captain Golownin to be Governor of Ochotsk this year, and wished
to know if their information was correct From the desire exhibited
to ascertain this point, I am inclined to think the Japanese rather
dread the neighborhood of one so intimately acquainted with their
northern possessions, and natural character and resources. On enter
ing the cabin, the interpreter asked if I had a barometer. I had not
one on board to show him, but exhibited the instruments I had, and
found them well acquainted with their names and uses. They ob
served that instruments were made much better in London than
elsewhere. " The next morning a supply of fresh water was brought alongside
for the purpose of filling up our water casks, which I looked upon as
an omen of our approaching departure. The casks had been gauged
previously to this, and I imagined that the Japanese now wished to
ascertain more correctly the number of days we had been at sea, par
ticularly as the number of buckets handed on board was counted. Had
it not been for this consideration, I would have declined the water,
wishing it to be more clearly understood that my only object in visit
ing Japan was to obtain permission to trade. The persons who ac
companied the water were more talkative than usual. They showed
me a string of beads used like the rosary as a help to devotion, and
read the Chinese characters on a tea-chest. They told me the Japa
nese names for many articles, and spoke much of the manufactures of
London, which place they seemed to consider as the seat of the arts.
"About noon, the interpreters repaired on board, and, after the
usual compliments, produced some papers, and said, in an official man-
15

338 APPENDIX.
ner: — 'You have applied for permission to trade to Japan; we are
desired by the governor of this place to inform you that this permis
sion cannot be. granted, as the laws of Japan interdict all foreign
interconrse, with the exception of that which exists already at Naga
saki with the Dutch and Chinese, and that the governor, conse
quently, desires you to sail the first fair wind.' After a httle desul
tory conversation, they remarked, by way of explanation, from
another paper, and in a demi-official manner, that in August, 1803,
an American ship had arrived at Nagasaki,* and in the following No
vember, an English ship from Calcutta had visited the same port, with
views similar to our own; also that, in 1806, the Russian embassy
[under Resanoff] had been at Nagasaki, since which time another
ship of the same nation had visited that port. A third Russian vessel
had also applied at Matsumai, in 1813, all of which had been dis
missed, and we, too, could not be admitted ; therefore, it was ' better
not to return, as we could get nothing by it.' The bluntness of this
caution would have displeased me, if I supposed they were aware it
* " We accidentally came across what may perhaps be another notice of this
visit, in vol. xvi. of the ' Quarterly Review,' p. 71, in a review of the life of Archi
bald Campbell, a sailor on board the ship Eclipse, at Boston, — we say, ' perhaps,'
because there is a discrepancy between the dates in the Review and Capt. Gordon.
We give the account as we find it, not being aware that a foil narrative of the
voyage has ever been published : — ' On the 16th of June they entered the Bay of
Nagasaki, under Russian colors, and were towed to the anchorage by an immense
number of boats. A Dutchman came on board, and advised them to haul down
the colors, as the Japanese were much displeased with Russia, and it was thought
prudent to keep the Russian supercargo out of sight. The American produced
his trading articles, but the Japanese told him they wanted nothing from him ;
and desired to know what had brought him there ? He replied, want of water,
and fresh provisions ; and to prove that this was the case, he ordered several
butts to be started, and brought empty on deck ! The next day a plentiful supply
arrived of fish, hogs, and vegetables, and boats filled with water in large tubs,
which the captain emptied on deck, stopping the scuppers, and allowing it to run
off at night. For these supplies, thus fraudulently obtained, and wantonly wasted,
he knew the Japanese would ask no payment. On the third day, when O'Kean
found that nothing was to be gained by way of trade, he got under way ; the ship
was towed out of the bay by nearly a hundred boats ; and, on parting, the
Japanese cheered them, waving their hats and hands ; but as they stood along
the coast, the inhabitants made signs as if to invite them to land :' — the editor
thinks, and we agree with him, that Campbell is here mistaken, and that these
indications were meant to repel them, as Captain Saris was, with ' Core, core, .
Cocore, ware,'—' Get along, yon falsehearted fellows.' "

APPENDIX. 339
bore a threatening import ; but, as it was, it only excited a smile. An
offer was made of boats to tow us out of the bay, when ready for sea;
and I was asked what flag I would hoist as a signal when ready.
Having no other at hand than the ensign and jack, which I did not
like to display, surrounded and guarded as we were, I said I would
hoist a boat's sail instead of a flag ; this appearing strange to them,
they asked why I would not hoist the flag, to which I merely replied,
that I could not as we were then situated. The name of the gover
nor of Ochotsk was again asked ; and so suspicious did the Japanese
appear to be of the intention of Russia, respecting their detention of
Captain Golownin, that were I to assign any specific cause for not
being allowed to trade, independent of the national policy, it would
be the wish on the part of the government not to give umbrage to
Russia, by conceding to others a favor which had been denied to
them ; indeed, this was assigned as the true cause of our dismissal in
a manner almost official. Expressing a hope that I would be allowed
to leave some trifling remembrance with the interpreters, they an
swered that the laws of the empire were so strict, that they could not
receive anything whatever.
"In the afternoon, our arms, ammunition, rudder, &c, were re
turned on board ; and the following morning, having made the signal
agreed upon, we were towed out of the bay by about thirty boats.
As none of the gun-boats weighed, I hoisted the colors for the first
time, as soon as clear of the bay, and when fairly out, dismissed the
tow-boats, and our friends who had accompanied them, with three
cheers. While leaving, the shore was not only thronged with specta
tors, but many hundreds came by water from the neighboring coasts,
to gratify their curiosity by the sight of the strange vessel. We were
scarcely quitted by the tow-boats, when some of these persons ap
proached, and, at length, accepted an invitation to come on board,
which they did in such multitudes that the deck was thronged to ex
cess, and I was glad to see a guard-boat pull towards us for the pur
pose of dispersing the crowd. As soon as the people recognized the
boat, they fled in every direction, but many of them quickly re
turned; and when we pointed out a guard-boat afterwards, some
would merely laugh, and say they did not care for them, while others
would quit, and give us to understand that they were afraid of being
destroyed. In the course of that and the following day, there were
not less than 2,000 persons on board, all of whom were eager to bar
ter for trifles. I had the pleasure of obtaining, amongst other things,

340 APPENDIX.
some httle books, and other specimens of their language ; and distrib
uted two copies of the Chinese New Testament, together with some
Chinese tracts. If inchned to set any value on ideas which can be
formed concerning the hearts of men, especially of men accustomed to
disguise their feelings, as we are informed the Japanese are, I would
confidently say, that our dismissal was regretted by all : this opinion
does not arise so much from anything which has been said, as from a
remembrance of the eager satisfaction with which everybody used to
examine the several articles of my dress, particularly such as were of
a fine quality, and the desire very generally expressed of purchasing
similar articles on our return.
" The next vessel on our list was an English colonial brig, called
the Cypress, which sailed from England in August, 1829, for New
South Wales, with thirty-two convicts on board, and a military guard,
commanded by Lieutenant Carew, in the Enghsh navy. While the
captain and some of the passengers and crew were ashore at Research
Bay, in New Holland, the convicts rose upon the crew, and took pos
session of the vessel, which they carried to New Zealand, and there
landed the soldiers, passengers, and such of the convicts as desired to
be put on shore. The remainder, eighteen in number, sailed from
thence to the Sandwich Islands, where nine more were left, and the
other nine started for Japan. They were fired upon by the Japanese,
and proceeded on to Canton, but at the ' Ten Thousand Islands,' four
of the mutineers quitted her; and when off Formosa, she sank in con
sequence of making water, owing to the injury she had sustained
from being fired upon by the Japanese, and the five remaining men
reached Canton in the long-boat. They were here examined by the
select committee in consequence of their extraordinary relations, and
sent to England in one of the Company's ships, consigned to the care
of the Admiralty Board, by whom they were tried and convicted.
This is all we know of the visit of the Cypress, which is taken from
the ' United Service Journal,' for November, 1830. and although bear
ing suspicious marks, and resting only upon the statements of muti
neers and convicts, is still worthy of notice. The unexplained part of
the story is, that we do not know any of the group called the ' Ten
Thousand Islands.' We wish, however, that they had told us where
they had been fired upon ; for when the Morrison was in the Bay of
Kagosima, the Japanese on board of her were told that, two or three
years before, a vessel had touched at Tanega Isle, lying off the mouth
of the bay, from which the foreigners had debarked, and violently

APPENDIX. 341
carried off some cattle ; and that these foreigners had been carried to
Nagasaki ; the people on the main land, too, supposed the Morrison to
be that vessel returned. These may, from first to last, be idle stories ;
but some unknown transactions, it appears to us, of a flagrant nature,
must have taken place on that coast, to have caused the Japanese to
treat two vessels in a manner so diametrically opposite as they did the
Brothers and the Morrison."
The reader who would further pursue this part of the subject may
consult, with advantage, the account of Resanoff 's Embassy to Japan,
in 1804 ; Mr. Rundall's Memorials, and various articles in the " Naval
Magazine,'' with others in the " Chinese Repository."
CHINESE INTERCOUBSE AND TRADE.
The subjects of the Celestial Empire five in as prisoned a state as
the Dutch. " The Chinese," says Thunberg, "have almost from time
immemorial traded to Japan, and are the only people in Asia who
have engaged in the trade, or are allowed to visit the empire. For
merly, they proceeded to Osacca harbor, although it is very danger
ous, on account of rocks and shoals. The Portuguese showed them
the way to Nagasaki. At first the annual number of their vessels
amounted to upwards of one hundred. The liberty which they then
enjoyed is at present greatly contracted, since they have been sus
pected by the Japanese of favoring the Catholic missionaries in
China, and have made attempts to introduce into Japan Catholic
books printed in China. They are therefore as much suspected and
as hardly used as the Dutch. They are also shut up in a small island,
and strictly searched whenever they go in or come out
" When a vessel arrives from China, all the crew are brought on
shore, and all charge of the vessel is taken from them till such time as
everything is ready for their departure ; consequently, the Japanese
unload it entirely, and afterwards bring the vessel on shore, where, at
low water, it is quite dry. The next year it is loaded with other

"The Chinese are not suffered to go to the Imperial Court, which
saves them considerable sums in presents and expenses. They are
allowed to trade for twice as large a sum as that granted to the
Dutch; but as their voyages are neither so long nor so dangerous,
they are obhged to contribute more largely to the town of Nagasaki,
and therefore pay more, as far even as sixty per cent, fanndgm, or
flower-money.

342 APPENDIX.
" Their merchandise is sold at three different times in the year, and
is brought in seventy junks. The first fair takes place in the spring,
for the cargoes of twenty vessels ; the second in the summer, for the
cargoes of thirty vessels ; and the third in autumn, for the cargoes of
the remaining twenty. Should any more vessels arrive within the
year, they are obliged to return without being allowed to unload the
least article. Although their voyages are less expensive than the
Dutch, and they are not under the necessity of sending an ambassa
dor to the emperor, nor is any director put over their commerce, but
interpreters, a guard, and supervisors are appointed to them, the same
as the Dutch ; yet, on account of the greater value per cent, deducted
from their merchandise, their profits are less than those of the Dutch ;
and as they are no longer allowed to carry away any specie, they are
obliged to purchase Japanese commodities for exportation, such as
copper, lackered ware, etc., many of which are produced in their own
country. "When their vessels are loaded, and ready for sailing, they are
conducted by a number of Japanese guard-ships, not only out of the
harbor, but likewise a great way out to sea, in order to prevent their
disposing to the smugglers of any of the unsold wares they may have
been obhged to carry back."
Dr. Ainslie, who visited the port of Nagasaki in 1814, states, that
the Chinese trade is limited to ten junks annually, which are fitted
out from the province of Nankin, bringing principally sugar, with
other trifling articles, and a large quantity of English woollens. In
return, 1,000 peculs of bar copper are allotted to each junk; the
remainder of the cargo consists of lackered ware, dried fish, whale-oil,
etc. He adds, that the Chinese are treated in Japan with great
indignity ; and that their intercourse is tolerated chiefly on account
of certain drugs which are produced in China, and to which the Japa
nese are attached.

B.

GEOGRAPHY.
One of the earliest attempts to describe in Enghsh the remote and
very little known country was made by quaint old Peter Heylyn,
who wrote in the time of James I., and dedicated his book to Charles
Prince of Wales. I quote from the third edition, printed at Oxford
in 1639.

APPENDIX. 343
" Japan, situated over against Canton in China, on the east, and the
straights of Anian, south, is in length 600 miles ; in breadth in some
places 90 ; in others, 30 only. The soyle, and the people participate
much of the nature of China, but that the Japonites are more super
stitious; as washing their children as soone as borne, in rivers; put
ting off their shooes before they enter into the dining chamber. Per
haps these may be the Landers, who, in meere opposition to the Chi-
noys, put off their shooes in salutation ; because they of China put off
their hats. To whom our factious Puritans are fitly compared; who
oppose themselves against the Papists in things decent and allowable,
though this opposition be accompanied with many grosse and ridicu
lous absurdities.
" The chiefe cities of this island are — 1, Okacaia ; 2, Bunguin ; 3,
Pianocanca ; 4, Meacum, which once contained in circuit twenty-one
miles, though now not halfe so big ; 5, Coia ; 6, Bandum, which is
said to be an University bigger than Paris. Here are in this island
sixty-six kings, some of which are so rich, that their houses are covered
with gold. The chiefest of these kingdomes is called the kingdome
of Tenze, which of itselfe comprehendeth five of these petty realmes,
all lying about Meacum, and doth now lord it over fifty of these sixty-
six kingdomes ; so that the K. of Tenza writeth himselfe Soveraigne
Lord of Japan. This augmentation of the Tenzean kingdome came
wholly by the valor of Paxiba, the father of Taicosama, now living ;
who, the better to assure himself of his new conquest, transported the
vanquished kings from one country to another ; to the end that being
removed out of their commands, and placed among strange subjects,
they should remaine weake, and without meanes to revolt against him ;
a politicke and mercifull course. What the revenues of this king are
we cannot certainly tell ; onely wee may guesse them to be very
great, in that he hath two millions of gold for the yearely rent of that
rice, which is gathered out of those possessions, which he hath re
served for his demeasnes. This Hand was discovered by Antonia
Monta, a Portugal, & his fellowes, An. 1542. It is much frequented
by the Jesuites, of whom 200 are said to hve here ; Xavier, one of
Ignatius' first companions, leading the way."
The error of believing that the whole empire of Japan consisted of
one great island appears to have been very commonly entertained for
a great length of time.
The following quite recent geographical sketch is extracted from
that valuable work the Chinese Repository, published at Canton :

344 APPENDIX.
" Japan is a mountainous and hilly country, and its coasts are lined
with steep rocks. Niphon is traversed, in its whole length, by a
chain almost of uniform elevation, and in many places crowned with
peaks covered with perpetual snow. This chain divides the streams
which flow to the south and east, and which fall into the Pacific
Ocean, from those which pursue a northerly course to the sea of Ja
pan. Very many of the mountains of the country are volcanic. A
full and, as far as we know, accurate account of these was published
by Klaproth, in the ' Asiatic Journal,' for January, 1831. The vol
canic chain, of which the first southern links are found in the island
of Formosa, extends by the way of the Loo Choo islands to Japan, and
thence along the Kurila Archipelago, as far as Kamtschatka. On the
great island of 'Kewsew, in the department of Piseu, and south-east
from Nagasaki, is the Oiin-zew-ga-da, or 'high mountain of warm
springs,' which has several craters. In the early part of the year
1793, the summit of the mountain sunk entirely down ; torrents of
boiling water issued from all the parts of the deep cavity, which was
thus formed, and the vapor arose like thick smoke. Three weeks after
wards there was an eruption of the volcano Bivo-no-kubi, about half
a league from the summit; the flames rose to a vast height ; the lava
which flowed out extended itself with great rapidity, and, in a few
days, the whole country was in flames for several miles around. A
month after this there was a horrible earthquake throughout the whole
island, which was principally felt in the district of Simabara ; the
shocks were repeated several times, and the whole ended by a ter
rible eruption of Miyiyama. In the interior of Figo is the volcano
Aso, which emits stones and flames, the latter of a blue, yellow, and
red color. Satsuma, which is the southernmost department of Kewsew,
is entirely volcanic, and impregnated with sulphur. Eruptions there
are frequent. In 764 of our era, three new islands arose out of the
sea ; they are now inhabited. At the southern extremity of Satsuma
is Ivoc Sima, or ' Sulphur Island,' which burns incessantly.
" The most memorable volcanic phenomena, in Japan, occurred in
the year 285, b. c, when an immense land-lapse formed, in a single
night, the great lake Mitsu. At the very time when this took place,
Foosi, the highest mountain in Japan, rose from the surface of the
earth. Foosi is an enormous pyramid, covered with perpetual snow,
situated in the department of Suruga, and near the borders of that of
Ka'i. It is the largest and most active volcano in Japan. There wa3
an eruption of it in 799, a. d., which lasted thirty-four days ; it was

APPENDIX. 345
frightful; the ashes covered the whole base of the mountain, and the
streams of water in the vicinity assumed a red hue. The eruption in
the year 800 was without earthquakes, which preceded those in 863
and 864. The latter was most violent ; on all sides of the mountain
the flames rose high, and were accompanied with the most frightful
reports of thunder. Three several shocks of earthquakes were felt,
and the mountain was on fire for ten days, till at length its lower part
burst ; the explosion was tremendous ; the devastation extended over
a space of thirty leagues, and the lava ran to a distance of three or
four leagues, principally towards the frontiers of Ka'i.
" Again, 1707, on the night of the 23rd day of the 11th moon, two
violent shocks of an earthquake were felt; Mount Foosi opened,
vomited flames, and hurled cinders to the distance of ten leagues.
Next day the eruption ceased, but it was revived with greater vio
lence on the 25th and 26th. Enormous masses of rock, sand reddened
by heat, and an immense quantity of ashes, covered all the neighbor
ing plateau. The ashes were driven to a great distance, and fell
several inches thick at Jeddo.
"Another volcano, called the Sirayama, 'white mountain,' and
covered with perpetual snow, is situated in the department of Kaga,
about a degree and a half north of Miyako. Its most remarkable erup
tions took place in 1239 and 1554. Another, and a very active
volcano, is Asama, which is situated in Sinano, near the centre of
Niphon. It is very high, burning from midway to the crest, and
throws out an extremely dense smoke. It vomits flames and stones,
and frequently covers the neighboring country with ashes. One of its
last eruptions was that of 1783, which was preceded by an alarming
earthquake. A vast number of villages were swallowed up by the
earth, or burnt and overwhelmed by the lava. The number of persons
who perished by this disaster it is impossible to determine; the
devastation was incalculable. Yake, in the department of Mooto, is
the most northern volcano in Japan. The lofty mountains between
Mooto and Dewa likewise contain several volcanoes.
" There are among the volcanic mountains of Japan a vast number
of warm springs. Many of these springs are found in Sinano. In
the department of Yetsingo, situated to the north of Sinano, there is,
near the village of Nueru-gawaumra, a well abounding with naphtha,
which the inhabitants burn in their lamps. In the district of Gazivara
there is a spot, the stony soil of which exhales inflammable gas. The
15*

346 APPENDIX.
natives make use of this gas, by running a pipe into the earth, and
lighting the end like a torch.
" Klaproth, in concluding his paper on the subject, remarks that six
of the volcanoes of Japan, and four of the mountains from whence
issue warm springs, are, according to the Japanese, the ten hells of
the country. Of the rivers and lakes of Japan we can say but little.
None are remarkable for their size. The rivers seem to be numerous,
and most of them rapid in their course. The river of Yodo has
already been sufficiently described. The Tenrio-gawa, or river of the
heavenly dragon, takes its rise in Sinano, and passing through Tootami,
disembogues itself by three mouths into the sea.
" The sources of the Ara are in the mountainous country between
Kootsuke and Musai. It flows through the latter, and soon separates
into two branches ; the western, receiving the name of Toda, falls in
the Gulf of Jeddo, to the eastward of the city of that name, which is
watered by branches and canals from the Toda.
" Upon one of these canals is the celebrated Niphon-bas, or bridge
of Japan, from whence distances are computed throughout the em
pire. Over some of the rivers bridges have been built; there are
others which are passed by boats ; others are forded. The lake
Mistu, or O'its, already noticed as the largest in the empire, is only
about seventy English miles long, and twenty-two broad.
" The climate of Japan is healthful. In winter the north and north
west winds are exceedingly sharp, and bring with them an intense
frost. The summer heat is frequently alleviated by sea breezes ; and
throughout the whole year it rains frequently: the most abundant
rains are in June and July, and hence they are called the 'water
months.' In winter, snow frequently falls, and sometimes lies several
days, even in the southern part of the empire. Thunder is often
heard during the hot season ; and storms, hurricanes, and earthquakes
are frequent. Golownin, who, it is true, never visited Niphon, gives
Japan a gloomy aspect, and thinks it truly an empire of fogs. 'In
the summer months,' he says, ' the fog often lasts three or four days
without interruption, and there seldom passes a day in which it is not,
for some hours, gloomy, rainy, or foggy. These fogs and this gloomy
weather make the air cold and damp, and hinder the beams of the
sun from producing so much effect as in other countries which
enjoy a clear sky." -
This information, added to that which has been given in the body

APPENDIX. 347
of the book, will, we trust, enable the reader to form a tolerably clear
notion of the country and climate.

C.
" On the first arrival of the Dutch, the Japanese were allowed to
visit foreign countries. Their ships, though built on the plan of the
Chinese junks, boldly defied the fury of tempests. Their merchants
were scattered over the principal countries of India ; they were not
deficient either in expert mariners or adventurous traders. In a
country where the lower classes cannot gain a subsistence but by
assiduous labor, thousands of Japanese were disposed to seek their
fortune abroad, not so much by the prospect of gain, as by the cer
tainty of being enabled to gratify their curiosity with the sight of
numberless objects that were wholly unknown to them.
" This state of things formed bold and experienced sailors, and at
the same time soldiers, not surpassed in bravery by those of the most
warlike nations of India.
" The Japanese, accustomed from their infancy to hear the accounts
of the heroic achievements of their ancestors, to receive at that early
age their first instruction in those books which record their exploits,
and to imbibe, as it were, with their mother's milk, the intoxicating
love of glory, made the art of war their favorite study. Such an
education has, in all ages, trained up heroes : it excited in the Japan
ese that pride which is noticed by all the whole nation."*
"The Japanese have a cycle of sixty years like that of the Chinese,
formed by a combination of words of two series. The series of ten is
formed of the names of the elements, of which the Japanese reckon
five, doubled by the addition of the masculine and feminine endings,
je and to.
1. Kino-je, ) „„„, 7. Kauno-je ) ~»t„i
2. Kino-to, I wood- 8. Kauno-to, \ meUh
3. Fino-je, ) fi 9. Midsno-je, \ t
i. Fino-to, J nre- 10. Midsno-to, $ water-
5. Tsutsno-je, ) rth
6. Tsutsno-to, ? eann-
The series of twelve is made up of the signs of the Zodiac.
* Titsingh.

348 APPENDIX.
1. Ne, rat. 7. Ooura, horse.
2. Oos, ox. 8. Tsitsuse, sheep.
3. Torra, tiger. 9. Sar, ape.
i. Ov, hare. 10. Torri, hen.
6. Tats, dragon. 11. In, dog.
6. Mi, serpent. 12. Y, hog*
"By substituting these words for the letters in the cycle, under the
head of China, the Japanese names are found. Thus, the first year of
a cycle is called hino-je-ne, the thirty-fifth, tsuisno-je-in, and so on.
The cycles coincide with those of the Chinese ; but a name is given to
them instead of numbering them. Their years begin in February, and
are luni-solar, of twelve and thirteen months, with the intercalation as
before mentioned, under the head of China. The first cycle is said to
begin 660 b. c. ; but this cannot be correct, unless some alteration has
taken place, as the Chinese cycle then began 657 b. o. We know,
however, too httle of Japan to pronounce positively respecting it, but
thus far it is certain, that the cycle now coincides with that of the
Chinese." The valuable paper from which this extract is taken is the pro
duction of our valued friend, Edwin Norris, Esq., of the Foreign
Office and Royal Asiatic Society. The paper appeared in Mr. Charles
Knight's most useful publication, the "Companion to the Almanac,''
in the year 1830. As its learned author shuns celebrity with more
care than that with which other men hunt after it, he put no name
to his production, and never took any pains to claim it as his own.
How frequently it has been used without any acknowledgment by
other writers, or how many have claimed its substance as their own,
we are not, at this moment, prepared to say. A curious controversy,
in which our friend took no part, established the fact of his authorship
good twenty years after the paper had been written. See the " Gentle
man's Magazine," 1850.
The reader must look at the Chinese cycle, in order to understand
the Japanese. But we would heartily recommend him to study the
whole of Mr. Norris's very remarkable paper, the full title of which is,
" The Eras of Ancient and Modern Times, and of various Countries,
explained, with a view to the comparison of their respective dates."
The author of it has more varied knowledge and acquirements, and
* The Tartar names for these twelve Bigns are :— 1. Mouse. 2. Ox. 3. Leopard.
i. Hare. 5. Crocodile. 6. Serpent. 7. Horse. 8. Sheep. 9. Ape. 10. Hen.
11. Dog. 12. Hog.

APPENDIX. 349
is more ready and liberal in imparting them to others, than any other
man with whom it has ever been our lot to be acquainted with. As
a philologist and etchnologist, his claims to eminence are now univer
sally allowed. Yet we should hardly use the word "claims," for, in
the modesty of his nature, he rarely claims anything.
FIRES.
M. Doweff thus describes the mighty conflagration he witnessed at
the capital : —
" On April 22nd, 1806, at about ten in the morning, we heard that
a fire had broken out about two leagues from our lodging. We paid
httle attention to the inteUigence, the inhabitants of Jeddo being so
well practised in the art of putting out fires. In fine weather there
is generally a fire every night, and as this happens seldomer in rainy
weather, it is usual with the citizens to wish one another joy of a
good wet evening. In this instance, however, the fire made rapid
approaches, and towards three in the afternoon the flames, excited by
a strong breeze, broke out in four different places in our neighbor
hood. We had, since one o'clock, employed ourselves in packing up
our effects, so that we were able to take immediate flight. The dan
ger was pressing. On issuing into the street, we saw everything in
a blaze. There was great danger in endeavoring to escape before the
wind, and in the same direction with the fire ; we therefore took a
slanting direction through a street already burning, and thus suc
ceeded, by following the flames, in gaining an open field. It was stud
ded all over with the standards of princes, whose palaces had been
destroyed, -and whose wives and children had fled thither for refuge.
We followed their example, and marked out a spot with our Dutch
flags, which we had used on our journey. We had now a fuU view
of the fire, and never have I seen anything so terrific. The terrors
of this ocean of flame were enhanced by the heart-rending cries of the
fugitive women and children."
This conflagration, after raging for twelve hours, was extinguished
by rain. The number of houses consumed must have been enor
mous. Fifty-seven palaces of princes were destroyed, and 1,200 per
sons either burned to death or drowned. The Nipon Bas, a famous
bridge, broke down under the weight of the flying multitude.
TEA.
" The poorer sort of people, particularly in the province of Nar&,

350 APPENDIX.
sometimes boil their rice, which is the main sustenance of the natives,
in the infusion or decoction of the tea, by which means they say it
becomes more nourishing and filling, insomuch that one portion of
rice thus prepared, will go as far with them as three portions if it
were boiled only in common water. I must not forget to mention
another external use of the tea, after it has grown too old and hath
lost too much of its virtues, to be taken inwardly. It is then made
use of for dyeing of silk-stuffs, to which it gives a brown or chesnut
color. Por this purpose vast quantities of the leaves are sent almost
every year from China to Gusarattam (or Suratta)."
DOG SUPERSTITION.
A very curious specimen of this superstition has been traced in
India among the P&'sis, who are also of the Mongol race. With these
people a dead body cannot be buried or removed, unless a dog be
brought in to look upon it.
The " Sag-did," that is, dog-gaze, is the ceremony of bringing a
dog to look upon the dead body; for, according to some superstitious
notions of the Parsis, evil spirits are driven away by the presence of
the dog, and the fate of the deceased's soul may be, they think,
guessed at, by the manner in which he regards the corpse. This
usage they do not willingly make known.*
CIVILIZATION.  VON SIEBOLD.
It is a fact, now universally acknowledged, that every nation that
does not advance in civilization must inevitably retrocede. No people
can be stationary. There is abundant evidence to prove this retro
cession in the Chinese, who are very far from being so civilized now
as they were in the thirteenth century, and the days of Marco Polo.
Some writers have supposed that the Japanese also must have de
clined; but the hypothesis does not appear to be made out by the
books and the other authorities which we have consulted.
A gentleman who has taken much interest in this work, and who
is well acquainted with Von Siebold, assures us that the impression
on that able writer's mind is that there has been rather progress than
decline in the arts and civilization of Japan.
*" Illustrations of the Languages called Zend and Pahlavi," by John Romer,
Esq., late Member of Council at Bombay, M.R.A.S. ; Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Sooitey, vol. iv. p. 352.

APPENDIX. 351
It is with great pleasure that we avail ourselves of this opportunity
of doing some httle justice to a writer of great merit, who has been
rather severely censured for the mournful consequences of his efforts
to increase our knowledge of Japan. Von Siebold's behavior was
most manly on that occasion, and admiration of his courage, and of
his wish to take all the blame on himself, contributed, in a great de
gree, towards inducing the Japanese government to pardon the
delinquents who supplied him with the duplicates of the government
survey. It appears that one or two of his Japanese friends ripped
themselves up when he (Von Siebold) was first imprisoned, but that
afterwards nobody suffered death on his account
We are indebted to the same kind informant for the two following

Dr. Von Siebold's private museum is much better worth seeing —
for Japanese objects — than the public museum at the Hague.
His own villa, outside Leyden, is like a Japanese house, being made
up of odds and ends brought from Japan, and the garden being full
of Japanese shrubs and plants. CHARACTER — STEEL.
The following is an extract from the old voyager Struys : — " The
Japaneezes are in general a very hardy people, and can endure any
extremity of heat or cold, hunger or thirst, to a miracle. This they
seem to come to by a hardy usage when young ; for they always
bathe their infants in cold weather in rivers, and sometimes plunge
them over head and ears in snow. They are excellent warriors, and
are well acquainted with fire-arms ; as also with the long-bow and
javelin. They are grown famous in all the East, for expert armor
ers, and temper steel better than the Chineezes, which far exceed the
Europeans. Their swords are so well tempered that I have struck
with one through an iron pin, of half an inch thick, without the least
token of damage to the edge. They follow hunting much, and prefer
venison before any other dainty whatever. In their entertainments
they are very open and liberal, and use tea for a caress, which is far
better than that which is exported abroad, and prepared after a dif
ferent manner ; but they refuse to impart it to Christians, which I
held somewhat strange, in regard that the more it is used in other
countries, the greater is their advantage, seeing that they have better
in this island than anywhere else in the world."

352 APPENDIX.

In one of his letters, honest William Adams gives the following
details. The place he speaks of is Fushini, a large city not far from
Bosaca. " The nine-and- twentieth, at night, we found here a garri
son of three thousand soldiers, maintained by the emperor, to keep
Miaco and Ozaco in subjection. The garrison is shifted every three
years, which change happened to be at our being there, so that we
saw the old bands march away, and the new enter, in most soldier
like manner, marching five abreast, and to every ten files an officer
which is called a captain of fifty, who kept them continually in very
good order. First their shot, viz., calieners (for musket they had
none, neither will they use any), then followed pikes, next swords, or
cannons and targets, then bows and arrows, next those weapons re
sembling a Welsh hook, called waggadashes, then calieners again, and
so as formerly, without any ensign or colors ; neither had they any
guns or musical instruments for war. The first file of the cannons
and targets had silver scabbards to these cattans, and the last file,
which was next to the captain, had their scabbards of gold. The
companies consist of divers numbers, some five hundred, some three
hundred, some one hundred and fifty men. In the midst of every
company were three horses very richly trapped, and furnished with
saddles, well set out, some covered with costly furs, some with velvet,
some with stamped broad cloth ; every horse had three slaves to at
tend him, led with silken halters, their eyes covered with leather
covers. After every troop followed the captain on horseback; his
bed and other necessaries were laid upon his own horse, equally
peased [poised] on either side. Over the same was spread a covering
of redde felt of China, whereupon the captain did sit cross-legged, as
if he had sate betwixt a couple of panniers ; and for those that were
ancient or otherwise weak-back, they had a staff artificiaUy fixed
upon the pannel, that the rider might rest himself, and lean backward
against it, as if he were sitting in a chair. The captain-general of this
garrison we had met two days after we met his first troop, (having
still in the meantime met with some of the companies as we passed
along, sometimes one league, sometimes two leagues distant one from
another). He marched in very great state, beyond that the others
did (for the second troop was more richly set out in their arms than
the first ; and the third, than the second ; and so still every one better
than other, until it came unto this the last and best of all). He hunt
ed and hawked all the way, having his own hounds and hawks along

APPENDIX. 353
with him, the hawks being hooded and lured as ours are. His horses
for his own sadle being six in number, richly trapped. Their horses
are not tall, but of the size of our middling nags, short and well trust,
small-headed and very full of mettle, in my opinion far excelling the
Spanish jennet in pride and stomach. He had his own pallankin car
ried before him, the inside crimson velvet, and six men appointed to
carry it, two at a time.
" Such good order was taken for the passing and providing for of
these three thousand soldiers, that no man either travelling or inhab
iting upon the way where they lodged, was any way injured by them,
but chiefly entertained them as other their guests, because they paid
for what they took, as all men did ; every town and village upon the
way being well fitted with cooks and victualling-houses, where they
might at an instant have what they needed, and diet themselves from
a penny English a meal, to two shillings a meal."

Slavery in the Empire of Japan is different from that prevailing in
the western hemisphere. The person of a party, male or female, may
be sold under certain circumstances, or a party may sell his or her
service for a stipulated period for a sum of money which may be
agreed on, and which must be paid down at once in the gross. On
the expiration of the stipulated period, the party is free to dispose of
his or her person again. Masters have power over the fives of their
slaves, if they commit offences which by the law are punishable with
death ; but if a man should kill his slave for any cause that the law
does not deem worthy of death, the offender is adjudged guilty of
murder, and subjected to the penalty of the crime.*
DIFFUSION OF EDUCATION.
"The Japanese are extremely fond of reading; even the common
soldiers when on duty are continually engaged with books. This pas
sion for literature, however, proved somewhat inconvenient to us, as
they always read aloud, in a tone of voice resembling singing; much
in the same style in which the psalms are read at funerals in Russia.
Before we became accustomed to this, we were unable to enjoy a
moment's rest during the night. The history of their native country,
*"Memorials of the Empire of Japan." Edited, with notes, by Thomas Rundall.
Published by the Hakluyt Society.

354 APPENDIX.
the contests which have arisen among themselves, and the wars in
which they have been engaged with neighboring nations, form the
subjects of their favorite books, which are all printed in Japan. They
do not use metal types, but print with plates cut out of pieces of hard
wood."* CURRIERS.
In India, the arts of the currier, cordwainer, etc., are practised only
by the despised aborigines — a large branch of the unhappy Pariahs.
They are excluded from all towns and villages, and can keep only
dogs and asses. Nearly every conceivable degradation is put upon
these Indian aborigines; and yet, according to our friend General
Briggs and other excellent authorities, they are the honestest fellows
in the country, most faithful servants, and ready and brave soldiers.
The best part of our native forces, in the campaign of Seringapatam,
was composed of them. If the British government could only do
away with those intolerable distinctions of "right and left hand
castes," how great a blessing would be conferred on these ancient,
primitive people ? Since the commencement of the present century,
many efforts have been made by English officers and administrators,
but there yet remains much to be done.
VARNISH.
Captain Golownin gives the following short account : —
" The Japanese varnish is celebrated in Europe. The tree which
produces this juice, grows in such abundance, that the Japanese lacker
all their table utensils, boxes, saddles, bows, arrows, spears, sheaths,
cartouch-boxes, tobacco-boxes ; in their houses, the walls and screens,
and in short, every trifle that they wish to ornament. We had the
pleasure to see a master-piece in varnishing. It was a bottle-case be
longing to the governor, who sent it for us to look at The polish on
it was so beautiful, that we could see our faces in it as in a mirror.
The natural color of this juice is white, but it assumes any color by
being mixed with it. The best varnish in Japan is usually black or
red, and almost everything is so varnished ; but we saw also green,
yellow, blue, and other varnish. In varnishing, they also imitate
marble. The juice, when fresh, is poisonous, and very injurious to
those who collect it, for which reason they employ various precau-
* Golownin. " Memoirs of Captivity," etc.

APPENDIX. 355
tions ; but after it has stood for some time in the open air, it loses its
poisonous quality. The varnished utensils may be used without dan
ger. The Japanese are so clever in varnishing, that you may pour
hot water into a vessel, and drink it, without perceiving the slightest
smell of the paint. This, however, is true only with respect to ves
sels of the best workmanship ; in others, you smell the paint, even if
warm water is poured into them."*
TOBACCO-SMOKING.
Golownin, though a Russian and a sailor, appears to have had no
love for " the weed." Our sapient King James I. has hardly spoken
more disparagingly of it
" Tobacco is an article which is equally indispensable to the Japa
nese. The Catholic missionaries were the first who introduced this
plant, and taught them its use. From them, too, the Japanese re
ceived its name, and still call it tobaco, or tobago. It is astonishing
how the use of this worthless herb should have spread, in so short a
time, over the whole earth, as it is entirely without taste, without
any agreeable smell, without use to the health, and a mere amuse
ment for idle people ! Our interpreter Teske, one of the most sensible
of our Japanese acquaintances, was himself a great smoker ; but often
said, that the Christian priests had not done the Japanese so much
injury by the introduction of their faith, which only produced among
them internal commotions and civil wars, as by the introduction of
tobacco ; for the former was a transitory, long forgotten evil, but the
latter diverted, and probably would do for centuries to come, large
tracts of land and a number of hands from the production of useful
and necessary articles, which are now dear, but might otherwise be
cheaper. Besides, the workmen could not then so often interrupt
their labor, but now they were continually resting themselves in order
to smoke their pipes.
" I do not know how many species of this plant there are in nature,
nor how many of them the Japanese have ; but I saw various kinds
of prepared tobacco among them — from the most pleasant to the most
disgusting. They cut both the good and the bad tobacco very small,
as the Chinese do. In the manufacture of the better sort, they use
sagi to moisten it, and sell it in papers which weigh about a Russian
pound. The Japanese consider the tobacco from Sasma as the best,
then that from Nagasaki, Sinday, &c. The worst comes from the
* Recollections of Japan.

356 APPENDIX.
province of Tgyngaru ; it is strong, of a black color, and has a disgust
ing taste and smell. The tobacco from Sasma is, indeed, also strong,
but it has an agreeable taste and smell, and is of a bright yellow color.
The tobacco from Nagasaki is very weak in taste and smell, perhaps
the best, and of a bright brown color. The tobacco from Sinday is
very good, and was always given us to smoke. The Japanese manu
facture tobacco so well, that though I was before no friend to smoking,
and even when I was at Jamaica, could but seldom persuade myself
to smoke an Havannah cigar, yet I smoked the Japanese tobacco very
frequently, and with great pleasure. Snuff is not used in Japan. But
enough of this plant. I could, indeed, for the pleasure of gentlemen
who love smoking, write some sheets more on the article tobacco, for
there was nothing concerning which we had such frequent opportuni
ties to converse with the Japanese. The literati, the interpreters, and
guards, all smoked ; and used, too, different kinds of tobacco, accord
ing to their respective taste or ability. Out of politeness, they fre
quently offered us their tobacco, and mentioned its name. In this
manner a conversation usually began upon tobacco, which often lasted
for hours together. We often had an opportunity to speak of other
more important things, and besides, the Japanese did not all like to
converse upon them."*
But there is much worse smoking than tobacco-smoking. There is
reason to fear that the Japanese are as much addicted to the opium
pipe as either the Chinese or the Malays, the Siamese or the people of
Annam. This vile habit is destructive of health, both mental and
bodily.COMMERCE. — MANNER IN WHICH THE DUTCH ARE TREATED. — SMUGGLING,
ETC.
The following details, as given by Dr. Thunberg, will be found
interesting, and may possibly be found useful at this moment, when
efforts are making to open the trade with these extraordinary people.
Though written so many years ago, there is reason to believe that the
doctor's notes are still in the main correctly descriptive.
" On anchoring at the entrance of the harbor, all the prayer-books
and bibles belonging to the sailors were collected, and put into a chest
which was nailed down. This chest was afterwards left under the
care of the Japanese till the time of our departure, when every one
* Recollections of Japan.

APPENDIX. 857
received his book again. This is done with a view to prevent the
introduction of Christian or Roman Catholic books into the country.
"A muster-roll of the ship's company, consisting of about 110 men
and 34 slaves, was made out, mentioning the age of every individual,
which roll was given to the Japanese. The birth-place of each indi
vidual was not marked in the list, as they were all supposed to be
Dutchmen, although many of them were Swedes, Danes, Germans,
Portuguese, and Spaniards. According to this muster-roll, the whole
ship's company is mustered immediately on the arrival of the Japa
nese, and afterwards every morning and evening of such days as the
ship is either discharging or taking in her cargo, and when there is
any intercourse between the ship and the factory. . By these precau
tions the Japanese are assured that no one can either get away with
out their knowledge, or remain in the factory without their leave.
"As soon as we had anchored in the harbor, and saluted the town
of Nagasaki, there came immediately on board two Japanese superior
officers (banjoses), and some subaltern officers, as also the interpreters
and their attendants. The business of these banjoses was, during the
whole time of our ships lying in the road, to take care that all the
wares, and the people that went on shore, or came on board, were
strictly searched ; to receive orders from the governor of the town ;
to sign all passports and papers which accompanied the merchandise,
people, etc.
"After having several times fired our cannon, in saluting the impe
rial guards, and on the arrival and departure of the Dutch principal
officers, we were obhged to commit to the care of the Japanese the
remainder of our powder, as also our ball, our weapons, and the
above-mentioned chest-full of books. For this purpose were delivered
in a certain quantity of powder, six barrels full of ball, six muskets,
and six bayonets, which we made them believe were all the ammuni
tion we had remaining. All these articles are put into a storehouse,
till the ship leaves the road, when they are faithfully restored by the
Japanese. They have, of late years, had the sense to leave the rud
ders of our ships untouched, and the sails and cannon on board.
They were, likewise, weary of the trouble with which the fetching
them back was attended, and which was by no means inconsid
erable. " The Japanese having thus, as they suppose, entirely disarmed us,
the next thing they have in hand is to muster the men, which is done
every day on board, both morning and evening, when the vessel is

358 APPENDIX.
discharging or taking in her lading. Each time the number of men
that are gone on shore is set down very accurately, as well as the
number of the sick, and the number of those that remain on board.
" On all those days, when anything is carried on board, or taken
out of the ship, the banjoses, the interpreters, clerks, and searchers,
are on board till the evening, when they all go on shore together, and
leave the Europeans on board to themselves. On such occasions, the
flag on board the ship is always hoisted, as well as that on the fac
tory ; and when two ships arrive here safe, business is transacted on
board one or the other of them, by turns, every day. The ship's long
boat and pinnace were also taken into the care of the Japanese, from
going to it, and trafficking, especially under cover of the night; and
when no Japanese officers are on board, several large guard-vessels
are placed round the ship, and at some distance from it; and besides
this, there are several small boats ordered to row every hour in the
night round the ship, and very near it.
"A great number of laborers were ordered to attend to the dis
charge and loading of the boats, and bringing them to and from the
ship, others being set as inspectors over them. The Dutch formerly
took the liberty to punish and correct with blows these day-laborers,
who were of the lowest class of people ; but, at present, this proce
dure is absolutely, and under the severest penalties, forbidden by the
government, as bringing a disgrace upon the nation.
" When a European goes to or from the ship, either with or with
out any baggage, an officer is always attending with a permit, on
which his name is written, his watch marked down, &c.
" On those days when there is nothing done towards discharging or
loading a ship, no Japanese officers, nor any other Japanese, come on
board, neither do any of the Dutch themselves go to or from the ship
on such days. The gate of the island, also, towards the water side, is
locked at this time. Should an urgent occasion require any of the
officers to come on board of the ship, such as the captain or the sur
geon — which is signified by the hoisting of a flag — in such case leave
must be first obtained from the governor of the town ; and should this
be granted, still the gate towards the sea-shore is not opened, but the
person to whom leave is granted, is conducted by interpreters and
officers through a small part of the town to a little bridge, from which
he is taken on board in a boat, after having gone through the strictest
search. The banjoses and interpreters, who accompany him, do not,
however, go on board the ship, but wait in their boats till he has

APPENDIX. 359
transacted his business on board, from whence he is conducted back
to the factory.
" Custom-houses are not known, either in the interior of the coun
try or on its coasts, and no customs are demanded on imports or
exports of goods, either from strangers or natives. But, that no pro
hibited goods may be smuggled into the country, so close a watch is
kept, and all persons that arrive, as well as merchandise, are so strictly
searched, that the hundred eyes of Argus might be said to be em
ployed on this occasion. When any European goes ashore, he is first
searched on board, and afterwards as soon as he comes on shore.
Both these searchers are very strict; so that not only travellers' pock
ets are turned inside out, but the officers' hands pass along their
bodies and thighs. All the Japanese that go on board of ship, are in
like manner searched, excepting only the superior orders of banjoses.
All a rticles exported or imported undergo a similar search, first on
board the ship, and afterwards in the factory, except large chests,
which are emptied in the factory, and are so narrowly examined, that
they even sound the boards, suspecting them to be hollow. The beds
are frequently ripped open, and the feathers turned over. Iron
spikes are thrust into the butter-tubs and jars of sweetmeats. In the
cheese a square hole is cut, in which part a thick-pointed wire is
thrust into it towards every side. Nay, their suspicion went even so
far as to induce them to take an egg or two from among those we had
brought from Bavaria, and break them. The same severe conduct is
observed when any goes from the factory to the ship, or into the
town of Nagasaki, and from thence to the island of Dezima. Every
one that passes must take his watch out of his pocket, and show it to
the officers, who always mark it down whenever it is carried in or
out. Sometimes, too, strangers are searched. Neither money nor
coin must, by any means, be brought in by private persons ; but they
are laid by, and taken care of till the owner's departure. No letters
to be sent to or from the ship sealed ; and if they are, they are
opened, and sometimes, as well as other manuscripts, must be read by
the interpreters. Religious books, especially if they are adorned with
cuts, are very dangerous to import ; but the Europeans are otherwise
suffered to carry in a great number of books for their own use ; and
the search was the less strict in this respect, as they looked into a few
of them only. Latin, French, Swedish, and German books and man
uscripts pass the more easily, as the interpreters do not understand
them. Arms, it is true, are not allowed to be carried into the coun-

360 APPENDIX.
try ; nevertheless,' we are as yet suffered to take our swords with '
us. "The Dutch themselves are the occasion of these over-rigorous
searches, the strictness of which has been augmented on several dif
ferent occasions, till it has arrived at its present height. Numerous
artifices have been applied to the purpose of bringing goods into the
factory by stealth ; and the interpreters, who heretofore had never
been searched, used to carry contraband goods by degrees, and in
small parcels, to the town, where they sold for ready money. To this
may be added, the pride which some of the weaker minded officers in
the Dutch service very imprudently exhibited to the Japanese, by ill-
timed contradictions, contemptuous behavior, scornful looks and laugh
ter, which is greatly increased upon observing in how unfriendly and
unmannerly a style they usually behave to each other, and the brutal
treatment which the sailors under their command frequently expe
rience from them, together with the oaths, curses, and blow3 with
which the poor fellows are assailed by them. All these circumstances
have induced the Japanese, from year to year, to curtail more and
more the liberties of the Dutch merchants, and to search them more
strictly than ever; so that now, with all their finesse and artifice,
they are hardly able to throw dust in the eyes of so vigilant a nation
as this.
" Within the water-gate of Dezima, when anything is to be export
ed or imported, are seated the head and under banjoses, and inter
preters, before whose eyes the whole undergoes a strict search. And
that the Europeans may not scrape an acquaintance with the search
ers, they are changed so often that no opportunity is given them.
" This puts a stop to illicit commerce only, but not to private trade,
as everybody is at liberty to carry in whatever he can dispose of, or
there is a demand for, and even such articles as are not allowed to be
uttered for sale, so that it be not done secretly. The camphire of
Sumatra, and tortoise-shell, private persons are not permitted to deal
in, because the company reserve that traffic to themselves. The rea
son why private persons prefer the smuggling of such articles as are
forbidden to be disposed of by auction, do not receive ready money
for them, but are obhged to take other articles in payment; but when
the commodities can be disposed of underhand, they get gold coin,
and are often paid twice as much as they would have had otherwise.
" Some years ago, when smuggling was still in a flourishing state,
the greater part of the contraband wares was carried by the inter-

APPENDIX. 361
preters from the factory into the town ; but sometimes they were
thrown over the wall of Dezima, and received by boats ordered out
for that purpose. Several of the interpreters, and other Japanese,
have been caught at various times in the fact, and punished with
death. " Smuggling has always been attended with severe punishments ;
and even the Dutch have been very largely fined, which fine has of
late been augmented; so that if any European is taken in the fact, he
is obhged to pay 200 catties of copper, and is banished the country
for ever. Besides this, a deduction of 10,000 catties of copper is made
from the Company's account ; and if the fraud is discovered after the
ship has left the harbor, the chief and the captain are fined 200 catties
each. " The Company's wares do not undergo any search at all, but are
directly carried to the storehouse, on which the Japanese fix their
seal; where they are kept till they are sold and fetched away.
" The interpreters are natives of Japan, and speak with more or less
accuracy the Dutch language. The government permits no foreigners
to learn their language, in order that, by means of it, they may not
pick up any knowledge of the country ; but allow from forty to fifty
interpreters, who are to serve the Dutch in their factory with respect
to their commerce, and on other occasions. These interpreters are
divided into three classes. The oldest, who speak the Dutch language
best, are called head interpreters ; those who are less perfect, under
interpreters; and those who stand more in need of instruction, bear
the denomination of apprentices or learners. Formerly the Japanese
apprentices were instructed by the Dutch themselves in their lan
guage, but now they are taught by the elder interpreters. The ap
prentices had also, before this, liberty to come to the factory whenever
they chose ; but now they are only suffered to come when they are
on actual service. The interpreters rise gradually and in rotation to
preferments and emoluments, without being employed in any other
department. Their duty and employment consist in being present-
generally, one, or sometimes two of each class — when any affairs are
transacted between the Japauese and Dutch, whether commercial or
otherwise. They interpret either viva, voce, or in writing. Whenever
any matter is to be laid before the governor, the officers, or others,
whether it be a complaint or request, they are obliged to be present
at all searches, as well at those that are made on board ship as at those
which take place at the factory, and likewise to attend in the journey
16

362 APPENDIX.
to court. They were formerly allowed to go whenever they chose to
the Dutchmen's apartments ;¦ but now this is prohibited, in order to
prevent smugghng, excepting on certain occasions. They are always
accompanied as well to the ships as to their college in the island of
Dezima, by several clerks, who take an account of everything that is
shipped or unloaded, write permits, and perform other offices of a sim
ilar nature.
"Kambang money, or the sums, due for goods that are sold, is
never paid in hard cash, as the carrying it out of the country is pro
hibited; but there is an assignment made on it, and bills are drawn
for such a sum as will be requisite for the whole year's supply, as also
for as much as will be wanted at the fair island. This kambang mo
ney is, in the common phrase of the country, very light, and less in
value than specie, so that, with the money which is thus assigned
over, one is obliged to pay nearly double for everything. All these
kambang bills are paid at the Japanese new year only. Every man's
account is made out before the ship sails, and is presented and ac
cepted at the college of the interpreters, after which the books are
closed. All that is wanted after the new year is taken up upon credit
for the whole year ensuing. The 18th of February is, with the Ja
panese, the last day of the year. On this day all accounts between
private persons are to be closed, and these, as well as all other debts,
to be paid. Fresh credit is afterwards given till the month of June,
when there must be a settlement again. Among the Japanese, as
well as in China, in case of loans, very high interest is frequently
paid, from eighteen to twenty per cent. I was informed that if a
man did not take care to be paid before new year's-day, he had after
wards no right to demand payment on the new year.
" When the Dutch do not deal for ready money, their commerce
oan hardly be considered in any other light than that of barter. With
this view, a fair is kept on the island, about a fortnight before the
mustering of the ship, and its departure for Papenberg, a small island
near the entrance of the harbor, when certain merchants, with the
consent of the governor, and on paying a small duty, are allowed to
carry their merchandise thither and expose it to sale in booths erected
for that purpose.
" The copper, the principal article of export, was brought from the
interior and distant parts of the country, and kept in a storehouse ;
and as soon as the ship was in part discharged, the loading it with
the copper commenced. This latter was weighed, and put into long

APPENDIX. 363
wooden boxes, a pecul in each, in presence of the Japanese officers
and interpreters, and of the Dutch supercargoes and writers, and af
terwards conveyed by the Japanese to the bridge, in order to be put
on board. On such occasions a few sailors always attend, to watch
that the laborers do not steal it, which they will do if possible, as
they can sell it to the Chinese, who pay them well for it.
" When the ship is nearly laden, she is conducted to Papenberg,
there to remain at anchor, and take in the residue of her cargo, and
all the merchandise and other things belonging to the officers, the
ship's provisions, etc. A few days after, when the ship has anchored
in the harbor, the governor points out the day when she is to sail ;
and this command must be obeyed so implicitly, that, were the wind
ever so contrary, or even if it blew a hard gale, the ship must depart
without any excuse, or the least shadow of opposition. Before the
ship leaves the harbor, the powder, arms, and the chest of books that
were taken out, are returned ; the sick from the hospital are put on
board ; and whilst she is sailing out, the guns are fired to salute the
town and the factory, and afterwards the two principal guards at the
entrance of the harbor."
It appears thatthe government allow the free importation of foreign
books, provided only they have nothing to do with the Christian reli
gion, and that scientific books from Europe are eagerly sought after
by many. LITERATURE.
We have seen the following curious books : —
I. " First . Book for the Education of Youth," with explanations,
for teaching Chinese as well as Japanese. This work was published
in 1789, and, like most Japanese books, it is illustrated with wood
cuts. II. " The Nightingale resting on the Plum Tree." This is a curious
collection of stories, legends, and wild traditions.
III. " The Casket of Jewels, being superior lessons for females."
IV. 'f Mirror of Female Education." This was published at Jeddo,
and reprinted at Osacca in the year 1534. It contains pictures of
female occupations and pastimes, pictures of young ladies at their
toilette, and others showing how they ought to carry themselves in
company. V. " A Memoir on the Art of Smelting and Purifying Copper."
VI. " The Miriad of Flowers and the Hundred Men." This is a

364 APPENDIX.
collection of poetical pieces, said to have been writen by one hun
dred accomplished persons who had met casually at some pleasant
spot The vplume, like so many others, is chiefly intended for female
readers. A friend has' translated for us the preface to the " Tale of the Six
Folding Screens," the work about which the learned Pfitzmaicr has
taken so much trouble. It is sufficiently quaint and curious.
The reader will find in this book nothing about fighting with ene-
"mies,. or about conjurers or magical works/ or fairy discourses, or jack-
alls, or wolves, or toads : nothing about pedigrees, or jewels, or any
other lost property. Here are no stories of confusion between the
names of father and son, or elder and younger brother ; no sealed-up
boxes, or hair pins, or mysterious revelations of the gods and Buddhas
by means of dreams ; no mortal swords pointed against each other ;
nothing which makes the blood run cold can at all be found in it.
Convinced of the incorrectness of the adage, that " Men and folding
screens cannot stand unless they be bent," we have here hastily put
together, upon this perishable paper, covered with figures, the brief
notes of good counsel, as a border or frame, to the tale of six such
folding screens under the new forms of this transitory world, who
have wholly disdained to bend; and we publish the same to the
world. The best short account of the Japanese language, and the different
modes in which it is written, is given by Professor H. Brockhaus, in
a review of Hoffmann and de Siebold's Bibliotheca Japonica (Gers- '
dorff's Repertorium. Lpz. 1846, p. 372, ff).
The .first part of a great Japanese Dictionary, by Dr. Pfitzmaier,
lately published at Vienna, has been already noticed. Several papers
on Japanese dialects, grammar and poetry, by the same savant, have
appeared in the report of the transactions of the Imperial Academic
des Sciences, Vienna, 1849 and 1850. A grammar was in course of
preparation by the celebrated Chinese scholar, Professor Stephan
Endlieher, of Vienna, but interrupted by his death.
Two recent works', by an Englishman, are said to be easy and
useful. An Enghsh and Japanese, and Japanese and English Vocabulary,
by W. H. Medhurst, Batavia, 1830, and "Translation of a comparative
Vocabulary of the Chinese, Corean, and Japanese Languages," by the
same author, Batavia, 1835.
Brief as they are, these last notes may possibly be found of some

APPENDIX. 365
service to such as think of commencing the study of the Japanese
language, a knowledgo of which will certainly be in great demand.
Some valuable remarks on the affinities of language and the con
nexion between the Japanese, Tartars, and other eastern peoples, will
be found in two articles, " The Ethnology of Eastern Asia," and
"The Ethnology of South-eastern Asia," in that valuable publication,
the " Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia," vol. iv.
Singapore, 1850. Both these papers are written by the editor, J. R.
Logan, Esq., Member of the Asiatic Society, etc.

THE END.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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