UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES I • • • ^» • • • • « , • * ' • • • ' ' *. . • • • • . • • ■ • • ,* • • • « • o ' • • • • , • • • • • « ' • • • ■ ^ > • . • RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN, COMPRISING A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION, LANGUAGE,GOVERNMENT, LAWS AND MANNERS OF THE PEOPLE, WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE 4!5£ograp6B, ©Umatt, J)opulation $c JJi ouiictioitis OF THE COUNTRY. BV CAPTAIN GOLOWNIN, R. N. AUTHOR OF " NARRATIVE OF A THREE-YfiARS' CAPTIVITY IN JAPAN." TO WHICH ARE PREFIXED CfTJronolosical lictailis OF THE RISE, DECLINE, AND RENEWAL OF BRITISH COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE WITH THAT COUNTRY. LONDON: ' PIIINTED FOR HENRY COLBURN, PUBLIC LIBRARY, CONPUIT STREET, HANOVER SQUARE. 1819. 5 - 2^27 J ADVERTISEMENT. ^ ^ On introducing the Recollections of Captain Golownin to the British Public, we have to notice some extraordinary charges brought against our former publication, (the Narrative of Captain Golownin's Captivity), by the Editor of the British Review, and which we are inclined to think must have emanated rather from the malicious suggestions of some disappointed and envious Counter-Coxcomh, than from the mind of the Editor of a \ Journal that aspires to the character of respectability ; though it (\ IS only in deference to the opinion of some of our friends that we ^ ii^ avert to accusations, which the success of the work has proved "^ to be as impotent as they are futile. These accusations may be reduced to three heads : — 1. — ^The iiijt having stated the work to have been originally written "^ . in Russian, and having likewise left unnoticed a German translation, so ^^ that, in the language of the Reviewer, " the reader is lefi to suppose that a Russian Captain sent his manuscript Jrnm Kamtschatka, or St.Petersburgh, in good English, to be printed, in London'''' ! ! ! II. — The having attempted to pass, off this ilussian for an English- man, by annexing R N. to his name, " by which such as know the fact may believe, if they can, thai Russian Navy ivas intended.^'' IIF. — The having suppressed passages in which the Author alludes to his future and morH systematic publication, to make the reader believe that he has before him the whole fruits of the Captain s sufferings in Japan." We have quoted the above grave accusations as a pretty fair specimen of the absurdities into which Reviewers can fall when they choose to be blind, and in answer to them have simply to state : — In the first place: — That the work was introduced to the Public by repeated advertisements, announcing it to be written by Captain Golownin, o/" the Russian Navy, and Published by order of the Russian Government. — But, wonderful to relate, because it was not stated to be translated from the Russian, the reader, it seems, is left to suppose that a Russian Captain com- ^ r- ■■ IV ADVERTISEMENT. posed it in good English : to be sure, the Reviewer acknowledges, presently, that the reader may see that the work is by a Russian Author, only he is unhappily left in the dark, respecting the lan- guage in which the said Russian Author wrote! ! ! Secondly: — We are quite at a loss to know what object could have been gained by passing the Author off for an Englishman ? As to the initials R. N. any person, of common sagacity, might perceive that the fulness of the title prevented the words, Russian Navy, being inserted at full length, and the Reviewer must have known that the preservation of symmetry of arrangement, deemed so essential in title pages, has frequently justified much greater apparent incongruities. ' But, if any person could, for a moment, have supposed that a name so evidently foreign, was upon the British Navy List, he would have been immediately set right by reading the first and second lines of the book, where " the imperial sloop of war, Diana,"" is particularly mentioned. Lastly: — We have to state that, when the Narrative of the Author's Captivity reached us, with Captain Rikord's Account, we found that they made a complete work, and though we had reason to suppose that an additional part was intended to be pub- lished, we were unwilling to pledge ourselves "^o the printing of volumes, the time of whose appearance was uncertain, and which, when they did appear, might not be of sufficient interest to justify the fulfilment of such a pledge : had it been otherwise, the men- tion of them would have been very desirable as an excellent advertisement for the present work. It is a pity, however, that the Reviewer did not quote, for the edification of his Readers, the passages which he says we have suppressed : we are not conscious of any such suppression ; and, indeed, had this sagacious critic read the entire first page, he would have found a note, in which the Author announces his intention to publish another work on the subject of his voyages. AUTHOR'S PREFACE. The Narrative of my Captivity in Japan has suffi- ciently proved that the means which I had in my power to collectinformation, respecting that people and the Empire, were defective and extremely limited. It would therefore be superfluous for me to make any apology. I merely think it ne- cessary to remark, that I have taken the greater part of these notices respecting Japan, from our conversations with our interpreters and guards ; but as it frequently happened that they contra- dicted each other entirel}, in the accounts they gave, 1 considered it as my duty to set dowu, in my remarks, only such things as were confirmed by the concurrent testimony of several Japanese. If Japan were better known to the Europeans than it really is, I could not have ventured to annex to my iSarrative such imperfect and insufficient ac- counts of this remarkable Empire. But in the actual state of our knowledge of Japan I may hope that the public will receive them with indulgence. vi PilEFACE. Notwithstanding the conciseness of my re- marks, 1 have thought it better to divide them under several heads : — I. Geographical situation, Climate and Extent. II. Origin of the Japanese Nation. III. Religion and Religious Customs. IV. National Character, Civilization and Lan- guage. V. Government of the Empire. VI. Laws and Customs. VII. Productions of the Country ; Trade and Commerce. Mll.Popuiation and Military force ; and lastly, IX. People who pay tribute to the Japanese, and Colonies. Erratum.— P«g'e234.. ./or Chap. V. read Chap. IX. CONTENTS. Pag. General Introduction, containing Chronological De- tails of the Rise, Decline, and Renewal of British Com- mercial Intercourse with Japan. Chap. I. Geographical Situation, Climate and Extent. I Chap. II. Origin of the Japanese Nation. — Ancient Traditions — Au- thentic History. 7 Chap. III. National Character, Civilization and Language — First disco- very of — Hatred to Christianity — Courage and Tempe- rance — General Incontinence — Female Dissoluteness Education and Talents — Geographical Knowledge — Poli- tical Suspicions — General Politeness — Varieties of Lan- guage. 14 Chap. IV. Religion, and Religious Customs — Mythological Superstitions — Braminical Doctrines Japanese Methodism — Atheis- tical Ideas — Priestly Intolerance — Popular Superstitions — Miracles and Astrology — Forms of Worship — Religious Mendicants — Facilities of Conversion — Punishment of Ec- clesiastics — Monks and Nuns. 41 Chap. V. The Government of the Empire — Imperial Government — Divided Empire — State of Politics — Imperial Succession — Laws Proumlgated — Executive Government Public Functionaries — Police — Navigation and Trade — Civil aud Criminal Justice — Military Aft'airs , 66 VIU CONTENTS, Page Chap. VI. Laws and Manners — Privileg'es of Nobility — ^Military RegH- lations — Social Gradations — Middle and Lower Ranks — Domestic Slavery — Legal Institutions — Adultery — Law- Suits — Marriage Ceremony — Paternal Attachment — Fe- male Constancy in the Married State — Restrictive Policy — Domestic Gardens — Civic Discipline — Courtly Costume — Female Attire — Dress of the Men — Articles of Dress — Food — Temperance — Equipages — Mode of Travelling — Music, Songs and Dances — Theatrical Entertainments. 81 Chap. VII. Productions of the Country — Agriculture — Manufactures — Fisheries — Making of Salt — Natural Products — Cotton — Silk — Copper — Iron — Timber — Tea — Tobacco — Horses — Cattle — Hemp — Lead — Tin, &c. — Pearls — Marbles — Fruits, Vegetables, &c. — Domestic Animals, Poultry — Wild Animals — Birds, Fish, &c. — State of the Fine Arts — Foreign Trade — Custom-Houses — Smuggling Regula- tions — Coins — Paper Currency — Trade with the Chinese and Dutch. 14 8 Chap. VIIL Population and Military force — Infanticide — Prevalence of Blindness — Extent of the Metropolis — Arms, Uniform, and Pay of the Soldiers — Officers, &c. — Imperfect Con- struction of Ships — Skill of Japanese Sailors. 216 Chap. IX. Nations that pay tribute to the, Japanese and Colonies — Kurile Language and Origin — Kurile Religion — Their Food and Customs — Domestic Manners — 234 Account of the Voyages of Messrs. ChwostofF and Dawidoff. 251 GENERAL INTRODUCTION The circumstances detailed, and so modestly put forth in the Author's Preface, first suggested the idea of comparing Captain Golovvnin's recol- lections with the various extensive details handed down to us, from the first period of Euro- pean intercourse with Japan, to the present day. 7'he result of this examination exhibits Japan as presenting the spectacle of a nation advancing to a certain point in civilization, and there becoming stationary, at least in science and domestic arts ; though perhaps retrograding in morals and even in civil liberty — a fact highly deserving the attention of the politician and the statistical economist, and pointedly demanding every illustration that for- mer writers can supply. There can be no doubt that tiie extraordinary fact, here adverted to, may be partly accounted for, in consequence of the suppression of Chris- tianity in tliat countrv, and the jejilous prohibitiorij a 11 INTRODUCTION. amoiuitiiig almost to a total interdict, of all inter- course with foreign nations, from whence, had they been permitted, might have flowed an amelio- ration of the moral relations and a greater portion of political freedom, that would have produced more social happiness than can possibly exist in a country where, though few are actually in abso- lute distress and pauperism, yet there are but two classes, the noble and ignoble, without the grada- tions of rank and wealth which so happily, yet almost imperceptibly, link together the extremes of society in the British Empire. But, other cau- ses may also have operated ; many of which will be found in the multifarious notes drawn from sources whose accuracy cannot be doubted, but which to general readers are little known. In the selection of these, the strictest impartiality has been observed. In general, facts alone have been at- tended to. These are set both in apposition and opposition to Captain Golownin's details, and tend much to corroborate the accuracy of his Recollec- tions ; whilst, in regard to points interesting in themselves, but respecting which, circumstances precluded him from being sufficiently diffuse, they INTRODUCTION. Ill liave been made available for general illustration and the gratification of public curiosity. Thunberg, the latest writer, with the excep- tion of our present author, observes that the Em- pire of Japan is in many respects a singular coun- try, and with regard to customs and institutions, totally different from Europe : but, notwithstand- ing this is generally true, it is not the less remark- able, that many of their institutions, and much of their manners, as will be seen more at large in the accompanying notes, are absolutely fac-similes of our own feudal times, and demonstrate the exis- tence of that system to a much greater extent than our ablest writers have hitherto imagined ; at the same time, corroborating the similarity frequently noticed between Japan and Great Britain, and opening a wide field of speculation for the spirit of political prophecy, whenever an unrestricted in- tercourse shall exist between that country and the world at large. But, it may be asked, of what importance is Japan to us ? — a country with which we have no political or commercial intercourse — Let it be remembered, however, that we once held an intimate corresoondence with that country : a a 2 IV INTIIODLCTION. correspondence broken up for reasons that no Imi- ger exist, and checked, in the attempt to renew it, bv circumstances which have long ceased to operate. It becomes, therefore, a point more than pro- bable, that an intercourse with that very extensive Empire may again exist ; an intercourse valuable to both nations, and much to be hoped for at the present crisis. A direct commerce of this country with Japan, if established under honorable cir- cumstances, could not fail to be highly advanta- geous in general, but especially with respect to the fur-trade on the American coast. Forty years ago, the Russian mierchants at Kamtschatka could af- ford thirty roubles for a sea-otter^s skin, ^hich eventually was to find its way to the Japan niaiket, by a most expensive and circuitous route ; as they must first be carried to Kiatcha, on the Chinese frontier, where the native merchant purchases them at cent per cent ; a profit little enough to reim- burse a land-carriage of 13(34 miles through a de- sert country. From Kiatcha the skins are carried 760 miles further to Pekin, and thence to Japan I what profits might not then be expected by an English trader going at once with her cargo of INTRODUCTION. V furs from Nootka Sound and its vicinity, to the Ja . panese out-ports, where a vessel of 20 guns, well manned, and judiciously and cautiously directed, miiiht bid defiance to their whole naval force. From the jealousy and timidity of the Japanese a first visit might not be very successful ; but in a short time there might be established an inter- course much more profitable than our former force-trade on the Spanish main. These conside- rations are a sufficient inducement to ofier, par- ticularly to the commercial world, a brief sketch of the first opening of the Japan trade in the 17th century, of its decline and stoppage, of a subsequent unsuccessful attempt of renewal, of the mode and means of future intercourse, and of the probable advantages that may result from it. It may there- fore be observed, that English nautical enterprize had already begun to manifest itself in voyages of discovery and warfare, and in mercantile specula- tion to India and the oriental islands ; and intelli- gence of the very lucrative trade carried on by Spain, Portugal, and Holland, with Japan, had in- duced tlie India merchants, early in the reign of James the first, to prepare an expedition to that ri INTRODUCTION. country ; when circumstances of a most favorable nature took place by the arrival of an Englishman at the Japanese court, who acted as an ambassador, though unaccredited, and proved to be of essential service in the establishment of the iirst attempts at trade. This person, William Adams, had been a mas- ter in the navy in the reign of Elizabeth, and af- terwards was in the employ of the Barbary com- pany ,• but, being actuated by a desire to acquire a knowledge of the Indian navigation, he engaged as pilot on board the Admiral's ship of a fleet of five sail, fitted out by the Dutch India Company. They sailed from the Texel in 1598, passed through the straits of Magellan towards the South- Sea in 1599, cruized for some time on the coasts of P^ru and Chili, half mercantile, half piratical, but being at length obliged to leave the coast, they resolved, having a large part of their cargo in \vbollen cloth, to proceed to Japan, to which they were advised by a man who had been there with the Portuguese, their cargo being more likely to find a sale there, than at the Moluccas, or in the INTRODUCTION, Vll other parts oi India with wliich they were ac- quainted. Fiom the unfortunate events of their voyage they were reduced to one ship, and at their arrival on the coast of Japan on the 19th of April 1600, there were only seven persons, including Adams, who were capahle of duty. On approaching the shore of Bongo, they had ouly strength to let go an an- chor, when a number of Japanese boats went on board of them, the crews of which, though they offered no personal violence, stole every thing they could lay their hands on. This was, however, soon put a stop to ; for the king, or chief, sent sol- diers on Ijoard the next day to protect the pro- perty, and shortly afterwards assisted the crew to to carry the vessel into a safe harbour, there to re- main, until orders should be received from the Em- peror respecting herdisposal. At thesame time, the greatest kindness was shewn to them ; the people were allowed to land, and an hospital Avas provided for the sick, with every kind of refreshment for those who were still well. It is a curious fact, that a jealousy of English interference in the Ja- pan trade even now began to manifest itself, vm IKTRODUCTION. though there were but two Englishmen on board the ship — Wilham Adams, and Timothy Shotten also engaged as pilot, and who had been round the world with Candish — for a Jesuit and some other Portuguese from Nangasaki having paid theni a visit, these very conscientious gentlemen assured the Japanese, that the English were not merchants but pirates, which gave both the chief and the common people such a very bad impression of these two helpless individuals^ that they expected every hour to be crucified, as a punishment for their alledged crimes. Nor were the Dutchmen backward in aiding the Portuguese in their nefa- rious designs, two of these entering into the Japa- nese service, claiming all the property on board the ship, disclosing every secret to the Portuguese, and doing ail in their power to injure the English cause. A short time after their arrival, an order came for Adams to go to the court, where by means of a Japanese that could speak Portuguese, the Empe- ror asked him numberless questions respecting England, his religion, the political state of Europe, the route by which he had arrived, &c. This in- INTRODUCTION. IX terview lasted several hours, during which Adams informed the Emperor, that England was at war with Spain and Portugal ; and, when hisMaje^ty was about to retire, he had the good sense and pa- triotism to entreat, that the English might be granted the same commercial privileges as the Por- tuguese and Spaniards. To this the Emperor an- swered; but Adams understood it not; another examination of him took place, two days after- wards, in which he gave the most rational answers to all the imperial queries, assuring his majesty that he came not so great a distance, from any treacherous design, but from the general disposi- tion of his nation, " which was to cultivate friend- ship and commerce with all other countries by ex- changing their own commodities for theirs, whereby, mutual riches and advantages were ob- tained." After this, Adams received better treat- ment; but was detained six weeks in confinement, during which time, the Jesuits and other Portu- guese, used all means of vilifying the English, say- ing, that they were a company of thieves and rob- l)ers gathered out of all nations, and that if these men were suffered to live, it would turn out grcally X INTRODUCTION. to the disadvantage of Japan, since every other nation would come on purpose to rob the country; but, if justice were to be administered, it would deter the English from coming there any more. The Emperor answered very coolly to these repre- sentations, that as yet these strangers had done no damage to him or his subjects, and therefore, it was against reason and justice to put them to death — a reply which, in some measure, silenced their enemies ; and which was followed by a most friendly patronage of Adams on the part of the Emperor, whom he gratified most highly by build- ing for him, a vessel of eighty tons, on the English model, and even by teaching such parts of geome- try and mathematics, as he himself was acquainted with. In 1605, Adams, anxious to return to his country again, requested the Emperor to permit his return, promising that he would engage both the English and Dutch to open a commerce with Japan ; the Emperor however refused to part with him, but answered that he was desirous that both nations should come and trade there, directing him at the same time, to write home for that purpose, INTRODUCTION, XI and also to address such of his countrymen as might be in any part of India. In consequence of this, Adams wrote several letters and gave them in charge to the Dutch captain who was permitted to leave Japan ; but he, after arriving at Malacca, was killed in an action with the Portuguese, and Adams remained without any communication with his countrymen until 16iJ, when hearing that some English merchants were at the island of Java, he wrote to them a letter, " To my unknown friends and countrymen/' This letter, when brought to Bantam, on the 28th of October 1612, was delivered to captain John Saris and his companions, and, " was read to all the merchants, that they might take notice of the hopes there were of trade in that country'* (Japan). Captain Saris, with three ships, had sailed from the Downs in April 1611, and proceeded to visit all the European parts on the eastern coast of Africa, thence to Mocha in Arabia, and his arrival at Bantam took place in October 1612. In January 1612-13, he sailed from Bantam, bound for Japan, with one ship only, manned with only ili . IJJTRODUCTIOiV. twenty-four EngJishmen, one Spaniard, one Japa* uese, and five Indians: and it appears that the principal part of his cargo consisted of seven hun- dred sacks of pepper, by way of trial. It is needless to follow him in his route through the islands un- til he arrived off Japan, the coast of which was seen, for the first time by an English ship, on the 9th of June 1613 : and on the 11th he anchored lit Firando, a small island lying oft' the west coast of Bongo, or Xicoco, where he was received in the most friendly manner by the King, as he calls him, Fof/ne Sama, and by all the nobility and people. On a visit of ceremony which the king paid to him on board his ship. Captain Saris delivered a letter from King James, which was received with great satisfaction; but the king declined opening it until Adams, who was sent for, should be pre- present as interpreter. - The Dutch at this period, (first in 1609) had a factory at Firando, and the chief Kenrick Brower " came aboard, to visit the General (Saris), or ra- ther to see what passed between the king and them." Saris afterwards wrote to Adams; and, by the same opportunity, acquainted the Emperor INTRODUCTION. XlII with his being arrived, and upon what business he canie. On the i.3th Saris delivered his presents to the king, amounting in value to about 140/., amongst which was a large cup : this the king or- dered to be filled with sakki, and drank it off to the health of the King of England. Several days now passed in mutual friendship and good oflices, notwithstanding the measures which had already been taken by some of our good friends to preju- dice the Japanese against us. Purchas relates, that on the 29th, " a soma, orjunke of the Flem- ings arrived at Nan^asaki from Siam, laden with Brazil-wood and skins of all sorts, wherein it was said that there were Englishmen, but proved to be Flemings. For that before our coming, they passed generally b\ the name of Englishmen ; for our English nation had been long known by report among them, but much scandalized by the Portu- guese Jesuits, as pirates, and rovers upon the seas; so that the naturals have a song which they call the English crofonia, shewing how the English do take the Spanish ships, Avhicli they (singing) do act likewise in gesture with their cattans by tiieir sides, with which song and acting, they terriify XV INTRODUCTION. their children, as the French sometimes did theirs with the name of the Lord Talbot." Another circumstance also happened, which deserves the attention of those who shall first en- deavour to renew the commerce with Japan, in English ships — " The first of July, two of our company happened to quarrel, the one with the other, and were very likely to have gone into the field, to the endangering of us all. For it is a cus- tom here, that whosoever draws a weapon in anger although he do no harm therewith, he is presently cut in pieces ; and, doing but small hurt, not onlr themselves are so executed, but their whole gene- ration.*' Pending the return of an answer from the Emperor, Captain Saris was preparing to open his commercial transactions, and in the course of his enquiries, he ascertained that part of his cargo, con- sisting of broad cloths, was likely to fetch a good price, the Duth then selling cloths, which had only cost fifteen, or sixteen pounds per piece, at the enormous profit of eight pounds for two and :i half yards, there called a mat. Re was aware that the Dutch had a considerable quantity in their INTRODUCTION. XIV warehouses ; and, though he could well have af- forded to undersell them in the market, yet he chose to act a more liberal part towards them, by proposing" to the chief of their factory, that a price should be mutually fixed on, below which, neitheir party was to fall. " In the morning beseemed to approve thereof, but ere night, sent word that he disliked it, excusing himself that he had no war- rant from his masters to make any such agreement. The next morning, he shipped away great store of cloth to divers islands, rating them at these prices, viz, at twenty, eighteen, and sixteen rials the mat," (instead of fortt/ the former price,) " that he might procure the more speedy dispatch of his own, and glut tlie place before the coming of ours." It may be useful to future speculators, to pre- sent a slight view of the value of leading articles of commerce at that period — Bantam pepper, ungar- bled, wiiich cost at Bantam about one and three- fourth rials, or five shillings and two pence per Sack, was worth, at Japan, two pounds ten shil- lings ; tin, per pecul of 130 pounds, was worth two pounds ten shillings ; elephants' teeth, per pecul. Xvi IlVTRODLCTIOiV. twenty pounds : iron, cast in pigs, one pound ten shillings; gun-powder, five pounds fifteen shil- lings ; Socotrine aloes, one pound ten shillings per cattee, of about twelve ounces ; a fowling piece five pounds; and Indian calicoes, at proportionate prices according- to their quality. Tlie arrival of an English ship soon spread far and wide; and several of the neighbouring princes, particularly the King of Goto, came to Fi- rando to gratify their curiosity, and to request the Englishmen might proceed to their several islands where they should receive the heartiest welcome : and, at the close of the month of July, William Adams made his appearance, and informed captain Saris " who conferred with him in the presence of the merchants, touching the encouragement he could give of trade in those parts, that it was not always alike, but sometimes better, sometimes worse, yet doubted not, but we should do as well as others ; giving admirable commendations of the country, as much aff'ected thereto/' A circumstance now took place, connected with the progress of Northern discovery, which has not generally been noticed by writers on that subject. INTRODUCTION. XVll C7aptain Saris says- — " this day there came to Fi- rando, certain Spaniards of Mr. Adams's acquain- tance, to desire passage in our ship for Bantam. These Spaniards had been belonging to a Spanish gentleman their General, who, about a year past, were come (upon the King of Spain's charge), from Nova Hispania, to discover to the northward of Japan, and arriving at Edoo, attending the mon- soon to go to the northward, which beginneth in the end of May, his company, (whereof these were two) mutinied against him, every one taking his own way, leaving the ship utterly unmanned, wherefore 1 tiionght it best to keep them out of my ship." Preparations were now made for a journey to court, which the king of Firando was so cer- tain would be permitted, nay desired, that he oflTered to supply all the boats, horses, and pro- visions necessary, and requested a list of those who were to go, in order that he might do it in the handsomest manner possible. If we compare these presents with the modern ones to the Chinese Emperors, the contrast is very striking. Those for the Emperor amounted only to eighty-seven b N XVIll INTRODUCTION. pounds seven shillings and si-xpence ; for bis son to forty-three pounds fifteen shillings ; and the remainder, for different officers of state, merely raised the sum total to one hundred and eighty pounds three shillings and ten-pence! On the 7tli of August captain Saris set off for the Japanese court, accompanied by ten English- men, but attended by a sufficient retinue, and pro- ceeded through a populous country, partly by boats, and soon arrived at a town called Fuccate, where he " did land and dine there in the tonne, the tyde and wind so strong against us, as that we could not passe. The towne seemed to be as greate as London is M'ithin the walls^ very well built, and even, so as you may see from the one end of the street to the other. The place is ex- ceedingly peopled, very civil and courteous, only that at our landing, and being here in Fuccate, and so through the whole country, whithersoever we came, the boys, children, and worser sort of idle people, would gather about and follow after us crying, Core, Core, Cocore ware, that is to say, you Coream idlh false hearts: wondering, whooping, hollowing, and making such a noise about us, INTRODUCTION. XIX that we could scarcely hear one another speak ; sometimes throwing^ stones at us (but that not in many towns), yet the clamour and crying after us was every where alike, none reproving them for it. The best advice that 1 can give those who hereaf- ter shall arrive there, is that they pass on without regarding those idle rabblements, and in so doing, they shall find their ears only troubled with the noise." This is, no doubt, wholesome advice ; hut it is a species of treatment to which English- men will not willingly submit. Indeed a trade with Japan would r.ever repay us, if it were to be purchased with the humiliations to which the Dutch have for so many years submitted : for, accor- ding t veil to Thunberg's own account, the ambassa- dor and his suite were treated more like dancing clogs than men, and forced to act as such, for the auHisement of the Emperor and the ladies of his (oiMt: but these unpleasant demands, if properly denied at first, and that denial enforced by the pre- sence of a British squadron, would not again be repeated. Whatever we attempt, our measures must be prompt and decisive ; and cannot be at- h 2 XX INTRODUCTION. tended by tlie same difficulties as have always thwarted our embassies to China. The Japanese court, at this period, were at Surunga, where captain Saris arrived early in Sep- tember, and the account of his reception, in his own words, cannot fail to be interesting. *' As soon as we were settled in our lodgings, in Surunga, I sent master Adams to the court, to let the secretaries understand of my coming, and desire of as speedie dispatch as might be ; word was returned that I was welcome, that I should rest me, and within a day or two, I should have access to the Emperor. The seventh was spent in fitting up of the presents, and providing little tables of slit deal of that country, (which smelletli very sweet), to carrie them uponne according to the custom. " The eighth I was carried in my palanquin to the castle of Surunga, (where the Emperor kept his court) and was attended with my merchants, and others carrying the presents before me. Be- ing entered the castle, I passed three draw-bridges, every of which had a corps of guard, and coming up a paire of verie fairc and large stone staires. INTRODUCTION. XXI was met by two grave comely men, the one of them Codskadonu, the Emperor's secretarie, the other Fueirodono, the admiral, who led me into a faire roome matted, where we sat down crosse-leg- ged npon the mats. Anon they led me betwixt them into the chamber of Presence, where was the Emperor's chaire of state, to which they wished me to do reverence. It was of cloth of gold, about five ieet high, very richly set forthe for bucke and sides, but had no canopie over head. Then they returned back againe to the place where they did sit, where having stayed about one quar- ter of an houre word was brought that the Empe- ror was come forth. Then they rose up, and led me betwixt them to the doore of the roome \vhere the Emperor was, making signes that I should enter in there, but durst not look in themselves. The presents sent from our King to the Emperor, as also those Avhich (according to the custom of the country), 1 gave luito the Emperor as from ray- selfe, were placed in the said roome, upon the mats very orderly, before the Emperor came into it. Coming to the Emperor, according to our English compliments, I delivered our King's letter XXll INTRODUCTION. unto his Majestic, who tooke it jn his hand, and jiut it up towards his forehead, and commanded his interpreter, who sate a good distance from him be- hind, to will master Adams to tell me, that I was welcome from a wearisome journey, that I should take my rest for a day or two, and that his ansMer should be readie for our King. Then he asked me whether 1 did not intend to visit his sonne at Edoo. I answered, I did. The Emperor said, that order should be taken to furnish mee Avilh men and horses for the journey, and against my return his letters should be readie for our King, So taking my leave of the Emperor, and coming to the door where I had left the secretarie and the admiral, &c." Thus ended his first interview, and in such a way as no Englishman could possibly be insulted by, even as ambassador; and on the ensuing day, captain Saris " delivered the articles of privi- ledge toCodskedonu, being in number fourteene. He requested to have them abbreviated, and made as short as might be ; for that the people of Japan affect brevitie. The tenth, the articles so abridged, were sent by master Adams to the secretarie, who INTRODUCTION. XXlll shewed lliem to the Emperor, and he approved thereof, den} ingoue only which was, That whereas the Chinese had refused to trade witJi the English, that in case we should now take any of them by force, that our nation might have leave and liberty to bring them into Japan, and there make sale of the goods so taken. At the first motion, the Em- peror answered, that seeing they denyed us trade, we might take them. IJut upon conference with the Lieger of China, the Emperor's mind was changed, and would not allow that article. The rest were passed under liis greate scale, which is not of waxe (as ours), but stamped lik« a print and on the delivery of the goods. VII. Item, If irii discovery of other countries for trade, and return of their shippes, they shall XXVI INTllODUCTION. tieecle men or victuals, We will, that ye our sub- jects, furnish them for their money, as their needs shall require. VIH. Item, And that without other passe- port, they shall, and may set out upon the discovery of Yeadzo, or any other part in or about our empire. From our castle in Surunga, the first day of ninth month, and in the eighteenth year of our Dary, according to our computation. Sealed with our broad Scale. Underwrittcu, Minna IMottono Yei. Ye. Yeas." Terms so favorable, and so freely granted, manifest an anxious wish on the part of the Em- peror and his peo[)le, to open a commercial com- munication with England. That a similar spirit would manifest itself, provided existing prejudices could be removed, is equally to be expected — let us then look forward with hope, and in the mean- time return to Saris's transactions, who, on the day after the granting of these articles, delivered all his subordinate presents', especially to the mint- INTRODUCTION. XXVII master, the Emperor's own merchant, accompa- nied by a list of the prices of all the English com- modities. ' On the 12th, Saris set out for Edoo or Jeddo, to visit the heir apparent, where they arrived two days afterwai'ds, and were received in the most friendly manner, their presents received and others returned, particularly for the King- of Eng- land. Captain Saris now left Jeddo for Surunga, where he received numerous presents for King- James, accompanied by the following Imperial letter: — " To the KiNGE of Grcat-Britainc : Your Majesty's kind letter sent me by your servant Captain John Saris, (who is the first that I have knowne to arrive in any part of my domi- nions) 1 heartily embrace, being- not a little glad to understand of your great wisdom and power, as having- three plentiful and mighty Kingdomes under your powerful command. I acktiowledge your majesties great bountie in sending mee so undeserved a present of many rare things, sucii as my land afforded not, neither have I ever i)eforc XXVili IMKODLCTlOiV. seeiie : whicli I receive not as from a stranger, but as from your majestie whom I esteeme as myselfe. Desiring the continuance of friendship with your Highnesse : and that it may stand with your good liking, to send your subjects to any part or parts of my dominions, where they shall be most heartily welcome, applauding much their worthinesse in the admirable knowledge of navigation, having with much facilitie discovered a countrie so remote, being no whit amazed with the distance of so mightie a gulfe, nor greatnesse of such inlinite clouds and storms, from prosecuting honorable enterprizes, of discoveries and merchandizing; Mherein they shall find mee to further them, ac- cording to their desires. 1 returne unto vour ma- jestie a small token of my love (by your said sub- ject), desiring you to accept thereof, as from him that much rejoiceth in your friendship. And, whereas your majesties subjects have desired cer- taine privileges for trade, and settling of a factory in my dominions, I have not only granted what thev demanded, but have confirmed the same unto them, under my broad seale, for better establishing thereof. From my castle of Surunga, this fourth I\TRODUCTION. XXJX day of the ninth month, in the eighteenth year of our Dary, according' to our computation. Resting your majesties friend. The highest commander in this king-dom of Japan. (Subscribed) Minna Mottono. Yei. Ye. Yeas." On tiie receipt of these documents, Saris pre- pared for departing- from Surunga, on his return to Firando, and in the mean time a S [Danish ambassa- dor arrived there, from the Phihppines, who was very coldly received ; his demand being, that all Spaniards and Portuguese then at Japan w ithout the King of Spain's licence, should be delivered up to him to carry to Manilla. It was believed, that this demand was made for the purpose of procu- ring men for the defence of Manilla, against an expected attack of the Dutch : but the Japanese Emperor did not consider the demand a justifiable one, and his answer was, that Japan ^vas a free country, therefore, none should be forced out of it, but if the ambassador could persuade any to go with him, they should not be prevented. On the 9th of October, Saris set out for his ship, well pleased witlj the h.ippy succesis of his XXX IXTRODUCTIOX. embassy, wliich was indeed tlie more remarkable, as, only a month previous to his arrival, the Empe- ror, being displeased with the Christians, and the catholic missionaries, had issued a decree, that all the converts should remove to Nangasaki ; and that no christian church should stand, nor mass be sung, within ten leagues of his court, upon pain ot death. The extreme facility of conversion, in Ja- pan at that period, is exemplified by Saris, in an anecdote which he relates of twenty-seven of the native converts, men of high rank, having assem- bled in a leprous hospital, for privacy, when a mass was celebrated. The Emperor hearing of this, or- dered them to be confined for one night in a pri- son, and then put to death. In the mean time, another Japanese, (not a convert), was put into the same prison for debt, on the very evening of their committa!, and the next morning, when the officers of justice arrived for their victims, ordering those that were Cliristians to come forth to execution, and those who were not, to stav behind, this muu was so affected by the exhortation of his christian companions, that he resolutely came out with the res?, and was crucified with them. Manv similar INTRODUCTION.. XXXl stories Imve born told by the Jesuits ; but these ap- pear to have come witliin Saris's own observa- tion. On his return he seems to have been treated handsomely, except at Osaca, where he and his companions were again insulted ])y tlie mob who called them Josin, or Chinese, flinging' stones as before, in which they were encouraged by the peo- ple of highest rank in the place. Arriving at Firarjdo, liis welcome was as friendly as ever ; but he found that very few goods had been sold, and that only privately, in consequence of the general custom, that no stran- ger should be permitted to offer goods to sale, M ithout the express Imperial permission : and here the following extract is not unimportant. " Be- sides our chiefest connnoditie intended for these parts, being broad cloth, the natives were now more backward to buy than before, because, they saw that wee ourselves were no forwarder in weerinjithe thing, which wee recommended unto them. For, said they, you commend your cloath unto us, but you, yourselves, wear leest thereof, the better sort of von wearinir silken garments, the XXXII 1>TRODUCTIOIV. meaner, fustians, &c. Whereupon, hoping tlint good counsel may (though late) come to some good purpose, I wish lliat our nation would be more forward to use and spend the natural commodities of our own country, so shall wee better encourage and allure others to the entertainments and expence thereof" Saris was much annoyed at this period with quarrels amongst his people, several of whom went on shore for the purpose of fighting, but were hap- pily prevented ; for old King Fopie told him plainly, that if any came on shore to fight, and shed blood in his country, he would order them to be cut in pieces, as he could not permit that En- glishmen, in that point, should have more licence t an his own subjects. It was now determined to establish a flictory at Firando, to which Saris says, he and his coad- jutors were prompted by the following reasons:— the great encouragement which they recently un- derstood, had been aflfbrded to the English in the Moluccas— the existence of a Dutch factory at the place— the privileges obtained from the Emperor —the certain advice of Englisli factories at Siam, INTRODUCTION. XXXlll and other places in the vicinity — and the quantity of goods yet remaining unsold, on which it was hoped that a considerable future profit might be realized. Mr. Richard Cocks was appointed Captain and Cape merchant of the factory, and had with him seven Englishmen, three Japanese inter- preters, and two servants ; Adams being one of the Englishmen, and next in rank to Cocks, with a salary of one hundred pounds per annum. Saris next received a letter from the King of Firando, addressed to the King of England, expressive of his high satisfaction at the arrival of English ships, and promising to render the factory every service in his power : and on the 4th of December, he sailed for England, where he drew up a list of such articles as he considered most likely to suit the Ja- pan trade, for the use of the India Company. These were broad cloths, black, yellow and red ; fine baizes of same colours, well napped : serges ; silk grograms and camblets ; velvets ; musk, sold for its weight in silver ; India cloths, satins; damasks; Holland cloths; diaper; thread of all colours ; carpets for tables ; gilded leather painted with pictures and flowers ; painted pictiu'es, XXXlV INTRODUCTION. especially of a warlike nature by sea or land ; quick-silver ; vermilion ; paint and cosmetics ; copper, in plates ; lead, in small bars ; lead, in thin sheets ; tin, in blocks ; iron ; steel ; tapestry ; leaf-gold ; gold-twist or sewing gold ; sugar in candy, and in powder; gauzes; raw silk; silk- thread ; glass of all kinds ; salt ; blank-paper books; Spanish soap; amber; silk stockings; fine leather ; glove leather ; candle-wax ; honey ; pepper ; spices ; drugs, especially columbo root ; coloured wood for cabinet ware ; elephants' tusks ; harts' horns, gilded ; roche-alum, &c. The returns he stated to consist of hemp ; blue dye-stuffs, almost as good as indigo ; various other dye-stuffs; brimstone; cotton; wool; and rice. The factory being established, trade was car- ried on upon a liberal footing, under the protec- tion of the chiefs of Firando, whom our merchants there called the old and young Kings. Junks were purchased and employed in trade with Siam, and other places, under the command of Adams ; and in the mean time the Emperor published his decree, previous to 1614, banishing all Jesuits^ INTRODUCTION. XXXV ipriests, friars and nuns out of Japan, shipping some of them for Macao, and others for Manilla, and burning all the churches and oionasteries ; but without any molestation to the English factory. A civil war was also on the point of breaking out, which induced the Emperor to purchase their mi- litary stores, and lead ; besides a quantity of their cloths. It was further stated, in a letter written by Cocks to Saris, dated 10th of December 1614, that the stipulations respecting relief from all fur- ther visits to the Emperor was broken through, as every ship on her arrival " must carry a present to the Emperor as a custom ; neither can we set out any Junks, without procuring the yearly li- cence of the Emperor, otherwise no Japan mari- ner dare go out of Japan upon pain of death, only our ownc shippes from England may come in, and goe out againe, wjjen they will, and no man gain- say it." Cocks further spoke of the difficulty of opening a trade with Corea: indeed at this period ^e had no communication with China, and Cocks in another letter to a friend said, that the good report and fame which the English nation 6-2 XXXVl INTRODUCTION. had obtained since the establishment of a fac- tory, and which had found its way to the Chinese court, was Hkely to open an intercourse with that country. During tlie years 1615 and 16, the factors at Firando were not only engaged in the Japanese traffic, but also busily employed in carrying on an intercourse with Siam, the Loo Choo Islands, and indeed under the immediate patronage of the Emperor, who seems to have admitted the most friendly intervention of the English in many points, whilst the Spaniards, the Portuguese, and even the Dutch were treated with coldness and disrespect. It appears, however, from a letter written by the chief of the factory, in February 1617, that some of their commercial objects were yet unattained, as he says " wee have beene this yeare againe before the Emperor of Japan, but cannot get our privi- leges enlarged ; but trade only at Firando and Langasque" (Nangasaki), " and our English ship- ping to come for Firando only." At this period, the English character re- ceived considerable detriment from the most un- warrantable conduct of the Dutch, who had asqua- INTRODUCTION. XXXVli flron cruizing in these seas against the Spaniards ; but which also carried on a predatory war against theChinese, taking especial care at the same time to call themselves Englishmen. There can be no doubt that this was one of the operative causes, which subsequently excited jealousies in the coun- sels of the Japanese government; but as such un- derhand dealings can no longer exist, we have thence, a fairer prospect of preserving the British commercial and political character unsullied, in the event of a renewed intercourse. Cocks in one of his letters of 1617, says, that the Dutch were ac- tually permitted, by the Japanese, to bring their Chinese prizes into Firando and sell them, although that article had been previously refused to Cap- tain Saris ; but he adds — " and as I said before, they have robbed all the Chinese in the name of Englishmen, which hath done much hurt to our proceeding to get trade in that place ; so that we were forced to send new supplies to give the Go- vernors in China to understand that they are Hol- landers which did it, and not Englishmen." He complains also of the hostile conduct of the Dutch to the English factory, on the arrival of a large XXXVIII INTRODUCTION. Eeet, when they attacked our factory, and woukl actually have put all the English merchants to the sword, had it not heen for the interference of the Japanese; but he states that the King- of Firando refused " to executejustice against them, although the Emperor commanded him to do it," At this period the martyj'dom of Japanese Christianswas very frequent. Cocks relates, that he saw four or five lose their lives at Meaco. amongst whom there were infants of five or six years old burned in their mothers arms ! Even the churches were dug up from the foundations ; the dead torn from their graves ; and Japanese pa- godas erected upon their scites. Though the communications with the factory at Firando had generally been through the medium of Bantam, as a kind of entrepot, yet several in- stances occurred of direct intercourse between En^ gland and Japan, especially in 1621, when cap- tain Pring went there in the James Royal, when the Japanese were highly delighted with the ship, she being 1000 tons burthen ; an interview was also had with the Emperor, and every thing seemed to promise the most continued friendship. INTRODUCTION. XXXIX At the close of 1622, Cock wrote home to Saris, stating, great intestine troubles and a dangerous conspiracy against the Emperor, to have taken place in Japan, which seems to have been very unfavorable to British interests, by the pre- judice thereby excited against all foreigners, con- cluding his letter — " Thus much I thought good to advise you, of the present state of Japan, much altered from that it was, at your being heere, and for the rest 1 hope to tell you by word of mouth at my returne unto England, which 1 hope to do the next yeare, God sparing me life and libertie." In fact, his return to England seems to have been accompanied by the breaking up of the whole plan; for, speaking of the factory, Sir T. Raffles in the appendix to his history of Java says, that one great object, at the commencement, with the En- glish India Company, appears to have been to in- troduce themselves to a connection with the Chi- nese, and to carry on a general trade between In- dia, China, and Japan; but finding themselves disappointed in their endeavours to form connec- tions with China, and sustaining heavy losses in consequence of their trade with Japan, they de- Xi INTRODUCTION. termined in 1623, to abandon their establishment there: a resokition which, however at first sight it must be regretted, may prove favourable in its final results, as it certainly prevented any personal hos- tilities between the British and Japanese nations. At the very moment however, when the trou- bles were beginning in England that put a stop, for a time, almost to all commercial enterprize; circumstances took place, in Japan, that operated most powerfully at a subsequent period to prevent the renewal of our intercourse with that country. In the early part of the 17th century, (as has been noticed) the Dutch had sent several fleets to Japan, from which they derived considerable profits, and their spirit of commercial monopoly had already induced them to excite jealousies respecting both England and Portugal, in hopes of promoting their exclusion from Japan, when the conduct of the missionaries brought about that, which Dutch in- trigue might perhaps have failed in. The Portu- guese and other Jesuits had been very favorably received by the Japanese, and hail made many con- verts, when a civil war took place, in a great mea- sure excited by religious dissensions ; and a report INTRODUCTION. xU was soon raised, and as readily believed, that it was the intention of the Jesuits to deliver up Japan to the King of Portugal, to whom they were stated to have made the offer, he being also declared to be at that time fitting out eight large ships well manned, filled with troops, and provided with every thing necessary for an enterprize of such magnitude. It is true that such a force, of itself alone, could not be of any avail against an Empire so large and so populous; but then it was given out that the Portuguese depended for success on the good in- telligence which the Jesuits were known to hold with many of the most powerful Princes and no- bles, whom they had converted to the catholic faith, and who were quite ready to put arms into the hands of their vassals, and could thus raise a force fully sufficient to overpower the Imperial ar- my, and to put the Emperor to death, if he should refuse to submit to Portuguese dominion. No sooner was this treason discovered, or at least no sooner believed, than measures were taken to drive away all the Portuguese from Japan, which took place Xlii INTRODUCTION. in 1641, accompanied by the massacre of a number of priests, together with an host of their converts. The Dutch now eagerly took advantage of tiie prepossession against the Portuguese, and for some time had almost a free commerce with Japan which yielded them immense profits; to secure which they judged it expedient to establish a regular em- bassy to Jeddo, to the temporal Emperor, every three years, making him numerous and valuable presents, and carefully communicating every thing which could increase the jealousy of Portugal, and of England also. That the profits of the Japanese trade were then immense, has been recently ascertained by Sir T. S. Raffles, whilst Governor of Java, who observes, at page 242 of the first volume of his interesting work respecting that island, that from the first establishment of the Dutch commerce with Japan down to the year 1671, their specula- tions were unrestricted, and their profits enor- mous. But it must still be acknowledged, that the period in question was the golden age of their trade; indeed it might perhaps have continued as. valuable, had they acted with due commercial pru- INTRODUCTION. xJiil derice ; but Sir T. R. describes them as having opened a mine of wealth, which they fondly, though foolishly, thought inexhaustible, as well as rich and easily wrought. In 1640, the Dutch Company actually obtained a return in gold, that yielded a profit of upwards of a million of Guil- ders. For some time previous to 1663, they were accustomed to procure a return of silver to^he ex- tent of 200 chests of 100 pounds each, and it was suggested that it would be desirable for as many chests of gold of the same weight, to be sent in future. In these expectations however, they spee- dily found themselves disappointed ; and, as Sir T. R. informs us, the golden and silver ages of Japan commerce being passed, the latter part of ' the 17th century began with what the Dutch call its " Brazen Age," that is, its exports of copper, which has ever since continued the staple of the Japan market. Such was the state of the Dutch trade with Japan, when the happy settlement of the intestine troubles in England, by the Restoration, revived the spirit of commercial enterprize, and an expedi- tion was fitted out in 1673, under the immediate Xliv INTRODUCTION. approval and patronage of Charles the Second, which sailed for India, stopped at Bantam, and arrived at Nangasaki in June 1674, under the di- rection of Simon Delboe, Hammond Gibben, and William Ramsden. The vrhole of the business is very clearly and candidly detailed in the second volume of Char- levoix s Histoire et Description du Japan^ p^^^c 465 — a detail highly deserving the notice both of our own Government and the India Company, as it plainly manifests that the ordinances, which operate against a renewed intercourse, might be removed without much difficulty. Perhaps if a commer- cial intercourse were established with Loo-Choo, so well described in the recent works on the Chi- nese Embassy, the Jealousy of the Japanese, with respect to us as foreigners and christians, might be gradually softened so as to render subsequent ne- gociations certain of success. Our limits do not permit any thing beyond a sketch of the most material points respecting this attempt at renewed intercourse, it must suffice therefore to state, that some boats having come along-side on their first arrival off Nangasaki, the INTRODUCTION. xlv people refused to go on board, when they under- stood it was an English ship; but they requested the strangers to come to an anchor, at the same time stipulating that no guns should be fired nor trumpets sounded. Shortly after, the governor and secretary went on board, and were received with every respect: and the captain told them that he came with licence from the King of En- gland, for the East-India Company to trade and to have commerce with them, as had been done se- veral years before, but not these forty-nine years past. He added, that he had brought letters from the King, and from the East-India Company to the Japanese Emperor, presenting them at the same time with a copy of the articles granted at the first establishment of the factory, in 1612. The Ja- panese governor and his assistants perused this with much attention, and then asked for the ori- ginal with the Emperor's seal attached to it; to which the English captain replied, that when the establishment was broken up, the original treaty was returned to the Imperial council. The Japa- nese then enquired if England was at peace with Spain and Portugal; how loiw C'harles had been Xlvi INTRODUCTION. married to the Portuo-uese Infanta; and how many children they had ? The captain seems now to ' have suspected some difficulties would arise from this Portuguese connection^ and attempted to ex- plain it away by saj^ing, that although Charles had been married about eleven years, yet he had no children by the Queen, and that it was customary for our Kings to marry with their equals to strengthen their alliance, and for other reasons of State, and not with their own subjects. He then informed them that he had some presents for the Emperor, which seemed to aflfbrd great satisfaction ; after which, the Japanese enquired what was the religion of the English. The answer was, that we were not papists ; but of the same sect of Chris- tianity as the Dutch. The next question was, what goods were brought ; this was answered in general terms ; the Japanese seemed content, and their whole party went on shore. Two hours afterwards the same party came an board again, and said, that if the English would be content to trade as the Dutch did, they should be permitted to do so; but then, according to the Japanese custom and manner, it was necessary that INTIIODUCTIOIV. Xlvii the guns, ammunition and boats, should be deliver- ed into their hands to be carried ashore, promi- sing- that nothing should be diminished. They next promised to send to the Emperor, on receiptof whose answer, the English should be permitted to go on shore and to have a house : notwithstanding all which apparent friendship, their jealousy began to display itself, by placing boats all round the ship, filled with soldiers. The Japanese Governor then examined every one of the ship*s crew per- sonally, having a Dutchman to assist, and asking every individual whether he was a Portuguese or not, or could speak that language ; and after some unimportant questions he went on shore, taking with him the ship's boats and as much of the am- munition as he could carry on shore. This, of course, is a species of degradation to which even our merchantmen in future must never submit : perhaps the best method of settling the business at once, will be for men of war alone to proceed thither in the first instance; after which, the point of precedent being once established, the demand may be more easily avoided by the Company's ships, or private traders. Xlviii INTRODUCTION. On the following- day, the same Japanese returned on board, and commenced their opera- tions by asking a number of questions. The first of these was — " what was the reason of so long an intermission of intercourse as forty-nine years?" to which the answer was " that we had, for about twenty years, civil wars in England, and twice wars with the Dutch, and that it was no small matter to resolve upon so long" a voyage, it being very difficult and dangerous." Then they asked, if any person on board had ever been there before; and being told there were not any, their suprize was very great at the ship's having entered the harbour without a pilot, nor were their surprize or their fears diminished when they were shewn the chai'ts, by help of which, the ship was brought in, although they professed to appear content. This morning they were permitted to carry on shore the remainder of the ammunition, leaving not even a musket or sword on board belonging to any individual, and carrying with them, a dou- ble-barrelled gun and some pistols for the Empe- ror. The captain in his account of the transac- tion says — " They wrote down exactly every thing IIVTRODUCTION. xlix they took on shore, and compared their accounts in the great cabin before the secretary ; who ap- proved thereof, and with great courtesy took his leave, promising that with all speed we should have an answer from Jeddo, and admittance to trade; i gave them thanks, and said we no ways ques- tioned their honorable performance ; they said they would not take our great guns ashore, but leave them aboard for our conveniency/' It is to be hoped, that the next English ship, which enters their harbour, will also have her shot so heavy, that they will leave them on board like- wise, for our and their otvn conveniency ! The next day those personages returned, asked an immense number of questions, and thus gave the English captain an opportunity of refu- ting several falsehoods, which the Dutch had al- ready begun to disseminate, particularly about our supposed connxtion with some pirates, by whom the Japanese had recently been alarmed and an- noyed. They also held a second examination of the crew, enquiring particularly into every man's little stock of private trade ; they measured the ship, d 1 INTRODUTION. the masts and yards ; and in going away promised to send off any thing that might be wanted on ma- king a weft, with the ensign ; cautioning them against throwing any person overboard who might chance to die ; and again assured the captain that they had sent to the Emperor, wishing that the Englisli would be cheerful and contented. The next day others came off, asking much after political news. Refreshments also were sent; but at a most extravagant price. The journal now states — " I asked them leave to wear our colours, and sound our trumpets, which they said we might do ; and at their departure we sounded; 1 desired them to lose no time in sending up to the Empe- ror ; they told me they had sent away two days before, and that we might rest contented; they made no doubt but we should have a kind recep- tion, and with all speed possible. We daily went to prayers^ imth singing of psalms publicly upon the quarter-deck. " Note. — That all questions they put to us they did it in the Portugal language, and were an- swered in the same, or Spanish, and then put the INTRODUCTION. ll same into Dutch again ; and thus they constantly did, asking one thing five or six times over, and every time had their answer for their more certain undet'standing; so that all persons in these parts should have one or both these languages." About two days afterwards some Japanese offi- cers went on board and asked a number of ques- tions about the various sects of Christianity, and the nations professing each, after which a conver- sation took place which is of sufficient importance to be inserted here, verbatim. " It being Sunday, we put out our colours with St. George's cross; they asked us Avhy we put out colours to day, not having spread them be- fore since our arrival ? 1 said, this was our Sun- day, which comes every seventh day, and it wag our custom so to do ; they again asked us what way we worshipped God ? I said by prayer every morning and even, unto the great God of Heaven above. Whether the Dutch did the like ? I told them I believed they did ; with all which they seemed satisfied: and having asked these questions six or seven times over, they wrote them down, to- gether with my answers, and gave them to me d 2 lii INTRODUCnoiV. to sign, which I did, although I knew not their character. The same evening, about an hour after, they returned aboard again, and said that in our co- lours, we now put, there was a cross, how it came that, when we first came, the colours we then wore had no cross on them, only stripes white and red ? I answered, the colours we came with were new co- lours of silk, made at Tywan" (Formosa) " red and white without a cross; because the Chinese^ had told us, they were great enemies to the cross for the Portuguese sake, and that it would be bet- ter taken not to wear the cross at our first entrance ; they asked to see the colours we came in with ; I said it being a rainy day at our entrance, those new colours were spoiled and taken to pieces ; yet they desired to see them, which being brought they were satisfied ; then I said, these colours, that we now wear, were the right English colours, and had been worn by the English nation for several hun- dred years ; and that, when we were last at Firando, they were worn by our English ships ; and that the Dutch knew very well that they were our co- lours, whom I desired them to ask for their satis- faction. They said one of the interpreters' father INTRODUCTION. I'm had been interpreter to the EngHsh, and that he was still living', and that they would enquire of him ; moreover I said, we did not wear the cross as in worship or superstition, but as being- worn by the English nation for distinction, and that the Portu- guese colours and cross were much different from ours; they asked if ever England had been under the government of Portugal or Spain, and had re- ceived this cross from them ? I told them we never had been subject to either of them ; but that it being so long since our using them, I could not tell them certainly what was the cause of our first wearing them, being used by us time out of mind, and according as I had read in history about six hundred years; and that our King was a monarch of three great nations, and far greater than the King of Portugal/' The Japanese seemed satisfied with the detail ; but two Dutch ships from Batavia arriving the next day, the English displayed all their colours with the cross in them " flag, ancient, and jack " at their coming in — " about ten of the clock came aboard the interpreters with two chief men, and they told us that for the future, until other orders liv INTRODUCTION. came from Jeddo, they would not advise us to wear our colours with the cross in them, it being* so nigh the Portugal cross, the generality of the people would take our cross to be the Portugal cross ; any other colours we might wear, but not in the form of a cross : this the interpreters advi^ sed us to observe from them as our friends, not that it was the command of the Governor or Em- peror, and by this means we might be assured of the Japanese friendship and of a trade." New difficulties now started, upon the arrival of the Dutch ships; for at eight o'clock on the evening of their anchoring, the two chief secreta- ries and seven interpreters returned on board, and told the captain, that they had been examining the Dutch commander, who informed them that the English and the French were in alliance and car- rying on a war against the Hollanders, " then ask- ing me (that as the Hollanders and we had made peace five or six years since, and promised to as- sist each other, and were both of one religion) how it came to pass that we fell out with the Dutch, and joined with the French that was a Roman ca- tholic ; I answered, that when we cam« from En- INTRODUCTION. Iv gland, all was at peace, and at our being at Ban- tam the like, and that we knew of no wars, more than what they now told nie these two ships brought advice of, much less could I give any rea- son for the same ; and that I did not believe what the Dutch reported, unless there came news from England or Bantam to confirm it. Then they shewed me a paper signed by Mr. Martinus Caesar, chief for the Dutch here, wherein he declared the above-said news to be true, and hath promised the Governor of this place, that notwithstanding there was war between the two nations, that in this port both by ^^ ater and land, he and his men should live peaceabl}^ by us, as likewise in any part of the Emperor of Japan's country, for such were his commands; and therefore required of me to sign the like paper, with promises that I and our nation should live peaceably with the Dutch, and not put any affronts upon them, which, if we did as they desired, they told us, the Emperor would protect us (though but new comers unto his country), as much as he should the Dutch ; for which I re- turned him thanks, and made him the same pro- mises, and signed to a paper in tbe Japan character hi IMRODUCTION. according to their custom. This they several times repeated, that we should have the same friendship as the Dutch, although they had been there man> years, and we but newly come ; but they expected our peaceable living both here and upon their coast; and that, as soon as the Emperor's answer came from Jeddo, they would provide all things ashore for our convenience and security. They required me to promise, that when the other ships came that we expected, they should do the like, which I did. I also proposed to them, that since there was war between the two nations, they would let our ships depart first out of their ports, for the Dutch were like to be double the number of ships to us, and in case they went out first, in all probability they would lie in wait for us, and fight us at our going to sea ; which proposition they said was but reason, and that upon receiving the Emperor's orders for our reception, we might pro- pose that, or any thing we judged necessary.'" The whole of the details marks such good sense and moderation on the part of the Japanese people, independent of the policy of their govern- ment, to s5ay nothing of their apparent good will INTRODUCTION. Ivit towards the English nation, and is, upon the whole so different from the shuffling- conduct of the Chi- nese, that we cannot err in forming even sanguine hopes respecting (he issue of any future attempt at the renewal of commercial intercourse, provided judicious means shall be used, and a foundation laid by a progressive acquaintance through the me- dium of our Chinese trade, or the Loo-Choo Islands. * These English visitors now suffered some in- convenience from regulations respecting the sup- ply of provisions, which, of course, it may be pro- per to guard against as a precedent in future inter- course. The journal says, that hogs, fish and ve- getables, &c., were brought off to them ; " all our provisions amounting to six Copangs and a quar- ter, which we paid with thanks ; ever^ thing being excessive dear, contrary to what we were informed at Tiwan, of this place, but we find the price of every small thing to be put down by order of the Government ; and it not being fitting for us to re- fuse any thing they bring us for our relief, until we have admittance to trade, and a house ashore, we pay for every thing at the rates they put them Iviii INTRODUCTION. at for compliance sake. The interpreters tell us that the Datch pay the same rates.*' A few days afterwards, the negociation came to a close; as thejom'nal proceeds to state that *' on the 28th of July, iu the morning about ten o'clock, came on board our ship with three boats, the chief secretaries, one banjoise, with seven interpreters, and other attendants. They told us they had received letters from the Empe- ror, whom they had acquainted with our being here, and with the intent of our coming to trade, upon account of our former friendship, (all which, as they were advised, had been considered) hat in regard our King was ynanied icith the dauohter of Portugal their enemy, they could not admit us to have any trade^ and for no other reason. This they said was the Emperor's pleasure, and express or- ders ; and therefore they could make no alteration in \i. They likewise said, we must be gone with the first wind, nay, within twenty days. I replied it was impossible for us to go till the monsoons changed. They asked how many days we desired ? I replied forty-five days hence, I supposed the winds might be favourable. They said what pro- INTRODUCTION. lix visions we wanted to supply our occasions we should have, and seemed to give consent to our staying' milil the monsoons changed. They did express themselves very sorry that wecouhl not be admitte«l to tra^ie. 1 several times alledged, that we had licence by our last articles to come here and trade, and that we had been nigh two years upon this voyage; wherefore, I desired, a£iain and again, that we might be admitted to sell this ship*s lading of goods. They said they could make no alteration in what the Emperor had commanded; that we must begone, and come hither no more; for by reason of our alliance with Portugal they would not admit us. They told us we should have our ammunition, &c. again, and so departed." Unwilling to give up at once every chance of commercial intercourse, the Captain, with lauda- ble perservance, determined to try another method of introducing English goods to the view of the people, and accordingly he made a signal the next day for the interpreters, from whom he made a de- mand for provisions, wood, water, &c., to a consi- derable amount, telling them tliat he had no more money, and desiring them to take payment in goods, IX INTllODUCTION. offering them English cloths, or Chinese silks, as might be preferred. They took a memorandum of his request, promising to return the next day, and bring some supplies; and, when they were gone, the Captain judged it necessary to hold a consultation with his officers, respecting ihe prepa- ration of the ship for warlike defence, and also upon a point important to future visitors — " for, finding several of our men to be discontented for want of provisions, which we could not procure; and our voyage proving extremely long, we were fain to give fhem good words and large promises to make them amends, when we came where it was to be had, to prevent a mutiny, especially in our condition, for we might not (by the Japaneses' or- ders) strike our men for any crime, which we were more ready to observe, lest they should take any advantage against us: our lives, with ship and goods being in their power, and we deprived of all means to help ourselves, we were full of trouble in our minds ; God in his infinite mercy deliver us out of their hands." The next day the interpreters returned, and demanded an account of what supplies would be INTRODUCTION. 1X1 wanted weekly, during the stay, and for six weeks store for the voyage to Bantam, but so tenacious were they of the Emperor's order, that they would only engage to take Chinese goods in return: an arrangement to which the Captain was obliged to assent, though very unwillingly. Notwithstanding this apparent strictness, yet the interpreters, banjoises, and others went on board two days afterwards, enquiring after English rarities and offering to purchase them ; but the prices they offered were so small, supposing no doubt that the English would be glad to take any price for them, that no purchases took place. The next day the chief magistrate and secretaries went on board to look at the English goods, but under the pretence of another examination, during which they asked an immense number of questions, car- rying with tliem, when they went on shore, several Articles of British manufacture to shew to the Go- vernor On the 26th of August, preparations were nearly made for departure, on which day the chief magistrates and secretaries going on board, a conversation took place which merits peculiar Jxii INTRODUCTION. notice — " they asked one question now more than formerly, which was, since it was forty-nine years since our being- here, caused, as I had told them, by the civil wars, which we had nigh for twenty years, and twice wars with the Dutch, and in all that time having trade with Bantam, why we did not come for Japan, as well as for Bantam ? I an- swered, that the trade between England and Ban- tam was chiefly continued for pepper, which was bought yearly, with what was sent out of England, and returns made immediately, which could be done with a small stock ; but the trade for Japan could not be carried on from England directly, but required a settlement in several places in India, as Tonquin, Siam, Cambodia, and Tywan, which seve- ral factories required a stock of twenty tun of gold, which our honourable employers had resolved to set apart, to furnish the trade with such commodi- ties, as were proper for this market, which being so considerable a sum, (besides the employment of many ships ) it was no small matter to resolve upon so great an adventure, which required time, and peace, and other matters for their encouragement j which, until now, they had not found convenient: INTRODUCTION. Ixiii and these I supposed were the reasons inducing our company now to prosecute this voyage : they seem- ed contented with this answer. After, they told tne, the wind being come fair, and they haviug furnished us with what we requested for our main- tenance of life, and for the carrying on our voyage to Bantam, which was according to the Japan cour- tesy, we must be gone from hence the next day. We should have our boats sent us, and all our am- munition, and we must depart peaceably without shooting off any guns in the jurisdiction of the Ja- pan Emperor, which I promised I would perform. I asked whether we might wear our colours ? They said, that we might wear any colours that had no cross in them, our cross being offensive to them j for being nigh the Portugal cross. Then asking whe- ther we mighf return after the death of our Queen! They answered, that possibly we might, if the Dutch and several Chinese did satisfy the Empe- ror that we were not in amity with Portugal ; but he could not assure us we should have admission, our surest way was not to come ; for the Emperor's commands (according to the Japanese saying), were like unto sweat that goeth out of a man's ixiv IMliODLCTION. bofly and hands, which never returneth in again : the Emperor^s commands admit of no alteration." After repeated interrogations, which, not bear- ing upon the commercial questions, require not any particular notice, the Japanese promised that the Dutch ships in port should not be permitted to sail for two months, in which time the English might arrive at Bantam ; and a parting took place " with much outward courtesy and seeming reluc- tancy, for our not being admitted by the Emperor to settle a trade here." The ensuing day, every thing was delivered up to them whilst in the harbour, including all kinds of arms, except the ammunition, in order to facilitate their departure, a favour never granted to the Dutch to whom they were then always sent in the offing; and, the wind being scant, forty Japa- nese boats were sent to tow them to a considerable distance where they anchored, and soon after recei- ved their powder, but with the strictest directions not to fire off any guns whilst on the coast, or even in the Japanese seas. The return of the ship to England, and the total failure of her attempt did not discourage the India Company from still retain- INTRODUCTION. IxV I ng" hopes of a renewed intercourse; and with a view to that event, they established a factory on the island of Honan ; but the ignorance of the true principles of trade, together with mismanagement, and heavy losses of various kinds, at length chilled the spirit of enterprize and perseverance, and that settlement was abandoned in 1682. At the pre- sent day, under all circumstances, political and commercial, we might hope for better success. The Chinese trade, however, appeared an object of too much importance to be lightly given up ; accordingly every means were used to establish it; but it was not until the last year of the 17th cen- tury, 1699, that it could be considered as settled on a permanent footing, and in that year the fac- tory at Canton was directed to effect, if possible, a communication with Japan through the medium of China. The results of these attempts were by no means commensurate with the hopes that had prompted them, and all thoughts of a Japanese trade seemed for some time abandoned : nor is it wonderful, when we recollect that in 1740, the profits of the Trade, to the Dutch, were so trifling e Ixvi INTRODUCTION. that their Company actually conlemplated the re- moval of their factory, and the cessation of mer- cantile intercourse, their annual ships then nevci* exceeding two, instead of eight or nine as in for- mer years. A smuggling, or forced trade might indeed have been attempted ; nay, it is surprising that nothing in that way has yet been tried by our own speculators. It must be confessed indeed, that the long continued prohibition of intercourse with foreigners must operate powerfully, at first, against any attempts on the part of English ships to commence any thing like a regular or even smuggling intercourse with them. . When Captain King was off the eastern coast in 1771, on the breaking up of a fog, he descried a Japanese vessel coming down right before the wind. Curiosity and the desire of inforination naturally led every person upon deck, and he was eagerly taking measures to speak with her, when she instantly altered her course, and the Captain, fearing he might alarm them by any thing like a pursuit, vei7 judiciously brought-to, and permitted the Japanese to pass a-head of him, about half a mile. Accord- INTRODUCTION. Ixvii ing' to the best estimate he could form, she was about 40 tons, with six hands on board. She had but one mast, on which was lioisted a common sail, extended by a yard aloft, the braces of which were worked forward. Half-way down the sail came three pieces of black cloth, at equal distances from each other. She was higher at each end than in the mid-ships; and Captain King imag"ined, from her appearance and form, that it was impoa^ sible for her to sail any otherwise than with the wind free. It is not unimportant to add, that it blew so hard immediately afterwards, as to bring the English ships under their courses, with the sea running as high as any one on board ever remem- bered to have seen it; and Captain King adds, that if the Japanese vessels are as Koempfer des- cribes them, open in the stem, it would not have been possible for this vessel and another, which was seen in-shore, to have survived the fur* of the storm ; but as the appearance of the weather, all the preceding part of the day, foretold its coming, and one of the vessels had, notwithstanding, stood far out to sea, he infers that they really are capable e 2 Ixviil INTRODUCTION. of bearing a gale of wind. But Kosnipfer only describes one species of vessels; whilst Spanberg speaks of another, which he calls Busses, in which he states, that they make voyages to the islands in the vicinity: and if that is correct some advantages might even speedily be realized by frequenting those ports, not Japanese, to which Japanese ves- s«^ls may be in the habit of resorting. The risque indeed, would be too great for individual speculators ; but one or two small ships of war, with some skilful agents of the India Company on board, if judiciously directed, might not only facilitate but hasten the opening of a traf- fic that may eventually be of the highest advantage 1o this nation. From 1699, to 1792, the Japanese trade seems to have been almost unthought of; but in that year, a select committee of India Directors was appointed for special investigation, who ac- tually gave in a report, that an Export tra ( to Ja- T^an could never become an object of importance o our maiuifacturers, or as a vent for our produce, oi. he ground that the ouly returns must be in INTRODUCTION. Ixix copper, au article produced by our own mines, to the full extent of home consumption and fo- reign exportation ! It is, however, a curious fact that an English vessel, commanded by an Englishman, a Captain Stuart, actually visited Japan in 1797 and 1798. Nor is it less curious that the vessel carried Ameri- can colours, with an American pass, and was sent thither by the Dutch authorities at Batavia. The fact is stated in Raffles' Java, in a note extracted from a work by Hogendorp, and well merits fur- ther enquiry and investigation. It must be acknowledged and expected, in- deed, that this extreme caution become habitual to the Japanese with respect to foreigners, arising out of their strict municipal regulations, will tend much, at first, to check free communication and friendly intercourse with commercial speculator at the present moment ; yet, it is important ro observe, that the distrust is rather on the part of the government than of the people, as is manifest from several facts, stated by Captain Broughton, of his Majesty's ship, Providence, who surveyed the Japanese seas in 1795-6-7, al- IXX INTRODUCTION. though, upoii the whole, he was perfectly correct in saying, that the same unremitted jealousy of fo- reigners seemed to pervade every place in those seas where the Providence touched at ; and al- though the desires of the crew for wood and wa- ter were readily complied with, yet any wish of ex- ploring the interior of the country, or of gaining a more perfect knowledge of its government, pro- duce, and manners, was invariably and pertina- ciously resisted. In his first visit, he only landed at Insu, the southern part of the land of Jesso, near Matsmai, where the natives visited him at sea, and were civil to him on shore : as were in- deed, the few Japanese he met there; although they were very anxious for his departure ; pre- venting him, also, from having any intercourse, as far as possible, with the people. In fact, the Ja- panese there did not scruple to go on board the Providence, asKing many questions, shewing Cap- tain Broughton their maps and charts, and display- ing some knowledge of the Russian language, be- ing able to converse with a seaman of that country then on board. Some of them even dined on board, in tlie rnosl friendly manner ; and upon the INTRODUCTION. IxXl whole, tliey seemed more afraid of their own go- vernment than of their foreign visitors. It is worthy of notice, also, that even when off Jeddo, the seat of Empire, the Providence was visited by many fishing boats, which liberally sup- plied her crew with fish, without seeming to ex- pect any thiug in return ; to which Captain Brough- ton adds — " and having satisfied their curiosity, we parted mutually entertained" — a transaction altogether at variance with the cautious and insul- ting conduct which takes place in European inter- course with them, when under the paltry restric- tions of their government. After the wreck of the Providence, Captain Broughton returned to the coast, in a small schooner, and when off Nambu was again visited by fishing boats, who came, out of curiosity, to lopk at them, and some of the people actually came on board, pressing them to go in ,• after which, he returned to Endormo harbour, in Jesso, where he had formerly refitted, and was received in the most friendly manner by the 'inha- bitants, until checked by the Japanese in office, who came from JVlatsmai expressly to look after the English, and prevent all intercourse ; anx- jXxii INTIIODUCTION. iously urging their departure, but in a very civil manner, and evidently acting under orders by no means congenial with their own wishes. For they kept up a polite and even friendly behaviour, also presenting Captain Broughton with a map of the Japanese islands, in direct opposition to a funda- mental law as stated by all the Dutch and other writers, and proved indeed, by these parties them- selves strongly enjoining secresy, as otherwise they would be exposed to disgrace and punish- ment. It is surely not an unfair conclusion, that there can be no great difficulty in commencing a trade with these people, if their government should be either coaxed, or frightened out of their present timid policy. At present, under their existing municipal regulations, great caution will be necessary not only to guard against giving offence, but also, to avoid every concession which the Japanese might afterwards claim as a precedent. Considerable information may be gained, upon this subject, by reference to the narrative of Captain Krusenstern, Mho conducted thither a Russian embassy, in 1805 INTRODUCTION. Ixxiii but whose confined residence at, and necessarily contracted account of that spot, fully justify the expression in a preceding page, (iii) in reference to the manners and customs of Japan, where Thunberg is spoken of as the latest writer descrip- tive of that country. Though the same observa- tion applies also to Langsdorft's account of the same embassy, yet both are rich in that informa- tion necessary for a commercial speculator, parti- cularly the latter, whose residence on shore was equally an imprisonment, but whose more fre- quent intercourse with the Japanese enabled him to record numberless useful hints for the next Eng- lish visitors to Japan. It appears from Krusenstern's narrative, that he experienced and submitted to the same insul- ting treatment as the Dutch receive, all done in the politest manner, but still too degrading for any British ship, even a merchant-man, to submit to. He was obliged to deliver up his powder and arms, even to the officers* fowling-pieces, although the ambassador was permitted to bring his guard, of seven men, on shore with their musquets, and the officers were also allowed to retain their swords. IXXiv INTRODLCTION. The Russians also were not permitted to go in their boats, even a short distance from the ship, ex- cept to a barren spot on a small island, where they were hedged in with bamboos so as to be precluded from the sight of any thing but the Heavens, as the Japanese forgot to put a roof on. All intercourse with the Dutch captains was forbidden ; and it was most unfeelingly ordered that no letters, whatever, should be sent to Russia, by way of Batavia, ex- cept a dispatch from the ambassador to his sove- reign stating the arrival of the embassy and the welfare of all persons on board, and even that was exposed to the inspection of the governor of Nan- gasaki. So paltry indeed was the jealousy of the Japanese, and so degraded the acquiescence of the Dutch captains that when, on their sailing, they passed within hail of the Russian ship, they dared not even to answer to Captain Krusenstern's compliments of a happy voyage. They merely- made a sign with their speaking trumpets, and the chief of the Dutch factory owned that they had re- ceived strict orders not to utter the least sound' whatever, in reply to the Russians ! Indeed even the chief himself was under the same degrading regu- INTRODUCTION. IxXV lations,and often obliged to continue for several mi- nutes in the most abject position before the lowest jack in office, or Banjos as they are called, without receiving- the slightest acknowledgment, in return for his salute. Notwithstanding the strictness of the Japanese, they were liberal in their supplies, everything being- procured on demand ; but the Russians were not permitted to purchase the smallest article, not even a fan or snuff-box: nor would any Japanese venture to receive, from them, the smallest present. The state of slavery in which the Japanese themselves are kept, not only with respect to their intercourse with foreigners, but also in common transactions with the officers of their own govern- ment, is most degrading, and renders an acquain- tance with them of no value, except in a commer- cial point of view. Should ever that be effected upon a liberal principle, a great amelioration may take place in Japanese manners and in Japanese morals. At present, the degradations which Eu- ropeans have hitherto submitted to, instead of ren- dering commerce a blessing, have made it a curse, a school for the basest prejudice, and the seal of IxXVi INTRODUCTION. Japanese slavery. It remains for England to burst their fetters, and by a liberal, but resohite and in- vincible policy to liberate the minds and bodies of an immense empire from the shackles of an igno- rant despotism ! Krusenstern attempts an account of the first European intercourse with Japan ; but it is totally at variance with the detail in the first pages of this introduction, drawn in fact from Adam's own letters, and other authentic sources, especially in respect to English commerce ; yet he states a fact that we have not seen elsewhere recorded, that in 1803, a company of English merchants in Calcutta sent a ship, very richly laden, under the command of Captain Torey to Nangasaki, but she was order- ed to quit the Japanese coast in twenty-four hours. He states also that the Americans failed in a simi- lar project about two years previously. Krusenstern is of opinion that a good trade might be opened with the Peninsula of Corea; and the Japanese are certainly very jealous of the Euro- pean ships that might have attempted to navigate the sea between Corea and Japan. Langsdorfi* entered further into minute and INTRODUCTION. IxXVU useful particulars than it was possible for Kru sen- stern to do, and gives instructions delivered by the Japanese to Laxman in 1792, respecting the laM's of that country in regard to foreign inter- course, stating that these laws are fixed and irrevo- cable ; that it is a law that all ships, particularly if armed, *even though they come inflects, shall im- mediately be put under arrest ; that no persons are permitted to go into the interior of the country without leave, especially if armed, and that those who do so, and are caught, must never be permit- ted to return to their own country ; that merchant vessels of other nations, or merchants, can onlv come to such places as are pointed out to them, and that with all ships of war, intercourse is strict- ly forbidden, under whatever pretence they may appear on the Japanese coasts. This precious document concluded with the clause that the Christian Religion cannot be per- mitted in Japan, and therefore that all permitted visitors must abstain from every act of reUgious * The Japanese police will find it difficult to enforce this law, on a British man of war. JxXViii INTRODUCTION. worship whatever ! Much as our indignation must be raised at such illiberal and cowardly restricti- ons, we certainly have no right to force them to more rational conduct ; yet it may fairly be con- cluded that t® do so would be productive of infi- nite benefit to the people : for it is a curious fact that out of fifteen Japanese, who were wrecked upon the coast of the Russian settlements, and car- ried to Irkutsk the capital of Siberia, where they resided some years, only five chose to return to their native country, when the offer was made of sending them home under the care of the Russian Embassy ; and these five appear to have been the most worthlesss of the party. Lansfsdorff states a verv curious circumstance on their arrivel of Nangasaki, not mentioned by Krusenstern, that a " boat came out, conveying a white flag with a blue cross, and a number of Japa- nese characters upon it" — a circumstance which shows that the difliculty stated in page lii, is not likely to be repeated. Notwithstanding the strict regulations enfor- ced by the Japanese authorities, their conduct evi- dently showed that a more Hberal behaviour may INTRODUCTION. Ixxix well be expected whenever a relaxation takes place in their state policy ; and it is important to re- mark that the Russian Ambassador, at an early visit of some of the great meji, having complained of the conduct and behaviour of the Japanese brought back to their native land, who were still on board as it was intended to present them per- sonally to the Emperor, and who, since the ship had been at anchor, had refused all service, a great man instantly summoned them before him, and reprimanded them very severely, representing to them their extreme ingratitude after having been fed and supported by the Russians, for so many years receiving kindnesses in every possible way, and at last being brought back to their native shore at so great an ex pence ; adding, that, in be- having as they did, they brought shame upon the whole country. Some light is thrown upon the commercial wishes of the Japanese, by the questions which they put to the Russian Embassy. These Avere, whe- ther Russia could furnish Sugar, Rye, Skins, Me- dicines, " and many other articles ;'* expressing, at the same time, much curiosity as to the number of IXXX INTRODUCTIdN. ships, which might be annually sent to Nangasaki* From an occurrence which took place at this in- Wview, it is evident also that optical instruments, from a pair of spectacles upwards, would soon be» come important objects of trade, i Langstlorff, in detailing these events, most point- edly alludes to the excessive closeness of the Japa- nese authorities, and the extreme circumspection with which every step, on their part, was taken. — Every thought, every question, every word, was weighed in the nicest manner, appearing to have some particular aim in view ; and it seemed as if the least error would cost the life even of the persons highest in rank! Happy will it be for Japan when the liberal ideas springing from an open commerce, and per- haps the gradual introduction of a liberal religion in the true spirit of the Gospel and equally remo- ved from the bigotry that once made Christianity a bug-bear to the Japanese Government, as from that fanaticism which would pour out the mysteries of our faith upon the untutored savage, before he is enabled by an amended morality and judicious instruction to understand them — Happy will it be INTRODUCTION. IxXXi for Japan when these blessings shall afford se- curity and comfort to the lives of the millions who coverher fertile lands, wearing out an uncertain existence in slavery, sloth, and mendicity, and adding to their own political misery the idle fears and the burthensome oppression of demoralized superstition! The work itself will demonstrate the correct- ness of this picture; to which we may add, from Langsdorff, in confirmation of the stupid slavery to which the Japanese are subjected, that the inter- preters acknowledged that even the name of the reigning Emperor was always kept a profound se- cret, and that the people never knew, until his death, how tfieir sovereign was called. In such a country loyalty must be unknown, and it could not but fall an easy prey to any inva- der. This is a circumstance which ought not to be forgotten, by British Statesmen. Should Russia, or some of these busy spirits now in America, ever make the attempt, the result would scarcely be doubtful, at least so far as a complete revolution might be expected ; and with such a people as the Japanese in the vicinity of our oriental empire, f IxXXii INTUOUUCTION. consequences the most fatal might then be appre- hended. Langsdorff further describes the manners of the people of distinction, whom he saw, to be uni- formly polite and courteous ; and he adds, that, but for their language and costume, they might have been mistaken for the most polished Euro- peans. It appears also, that all parties, with whom they mixed, were anxious to acquire the Russian lang-uage, and offered , without scruple, to teach the Japanese to those who wished it. But it must not be forgotten, by those who may in future visit Ja- pan, that politeness and courtesy, with not a small portion of plausible insincerity, are the weapons of attack and defence used by those people in di- plomatic intercourse; and Langsdorff mentions some curious instances of the ingenious falsehoods in which they dressed up their precautions and even their insults, representing these actually as marks of distinction, for the purpose of procuring a ready acquiescence with orders dictated by ty- rannical suspicion. Even their police guard-boats were described as a guard of honour! and an en- trance into the harbour |was refused, whilst the INTRODUCTION. Ixxxiii Dutch ships lay there, on the pretence that it would be by no means shewing" proper respect to an Im- perial ship of war, with an ambassador on board, if it were permitted to anchor amongst merchant vessels. When they did enter the harbour, the ship was surrounded from morning- till night with boats filled with visitors, or rather spectators; amongst whom, the fair sex greatly predominated, But all intercourse was still prevented ; nay, though supplies of provisions were sent every day to the Russians, they were not permitted to purchase the most trifling article, not even a few tobacco-pipes, until an order should come from court for that pur- pose. In the enforcement, however, of this and many other regulations, the great men really seemed unwilling actors, and acknowledged them- selves, on several occasions, to be under the great- est embarrassment, ofi'ering as an excuse the sin- gular constitution of their country, and the un- changeable nature of their laws, which they dared not infringe either in letter or in spirit. Nay, some had the candour to own that all the strict regulations of the government were extremely ridiculous; one person, in particular, lamenting his IxXXiv INTRODUCTION. fate in being born a Japanese, regretting the short- sightedness of his countrymen, but imputing it to the education of the Emperor, and the great ma- gistrates ; adding, that the subjects must be blind when the rulers had no clear ideas, and were not in a situation to acquire any. It appears that the same difficulties occurred respecting ceremonials, as in our own Chinese em- bassies, with an equal quantity of chicanery and regulated insult. Langsdorff's details of these are highly amusing, and their perusal will be useful to future speculators, but to notice them would far exceed our limits ; yet it must not be omitted, Sliat when at length an answer arrived from the Japanese l^mperor, this curious State Paper can- diclly avowed that the restrictions on foreign inter- course arose from the injunctions of an Emperor one hundred-and-fifty years previous, and that, although since that period several foreign nations had at various times endeavoured to establish an intercourse of friendship and commerce with Ja- pan, these offers had been invariably repulsed, not only in consequence of the long established prohi- bition, but also because it was considered dange- INTRODUCTION. JxXXV rous to form ties of friendship with unknown fo- reign powers, which could not be founded on equaUty. The refusal of receiving- the Russian presents was explained, upon the principle that if they were accepted, then the Japanese Emperor, according to custom, which was their law, would be obliged to send back presents of equal value under the care of an ambassador ; and that there is a strict prohibition against either the inhabitants or the ships quitting the country ; besides which, Ja- pan was stated to be so poor, that it was impossi- ble to return presents to any thing like an equiva- lent. The reception of the ambassador was refu- sed upon the same pretences. It is also of importance to mark the commer- cial or rather anti-commercial reasoning contained in this document, which stated that Japan has no great wants, and therefore, has little occasion for foreign productions ; that her few real wants, as well as those she has contracted by custom, are readily supplied by the Dutch and Chinese, and luxuries are things which she does not wish to see introduced ; that it would be, besides, very dif- ficult to establish an extensive trade, since that IxXXVi INTRODUCTION. must, almost of necessity, occasion frequent inter- course between the common people and the foreign sailors, a thing strictly prohibited by the Japanese laws. There is something so plausible in this rea- soning, and it appears so well borne out by exist- ing facts, particularly by the gradual decline of the Dutch trade with Japan, that, at first sight, it seems to neutralize all those hopes of British intercourse with that country already expressed. But, it must be considered that, although at first any possible commercial intercourse would be but trifling, yet, when we reflect on the difference of the British and Dutch commercial systems, both with respect to credit and to the supply of good articles on a liberal plan ; on the superior enterprize of our spe- culators who look for extensive trade with small profits, whilst the Dutch always starve a market for the sake of large gains ; and on the probable increasing annual demand, not only from these causes, but from the amelioration of Japanese manners and modes of thinking with respect to foreign nations that would result from such an intercourse as we only could agree to, or would INTRODUCTION. . IxXXVii consent to practice, it is not too much to expect that a very few years would render Japan a most advantageous market. At present, the Japanese are too much under control to have any wishes beyond what their strict customs allow them ; but a more liberal intercourse, with foreigners, would expand their minds ; the sight of articles of Bri- tish taste, ingenuity, and industry, would excite their wishes ; to procure the mere necessaries of life would no longer be the bound of their desires; a new stimulus to industry would arise ; their pri- vileged mendicity would cease ; wealth would spring from general exertion ; and we should soon have more customers than we could well supply. Such are the reflections that result from Langs- dorff's very useful and entertaining Journal. When Batavia, and the whole island of Java fell into our possession, about 1813, a voyage, it appears, on the part of our own India Company, was actually performed. The whole particulars of that transaction would, no doubt, be highly inte- resting; but the only reference at present is to the Appendix of Sir T. S. Raffles' work, where an account current of the expences and returns, RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. CHAPTER I. Geographical Situation, Climate and Extent. The geographical situation of the Japanese pos- sessions is, in respect to latitude, the same as that of the countries lying between the southern provinces of France, and the south part of Morocco ; their longitude is about 100° East from St. Petersburg, so that, in the middle part of Japan, the sun rises seven hours earlier than in that city. The Japa- nese empire consists of islands, of which the largest, and most considerable, is the Island of Niphon. Its greatest length, from south-west to north-east, is 1300 wersts, and its greatest breadth about 260 wersts. At a small distance, to the north of Niphon, lies the twenty second Kurile Island of Matraai or iMatsmai, which is 1400 wersts in cir- cumference, lo the north of IVIatsmai are the Island of Sagaleen, butof which, only the southerly half belongs to Japan, the other half being subject to the Chinese, and the three Kurile Island? of K 2 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAX. Kunascliier,Tschikotan and Eetooroop(Turpu). To the south of Niphon, lie the two considerable Islands ofKiosu and Sikonfu. The length of the first is above 300 wersts ; and that of the second, 200. Besides these eight principal Islands, the Japanese possess many others of inferior consequence. The Japanese possessions, surrounded by the Eastern ocean, lie opposite to the coasts of Corea, China and Tartary, from which they are separated by a broad strait, which is called the Japan sea, and in the narrowest parts, the straits of Corea. The least breadth of this strait, between the southern coast of Niphon and Corea, is 140 wersts : but the greatest breadth is above 800 wersts. On a comparison of the geographical situation of the Japanese possessions, w ith that of the coun- tries of the western hemisphere, under the same degrees of latitude, it might be imagined that the climate, the changes of the seasons, and the atmos- pliere were alike in both ; but such a conclusion would be very erroneous.* The difference of the * Charlevoix states, that the Japanese are much prejudiced iu lavor of their own climate, and acknowledges that it must bo very healthy, since the people are long-lived, the women very prolific, and diseases very uncommon. We know not what de- pendence to place upon Koempfer's wonderful story of a villagt upon the side of a mountain, all the inhabitants of which wt i re GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION. 3 two parts of the world, in this respect, is so strik- ing, that it deserves more particular notice. I will take, as an example, Matsmai, where 1 lived two jears. This town lies in the forty-second degree of latitude, that is on a parallel with Leghorn, in Italy, Bilboa in Spain, and Toulon in France. In these places, the inhabitants hardly know what frost is ; and never see any snow, except on the tops of high mountains : in Matsmai, on the con- trary, the ponds and lakes freeze, the snow lies in the valleys and the plains, from November till April, and falls, besides, in as great abundance as with us in St. Petersbui'g. Severe frosts are indeed uncommon, yet the cold is often fifteen degrees of children, grand, and great grand-children of a single man then living, and all of them handsome, well made, polished, civil and possessing the manners of people brought up at court. It seems, however, that little reliance can be placed upon the extraordinary boasts respecting the Japanese climate ; since the Jesuits confess that the weather is very changeable: that the winter cold is intense and the fall of snow prodigious ; that the summer heats are intolerable; that it rains often and at all seasons, the heaviest rains being in June and July, which portion of the year the Japanese distinguish by the name of the water-months ; and that thunder and lightning are then extremely frequent. As a counterbalance to these inconveniences, the Jesuit writers whimsi- cally throw into the opposite scale the Inigth of the ivinter, which they describe as giving the weather time to purify itself, whilst the rains resofte.n it, and the various natural productions cause salutary exhalations; especially from the sulphur and the aromatic plants in which these islands abound. — Eu. B 2 4 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. Reaumur. In summer, the parts of Europe under the same latitude as Matsmai enjoy, almost con- stantly, serene and warm weather ; in Matsmai, on the other hand, the rain pours down in torrents, 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, fis^s, 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 island of the Japanese possessions ; but I have heard from the Japanese that, in Yeddo, the capital city of the empire, in the thirty-sixth de- gree 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 con- sider that Yeddo is under the same latitude as Malaga, in Spain, we shall be convinced that the climate of the eastern hemisphere is much ruder than that of the western. The Japanese assured me that, on the southern part of Sagaleen, in the forty-seventh degree of latitude, the ground is often thawed, during the summer, only to a depth of a foot and a half. If we compare with this the cli- mate of a place in Europe, whose latitude corres- ponds, for example, Lyons, in France, how dif- CLIMATE. » feient 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 of Raschaua, 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 effects 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 inter- ruption, 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 Avinter, yet a week seldom passes without two 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 coun- tries, which enjoy a clear sky. Besides this, the northern parts of the Islands of Siphon, Matsmai, 6 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. 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 extraordinary degree of cold with them. It is further to be observed that the Ja- panese 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 Mantchous and Tartary, which form 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. NATIONAL ANTIQUITY. CHAPTER II. Origin of the Japanese Nation. Lv the books written by Europeans concerning Japan, a great deal is said of the origin of the in- habitants of that empire ; but all is founded on fabulous and uncertain traditions.* This is the opinion of the enlightened Japanese themselves. Thus, for instance, they attach little credit to the fable, that the population of Japan originated with three hundred unspotted youths and virgins, whom an Emperor of Japan sent to Niphon, by the advice of his brother, for the purpose of looking for herbs to compose a beverage which should confer im- mortality. Other similar fables are equally disre- garded by the more sensible Japanese. Our Inter- preter Teske, and the Man of Learning, (Scholar) often laughed in our conversations, at the credulity of their countrymen in regard to their origin. Among other things they related that they had a tradition, that, at a period of remote antiquity, the whole earth was covered with water, in which state it remained during a countless series of * Some of the Japanese are so vain as to admit of no foreign extraction, but claim a descent from the gods themselves, going back far beyond all Egyptian calculation. — Ed. ^ RECOLLEtTlOiNS OF JAPAN. , years without the Almighty Creator, whom the Japanese call Tenko »S'a;7m(Rulerofileaveii), having cast his eye upon it. At length, Kami, his eldest son, obtained permission to put the earth in order and to people it. He therefore took an extremely long- staff to sound the depth, which he found to be the least, exactly in the place where Japan now rises out of the sea. He threw the earth from the bottom, up in a heap, and created the Island of Niphon, furnished it with all the natural produc- tions which still flourish there, divided himself into two beings, one male and one female, and peopled the newcountry ; when the other childrenof God saw their brother's work, ihey did the same in other parts of the globe, and though they succeeded in creating- countries, ordering and peopling them^ they, however, had not the skill which their elder brother possessed, and, hence, in their creatiori of countries and men, they did not attain the same perfection.* For this reason, the Japanese are su- perior to all the other inhabitants of the earth, and the productions of Japan better than all others. Teske, who related to us this tradition from their ancient history, laughed, and said that even to this * Another statement says : " That, at the beginning of the World, the first of seven Celestial Spirits arranged the chaos, or confused mass of Land and Sea, when, from the end of the rod with which he performed it, there fell a muddy froth, which con- densed, and formed the Islands of Japan." — Ed. ANCIE^JT TRADITIONS. 9 day,mostof his countrymen believed the silly fable, and many affirmed that a part of the staff, which their first ancestor had employed to measure the deptlis of the ocean, still existed as an evergreen- tree on one of the highest mountains in the Island of Niphon. I will not burthen my readers with the relation of similar absurd traditions, of which the Japanese have a great number ; whoever is fond of them has no need of having recourse to Japanese my- thology. 1 will only mention what the learned among the Japanese think concerning the origin of their nation. According to their opinion, the ori- ginal population of Japan is buried in the obscurity of the remotest antiquity ; but they are convinced that the Japanese and the Kuriles once were one and the same nation, and are descended from the same stock. They endeavour to prove this by a number of words common to both languages, by the resemblance of some opinions and traditions, which are believed by the people in Japan and the Kurile islands, as well as by some usages, which have been common from ancient times to both nations. This hypothesis is really supported by the Japanese language, the features, manners, laws and customs.* Every thing testifies that the * It has been supposed by all the early writers, on grounds apparently plausible, that the Japanese are not of Chinese, but 10 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. Chinese and the Japanese were never one people. The Japanese even abominate the idea that the Chinese may have been their ancestors ; their con- tempt of that nation goes so far, that when they mean to call any one a rogue or a cheat, they say he is a true Chinese. Notwithstanding all this, they, however, confess that many families in Japan are of Chinese origin. Their history does not in- deed mention any migration of the Chinese to Japan, but they believe that, in the frequent wars between the two nations, the Japanese took a great number of Chinese prisoners. According to the accounts of the Japanese historians, the Chinese were conquered in all the wars, and only the prin- ciple of the Japanese policy, not to extend their dominions, had hindered them from entirely sub- duing China. It cannot well be doubted, that the Japanese historians exaggerate their victories; but it cannot be affirmed, that the Japanese may not have obtained very great advantages in the wars with the Chinese. As proofs of this, we may reckon the great respect which the Chinese Em- perors pay to the Emperors of Japan, and the of Tartar origin. There is certainly no connexion between the Japanese and Chinese languages, whilst between many of the Tartar and Japanese customs, there is an extreme coincidence, ta say nothing of the similarity of dispositions, which exists between the two nations, whence a Japanese has been aptly defined to be a polished and civilized Tartar.- — Ed. AUTHENTIC HISTORY. 11 arrogance with which the Japanese treat those Chinese who come to them on account of trade. It is, therefore, very probable, that the Japanese, who made frequent and successful attacks on the Chinese coasts, took numerous prisoners, whom they brought off as slaves. The Japanese histo- rians also assert, that emigrants from India settled among them, from whom the religious sect, now predominant among them, borrowed their faith, which evidently appears to be no other than the faith of the Bramins disfigured. This is all that the well-informed Japanese con- sider to be certain respecting their origin. They affirm, that their history has a certain degree of authenticity, since the government of the present house of Kin-Rey, or the spiritual Emperors ; that is according to their chronology, for a period of above 2400 years, or six centuries before the birth of Christ. Some of the most important events of these twenty-four centuries are described pretty much in detail, others are only touched upon. The names of all the spiritual Emperors of this house, as well as their successors, and the years of their accession to the government, are known to the Japanese. All traditions, respecting events pre- vious to that period, they regard as fables unde- serving of belief, even though their historians men- lion them. 12 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. In a conversation on this subject, Teske made the following remark : " Though traditions of this^ kind (said he) are ridiculous and incredible, yet we must not disturb the belief of the people in them, as this may be useful to the State. They cause the people to prefer themselves to all other nations, to despise foreign manners, and in general every thing that is foreign ; and the Japanese have learnt, by dear-bought experience, that it has^ always been attended with misfortune to them when they adopted an} thing foreign, or suffered foreigners to interfere in their concerns. Besides, the same prejudice that teaches a people to love their country, above all things, binds them to their native soil, and hinders them from exchanging it for a foreign land.'* According to the opinion of Teske, and our man of learning, researches into the origin of a people, and what nations in ancient times sprung from one common stock, are foolish and useless, and can at the best amuse idle people, and the inventors of fables. " For (say they) if even old people give wholly diiferent accounts of events, of which they were witnesses in their youth, how is it possible to believe traditions, which must have been handed down through many generations ? Or how can we immjediately draw a conclusion that two nations are of the same origin, because ORIGIN OF NATIONS. 13 they have two or three words alike in their lan- guage, or some pecuHar custom ?'* Whether these notions of my Japanese friends are just, I leave to be decided by more learned people. In conclusion I observe, that \he Japanese, even the most unprejudiced, will not believe that all the nations of the world descend from a single man. As a proof of the contrary, they alledge the difference in the external appearance of different nations. " How can we persuade ourselves (say they) that the Dutch and the Negroes on board their ships, could be descended from the same original parents, even many thousand years ago ?" 14 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN CHAPTER III, National Character. Civilization and Lans^uase, Japan, discovered by the Portuguese, was known to the Europeans in the middle of the sixteenth century.* The rage for conquering newly-disco- * That Japan was totally unknown to European Geographers, in the time of Ptolemy, is evident from the statement in his wri- tings, that the country of the Sinae, or China, was bounded to the East, " by an unknown country." He knew not then, that an Ocean existed to the Eastward, and it follows of course, that any islands in that Ocean must have been equally unknown. (See further, the Introduction to Koempfer.J It is to Marco Polo, then, in the 13th century, that we must look for the first men- tion of this extraordinary people. Marco Polo did not personally visit Japan, but speaks of it from information obtained in China, under the name of Zipangu, describing it as rich in gold and silver, pearls and precious stones. His general account of it seems pretty correct, allowing for seve- ral exaggerations, such as, the royal palaces being covered with gold, as with lead in Europe ; the cielings being of solid gold, &c. His account of an invasion of Zipangu, by the Cham of Tartary, in 1279, recorded also in the Chinese and Japanese annals, is a convincing proof that Zipangu and Japan, are the same island. The name has been written in old times, Zipangri, Cyampagu, Cimpago, and Gepen. Even the name of Niphon, is not general throughout the Japanese Empire, for in certain districts, the word is pronounced Zipou, or Siipon, apparently arising from some peculiar conformation of the colloquial organs, as in the North of Spain B is changed into V, and in our own Somersetshire F JAPAN FIRST KNOWN. 15 vered countries, was the prevailing" spirit among the great powers of those times. The Portuguese had the intention to conquer Japan, and, accord- ing to their custom, hegan with trade, and preach- ing the Catholic faith. The missionaries, sent to Japan, succeeded in pleasing at first : they had free access to the interior of the kingdom, and had almost incredible success in converting their new intoV; to say nothing of the well-known cockney peculiarity. Indeed, even without this ground for conjecture, the case may be considered as decided by all recent discoveries and researciies, which render it impossible that Marco Polo could have meant any other country, independent of what we know of its riches, especially in gold, silver and pearls ; of its monarchical, and almost absolute government, the colour of its people, their sta- ture and religion; and the multitude of islands, enumerated at 7440, but of course including the smallest, that peep above water. The Japanese, moreover, call their country Nipfion, from two words, ISi, signifying fire, or the Sun par excellence, and Pon, being basis, or foundation ; but the Chinese name Gcpuen- tfue, signifies the kingdom of the rising Sun. Another name of Teuka, signifies the Empire under Heaven ; and Teuka-Sama is the monarch who is under Heaven. In some of the Japanese writings, it is also called Sinkoxa, and Kamino-Kuni, the habi- tation of the Gods ; Tontsio, the true morning ; and Avoadsima, Avva, signifying froth, Dsi, land, and Sima, an island, or the land that springs from the froth of the Sea. The first European ship that ever reached Japan, is said to have been Portuguese, driven (hither by a tempest in 1534 ; but the dale is fixed five or six years later by Father Xavier, in one of his letters from Cochin. — Ed. 16 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. disciples. But the Emperor Tei^o,* who reigned in Japan at the end of the sixteenth century, a sen- sible, judicious, and valiant man, soon remarked, that the Jesuits were much more eager to collect Japanese gold, than to save the souls of their new converts : he, therefore, resolved to extirpate Christianity in Japan, and banish the missionaries from his dominions. Charlevoix mentions in his history, that this determination of Teigo Sama was caused by the declaration of a Spanish Captain, who being asked by the Japanese " by what means his Sovereign had succeeded in subduing such great countries, particularly America ?" answered, that they had effected it in the easiest manner, by first converting, to Christianity, the inhabitants of the countries which they desired to subdue. I cannot decide on the credibility of this circumstance, but I believe that the Japanese know nothing of it. According to their opinion, the chief, or rather the only ground of the extirpation of the Christians in Japan was, the insolent con- duct of the Jesuits, and of the Franciscans sent by the Spaniards, as well as the rapacity of the Por- tuguese merchants. Both the former and the latter committed excesses of every kind, to obtain * In some books lie is called TekoSama, but the Japanese pronounce it Teigo. The word Sama signifies ruler, and is affixed to the name HATRED TO CHRISTIANITY. 17 their ends, and to enrich themselves. Other Em- perors, therefore, with less understanding than Teig'o, might easily have seen, that self-interest was the only motive of those preachers of the faith, and that religion was merely the instrument by which they hoped to execute their plans. However this may be, Teigo and his successors succeeded in expelling all the Europeans* from their dominions, and in wholly rooting out the Christian faith. Already in the middle of the seventeenth century, nobody in Japan ventured publicly to acknowledge himself a Christian. •]■ The bad conduct, and the covetousness of the Catholic * Except the Dutch, who assured the Japanese that they were no ('hristiaiis, and obtained permission to trade with them ; but on conditions which render the Dutch in Japan, as it were, prisoners, so that it is ahiiost impossible to think that tliey are a free people, who come there for the sake of trade. f The early Missionaries always gave high praise to their converts ; nay so great and tender did the sentiments of the whole nation appear to St. Francis Xavier, that he never wrote of them but with the profoundest admiration. In one of his epistles he says : — " I know not when to have done, when 1 speak of the Japanese, who are most truly the delight of my heart." Indeed all his successors speak in the warmest terms of their pupils, of the goodness of their hearts, of their gratitude for the smallest favors, and of their constant endeavours to givK satisfaction to their instructors. — Ed. J8 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. priests and of the Portuguese merchants, excited in the Japanese government such an inveterate hatred of the Christian religion, and of all Chris- tians, that the persecutionof them was accompanied Avith the most dreadful tortures that the ingenuity of human malice could devise. The most rigorous edicts were issued against the Christians; no Christian dared to shew himself in Japan — no Japanese ship was allowed to visit foreign coun- tries for the sake of trade — no Japanese dared, under any pretext whatever, to leave his native country, lest he should be converted, when abroad, to the Christian faith. If we examine dispassionately, and without prejudice, the real though hidden motive which impelled the Portuguese, and then the Spaniards, to preach the Catholic faith in Japan — if we con- sider their licentious conduct in that countrv, and the evils which they caused in it, by endeavouring to annihilate the religion which had long pre- vailed, to overturn the legitimate authority, and to subjugate a numerous, peaceful, and harmless people ; if we remember that the plans of those shameless hypocrites disturbed the tranquillity of the nation, and excited a bloody civil war, can we then wonder at the cruelties of the Japanese to- wards the Christians ? Do not the Catholics them- selves justify these persecutions by their fifquisi- NATIONAL CHARACTER. 19 tion, and their proceedings towards the Pro- testants ? Notwithstanding this, the missionaries, expelled from Japan, represent the nation whom they could not succeed in deceiving, as cunning, faithless, ungrateful, revengeful, in short, in such odious colours, that it would he hardly possible to find a being who merited to be compared with a Japanese. These accounts, inspired by monastic rage, have been taken in Europe for genuine ; whilst the horror impressed on the Japanese of every thing relative to the Christian religion, and the principle of their distrustful policy, not to suffer their country to be entered by any Christian, and to keep them as much as possible from their coasts, doubtless confirm the calumnious accounts given of this people. This firm belief in the detestable character of the Japanese goes so far, that such expressions as Japanese malice ! Japanese trea- chery ! are become proverbial. Fortune reserved it for me, during an imprisonment of twenty-seven months, to convince myself of the contrary ; and the narrative of my adventures has, 1 think, af- forded sufficient proofs, that the Japanese are not what the Europeans take them to be. That the Japanese are sensible and ingenious, is shewn by their conduct with respect to foreigners and their constitution. We had opportunities enough to experience the honesty of this people, c 2 20 RECOLLECTIOJNS OF JAPAN. as well as their compassion for the misfortunes of their fellow creatures. They shewed hospitality even to those proselyte makers, who, in the sequel, so ill rewarded them for it, and represented them besides in such an odious light. The good reception which Captains Spangberg and Walton met with from them in the year 1739, when they entered several harbours on the east coast of Niphon, the names of which they did not know, plainly shews the inclination of the Japanese to foreigners, who visit them with honorable intentions * Laxmann, nay, even Resanow, and other fo- reigners who have visited Japan, cannot complain that the Japanese treated them ill ; only they did not allow them the liberty of viewing every thing, and would hear nothing about commerce. But whose fault is this? To be sincere, we must confess that the intrigues and covetousness, or to speak more politely, the spirit of speculation of the Europeans, give the Japanese just reason to shun them, and all connection with them. The Japanese are deficient in only one quality, which we reckon among the virtues, namely, bravery or courage. If the Japanese are timid. * See Miiller's Colleclion of Russian History, part iii. page l(i8. COURAGE AND TEMPERANCE. 21 this is merely in consequence of the peaceful cha- racter of their government, of the long- repose which the nation has enjoyed, or rather of their being unaccustomed to shed blood; but that the whole people are by nature timid is what I can by no means allow, whether I may be right or wrong. Are there not nations, now sunk in the profoundest torpor, whose ancestors were the terror of the world a few centuries back ? In my own country a whole village often flies into the woods from a single robber and his brace of pistols, and the same peasants afterwards mount batteries, and storm fortresses which were considered as impregnable. Does the uniform alone make the hero? Is it not rather the innate spirit of bravery ? The Japanese, therefore, cannot be said to be naturally cowards. Strong liquors are in use among the Japanese. The common people are very fond of them, and frequently drink to excess on holidays; but this vice is not so common in Japan, as in many European countries. To be drunk in the day- time is looked upon as very disgraceful, even among the common people : the lovers of drinking, there- fore, do not indulge their propensity until the evening, after the termination of all labour and business. Besides, it is only on few occasions, and in a social circle, that they drink, and not as the common men do among us. 22 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. Among the vices of the Japanese, the most pre- valent appears to be incontinence.* Though the law does not allow them to take more than one wife, they have the right to keep concubines, and all opulent people make use of this right even to excess. The bagnios are under the protection of the laws, and have their regulations, rules, and privileges. The owners of such houses are not, indeed; considered infamous, and enjoy the same rights as merchants, who deal in a permitted com- modity with the consent of the government; but the Japanese avoid being acquainted with them. The lovers of such places generally visit them from sun-set to sun-rise. f The music plays and the * The virtues of the Japanese will be found recorded in subsequent notes ; but their national vices are not neglected by the earlier writers, who describe them as being arrogant ; fac- tious ; vindictive to an excess ; full of defiance, and ready to take offence ; and in spite of the natural severity of their cha- racter, carrying their dissoluteness far beyond that of any other nation : yet the Missionaries found it not difficult to wean the Japanese from these vices. They found them virtuous through sentiment, naturally religious, and docile from being accustomed to use their reason. Lying was punished with death. — Ed. f The system seems universal tlfroughout the Empire ; for Thunberg states, that in all the parts where he stopped, great care had been taken to establish a sanctuary for the venal part of the sex, (and for the most part several,) even in the smallest vil- lages — a fact, which goes far to stamp the character of the nation. • GENERAL INCONTINENCE. 23 drum is beat. There were some such houses near our abode, and 1 cannot remember that a single night passed without our hearing the drum: hence 1 conclude that these places are never without visitors. The Japanese told us, that at Yeddo, the capital of the temporal emperor, there are numbers of the largest buildings of this kind, which are nothing inferior in magnificence to the palaces of princes: in one of these temples, dedicated to He sayp, that these were commonly the handsomest houses in the place, and sometimes were even situated near their idols' temples. In one very small place, there were fifty of these unhappy vota- ries; in another, not larger, eighty; and iu another place, Mite- rat, not very extensive, no less than four of these unhallowed receptacles. The females are generally called Keise or Kese, which signifies a castle turned upside down. These ladies are not only regulated by the Government, but, when engaged by foreigners, their husbands are paid a certain sum per day, independent of presents to the frail fair one, and the cost of her maintenance. Such is the want of common decorum in Japan, that these houses are indiscriminately used by male parties as taverns for drinking Sakki, or beer made from rice. The daughters of indigent pa- rents, are even apprenticed out, or sold to the occupant of one of these houses; where having served a certain term, they regain their liberty, mix in general society without a stain, and are often advantageously married. The number of the unhappy females who are attached to these places, is much augmented by the constant system of tra- velling pursued throughout the Japanese Empire. Charievoix asserts, that the crowd which is always met upon the roads is inconceivable ; for whenever travelling is practicable, a stranger 24 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. Venus, there are six hundred priestesses, and yet the porters are often obliged to refuse admittance to young worshippers of the goddess, because there is no vacancy. We were assured that the pro- prietors of these magnificent magazines spare nothing to furnish them with the most beautiful merchandize, and this is very easily to be believed. On one of our walks in Matsmai, the interpreters, to gratify our curiosity, led us past such a house: would suppose, that not a soul was left in the towns or villages, but that the whole nation was in motion ; some travelling on business; others on pilgrimages; numerous beggars, asking alms with all due submission and politeness, yet never failing to be importunate until relieved; whilst a prodigious number are al- ways upon the look out to stop passengers, to sell their damaged merchandize, bad provisions, insipid confectionary, straw shoes for men, straw trappings for horses, paper toys, and topographi- cal directories. These, he owns, may be got rid of; but all the sleeping places are infested with an annoyance, not so easily guarded against — the courtezans, who enter into every inn, set- ting themselves at mid-day, decked out, and painted, at the doors of the houses, or upon covered parapets, inviting the travellers to give the preference to their inn, as the tavern doors of London were formerly plied by the unhappy victims of pleasure. In some places, the noise produced by this system is so great, as to be heard at a considerable distance. It is a curious fact, that the politicians in Japan attribute this general disorder to Joritomo, one of their early lay-emperors, who was an usurper, and fearing, lest his soldiers, tired of his long and distant war-like expeditions, should leave him, conceived the plan of retaining them under his Eagles, by procuring, on every route, where his armies should FEMALE DISSOLUTENESS. 25 lialf a dozen young creatures ran to the door to see us. I observed, that some of them were in the bloom of youth, and so handsome, thatlhey would have done no discredit to a house of the same de- scription in an European capital ; but perhaps they appeared so to me only, because my eyes had been so long- deprived of the sight of our fair country- women. But to the shame and disgrace of the Japanese, 1 must say, that the abominable vice, common to all Asiatics, is practised also among them: the government does not indeed approve it, but it pass, all the indulgences which they could hope for, in lieu of that legitimate and domestic happiness, of which they were de- prived by his ambitious plans. The natural consequence of this was a complete depravation of character throughout the Empire, so that the Chinese have actually heen in the habit of calling Ja- pan the brothel of China, many of them going to Japan expressl}' to mingle in its debaucheries ! It is a curious fact in the history of human nature that al- though the owners of these infamous receptacles have the Impe- rial licence, yet are they held in such detestation by the people, that, when any of them die, (though in their life-time they were admitted into company by the best, yet now, as unworthy to rest amongst the worst) a bridle made of straw being put into their mouths, they are dragged in the clothes they died in through the streets into the field, and there cast upon a dunghill, for dogs and birds of prey to devour. This is positively stated by Saris, in 1612.— Ed. 26 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. adopts no vigorous measures to suppress it. The province of Kioto, in which the spiritual emperor lives, is celebrated for the beaut}^ of its male in- habitants, and furnishes the greater part of the youths for this infamous traffic. Revenge might be reckoned, in earlier times, among the vices of the Japanese.* The duty of revenging an injury formerly descended from the grand-father to the grand-son, and even lower, 'till the descendants of the person injured found an op- portunity to take vengeance on the descendants of the offender; but at present, as the Japanese assured us, this foolish propensity no longer prevails to such a degree, and offences are sooner forgotten. But do not we find equally absurd notions in other coun- tries? Is not the having recourse to the sword or pis- tol, for a word dropped inadvertently, also a folly? The Japanese may be called frugal, but not niggardly; they speak with great contempt of * In satiating his revenge, we are told that the Japanese seeks to do it with certainty, but nobly. He will not even dis- semble for the purpose of deceit, believing it beneath his charac- ter. When he postpones the gratification of his passion, there- fore it is that he may not miss his blow ; and he is never so much to be feared as when he is tranquil and apparently quiescent. — Ed. EDUCATION AND TALENTS. 27 oovetousness, and have invented many severe apo- logues at the expence of misers: the decent and even rich clothing which they continually wear, according to their respective ranks, confirms what I have just said. In respect to the degree of knowledge to be found in the people, the Japanese, comparing one nation with another, are the most enlightened people in the world. Every Japanese is able to read and Avrite, and knows the laws of his coun- try, which are seldom changed, and the most important of which are publicly exposed on large tables in the towns and villages, in the public squares and other places. In agriculture, horti- culture, the fishery, the chace, the manufacture of silk and woollen stuffs, of porcelain, and varnished goods, and in the polishing of metals, they are not at all inferior to the Europeans: they are well acquainted with the art of mining, and understand how to make several works in metal.* In the arts * It may be difficult to separate the original Japanese knowledge, from that acquired by intercourse with Europeans which, in the early stage of our acquaintance with them, was under few restrictions. Thus, for instance, it is perhaps scarcely possible to say, whether they possess the knowledge of gun-powder from the first Portuguese discoverers, or derived it from China, where it is said to have been used long before its discovery in •28 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. of cabinet-making and turnery they are perfect masters: they are, besides, admirably skilled in the manufacture of all articles belonging to domestic economy. What knowledge can be more useful to the common people? The arts and sciences, in- deed, have attained a higher degree of elevation among us; we have men who prescribe their orbits to the heavenly bodies, the Japanese have not; but on the other hand, for one such we have thousands who are unacquainted with every element of know- ledge. We possess in Europe great mathematicians, astronomers, chemists, physicians, &c. such as we Europe in 1340, Telescopes also are described by Thunberg as in frequent use ; but with us these were unknown until about 1600. It is probable however that these are strictly an European invention ; as the Portuguese writers, in describing the early voyages, offer not an hint respecting them. Early writers assert that the Japanese cultivated no science, purely speculative, except religion, in which and in controversy their clergy were unceasingly employed : but as to metaphysics, mathematics or even natural philosophy, they knew scarcely any thing respecting them. In short they knew little of astro- nomy ; their architecture was without taste, skill or order ; their epochs, their rudiments of chronology, the manner of dividing time and of reckoning their years, even now are far from giving a high idea of their knowledge of combination and of calcula- tion. Some idea of the uncertainty even of their daily calculations may be drawn from the fact, that the number of hours, from sunrise to sunset, is always the same ; so that the hour conse- quently varies in length at different times of the year.— Ed. GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE. 29 must not look for in Japan, though these sciences are not unknown there, as I have already had oc- casion to mention in my narrative; but those learned men do not make a nation, and, generally speaking, the Japanese have more correct ideas than the lower classes in Europe — I will mention an example. A common soldier, who was one of our guard, one day took a tea-cup, pointed to it, and asked me if I knew that our earth was round, and that Europe and Japan lay in such a situation in respect to each other? (pointing out, at the same time, the respective situations of both upon the globe pretty accurately upon the cup.)* Several other soldiers shewed us geometrical figures, and inquired whether these methods of measuring and dividing the earth were known to us. Every Japanese is acquainted with the medicinal virtues of the various herbs which grow in that climate, and almost every one carries about him the most usual medicines, such as laxatives, emetics, &c. Avhich he immediatelv uses in case of need. The Japanese have, however, in common with other * When Xavier first visited them, they were, as he describes, ignorant that the world is round, " ignorant of the sun's motion," {the sainted Jesuit manifesting therein a little of his own igno- rance) ««of the causes of comets, of the planets, of hail, and similar things," which, however, they were very anxious to be acquainted with from the holy father's lectures. — Ed. 30 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. nations, the absurd, and often injurious, prejudice of curing- themselves by sympathy, as I have men- tioned once before in my narrative. Except the principal people, who have a part in the government, and the literati^ the Japanese have very confined notions of other nations; be- cause the Japanese policy obliges the government to hinder the spreading of knowledge of foreign manners and customs, that it may not corrupt the people, and make them deviate from the object to which the wisdom of the laws conducts them ; namely, to live in peace, tranquillity, and abun- dance.* The geographical knowledge of the Japanese consists in their being able to shew upon the map where a country lies, and what space it occupies. They consider the histories of other nations, except that of the Chinese, as useless, and un- worthy of their attention, and ask to what purpose they must know all the tales which every nation in- vents out of vanity. The members of the govern- * Charlevoix asserts that they produce a number of books, and have very extensive libraries ; but then these works treat of nothing but morals, of which they are great masters, of history, religion and medicine. — Ed. POLITICAL SUSPICIONS. , 31 ment, and the learned, however, concern themselves about the modern history of the European states, and particularly of those who are become their near neighbours. The government endeavours to obtain, by means of the Chinese and Dutch, in- formation respecting the political events in Europe? and observes the course they take. The Russian settlements in America, and the preponderance of the English in India, make them very uneasy. Notwithstanding all the pains we took to convince them of the truly pacific intentions of our humane monarch and his government, many of them were afraid that their turn to be attacked would come sooner or later : they communicated their conjec- tures by circumlocutions. " All sovereigns," said they, " have not the same dispositions; one loves peace, and another war :" once they owned to us, that a tradition had been current among them from ancient times, that the time would come when a people from the north would subdue Japan . The Japanese are very well acquainted with the history and geography of their own country : the reading of historical books is their favorite amuse- ment. In painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving, music, and probably also in poetry, they are far 32 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. inferior to the Europeans. In the art of war they are still children, and wholly unacquainted Avith navigation, except that along the coasts.* The Japanese government will have the people satisfied with the degree of knowledge they possess, and to make use of the productions of their own country, and forbid them to adopt anything foreign, that foreign manners may not creep in with foreign arts and sciences. Their neighbours must thank pro- vidence for having inspired the Japanese lawgivers with this thought, and should endeavour to give them no inducement to change their policy for that of Europe. What must we expect if this numerous, ingenious, and industrious people, who are capable of every thing, and inuch inclined to imitate all that^ is foreign, should ever have a sovereign like our Peter the Great : with the resources and trea- * It is curious to mark some of the points in which they differ from, and also those in which they agree with other nations, with whom they have had no possible intercourse. With respect to Europe, they have been called our moral Antipodes. White they consider as the colour of mourning ; black, that of joy. They .mount a horse on the offside, like the Arabians ; the rea- son assigned for which is that in an action so noble and manly, it is wrong to rest upon the left foot. They wear habits of cere- mony or their Sunday clothes in the house : but lay them aside in going out. They salute the foot, instead of the head or hands, &c. — Ed. FUTURE POLITICS. 33 sures vvliich Japan possesses, he would enable it to become, in a iew years, the sovereign of the eastern ocean. What would then become of the maritime provinces of eastern Asia, and the settlements on the west coast of America, wliich are so remote from the countries by which they must be pro- tected ? If the Japanese should think fit to intro- duce the knowledge of Europe among them, and adopt our policy as a model, we should then see the Chmese obliged to do the same: in this case these two powerful nations might soon give the situation of Europe another appearance.* However deeply a horror of every thing foreign may be im- pressed on the Japanese and Chinese government; yet a change in their system is not inconceivable: necessity may compel them to do that, to which their own free will does not impel them! Attacks, * Their extreme readiness in acquiring European knowledge is certified by father Luigi Froes, in " Lettere del Giappone," published at Naples in 1580, wherein the learned Jesuit expressly states that, in the course of six or seven years' experience, he had ascertained the young people of Bongo, or Xicoco, to possess the rarest talents. Their persons and manners he describes as elegant; besides which, they had capacious understandings, speedily equal- ing their teachers in learning all sorts of musical instruments, in singing, in reading, writing, painting and fencing, and every thing connected with the mihtary art. He asserts also, upon the au- thority of one of his companions, that they speedily acquired such a knowledge of the Chiuese language as to equal the Bonzes, who i)ad spejjt their whole life upon it.— 'Ed. D 34 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. for example, like that of Chwostoff, often repeated, would probably induce them to think of means to repel a handful of vagabonds who disturbed a na- tion. This might lead them to build ships of war on the model of those of Europe; these ships might increase to fleets, and then it is probable that the good success of this njeasure would lead them also to adopt the other scientific methods, which are so applicable to the destruction of the human race. In this manner all the inventions of Europe might gradually take root in Japan, even without the creative spirit of a Peter, merely by the power and concurrence of circumstances. The Japanese certainly would not be in want of teachers if they would only invite them; I therefore believe that this just and upright people must, by no means, be provoked.* But if, contrary to all expectation, * Notwithstanding the rigor of the government, or per- haps the more for that very rigor, the Japanese interpreters who speak Dutch, are always particularly anxious to procure European books. This is perfectly in unison with their insatiable curiosity after European affairs, as described by Golownin, and confirmed by Thunberg, who says that they are always anxious to learn something from the Europeans, and question them without ceasing, and frequently so as to be irksome, upon all subjects, especially relating to physic, natural history and natural philosophy. It is thus evident that nothing but the absurd jealousy of the government prevents them from rising GENERAL POLITENESS. 35 urgent reasons should make it necessary to proceed otherwise, every exertion must be made to act de- cisively: I do not mean to affirm that the Japanese and Chinese might form themselves on an European model, and become dangerous to us now; but we must take care to avoid giving* cause to our pos- terity to despise our memory. In their intercourse with each other, the Ja- panese, of every rank, are extremely polite: their mutual obligingness, and polished behaviour, attest the real civilization of this people. During the whole time of our imprisonment we were with Japanese who did not belong to the higher classes; yet we never heard them quarrel, or employ abusive language: we were often witnesses to disputes be- tween them; but all were carried on with a degree of moderation and temper, which is not always to be met with even in our polished circles.* high in the scale of science. Should a revolution in manners once take place, and the ports of Japan be opened, we may anticipate changes both moral and political, of the most extraordinary na- ture through all the oriental regiows ! It is a subject highly worthy political and philosophic investigation. — Ed. * Their extreme politeness towards each other has been des- cribed and accounted for by the earliest writei-s, who state, that all the riches of this powerful empire are in the hands of the princes and nobility, who make a great shew of their wealth ; D 2 36 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. The Japanese language is not borrowed from any other nation : it is derived from the common ancestors of the Japanese and Knriles ; besides, it has adopted, from the former intercourse with the Chinese, the Coreans, and other nations, a num- ber of words which now pass for national. Some European words also are in use among them ; for example: savon^ soap;* buton^ button; tabago, tobacco, &c. their magnificence going to a greater extent than any thing known in Europe, or recorded in the history of the most powerful mo- narchies of ancient times. All this is seen by the great mass of the people without the slightest envy; and if it happens that any nobleman, or man of high rank, by any unhappy accident, or by incurring the prince's displeasure, should fall into indigence, still he is not the less haughty, nor less respected than in his most brilliant fortunes ; and into whatever misery or poverty a gentle- man may be reduced, he never forms an alliance beneath his own rank. The point of honour is also extremely lively in all ranks, and the lowest of the people would feel themselves hurt by any freedoms of expression, even from a nobleman of the first rank, and believe themselves justified in manifesting their resentment. Thus every one is upon his guard, and all ranks respect each other mutually. — Ed. * The Japanese do not prepare their soap themselves, but receive it in small quantities from the Dutch ; they only wash their linen in hot water ; sometinies also with a lime, which has the property of making a lather. They have, probably, taken the word for soap from Uie Por- tuguese. VARIETIES OF LANGUAGE. 37 It is strange, that they call money (in Rus- sian, dengi) deni ; and anchor (in Russian tak or) takori. Is the siniiliarity of these words merely accidental ?* I have had already occasion to mention in my narrative, that in books, state papers, and corre- spondence between people of the higher class, the Chinese method of writing is used; namely, by symbols. The common people, when they write, use an alphal)et, which consists of forty-eight letters, but many of them are properly not letters but syl- lables, as-fm^, mi, mo, 7nu; ni, no, ke, ki, kiu. * Their language differs so much from the Chinese, that all the early writers consider their origin not to have been from that nation, but from various other sources : a variety which they think to be absolutely manifested, by a most sensible dif- ference between the inhabitants of the different provinces of the empire, not only in person, but also in mind ; supposing this population to have arisen partly from colonies sent thither ex- pressly, and perhaps partly from shipwrecks which must always have been frequent in a climate so tempestuous. Nay it is even laid down as a positive fact, that in the western provinces of Ximo, there are many families of Portuguese origin. The Tar- tars are considered, however, by Martini and others, as affording the principal stock. — Ed. t We have left these syllables spelt as we find them in the original; the reader must however remark, tliat the vowels are pronounced iti German nearly as in French, (.■«-/.< 38 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. The Japanese pronunciation is excessively difficult for us Europeans: there are syllables which are not pronounced like te or de^ but something between, which we are quite unable to produce. In the same manner there are middle sounds between he and pe, sse and sche^ ge and che, che and se. No European would succeed in pronouncing the Ja- panese word for fire ; I have studied at it two years, but in vain: when pronounced by the Japanese it seemed to sound like/?, c/ii, psi, fsi, pronounced through the teeth ; but, however we turned and twisted our tongues about, the Japanese persisted in their " not right!" and such words are very numerous in the Japanese language.* * There are many particularities in the Japanese language, which our author could not readily have opportunities of knowing. Kcempfer asserts, in which he is confirmed by the Jesuits, that the language is plain, distinct, and easily articulated, never having more than two letters combined in one syllable. Some of OHr letters, however, they cannot pronounce. To H they can give no sound but F. They Avrite in a perpendicular line, in characters not remarkable for neatness; the genius of their language also re- quiring that their characters, many of which are words, should be sometimes transposed, sometimes joined to others, or to particles invented for this express purpose — a custom so necessary, says Charlevoix, that whenever they print Chinese books in Japan, they are obliged to add these words or particles, to enable the people to read and to undc rstand them. The principle on which the language is written, is nearly similar to that of China, the charac- ters having the ideas attached to their figure, previous to any GRAMMATICAL ELEMENTS. 39 The Japanese having" prolii])ited ns from learn- ing to write their language, we had no opportunity of making ourselves acquainted with theirgrammarj but to judge of it by what we learned, it cannot be very difficult, as the substantives and verbs undergo but few changes.* The declinations are formed by particles annexed to the verbs. The verbs have no change for person, number, or mood, but only for tenses, of which they have three ; the others are expressed by words such as, long since, soon, &c. The prepositions follow the substantives to which they refer; the conjunctions too, in certain cases, follow the sentences which they connect together. In almost all known languages the personal pro- nouns are monosyllables, but in Japan they are very long; /, watagosi ; toe, watagosi-tono ; he, kono; she, kono-daz. In learning the .lapanese language there is another difficulty to conquer, besides the reading sound being given to them. Thus ideas are expressed, indepen- dent of sounds ; and writing may truly be said to speak to the eyes. Memory is thus put to the test, but ambiguity is said to be avoided. — Ed. * The Japanese jealousy of foreigners has induced them, says Thunberg, to permit no foreigner to acquire any knowledge of their language, as far as they can prevent it. The intercourse at Nangasaki, in his time, was always carried on by about fiftyja- panese interpreters, who alone were permitted to learn Dutch. Ed. 40 RfiCOLLECTlOiNS Ol JAPA^. and pronunciation of it, and that is, the uncommon number of words: many things and actions have two names; one is used when they speak to their superiors, or their equals, and desire to be pohte; the other only with common people,and in ordinary conversation. It may, therefore, almost be said, that the Japanese have two languages, which, as far as I know, is not to be found among any other nation in the world. This too seems to me to shew a certain degree of popular civilization.* ^ * In the " Amhassades Mimornbles" of the Dutch, pub- lished at Amsterdam, in 1680, it is expressly stated that they have but one language; but then it is so varied in its nature that it may be compared to a number of dialects. The same thing has often different denominations, some estimable, others the reverse, with regard to its qualities, varying also when spoken by a prince or one of the people. Nay, it is said that there are words which may be used by ladies in one sense, which change their meaning, when spoken by a man. It is added that the spoken and written languages are entirely different; and, that the written and printed languages differ also, as well as those of poetry and prose. Some of their letters are then said to have the force of a word, some- times of a whole sentence, like the hieroglyphics of the Egyptians and Chinese. — Ed. EARLY THEOLOGY. 41 CHAPTER IV. Religion and Religious Customs. I HAVE mentioned that the prevailing religion of Japan is derived from India, as the Japanese tliem- selves attest, and is a branch of the religion of the Bramins ; but millions, perhaps the greater part of the people, follow other religious doctrines, whicli cannot properly be called sects, as they are not branches of the prevailing religion, and have quite another origin. The Japanese, with whom we con- versed on the articles of their belief, are not agreed in the number of the kinds of religion among them. Some said there were seven, an J others only four : the latter affirmed, that three of the seven were onh sects which superstition had formed from the four principal religions: these are the following — I. The most ancient religion in Japan, which is followed by the aboriginal iidiahitants of thi.^ kingdom ; at present, indeed, disfigured in many particulars, and no longer the prevailing religion of the people ; but deserving the first place on account of its antiquity.* The adherents of this * Of this ancient religion, the Jesuits assert that no trace I whatever can be found in China : but in Japan it still existed 42 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. religion believe that they have a preference before the others, because they adore the ancient peculiar divinities called Kami ; that is, the immortal spirits, or children of the highest being, who are very numerous. They also adore and pray to saints, who have distinguished themselves by a life agreeable to heaven, uncommon piety and zeal for religion. They build temples to them, and call entire two centuries ago, notwithstanding the great progress made by the disciples of Confucius, and the different sects whose principles were introduced from Hindostan and the oriental Archipelago : and, as no trace of the ancient religion of China can be found amongst them, it is thence inferred that they owe no part of their first peopling to the Chinese, otherwise some ves- tiges must have remained. But there must be a religion older than this, (unless we believe it a debased remnant of Christianity,) if we are to believe Possevin and Bayle, who assert, upon authority which to them appeared conclusive, that one of the sects in Japan teaches, or rather taught, that there is a sole principle of all things, clear, luminous, incapable of augmentation or diminution, wise, without figure or limits, sovereignly perfect ; and yet, strange to tell, destitute of reason and intelligence, without activity, and as tranquil as a man whose attention is fixed upon any particular subject, without thinking of any other. This principle they believe to be in all created beings, and to communicate to them their essence ; and into this principle they suppose mankind to dissolve and to return after death. Though they believe their gods immortal, yet they do not consider them as existing from all eternity ; but say, that in the first motion of chaos, which with them is the principle of all MYTHOLOGICAL SUPERSTITIONS. 43 them Chadotschi. It is probable that they have not all obtained this honour by their \vay of hfe, and their |)iety : there are saints among them, as the Jaj)anese themselves assured us, who obtained the reputation of sanctity by the intrigues of the clergy for their own advantage. The spiritual Emperor is the head, and high priest of this reli- gion : he is the judge of the life of men upon things, the gods were produced by their own invisible power. They suppose all the gods to have appeared at the same moment of time ; but they speak also of a succession of celestial spirits, of beings purely spiritual, whom they assert to have been the governors of Japan during a long course of ages. To the earliest of these celestial governors they give metaphorical names ; and they have confused traditions of one having a son who formed a dynasty half gods and half men, from whom the present Japa- nese are sprung. The believers in this ancient religion, or sect of Camis, reckon seven celestial spirits, and fifty-five gods who seem to be the deified emperors of the first and second dynasties; to whom are added a few of the earliest monarchs of the true historical era. But it has been said, as remarked in another note, that the Japanese are ignorant of metaphysics, a fact which seems corro- borated by the faith of the religion, wherein the celestial spirits partake much of material form and quality. It is also theit opinion that, at the commencement of all things, chaos floated in like manner as fish swim about in water for their pleasure. From this chaos something came which resembled a thorn, and which was susceptible of motion and transformation. This thing became a soul and spirit, from whence proceeded the other spirits. — Ed. 44 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. earth, and determines those who are to be received among the number of the saints. Cleanliness of body is one of the chief and indispensible rules of this religion. The adherents of it are not permitted to kill or to eat animals used in labour, or in domestic services, that they may not defile themselves. Thus, they may not eat beef, but they eat poultry, deer, hares, and even bears: they are also permitted to feed upon fish, and upon all kinds of sea animals. They must avoid staining themselves vrith blood, as this may defile them for a certain time. Touching a corpse, nay entering a house in which one is lying, defiles them for a number of da\s more or less, according to circumstances ; they therefore take all possible pains to avoid defiling themselves. This religion has a sect who eat no land ani- mal, but only sea animals and fish: some of our guards belonged to this sect. Some often ate deer and bears' flesh with us ; others, on the contrary upon the days when meat Avas set before us, would not even light their pipes at the same fire with us : at other times they smoked out of our pipes, gave us theirs, nay, even drank their tea out of the cups which we had used. At first, I believed that they were adherents of different religions, but learned afterwards that the difference merely con- BRAMIMCAL DOCTRINES. 45 sisted in some particular rules adopted by the sect, the principal of which is, prohibition to eat the flesh of any land animal. II. The religion derived from the Bramins, transplanted from Indiu to Japan.* — In Japan it also teaches the transmigration of souls, or that the souls of men and animals are beings of the same kind, which inhabit sometimes the bodies of * The facts, connected with this religion, manifest in a most extraordinary degree the rapid spreading of the knowledge, though corrupted, of the Christian religion to the eastward of Judea. About the year A. D. 55, the Chinese emperor, Mimti, heard of a sect in India called the sect of Xaca, and he was so much pleased with their tenets, as to send special messengers thither, with orders to acquire a perfect knowledge of their forms and opinions. About the year A. D. 62, these messengers, re- turning by way of Japan, found the tenets of Xaca already in- troduced there, — a brief sketch of which will suffice to prove the fact in question. Some of these were that there are future recom- penses established for virtue, and punishment for vice : that good men after death are received into a place of happiness where all desires are fulfilled, but the wicked shut up in a place of torment; that Xaca is the saviour of mankind ; that he was born of a fe- male in order that he might recal man to the way of salvation from whence he had previously seen that they had strayed ; that he came to expiate tho sins of the world, in order that, after death, they might acquire a happy resurrection ; and that the Godhead consists of three persons in unity — a coincidence in chronology and doctrine which strikes at the very root of those assertions of infidelity, that would look for the origin of the Christian gospel. 46 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. men and sometimes those of animals. It therefore forbids them to kill any thing that has life. Be- sides, this religion very strictly forbids theft, adul- tery, lies, and drunkenness. These command- ments are truly good and Avholesome, but all the other rules in respect to abstinence and way of life, which the adherents of this faith must observe, are so absurd, burdensome, and difficult to be fol- lowed, that there are probably few people who are pious, and at the same time strong enough to per- in the corrupted traditions of the East, supported by the unfound- ed assertions of anterior antiquity. ^See Charlevoix. J The limits of a note do not admit of further detail ; but the subject is well worthy the attention of Christian Divines, anxious to overturn the strong- hold of modern scepticism. It is a remarkable fact, that the followers of this religion wor- ship an image with three heads and forty hands, as a symbol of a Trinity of persons in the godhead, and of the universality of the divine operations. They believe also that, whatever crimes may have been committed, the sinner may expect salvation if he dies invoking the Deity, whom they represent as having undergone a most severe penance, jn order to wash away the sins of mankind. They also believe that this God is invisible, and of a nature quite distinct from the elements of matter ; that he existed before the creation of heaven and earth ; that he had no beginning, and will have no end ; that all things were created by him ; that his essence is spread through the heavens, upon the earth, and beyond it ; that he is present every where; that he governs and preserves all things; that he is immovable, immaterial, and ought to be reve- renced as the inexhaustible source of all good. — Ed. JAPANESE METHODISM. 47 form even the half of what this religion commands. On this account there are more bad people, as well among- the clergy as among the laymen in this religion, than in any other in Japan. III. The religion of the Chinese, as it is called in Japan, or the doctrine of Confucius, which is highly esteemed by the Japanese. — The greater part of the Japanese men of learning and philosophers follow this doctrine.* IV. The adoration of the heavenly bodies. — They consider the sun as the highest divinity, then follow the moon and stars. Almost every constel- lation forms a separate divinity: these divinities contend with each other, and make peace ; form alliances by marriage ; seek to outwit and to injure * Connected with the rehgion of Confucius is a sect of morahsts, or methodists, as tiieir name of Siuto signifies the •' method of philosophers." It is a curious fact that this sect was estabhshed five hundred and fifty one years before the Christian era, the destruction of which religion in Japan, in the seventeenth century, says Charlevoix, drew this sect along with it in its fall. Their doctrine taught that the sovereign perfection of man consisted in a wise and virtuous life ; but they had no idea of future rewards and punishments, beyond the natural conse- quences of virtue and vice — the satisfaction resulting from the conciousness of having acted well, or the remorse always atten- dant upon a vicious course. They were supposed to have been particularly favorable to the propagation of Christianity in that country ; whence arose the simultaneous persecution of both religions. — Ed, 48 RECOLLECTIOJNS OF JAPAN. each other ; in short, according to the belief of the Japanese, they have all human weaknesses, and Jive like men, only with the difference that they are immortal, and assume any shape they please. This religion gave origin to a sect who adore lire, and consider it as a divinity derived from the sun. These are the four principal religions ia Japan, with which the Japanese themselves made us acquainted. I must, however, observe, that when our conversation turned on religious subjects, the Japanese answered our questions very unwil- lingly, and often pretended not to understand us, or gave quite unsatisfactory and unintelligible answers. They sometimes did not answer us at all, and questioned us respecting our faith. As the Japanese would not permit us to learn to read and write, we were destitute of every means to penetrate more deeply into the knowledge of their religious concerns, which present such a vast field of sensible and absurd rules, of false and ridi- culous traditions, religious ceremonies, &c. that the two years of our imprisonment would scarcely have sufficed to learn and to describe all, if we had been well versed in the language, and could have profited by the acquaintance and frankness of the inhabitants. AtHEtSTICAL IDEAS. 49 There are free-thinkers among the Japanese iis among- us, and perhaps tliey are as numerous.* I have not heard that there were deists among them, but atheists and sceptics. These deny the exist- ence of a Supreme Being, ascribe the creation and government of the world all to chance, and doubt of every thing. Our friend Teske was of this latter class : he frequently conversed with us re- specting his opinions. According to his notion, man knows only what has happened to him, the past and the present : the future, both in this world, and after death, is eternally hidden from him ; therefore the doctrine of all religions on this subject is liable to the greatest doubts, and deserves no credit. Arguing on this ground, he affirmed, that man must not omit any opportunity in his life of enjoying whatever can afford him enjoy- ment ; for it is highly probable that death puts an end to every thing, and that man lives but once. Besides, in the enjoyment of all possible pleasures, we must endeavour to procure them to others, not out of fear of punishment after death, but that others mav also endeavour to make our lives agree- * All the early writers assert that, notwithstanding the infinity and variety of the Gods introduced into Japan, all the grandees are decided Atheists, and actually disbelieve the im- mortality of the soul, although they preserve public appearaur^^s. by professing' ^fin adherence to some particular sect. — Ed. 50 llECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. able. In this manner, continued he, men must endeavour to .ifford each other every pleasure suitable to the taste and inclinations of each, of whatever kind they may be. But as it is not to be expected, that a whole nation should become philosophers, and comprehend this truth, and as the majority would probably make use of this doctrine only to the injury of others, it is ab- solutely necessary to deceive the common people, and, convince them that there is a superior po^^ er which sees our most secret actions, and to which we must one day give a strict account of all the evil done to our fellow-creatures, and severely atone for it. In a word, he considered every reli- gion as a fraud, necessary for the good of the people.* We made our objections to such prin- ciples, but as he understood very little Russian, * The Jesuits assure us that every Japanese yields strict obedience to whatever is required by that religion which he may have embraced. He always acts decisively, and can never be accused of making religion subservient to his worldly interests. Even those, who do not believe in the Gods of the country, never fail to comply outwardly with the forms of worship that are prescribed. This is said, and being acknowledged by the Je- suits, may well be believed not to spring from hypocrisy, but from the love of order, and the fear of affording ground for scandal and for remissness amongst the people, whom they con- sider as requiring some bond of that nature to keep them within bounds and to preserve social order. — Ed, PRIESTLY INTOLERANCE. 51 and we as little Japanese, our arguments entirely failed of producing any effect. Curiosity induced me to ask whether it was allowed in Japan to speak freely and unreservedly on such subjects ? " There is no law to forbid it," said Teske ; '' but the hatred of the ecclesiastics falls upon him, who rejects or ridicules their absurd doctrines. Besides, they may accuse any one, who seeks to turn people from the faith which they profess. If the accused is convicted, the govern- ment condemns him to imprisonment for a certain time. But if any body preaches the Christian or any other foreign religion, he must die a cruel death." Teske and many other Japanese spoke very unfavorably of their priests.* "The servants of our * Yet it is a curious fact that the early writers describe the priesthood as possessed of the most knowledge in all the sciences. These superintend all the academies, and they are entrusted solely with the education of youth, who remain with them until the ag-e of fourteen. Notwithstanding all that has been asserted respecting the purity of education, in Japan, Charlevoix ac- kuowledges that the pupils are said seldom to come out very virtuous; their masters teaching them any thing but good manners. Some of these academies are stated to have from three to four thousand scholars ; and girls are educated at schools equally numerous. — Ed. E 2 52 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAJPAK. temples," said they, " are, for the most part, licen-' tious men, and though the laws command them to live temperately, to eat neither meat nor fish, to drink no wine, and have no wives : yet, in spite of this prohibition, they live very intemperately, seduce both women and girls, and commit other shameful enormities.'* The laws do not subject any one to punish- ment for the non-observance and violation of the precepts of religion, even the priests do not con- cern themselves about it.* We knew several Japa- nese who made it a boast that they never visited a temple, and ridiculed their religious customs. Many of them publicly eat meat, in defiance of their religious laws. One of the officers who liked the custom of the Kuriles of Matsmai, to eat dogs' flesh, prepared it in so barbarous a manner, that even the Kuriles shuddered at it. He usually put young dogs alive into boiling water, took them out. pulled off the hair and devoured them. * Charlevoix declares that the Japanese have brilliant ima- ginations: great knowledge of the human heart; and a rare talent in touching its most secret springs. He adds that the missionaries who have heard the sermons of their priesthood, have confessed that nothing can be more touching, more pa- thetic, or more in the finest taste of eloquence than the.sr discourses, which generally throw their auditors into tears. — Ed. POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 53 The number of unprejudiced Japanese is verj? small, in proportion to the whole nation. They are, in general, not only extremely bigotted, but superstitious. They believe in sorcery, and love to converse on miraculous stories.* They ascribe to the fox all the properties and mischievous tricks, which the common people in Europe attribute to the devil or unclean spirit. Among us, the thunder * Some of the popular superstitions detailed by Kcempfer and other writers, are so curious as to deserve further notice. The people, in general, put great faith in amulets of all kinds. To keep off all distempers and misfortunes from their families, they place a monstrous picture over their doors of a human figure covered with hair, with a sword in each hand; also dragon's and devil's heads, with large mouths wide open, large teeth, and fiery eyes. In some cases the branch of a sacred tree is hung at the door; in others, the indulgence boxes which they receive on their pilgrimages ; or else long slips of paper, with necromantic characters, supplied to them by the priests. Some ©f these latter are general commissions against all misfortunes : but when the devotee is afraid of any mishap in particular, he applies for an amulet for that express purpose. The most nume- rous of these are against poverty ; which Kcempfer seems to think endued with a second virtue, that of being a certain safe- guard against thieves and housebreakers — people, if rich and prosperous, seldom feeling it necessary to apply for an amulet against the loss of what they possess. Amongst their superstitious is one respecting earthquakes, which are here very frequent, often producing great alarm, and sometimes overthrowing entire cities, burying the inhabitants in the ruins. Tliese violent shocks are attributed to a monstrous 54 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. kills, with a stone arrow ; io Japan it is a cat which is hurled down by the lightning. In Russia, when you praise any one, you must spit three times that he may not become sick ; if you give ai^y one salt at table, you must laugh, in order not to quarrel afterwards, &c. In Japan, nobody goes over a new bridge, for fear of dying, till the oldest man in the country, in which the bridge is situated, whale, which they suppose to lie under the land. In 1703, one of those earthquakes, accompanied by a volcanic eruption, nearly destroyed the City of Jeddo, with a loss of two hundred thousand of its inhabitants. In some districts these earthquakes are in- deed unknown ; a fact which the Japanese p:enerally attribute to the powerful protection of their especial local deities; but the 'philosophers suppose it owing to these spots having a firm foundation, resting upon the centre of the earth. One of these favoured spots is the mountain Koiasan, which is covered with religious edifices — tlie effect, mistaken by them for the cause of its tranquillity. It is sufficient to say that volcanoes are very numerous ; one of which is as high as the Peak of Teneriffe. Natural hot baths, of course, are to be found almost every where; some of which are supposed to have preternatural eflfects, just as similar baths and wells have been sainted in Europe; but it is whimsical to find a Jesuit recording " That the priests of the idols know how to draw a more real benefit and profit from these waters than the poor ignorant people do, since they have thought proper to attribute to them the power of washing away sin. Each, however, is considered as efficacious only a^-ainst one par- ticular crime ; these impostors taking care to point to individual sinners the fountain in which they must seek an appropriate bath."— ^ee Charlevoix 1, p. 13. MIRACLES AND ASTROLOGY. OO has been led over it. Among us, the ends of wax- tapers, which are left at the morning" mass, on Sunday, are a protection agaiiast lightning; among the Japanese, peas, roasted in a pan, which they eat at a great winter festival, and of which they preserve a part for the summer, possess the same virtue. They affirmed that, if, during a thunder- Koempfer relates a remarkable Japanese story of Koosi, a most famous apostle amongst them in early times, who was once entreated, on account of his great sanctity, to deliver a particular district, through which he was travelling, from a wicked spirit that tormented the inhabitants. Expecting to see him undertake a number of ceremonies, they were surprised when the apostle merely took a band of dirty linen from around his neck, and tied it to a heap of stones supposed to be the habitation and retreat of the demon. Koosi perceived their surprise, and said, " My friends, you vainly expect that I shall exhibit numerous ceremonies ; but these things do not drive away demons : it is by faith alone that I perform what you demand ; it is by faith alone that I perform miracles." The time of Koosi's existence is not expressly stated; but he seems evidently to have availed himself of the historical part .of the New Testament. Many of their superstitions interfere with the most frequent concerns of life; especially with their travelling : and there are certain days on which scarcely any Japanese will set out on a journey. Nay, one of their most famous astronomers, or rather astrologers, Abino Sei Mai, has actually drawn up a list of them, like Moore's Almanac, which is printed at the end of their travelling directories. The very high opinion which they enter- tain of this personage may be drawn from their account of his ' 56 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. storm, some of these wonder-working peas ars thrown against the walls of a house, the lightning cannot enter, and consequently every thing in that house shall be perfectly safe. On their high roads, every mountain, every hill, every cliff, is consecrated to some divinity ; at all these places, therefore, travellers have to repeat prayers, and frequently, several times over. But, as the fulfilment of this dutv wouM detain pious travellers too long on the road, the Japanese liave invented the following means to prevent this inconvenience. Upon these spots, consecrated to divinities, they set up posts, in case there are none already there, to mark the distances. In these posts a long vertical cut is niade^ about an arsheen and birth — supposing him to have sprung from one of their princes and a female fox, which he had saved from the hands of his hunters. This fox, a fairy in disguise, appeared to him shortly afterwards in the form of a lovely female, of whom the monarch became desperately enamoured, and Sei Mai made his appear- ance, spending his youth in all the labyrinths of astrological sciences. Some wiseacres, however, who prided themselves in differing from the faith of the multitude, and in disbelieving every thing, took it into their heads to effect a counter charm to his predictions, by forming certain verses containing cabalistic words ; but either the verses were bad, or the words were use- less ; nobody would trust the poets, and the unlucky days a?e still avoided. — Ed. RELICxiauS WORSHIP, 57 a half, above the ground ; on which a flat round iron plate turns like a sheave in a block. Upon this plate the prayer is engraved, which is dedi- cated to the divinity of the place; to turn it round, is equivalent to repeating the prayer, and the prayer is supposed to be repeated as many times as it turns round. In this manner the traveller is able, without stopping, and merely by turning the plate with his fingers, to send up even more prayers to the divinity than he is obliged to do. I am not able to say any thing of the religious ceremonies of the Japanese, because they never could be induced to allow us to enter their temples, during divine service : nor did they even speak of it. All that I know of it is limited to what here follows. The prayers are repeated three times in the day ; at day-break ; two hours before noon; and before sun-set: as the matin, noon, and vesper mass, are performed with us. The people are informed of the hours of prayer by the ringing of a bell.* Their method of ringing is as follows : * It has been stated as a positive fact, that notwithstanding; the religious chaos which prevails in Japan, and existed at the first attempts at conversion, the traces of Christianity were then extremely numerous ; that there was scarcely a mystery, a dogma, or pious practice of the Romish Church of which the Japanese did not appear to have some previous knowledge. lo conse- 58 RECOLLECTIONS Ol JAPA\. after the first stroke of the bell, half a minute elapses ; then comes the second stroke ; the third succeeds rather quicker, the fourth quicker still : then come some strokes in quick succession ; after a lapse of two minutes, all is repeated in the same order ; in two minutes more, for the thu'd time, and then it ends. Before the temples, there stand basins of water, made of stone or metal, in which the Japanese wash their hands before they enter. Before the images of the saint, lights are kept burning, made of train oil, and the bitumi- nous juice of a tree, which grows in the southern and middle parts of Niphon.* The Japanese offer quence of this, it has been supposed, nay indeed attempted to be proved, that the Gospel, though in a corrupted state, must have found its way previously to Japan. An Armenian Bishop has expressly asserted, that some of his travelling mercantile countrymen actually carried it thither in very early times ; most others account for it by supposing that the Japanese may have acquired a knowledge of it, in a corrupted states from the Hin- doos, the Tartars, and Chinese, all of whom, it is well ascer- tained, were taught by sectaries of the Syrian Nestorians. Many, however, of the forms and ceremonies found by the missionaries are supposed to have been of later introduction, and copied from the Portuguese who first went there in the sixteenth century. — See Note, page 45. — ^Ed. * Where sects are so numerous and so various, there must be great divereity of ceremonies ; it will be sufficient, however, to give a slight sketch of the public worship in one of the ' RKLIGIOUS MENDICANTS. 59 to the Gods natural, or artificial, flowers. They make the latter of coloured ribbands, or of paper, accordingly as the property, or the zeal of the supplicant is greater or less. These flowers are hung before the images of the saints, on the walls of the temples, or on the images themselves, as rings, &c. are with us. Those who are very zealous in their devotions offer also money, fruits, rice, and other provisions, which are very welcome to the servants of the temples. But the latter are not satisfied with these voluntary gifts. They wander about the towns and villages, and in the high ways, and demand offerings for their Gods. They therefore carry sacks upon their shoulders, to con- tain the gifts made them. They also sing hymns, make discourses, or ring a little bell, which every ancient temples, to present a good idea of Japanese doxology. On entering, they proceed to a basin, or small pond, filled with water, in order to wash before they offer up their sei"vices. Next to that is a coffer, where they may deposit alms. In front of the central building is the next spot, wbere they prostrate themselves before the majesty of the God. Here, in front, sit the priests, clad in rich habits. On the door of this central building hangs a gong, on which every worshipper strikes at his first arrival, to inform the God that he is come to worship him : after which, the votary looks through a window where hangs a mirror, as a symbol that as he sees his own countenance, so does the God see his heart and thoughts — and this seems to end the ceremony. — Ed. 60 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. one has fastened to his girdle. In our walks about Matsmai, we often met with them. During divine service the Japanese sit, as usual, on their knees, but with their heads bowed down, and their hands folded. When they repeat their prayers, they press their hands together, raise them so to their forehead, bow themselves several times, and pray half aloud.* The difference of religions and sects in Japan, does not cause the smallest embarrassment to the government, or in ordinary life. Every citizen has a right to profess what faith he pleases, and to change it as often as he thinks fit. Nobody con- cerns himself whether he does so out of conviction, or regard to his interest. It frequently happens that the members of one family follow different * As in other countries, prayers and ceremonies too often are made to suffice for true religion. Hypocrisy is very frequent ; and a most whimsical instance of it is related by Koempfer, of a man at Nangascki, who, whenever he received a visit from any person whom he suspected to be impure, or rendered unclean by the neglect of any of the numerous ceremonies of the ritual, always washed his house, all over, with salt and water. The causes of impurity are very numerous ; neglect of ce- remonies always produces it, for a greater or less time ; and with those who are very strict, it may be received by the eyes, ears, and mouth. — Ep. lAc'iLrnEs or conversion. 61 Beets ; yet, this difference of belief never occasions ili-will or disputes. Only the making of proselytes is prohibited by the laws.* The spiritual Emperor or Kin-Rey, is the head of the ancient Japanese religion ; but all the other sects have a pums adoration for him. He not only confers the highest ecclesiastical dignities, but also bestows, on the superior officers of state, the dignity, * The universal toleration and freedom of religious opinions, Christianity excepted, are described by the Jesuit writers as proceeding from a greatness of mind, and natural rectitude of heart, and a loftiness of sentiment which prompt them to dare every thing, in order to procure a happiness more durable than that of this present life : in order to which they wish to know all religions of which they hear any intelligence ; so that, indeed, up to the moment that the missionaries were driven away, every person was permitted to chuse the religion which was most agreeable to him. The extreme readiness to be converted to Christianity is very minutely told by St. Francis Xavier, in one of his Epistles; and also by Cosmus Turrensis, in a Letter from Firando in 1551. Xavier declares, (in perfect unison with Captain Golownin's statement in the voyage) that they have an insatiable curiosity, and ask a thousand questions, especially about religion. During the five months of Xavier's residence, a day never passed without the priests, and numbers of the laity, being with him from morn- ing until night, for the purpose of interrogating. They asked him : " What is God ? — How is he dressed ? — Why cannot he be seen ? — How is it that the soul should have a beginning, and yet shall not have an end after death ?" — Ed, 62 KECOL LECTIONS Ol JAPAN. or spiritual title of Kami, which the greatest men in the empire think it the highest honor to obtain. I have already had occasion to mention this dignity. The Kin-Rey is invisible to all classes of the people, except his own household, and the officers of the temporal emperor, who are often sent to him. Once a year only, upon a great festival, he walks in a gallery, which is open below, so that every body can approach and see his feet. He always wears silk clothes, which, from the very first preparation of the silk, are ma- nufactured by the hands of pure virgins. His meals are brought to him each time, in new vessels, which are then broken. This, say the Japanese, is done, because nobody is worthy to eat out of the same vessel after him : if any one ventured it, or did it by mistake, he would immediately die. The Japanese priesthood is divided into several classes ; and they have high priests.* One of these lived in Matsmai ; he had a large house and build- ings, with a garden which was surrounded by a ram- part of earth, so that it had the appearance of a little fortress : this proves that the dignity is held in high * It is said, that all the guardians of the temples of the ancient religion are laymen, many of whom marry, and live with their families round those holy edifices, wearing their sacerdotal habits -only when engaged in their ceremonies. PUNISHMENT OF ECCLESIASTICS. 63 honour. The Japanese told us, that his power over the priests extends only to religious affairs. If a priest comnaits a criminal offence, or is en- tangled in temporal affairs, he is tried, and sen- tenced according to the laws, without any reference to the religions authority. During our residence at Matsmai, the governor caused a priest to be imprisoned for theft and flight : he was condemned by the temporal judges, and executed. Vv hen we told the Japanese that this was not the way in which we proceeded with our clergy, but that it was necessary first to degrade them from the eccle- siastical rank to which tlie church had consecrated them, and then deliver them to the temporal judge ; the Japanese laughed, and said, that the priest in question was a scoundrel, who was not worthy to have his head upon his shoulders : the tribunals and the laws of his country had therefore condemned him, and so he lost his rank and his head at the same time, whether the relioious oovern- raent approved of it or not. The high priest of Matsmai never waited on the governor, but was obliged to receive him once a year, in spring, in a little island near Matsmai, in a temple, which is dedicated to seven holy virgins. There are also monks and nuns in Japan ;* but well * There is one order of monks called Foquexers, who are regnlated and very austere. They rise at midnight, to sing; 64 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. we couid not learn on what foundation the con^ vents rest, or what are the rules of the orders. We heard only that the monks and nuns should lead a very austere life ; but that (hey did not ' ill I .^-^ — . — — — .- ■ ■ ■ — — ~~ the praises of their Deity, and to meditate upon points of mora- iity given out by the superior. Sonae of thefee orders not only make profession of celibacy and continence, similar to those ot the other Bonzes, but are so jealous respecting- their charactei for that virtue, as to adopt the most rigorous measures respecting it, forbidding all females to enter into the cities which they in- Jiabit, where indeed they are the sole residents. Of these monks and nuns, there is a particular order of mendicants of both sexes. All of these shave their heads ; and it is said, that the females are under the protection of nuns at Meaco, and some other cities, to whom they pay annual tribut<> out of the profits of their trade, or trades ; as these ladies are very frequent attendants upon the troops of pilgrims. Both sexes are described as being the finest looking people in Japan. The females, in particular, are the daughters of poor persons, their sole fortune their beauty ; and they embrace this mode of life with the greatest readiness, because in it they are never suffered to want for any thing. They generally go in parties of two or three, travelling a few miles every day. As soon as they perceive a person of respectable appearance, they approach him with rustic songs ; and if this person bestows any thing on them, they manifest their gratitude by following him for hours, enter- taining him by their drollery. Many of them start from the bagnios upon this profession. They are generally good-looking and neatly dressed, and their habits modestly put on, with the exception of their necks, which they display with great effrontery. Thujoberg describes three of these mendicant nuns who followed his party with an even pace, for several hours, on the MONKS AND NUNS, 65 much regard this, and preferred the certain en- joyments of this life to the uncertain promises of the future. — In this thev much resemble ours. road to Yeddo, although in the morning they had received a very handsome piece of silver. Their dress was neat and clean ; but their incessant begging extremely troublesome. They were from sixteen to eisfhteen : otherwise decent in their behaviour, though the guides gave them a different character. They were daughters of the mountain hermits. The nuns are called Biconis ; and in many places there are monasteries of each sex, built close to each other, with temples attached to them, where they sing in separate choirs, as in various Roman Catholic churches. They are clothed nearly like the European nuns, and affect great modesty, nothwithstanding which the tongue of scandal is as loud as in other regions nearer home. Charlevoix says, that these recluses make paper robes and other trifles with which they amuse the credulity of the people, draw- ing from this means a part of their support. It is, indeed, cu- rious t<» read the whole account of these monks and nuns, and of the other members of the priesthood, in the Preliminary Book, of that author, to the History of Japan. Change but a few pro- per names, and it might be considered as the protest of one of our reformers, against the errors and practices of the church of Rome. In fact, the coincidences are so extraordinary, that it is impossible to read it, without wondering how the learned Jesuit could suppose it impossible for his readers to be blind to the counter application of his sarcastical remarks ! especially as in other points he seems to pride himself in the resemblance. — Ed. 66 RECOLLECTIOMS OF JAPAN. CHAPTER V. The Government of the Empire. Japan has two sovereigns, whom the Europeans call the spiritual and the temporal (or the ec- clesiastical and the lay) emperors: I follow this custom, but cannot allow that these titles are proper.* As for the temporal emperor, he ought to be called the Emperor of Japan ; for he is the sovereign of an empire, which is not, indeed, very great in extent, but is very populous, and consists of many independent principalities united under one sceptre. The dignity of the spiritual emperor has nowhere any parallel, and is peculiar to Japan ; we cannot, therefore, distinguish it by * It is stated, by some of the Japanese, that the separation of the imperial and ecclesiastical power, during a civil war, was the actual cause of the present very extended state of depravity which exists with respect to female libertinism. During the conflict, the Dairi, or ecclesiastical emperor, was forced to fly, accom- panied by his foster-mother and an immense number of female attendants, a species of temporary nuns, who were alone consi- dered as sufficiently holy to approach him. Urged by fear of capture, his foster-mother, with the young Dairi in her arms, jumped into the sea and perished ; and the attendants, throwa upon the world, and without the means of subsistence, were forced to adopt this unhallowed occupation, in which they were imitated by many others, driven to distress by the horrors of re- volution. Another statement has been noticed. — Ed. IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT. 67 the title of emperor, according' to the ideas we attach to the word.* In the ordinary affairs of state, the Kiii-Rey, or spiritual emperor, has no share, and learns only occasionally by report, what hap- pens in the empire; but in cases of extraordinary importance, the temporal emperor must consult * The cares and duties of royalty, in every country, tend to make it an office by no means desirable ; but tiie ceremonies connected with this sacred office must be worse than slavery. He is never permitted to touch the earth, lest he should be defiled ; wherefore his locomotion is performed on the shoulders of his courtiers. Even his hair, beard, and nails, are only cut when he is asleep. He is obliged to sit during the greatest part of the day upon his throne, with the crown upon his head, ans or japa\. It is seldom that law-suits can arise respecting the inheritance or division of property, because the fathers, who dispose of it at their pleasure, make arrangements in time. They seldom divide the property equally among the children : the eldest and worthiest of the sons generally obtain the largest share, and the others but a very small portion. The daughters* do not receive any joined to the general character of the people, reasonable enough to render justice, yet too free to submit to oppression, produces tite best effects, and counterbahmces any bad effects that might result from the system. — Ed. * The Jesuit and other early writers assert, that as soon as the eldest son of a family comes to years of manhood the parents" retire, and place him in their stead; merely reserving as much wealth as will support them in their retreat, and enable them to educate and bring up their other children. To have daughters is, under certain circumstances, a source of wealth to the parents, according to the accounts handed down to us by the Dutch ambassadors, in the 17th century; who relate that ou the wedding day the lovers are placed in separate car- riages, drawn by oxen or horses, at an early hour, and taken some distance from the city, to a spot where a great crowd is assembled. After the husband's carriage follow a number o others, loaded with presents for the bride; who, on receiving Ihem, instantly [ireseats them to her parents, or relatives, as an acknowledgement for the expense and trouble they have been at in bvinging her up from infancy. The handsomer the bride, the greater arc the presents bestowed , and thus a man with hand - some daughters may consider his fortune as made. MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 99 dowry; nay, if they are handsome, the bridegroom must pay ; and if he is rich, the sum is often very considerable. According to the laws, the Japanese can take only one wife,* who, in the high classes, must be of the same rank as the husband. The marriages are solemnized in the temples, with many ceremonies. But, besides this lawful wife, every one may have concubines, and as many as he pleases. These have, in some degree, the rights TheJapanese Hymen, which is always placed upon the altar of ceremony, has a dog-'s head, to sig-nify the fidelity necessary in the marriage state; and a woollen thread in his hands, the symbol of the strict union between the betrothed couple ; who each carry a torch : the bride kindling' hers at the lamps of the altar, whilst the husband receives the flame from her. — Ed. * In the " Amhassades Memorables," of the Dutch, in the 17th century, it is stated, that the Japanese at that period might have as many wives as they pleased; but that one only was considered as the lawful spouse, or was permitted to eat with the husband ; all the rest being considered as servants : her issue likewise iidieriting the g^reatest part of the parent's wealth. Ail the early writers describe the women as extremely hand- some; and yet they represent the men as very ill made, and having an air very different from that of Europeans. They are stated to be of an olive complexion, with small eyes, but less sunk than those of the Chinese ; thick legs : a stature below middle size ; the nose short, snubby, and turned up at the tip ; heavy eyebrows; flat cheeks ; vulgar turn of features, and very little beard, which they either shave, or extract by the roots. h2 100 RECOLLECTIONS Ol JAPAN. of wives, for their situation is not dishonourable, either for themselves or for their lover. They live publicly, and all together in one house with him. The husband has the right to separate from his wife whenever he pleases, without being bound to give any reason for so doing ; but on this account, any one who has the character of being inconstant, must pay a large sum of money to a father for his permission to marry his daughter. The Japanese women seldom marry before their fifteenth year ; but the warm climate makes them marriageable at an earlier age. Our Japa- nese literati told us, as an instance, that in one of the southern provinces, a girl of eight years of age had become a mother by a boy of twelve ; but I do not pretend to warrant the truth of this story. The suing for a wife, the betrothing, and the marriage, are celebrated by the Japanese,* with * Among'st the amatory superstitions common in Japan, it is customary for the lover to fasten, on the outside door of the house where his fair one resides, a branch of a shrub which Linnseus designates as the Celastrus alatus ; a very curious plant, six or eight feet in height, with projecting, blunt, and compressed borders all along its branches. Marriage is described by the Jesuit writers as a matter not of choice, but of state expediency. The nobles receive wives from the sovereign, and in return regulate the uiarriages of their vassals. Even in the cities the matches are always made by the parents of tlie middling classes ; but with liberty of sepa- ration. — Eu. PARENTAL ATTACHMENT. 101 many strange and ridiculous ceremonies, and among the rich with great pomp, on which occasions there is much drinking and rejoicing; but the tenderness and apprehensions of the parents, fre- quently hinder them from freely indulging in their joy, at the marriage of their daughters. Our inter- preter, Kumaddschero, visited us the day after the marriage of his daughter, and said, that he had married his daughter the day before, and had wept very much. " Why then wept," said we, " since on such occasions it it usual only to rejoice." " Certainly," said he, "I ought to have rejoiced were I but convinced that the man will love my daughter in future, and make her happy ; but as the contrary often happens in the married state, a father who gives his daughter to a husband cannot be indifferent, for fear of future misfortunes." lie spoke this with tears in his eyes, and in a voice which affected us. A very singular custom at the marriages of the Japanese is, that the teeth of the bride are made black by some corrosive liquid. The teeth remain black ever after,* and serve to shew that a woman is married, or a widow. Another circumstance is, at the birth of every *AtNangasaki the artificial blacking of the teeth denotes the married state, amongst the ladies : but in the province of Fisen, the custom is to pull out all the hair of the eyebrows. — Kd. 102 iiECOLLECilOiNS 01 JAPAN. child, to plant a tree in the garden or court-yard, which attains its full growth in as many years as a man requires to be mature for the duties of mar- riage. When he marries, the tree is cut down, and the wood is made into chests and boxes, to contain the clothes and other things which are made for the new-married couple.* The Japanese may marry as often as they please : marriages with sisters are prohibited ; but they can marry any other relative. In general they are jealous ; but this vice, if it may be so called, prevails more among the great than among the middh'ng and lower classes.f Only * People of condition have their houses divided into two apartments : on one side for the females, who seldom appear ; on the other, a hall for the reception of visitors. Amongst the mere citizens indeed, and the lower orders, the women have more liberty; they do not shrink from being seen; but in general they are treated by their equals with great respect, and distinguish themselves by much reserve and modesty. Some of the Japanese marriage ceremonies seem to bear a resemblance to that principle which has led us to call unmarried women by the name of spinster; for whilst some of the atten- dants throw into the fire all the toys and playthings of female infancy, others exhibit the wheel and distaff as peculiar sym- bols. — Ed. t It is stated expressly in the " Ambassades MemorahleSy'' that husbands who are not noble may send away their wives whenever they please, by giving them a certificate of divorce; but amongst the nobles and gentry, whatever dislike a man may FEMALE CONSTAxNCY. 103 the princes and the nobiHty, and the rich who imitate them, keep their wives almost constantly in rooms, to which no person of the other sex, except the nearest relatives, is admitted. This measure, is adopted by the hnsbands, not so much out of jealousy as pride. As for the women of other classes, they may visit their relatives and friends, and appear in the streets and jiublic places have for his helpmate, he is obliged to keep and support her according to his rank. He is free, however, to take as many others as may be agreeable. This system is said to make the ladies extremely obedient, and even timid ; for the husband may put his wife to death even for whispering to a stranger. The Dutch ambassadors observe also, that the ladies never travel but in a close palanquin, or covered boat; but they are sometimes permitted to walk out in an evening with their husbands. The right of separation, when the parties are not satisfied with each other, is said to be seldomer claimed by the ladies f han by their tyrants ; who also have a right to keep as many concubines as they choose. But adultery on the part of a wife is always punished with death ; nay even a little coquetting will cost them their lives. It is said of the Japanese ladies, by Char- levoix, that nothing equals the restraint in which they are kept, but their modesty and fidelity ; and also that the Japanese gen- tlemen are, perhaps, the only persons in the world who have acquired the secret of gaining and preserving the hearts of their spouses, even whilst retaining them in a species of bodily cap- ivity. Whilst on this part of the subject, we must not forget that the nobles, also fathers, and husbands, have the right of life and death over their vassals, their children and their wives. Vet 104 KECOLLECriOJNS 01 JAPAN. with their faces unveiled, but they must not con- verse with any person of the other sex, in the ab- sence of their husbands. On the whole, the jea- lousy of the Japanese cannot be compared to that of other Asiatic nations ; I even think that, if fe- male frailty is considered, the Japanese should not be called jealous, but only prudent, or more jea- lous than the Europeans. they possess not the same power over hired domestics, although allowed a great authority over them, because responsible for their faults. If, however, in a moment of anger, a master kills his servant, he is always pardoned, if he can prove that the servant was in fault. Charlevoix says, that all domestic duties are performed more through love than fear ; but it is evident that such a system must have a great effect upon social manners. Father de Angelis, the Jesuit missionary, who visited the northern parts of Japan, in 16l3, states, that every woman con- victed of adultery was shaved on the head, in order to distin- guish her from the more reserved part of her countrywomen. The punishment of the accomplice was whimsical enough, and might, perhaps, be introduced with some success in other coun- tries; in fact, it went, in principle, something upon our own system ; for the husband and the relatives of the frail fair one were authorised to strip the lover every time that they met him, and to take his arms, or property on his person, without his being permitted to defend himself. It appears, however, that these severe punishments can take place but seldom, if we may credit " Master Arthur Hatch," who had beea resident there, and writes to Purchas, in 1G23, that " Murder, theft, treason, or the violation of any edicts, are punished with death ; so is adulterie also, if it is knowne, and EDUCATION. 105 The Japanese are well skilled in the art of education.* They instruct their children early in readiiiii", writing, religion, the history of their own country, and geography ; and when they are older, the art of war. But what is more impor- tant, they understand how to inspire them, from their youth, with patience, modesty, and polite- ness : virtues which the Japanese possess in a re- markable degree, and which we often experienced in them. In my Narrative I have frequently men- tioned with what patience, gentleness and mild- the parties pursued ; but the devill, their master in those actions, hath tauo^ht them such cleanly contrivances, that seldom or never are they appreliended." It must be confessed that the ladies have a great resource in the numerous holy pilgrimages required by their religion : — of course a ramble to some distant temple is with them equal to a trip to Brighton or Cheltenham, in the height of the season. — Ed. * The Jesuits assure us that, as far as they can convey knowledge, no means are neglected in cultivating the mind of youth, whilst no difference whatever is made between the sexes. In consequetue of this the women are, in general, very well in- formed, comparatively speaking ; inasmuch as they allow them all the meaos and all the time necessary for completing their education — the fair sex being excused from all interference with business. Their system of education is described as being very ra- tional ; being founded upon gentleness, and an early initiation into the principles of honour and honesty, by means of a con- stant exercise of the reasoning faculties. This foundation being 106 KECOLLIiCllONS Ot .lAPAA. ness, they treated us, and listened to our justifi- cations, reproaches, and even bitter expressions; though, to say the truth, the right was on their side. To be loud in dispute is considered, by them, to be extremely rude and vulgar. They bring forward their opinions politely, and with many apologies, seeming to doubt the correctness of their own judgment. They never make objections di- rectly, but always with circumlocutions, and for the most part, by means of examples and compa- risons, as will appear from the following instances. laid, the plan is to commence the study of the langnage — native only, as foreign ones are useless ; combining the three points of reading well, forming their characters with neatness, or writing well, and speaking with elegance and precision. All this is considerei! by the Japanese as a serious study ; to which they add instruction in the principles of religion: teaching their pupils, at the rsame time, how to discern truth, and to reason justly. To these are added lessons on eloquence, morals, poetry and painting. Thunberg notices that during his whole intercourse with the Japanese, he observed every where that the chastisement of children was very moderate. He very seldom heard them re- buked or scolded; and hardly ever saw them flogged or beaten, either in private families or on board of the vessels. Their scholastic modes seem, if not an improvement, at least an exag- geration of our new mode of discipline ; for, in passing the schools, the children might be heard to read ail at once, and so loud as almost to deafen the auditor. It is owing greatly to their education that the Japanese ma- aifest great moderation in all things ; but it must be acknow- NATIONAL CHARACTEU. 107 We blamed their policy in avoiding all in- tercourse with other nations, and represented to them the advantages which the nations of Europe derived from their reciprocal connections ; such as, profiting by the inventions and discoveries made in other countries ; the exchange of their productions, by which industry and activity are promoted; whilst the inhabitants of Europe enjoy many pleasures and comforts, of which they would be deprived, if the European sovereigns, like those of Japan, should abolish all intercourse with other countries; in short, we advanced to the praise of our system, and to the disadvantage of that of Japan, whatever occurred to us, from what we had read and heard. 1 he Japanese listened to us with at- tention; praised the judicious conduct of the Eu- ropean governments, and seemed lo be led by our led^ed that this also proceeds, in some measure, from the haughtiness of their disposition. In short, they are masters of the art of self-possession, arising from an innate greatness of soul; but acquiring the art of pushing it to an extent almost in- credible. They never permit themselves to manifest any of that impatience so common amongst Europeans. They are seldom heard to complain ; and instances of blasphemy towards their Gods are unknown. In the greatest reverses of fortune they display a most exemplary firmness, which far surpasses the so much boasted stoicism of the ancients Even their enemies they never shun, but rather seek to meet them in the most private places ; accosting them also publicly, and rendering them all pos- sible services, even whilst meditating the severest revenge. — Ed. 108 llKCOLLEi riOiNS OF JAPAN. arguments to be entirely of our opinion. But by degrees they turned the conversation upon war, and asked us, " How it happened that in Europe five years never passed without war ; and why, when two nations quarrelled, many others took part in the dispute, and thus made the war ge- neral ?" We replied, that near neighbourhood and continued intercourse often gave rise to dis- putes, which cannot always be amicably settled ; particularly when interest or pride are con- cerned : but when one nation obtains too great a preponderance over another, the rest, fearing that it may also become formidable to them, join the MTaker against the more powerful, which, on its side, also seeks allies.* The Japanese praised the * It was in 1624 that all intercourse was prohibited of strangers with Japan, except at the island of Firando, on the south-west, and the port of Nangasaki : a measure acknow- ledged by the Jesuit writers to have been occasioned by the recent intestine commotions ; when, to use the words of Charle- voix, " Japan, in the midst of the most profound peace that it had ever enjoyed, was flooded with the blood of its people." In fact, the persecution of the christians was then at its height ; for, whether truly or not it is scarcely possible now to determine, the Japanese attributed all their late civil wars to the intrigues of the catholic missionaries. The Japanese contempt for foreign nations is said to arise from a consciousness that they have no occasion for their ser- vices or their intercourse. In fact, the Japanese fears nothing, not even death ; which he seems to regard with a ferocious KESTRICTIVE POLIO V, 109 'w isdoin of the European governments, and asked how many states there were in Europe ? After we had mentioned them all by name, they observed, that " if Japan and China entered into closer con- nection with the European powers, and imitated their political system, there might be more frequent wars and more blood spilt." " That mi^ht very well happen,** answered we. " If that is the case," replied they, " it will, perhaps, be more advisable, for the lessening of human misery, that Japan should abide by its old maxims, and not engage gaiety, and which he inflicts upon himself for the slightest causes. The little account that he sets by his own life, renders him cruel in regard to others, without excepting even his own nearest connections. He is harsh and inhuman towards the weak and the infirm ; light and inconstant towards all, through caprice and contempt. In short, Charlevoix designates him as the Englishmen of Asia; but if that learned and often liberal Jesuit had lived in latter times, perhaps for ^'Anglais'' he would have substituted Frungais. Notwithstanding their modern restrictions, it appears that formerly they were very friendly to the English nation, and put great confidence in them. When Captain John Saris, who com- manded an English ship, arrived at Firando in 1613, the old King Foyne Sama, visited him on board, accompanied only by his nephew, the attendants being forbidden by the king to come on board. He dined with Captain Saris, who delivered him a letter from King James I, which he received with the greatest friendship. He had with him an Englishman of the name of Adams, left upon the island in consequence of a mutiny in a Flemish ship, who was much in his confidence. liO KKCULLLCTJOiNS OF JAl'AA. in connections and treaties with Europe, of the use of which you try to convince us." 1 confess 1 was not able to g-ive a satisfactory answer to this unexpected objection ; and was forced to say, that my ig-norance of the Japanese language hin- dered me from proving the truth of our assertions. But had I been a Japanese orator, I should pro- bably have found some difficulty in refuting- this arg-ument. Another time, as we related the advantages of the Europeans, and the many pleasures which were quite unknown in Japan, they expressed a wish to spend a few years in Europe. They then turned the conversation again on Japan ; and said. That the Japanese people, in general, are not averse from a friendly intercourse with foreign nations, and might therefore be readily brought into commerce with England, is evident from an observation of Kcempfer, that their behaviour, from the meanest peasant up to the greatest prince or lord, is such that the whole empire might be called a school of civility and good manners ; and he adds, that they have so much sense and innate curiosity, that if they were not absolutely denied a free and open conversa- tion and correspondence with foreigners, they would receive them with the greatest kindness and pleasure. Their love of novelty is also great; and in some places he saw the common German gin bottles, of coarse earthenware, em- ployed as flower pots, in preference to their own porcelain; yay, some which had been broken were most carefully put together, from the value set on them, on account of the distance from whence they came. — Ed. ^See Introduction. J _ MODES OF POLITENESS. Ill that there were here two neighbouring towns, which they named to us, of which the one was very large, and the other, on the contrary very small. In the greater, the inhabitants were rich, and had abundance of necessaries and luxuries, but they unhappily lived in constant quarrels, and there were so many rogues among them, that people durst not venture in the streets of a night, for fear of being murdered. In the little cit}/, they had oidy what was necessary, and the inhabitants lived all like brethren among themselves, and no quarrel was ever heard of. But as we gave the preference to the little city above the large one, they compared Europe and Japan with them, and, as it appears, not entirely without reason. In their intercourse with each other,* the Japa- nese are extremely civil, as well youngpeople to old. * Politeness is asserted by the missionaries aad other early writers, to be very universal throughout all ranks in Japan : the very lowest of society treating each other with a degree of consi- deration that would be admired in Europe in people of the highest rank. One most extraordinai-y mark of respect from the lower classes, towards the princes and grandees, is to bow with their fore- heads to the ground, and then to turn their backs upon them, to signify that they consider them in so high a light, as in their own extreme insignificance, to be unworthy of looking upon them. The lowness of the bow of the members of the imperial family, who are very numerous, is regulated hy the insignia of their rank. 1 112 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPA.V. as also people of the same rank to each other. 7'hey compliment by a bending of the knee; if they want to shew any body more honour, they pla( e them- selves on the knee, and bow down to the ground. But this is only done in a room ; in the streets they merely make a motion as if they were to ng- to do it. When they salute a person of rank, they bend the knee in such a manner as to touch the ground with their fingers, and call them by their oame, while they draw in their breath, as for example: Ai! Sampe Sama, i.e. Ah! Mr. Sampe. consisting of a species of scarf that hangs from the shoulders over the breast. The length of this scarf increases in proportion to their place in the Court Calendar ; and they bow until the end of it touches the ground. In the " Ambassades Memorables des Hollandais,'" it is stated that the greatest honour which they can pay to their guests, when going away, is to shew them the utensils in which the tea has been cooked, consisting of a chafing dish, a three-legged pot, a tunnel, earthern pitchers, and little cups, which they value more than gold or jewels. Whenever it is intended to pay the highest possible respect to a travelling stranger, the mode is to offer congratulations, ac- companied by a present, laid on a small square table, and deco- rated in the most superb manner. The present is never of any great value ; but generally consists of a few oranges and dried figs, raised in a pyramid ; on the top of which is laid a folded paper* tied over with red and gilded paper thread, at the end of which is fastened a strip of sea-weed, several square pieces of which are also laid ro«nd the oranges. — Ed. COMPLIMENTING MODES. 113 if they salute one of their eqimls, they bend the knee, bow, and lay the flat hand on the knee, saying : Aif Koniddschi, i. e. Ah ! to day ! which expresses in Japanese a welcome. Or they say : Ai! tenki-ioi. Ail tenki-wari ; i. e. Ah ! good wea- ther; Ah ! bad weather; or Gogro-degiisar, which means literally to have a heart, and answers to our How fares it ? When Japanese meet, they ask, after the first compliments, with great ceremony and many bows, after each other's health, relations, &c. Our sentinels never relieved each other with- out having first saluted each other, and stood for some minutes making compliments. When Ja- panese part, they repeat the same bows, and fix the time when they hope to meet again, as for example : Ai / Kogonolz! Ah! nine o'clock; or Ai! Mio- nidschif Ah! to-morrow, &c., which signifies as much as our Good-bye. In Japan they do not build of stone, except the foundation,* as they fear the violent earth- * Many of their apartments are embellished with a painting of a divinity, or rich ornamented papers, on which are some fa- vorite moral sentences of philosophers or poets ; in some instances, they have grotesque caricatures of old Chinese, or of birds, trees, or landscapes painted upon screens ; in most houses they have flower-pots filled with the most odoriferous flowers, according to the season, and in default of them, with artificial representations of flowers, impregnated with odours. These, together with per- liiming pots of brass or copper, in the shape of lions, cranes, aiKi I 114 RECOLLECTIONSS OF JAPAN. (]uakes. The wooden houses are generally only one story high, and built very slightly, on account of the warm climate. The inside partitions, which form the rooms, are movealile, so that if they are taken away, the whole house may be made into one room. The Japanese have no stoves ; and they other rare animals ; hangings of silk net; vessels of porcelain, and ranged in the neatest order, all produce a most pleasing effect. Their love of ornament is indeed carried to an extreme in numerous instances. At their feasts, it is often superfluous, and their ceremonials are never at an end. Their attendants are most numerous ; yet a word is never heard spoken, nor does there ever arise the slightest confusion ; but the plates are ornamented with ribbands ; and if a partridge or any other bird is served up, it is sure to have its body varnished, and its neck and feet gilded. Their feasts are always accompanied with music ; but excess is unknown. Their gardens are considered by all former writers as the most striking and curious part of their domestic arrangements ; all agreeing that it is impossible not to admire the beauty, magni- ficence, and good taste displayed in them. They generally occupy the rear of the mansion, are square, and appear to be dug out like wells. The descent into them is from a gallery projecting from the back of the house, at the end of which there is always a stone bath, for ihe convenience of bathing every evening. One part of the garden is paved with round stones or large pebbles of different colours, which they collect from the beds of ri- vers, or on the sea-coast ; the remainder is covered with gravel, which is cleaned every day ; for though the whole is kept in studied apparent disorder, yet there is always much real neatness DOMESTIC GARDEIVS. 115 , to prevent him from diitying himself; the head is covered with a net of very small meshes, to save it, especially the eyes, from being bitten by flies and other vermin, which are very trouble- some ; bells are hung to the neck and breast, and other parts ; whilst two leather straps are placed over the saddle, hanging to the right and left, to which are attached two portmanteaus, to preserx-e the equilibrium, and to retain Ihem more exactly in their places, a little bandbox of stout grey pasteboard is laid across, resting- upon the croup, and fastened to the saddle by straps. As this box may be easily opened, without taking it off, it is generally filled with such things as the traveller may require upon the road; whilst the space between the two portmanteaus is filled up with soft mats, on which he sets cross-kgged, or soiiietimcs with his legs hanging down. This is certainly commodious, but is directly at war with good riding : indeed the person is obliged to sea.t himself carefully in the centre, to prevent falling off himself^ or MODE OF TRAVELLING. 137 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 tliere were fastened, instead of the bridle, two even making' his horse fall ; and in ascending a mountain or hill, it becomes necessary to have an attendant to hold np the bandbox, to prevent the whole paraphernalia from slipping- over the tail ! The whole scene must indeed be preposterous in an eques- trian point rf view, if we picture to ourselves the traveller, with a large straw hat and a largr- mantle of varnished paper, which covers both horse and rider, whilst the latter sits without touch- ing the bridle, except merely for form's sake, when paying a visit, but the horse is still held by the head, and led by a servant, who sings to cheer him to his labour. When stirrups are worn, they are very heavy, generally of iron ornamented with silver plates, shaped to the foot, and open at the sides, to disengage readily in case of falling ; the leathers are very short. The reins are of silk. They mount not on the side, but by climbing up at the breast. Women always, and men very often, travel in litters or pa- lanquins, sometimes carried by their own servants : and others by people, who make it a regular trade. On these vehicles great expence is bestowed, and much elegance displayed ; but the lengths of their carrying poles are regulated by the Emperor's orders, in regard to rank, a breach of which is punishable. The ladies, however, are generally permitted so transgress with impu- nity. The rank of the person also regulates the number of bearers ; some having only two, some so many as eight ; and this vehicle being close all round, with little windows, the rank of the personage is thus known, as by coronets and helmets, on an English carriage. A prince of the blood, or the high nobility, are carried by- 138 RECOLLECTIOJNS OF JAPAN. light blue girdles, which two grooms held fast on each side of the horse's mouth ; the two ends of these girdles were held b}' two other grooms, who went a little at a distance from the others, so that these four men occupied ahuost the whole road.* The tail of the horse was covered with a light blue silk bag. The governor dressed in his usual clothes, in which we had often seen him, sat without his hat, upon a magnificent saddle, and held his feet in wooden japanned stirrups, which resembled little boxes.-j* The grooms who held the horse at the bit, continually cried : Chai, chai, that is softly, softly ;;{: however they pushed hand ; inferior persons have their poles rested on the shoulders of the bearers, who are regularly clothed in their master's livery. Thunberg says that such of the poorer classes as ride, make, for the most part, a strange figure ; as frequently several persons are mounted on one horse, sometimes a whole family, in which case the man is seated on the saddle, with his legs laid forward over the horse's neck; the wife occupies a basket, made fast to one side of the saddle, and one or more children are placed in a basket on the opposite side ; whilst a person always walks before, to lead the animal by a bridle. — Ed. * The Japanese told us, that on solemn occasions, many people held this girdle on each side. t I saw in Spain and Portugal stirrups which resemble the Japanese ; and also rode many times on them ; they are not hand- some, but very convenient, particularly for bad riders. X If the Japanese wish the horse to go on quicker, they cry out : Ksi/, ksy, which signifies as much as our Gee, gee ho. SOCIAL CHARACTER. MUSIC. 139 on the liorse and made it leap and go quick ; the g-overnor therefore stooped and held fast 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 armour-bearers, who carried all the insignia of his dignity in cases, this was to signify that the governor was incognito. The Japanese are always good humoured: C never saw our acquaintance melancholy. They are fond of interesting conversation, and often joke; they always sing when working, and if the work is of such a kind, that it can be performed to the measure of a tune, for example, rowing or lifting heavy burthens, they all sing.* They are lovers * In the Epistolce Jupanicce, published in 1569, St. Fran- cis Xavier, previous to any European intercourse with the Ja- panese, declares that they had been described to him as a nation remarkable for g^ood morals, of extreme curiosity and research, ingenious, and fond of novelty. AVith the exception of their morals, this statement seems to have been confirmed by subse- quent writers, and is in perfect consonance with the recent obser- vations, in the present work. Charlevoix observes that social intercourse is particularly easy amongst the Japanese, owing to their manners, their turn of mind, and an unconfined and natural urbanity, which brings them very near to the most polished European nations. This is parti- cularly manifested in their modes of visiting and of being visited ; and Kcempfer finds a great similarity between these and the Per- 140 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. of music and dancing';* they have an insfrument which resembles a recumbent harp, a kind of vio- lin or fiddle; flutes of various kinds and a drum. The Japanese spoke of many other kinds of musi- cal instruments, which were in use among them, tuguese, in this respect, they having much affability, but tempered by a serious though agreeable gravity. It must not be forgotten that the missionaries place their moral character far beyond that of the Chinese. In China, say they, it is cunning which regulates all men's actions ; but it is honour which, in Japan, is the pivot, on which all their proceed- ings turn. The former place all their glory in precisely following maxims, wherein prudence is always animated by interest; whilst the latter inviolably adhere to rules of honour, however false or excessive they may be, which their usages require of them. Hence spring the virtues of these, and the defects of those. The Chinese is circumspect, timid, modest, peaceable, and of the most exact and embarrassing scrupulosity, whenever he wishes to mark his respect for his master, his parents, or his sovereign ; but then this reverence is seldom more than exterior, and far from being either the impulse of affection or loyalty. On the contrary, the Japanese is frank, sincere, friendly, faithful to a proverb, officious, generous, anticipative, and caring little for wealth, so as to des- pise commerce. Therefore, they are poor, but independant. Generally speaking, they look for nothing beyond mere neces- saries; but their neatness is delightful ; and their countenances bespeak perfect content, and a contempt for superfluities. — Ed, * Captain Saris (already alluded to) describes a visit from- the King at Firando, in which he was accompanied by four of his wives, attired in gowns of silk, wrapped one skirt over the other, and so girt about them, but bare legged, only a pair of hal£ SONGS ANi> DANCES. 141 but they were not to be found in Matsmai, and 1 could not comprehend what kind of instruments they were. Notwithstanding the cheerful charac- ter of the Japanese, tlieir songs have something- melancholy and plaintive; their motions in singing always correspond with the words, the attitudes of the singer are therefore frequently very ridiculous; they make horrid grimaces, distort their eyes, turn up the whites, then often put on a cheerful face, or laugh with one side of the face, and cry with the oth^. During our stay in Chakodade ; there was buskins, bound with silk ribband about their instep. Their hair was very black and long, tied up in a knot upon the crown, in a comely manner. They had good features, and were well limbed, clear-skinned and white, but wanted colour, which they supplied by art. These ladies, it appears, were at first a little bashful; but the Kiug bid them be frank and pleasant ; accordingly they sung divers sonsrs, and played upon certain instruments, whereof one much resembled a lute, being bellied and fretted like it, but was longer in the neck, and had four gut-strings. The fingers of their left hand moved very nimbly over the strings, while they struck them with an ivory stick, held in the right hand, in the same manner as in England they play on the cithern with a quill. They seemed to take much delight in their music ; kept time with their hands, and played and sung by book. The tunes were pricked, and the notes ranged in lines and spaces, much in the European way. Charlevoix declares positively, that their music is very insi- pid; and that they have neither voice, method, nor instrument, that deserve the slightest notice. — Ed. 142 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. •d servant with us, who was said to be a great dancer; he had even danced on the stage as they told us, and received much praise from the public. This virtuoso was curious to see a Russian dance, he was therefore obliged to dance before us, which he willingly did, particularly as he thereby gave our guards extraordinary pleasure. Two or three of them, boys of sixteen years of age, learned danc- ing of him, and imitated his grimaces with success. I often laughed when I looked at them with my friend, Mr. Moor, and remarked that this Avas pro- bably the first time that lessons in dancing were given in a prison. The Japanese love dramatic * shews, and * The poetry of the Japanese is described as possessing sin- gular beauty. In theatrical composition they are particularly happy. Their pieces are divided into acts and scenes, and the plot, like the air and chorusses, is always developed in the pro- logue, with the exception of the denouement, which is carefully concealed. Their scenery and decorations are always good, and correct ; and they have ballets, and humorous farces ; but ther their tragedies are always moral, their comedies sentimental. lo tragedy they aim at emphasis and energy ; whilst the most heroir actions, especially of the martyrs to their religion, form the or- dinary subjects of it. The state of the drama, in some parts of Japan, may be further illustrated by a faci recorded by Captain Saris, who says, in 1612 : " The old king came abroad again, and brought with him some women to be merry." The women were actresses, who pass there from island to island, as the strollers do from town to THEATRICAL ENTERTAINMENTS. 143 have a theatre at Matsiiiai. They promised us many times to let us see ?i piece performed, but never kept their word ; I conjecture that permis- sion was refused by the government in the capital, to which they applied; for if it had onl} depended upon the governors, they would certainly have afforded us this pleasure, as they were so well dis- posed towards us, particularly the first of them, Arrao-Madsimam-Kami, of whose generosity I have often spoken in my narrative. The Japanese often took us into the theatre during the day-time, to shew us the building, and interior arrangements, it is a large, and pretty high building, the back of which is for the stage, and has, as with us, a raised floor. From the stage to the front wall where the entrance is town in England. They were provided with several dresses, suited to the subjects represented ; which, for the most part, re- lated either to war or love. These women are all slaves, to one man, who is allowed to let them out, &c. The Japanese, if we are to believe the Jesuits, deprive them- selves of many amusements which occupy the time and attention of thousands in European provincial towns. All intermeddlers, all scandal, gossip, &c. are treated there with sovereign contempt. People disposed to quarrel, or promote quarrels amongst their neighbours, they consider as devoid of courage ; and others they set down as incapable of thinking. Sixpenny whist, and paying for the cards, they esteem a sordid traffic ; in fact, playing for money is considered by them as unworthy people of honour. — Ed. 144 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. placed, two rows of seats are made for the specta* tors ; ill the middle, where we have the pit, is a vacant place, which has even no floor ; hut when plays are performed, straw mats are laid down for the spectators, and as this place is much lower than the stage, those in front do not hinder those be- hind from seeing what passes. They have no or- chestra, perhaps because they have no music in the theatres as with us, or because the musicians are reckoned among the a- tors. Opposite the stage, where, in our theatres there is the emperor's box and the galleries, they have only a bare wall and the door for the entrance. There were no ornaments in the interior ; the walls were not even painted, and no side-scenes put np. The dresses and decorations are brought from a par- ticular house. According to our Japanese ac- quaintance, the subjects of their plays are chiefly memorable events in their own history, but they have also other representations which are of a comic nature, and, as well as the first, serve merely to amuse the public. The Japanese are not yet so far advanced in civilization as to make their theatre a school of virtue and morality as we call ours. But we did not venture to speak with them upon the subject, because we feared that they might recollect, as the people in India do, the conduct of the religious and virtuous Eu- ropeans towards them^ and say: "How can we PLK A SURE -HO ATS. NAVIGATION. 145 douljt thai you learn virtue in the theatre ? the purit} of your morals proves it." Among- the amusements of the Japanese may be reckoned their pleasure-i)oats, or yachts,* which, as we heard, are very magnificent and ex- pensive. The rich are fond of water parties, but only on the rivers, canals, or between the islands ; they do not venture to go to a distance from the coasts, for fear of being carried away liy the wind, as often happens to their merchant ships. The Japanese are quick in learning, and possess not only drawings, but models of Euro- pean vessels ; but they will not introduce any thing foreign among them, and lose every year a great many ships and sailors.-j* The extraordinary * Their pleasure-boats are always of a most whimsical structure, according- to the taste of the owner, and often built of cedar. Though principally built for rowing, yet they generally have two decks, the first of which is low and flat, and the other filled up with windows like a city barge, and screened off into several cabins. Their ornaments and flags are imnierous and grotesque. — Ed. t Though their merchant vessels, built at Japan, are large, yet they are totally unfit for long voyagAVIGAJIOiV. 147 pitulsi for such an immense population ? * If we compare Japan with European states, in which there are hospitals, we find that few make use of them, in comparison with those who recover or die of a disorder, without iiaving received the smallest assistance from the government. • See Golownin's Captivity, vol. 1, pp, 14, 17. L 2 148 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. CHAPTER \!I. Productions of the Country — Trade and Commerce, Though the Japanese possessions extend through only a few degrees of latitude, the climate of the country is uncommonly diversified.* The cause of this is the situatiori of the country, as I have above described it. This diversity of climate causes a great variety in the productions of the ' * Even the northernmost district of Japan must be far from disagreeable, on account of climate. Captain King says, that the country round Cape Nambu is of a moderate height, appearing to consist of a double range of mountains, abounding with wood, and presenting a pleasing variety of hills and dales. The anxious voyagers descried the smoke of several towns or villages, and many houses near the shore, in pleasant and cultivated situations. Peyrouse, whilst on another part of the coast, says, that the island of Jootsi-suma, which he was close in with, was small, flat, but well wooded, and of a very agreeable appearance. He observed several very large houses upon it, and near to a castle he descried a gallows, or pillars with a large beam laid across, which he supposed intended for that purpose. Charlevoix asserts, that the surface of Japan is generally mountainous, stony, yet fertile in proportion to its quality ; but the industry of the people has supplied all its deficiencies, and fertilized even the rocks, where scarcely any soil previously existed. All sorts of fruits, vegetables, and roots, are therefore cultivated ; and as the country is well supplied with water, iu NATURAL PllODUCTIONS. — AGRICULTURE. 149 soil. The principalities ofTzyngaru, Namba, anc] the island of Matsmai, with other northern pos- sessions, where the ground is covered with snow about five months together, produce many plants that belong to the frigid zone ; and in the southern possessions of Japan, the fruits of the tropical cli- ?nates are found to flourish. As I had no opportunity to visit the principal islands belonging to Japan, I cannot speak of their productions as an eye-witness, but only repeat what 1 have heai'd from the Japanese, and describe what I could infer from their way of life, and what I saw of the articles imported into the island of Matsmai. I have alread} mentioned the causes why the leader cannot expect from me any complete des- cription of the Japanese Empire ; still less can I !>atisfy the curiosity of a naturalist who might wish, perhaps, that I should describe every shell found in Japan. Besides the want of opportunities to examine things myself, f did not possess the re- .1 1 ^ rivers, lakes, and fountains, every facility is given to agricultural labours. But he adds, that some of the rivers are so rapid that they cannot be passed without great danger, it being impossible to construct any bridges over them. One of these rivers, the Aska, or Askagawa, is remarkable for the depth of its bed which changes continually, furnishing the Japanese writers and preachers with moral aphorisms, and similes, which they vary and apply with great ingenuity, — Ed. 150 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPA^V. quisite knowledge, to observe with the eye of a naturalist. The reader will therefore, not take it amiss if I make my short remarks on the pro- ductions of Japan, not according to classes, or a systematic arrangement; for instance, according to the kingdoms of nature, but enumerate them in succession, according to the greater or smaller advantage, which the inhabitants derive from them. The chief and most useful productions of Japan are the following : Rice, fish, radishes, salt, cotton, silk, cop- per, iron, timber, tea, tobacco, horses, oxen, hemp, and a tree which they call kadzy ; gold and silver, lead, quicksilver, and sulphur.* * Ttie Japanese are described by all the early writers as displaying the greatest industry in agricultural pursuits ; leaving not an inch untitled, and having the art of preparing every soil for whatever they may choose to cultivate. The very improved state of agriculture in the southern dis- trict of Japan is clearly proved by the fact recorded by Thunberg, that during a long Journey from Mangasakai to Meaco, and in a country to which Europeans have seldom access, he was scarcely able to collect a new plant. The reason he assigns is, that in most of the fields which were sown early in April, he could not discover the least trace of a weed, not even throughout whole provinces ; for the industrious farmers pull them up so diligently that the most sharp-sighted botanist can scarcely discover any uncommon plant in their well -cultivated fields. Weeds and fences he describes as being equally uncommon. One day's jour- ney, in particular, between Osaken and Meaco, he praises as NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. 151 1 doubt whether there is a book in which so . many difterent things are brought under one head, and treated in such order ; however, this does not deter nie, and I consider this order as not wholly unnatural. Rice is the chief production, and nearly the only thing the Japanese use for bread ; it is to them what r}e is to us ; nay, it is even more important ; for there are many persons in Russia who eat no rye bread; in Japan, on ihe contrary, every body, from the monarch to the beggar, lives on rice. Besides, in all Japan, they make of the straw, shoes, hats, floor mats in the houses, mats for sacks, and for packing-up goods ; a kind of writing' paper, and many other things of less con- sequence, but usefid for domestic purposes ; such as baskets, brooms, &c. The Japanese also ex- tract from rice a kind of brandy or wine, and the weak liiJtWu^ttHed sagi. being only exceeded iu^ Holland, with regard to the beauty and delightful appearance of the country. Its population and culti- vation exceeded all expression. The whole space on both sides, as far as he could see, was nothing but a fertile field ; the whole jaunt extending through villages of which one begun where the other ended, all built along the sides of the roads. The proprietors of lands receive six-tenths of the produce from the tenants. It is a fundamental law of the empire, that if any person permits a year to pass without cultivating his ground, he forfeits the property^ — Ed. 152 llECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. Fish are in Japan what meat is in Europe,* and much more, because we eat many kinds of meat and also fish ; whereas, in Japan, but few people eat meat, except the piiests; and all, with- out exception, eat fish. Besides, they light their houses Avith fish- oil, which is made m great quan- tities in the northern parts of Japan. Only the rich burn candles. I'he radish supplies the place of our cabbage, and is used in soup in various ways : salted radish serves them also instead of salt, to all their food. But this I mentioned before. Whole fields are sown with radishes ; they are so used to radish soup, that a scarcity of this plant would be very distressing to them. Salt is not only indispensable for their daily use, but serves also for the curing of fish : for their chief fisheries are on the coasts of the Kurile * All former writers assert, that the coasts abound with great variety of fish, almost all of which the Japanese are per- mitted to eat. Some of them are said to be of such an exquisite flavour as to be equal to the most delicate of the European seas ; besides oysters, crabs, &c. There is a very fine species of fresh-water salmon of the most delicious flavour found on a lake near Meaco, called the lake of Oitz, forty miles in length, but very narrow, and recorded to have been formed in one night by an earthquake. These salmon seldom exceed ten pounds in weight. — Ed. NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. 15^3 islands and Sagaleen, whence many hundred ships annually bring them to ports of the kingdom of Japan. Two means are used to preserve fish, salting and drying ; but the large fish cannot be so dried as to remain long fit to eat in the warm climate. Silk and cotton, besides the uses to which they are generall / applied, supply also the place of our wool, hemp, flax, down, feathers, and furs; for whatever is worn in Japan is made of these two articles. They, likewise, make of cotton stuff travelling cloaks, cases for arms, and other things, and tobacco-pouches, which are varnished in such a manner that they may be taken for leather. Copper and iron are as necessary in Japan as in Europe.* Besides the ordinary uses to whicli we apply it, the Japanese cover the roofs of their houses, which they desire particularly to preserve with copper ; and also cover the outward joints of the buildings with the same metal, that the rain- * Brass is much dearer than copper, and is very rare, though much valued, from the scarcity of calamine to work it. As ca- lamine is produced in Britain in sufficient quantity for export, it may yet become deserving the attention of our exporting mer- chants. Iron also is very scarce ; so that tools made of it are veiy expensive: a consideration which prompts to an endeavour at the extension of our own trade in that quarter. In short, one or two vessels, well fitted for defence, as for commerce, might find a trading speculation to those coasts extremely advantageotis, if conducted with prudence and economy. — Ed. 154 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. water may not penetrate. Tobacco pipes are also made of it. A very iarge quantity of iron is used for nails; for the Japanese houses consist of boards nailed, within and without, with iron nails, to upright pillars which are joined by cross beams: every little box too, however inconsiderable, is fastened together with nails. In so populous a country as Japan, when the frequent and violent earthquakes render it dange- rous to erect buildings of stone, timber may be reckoned among the chief necessaries of the people. Tea and tobacco, it should seem, might be easily dispensed with ; but custom and fashion often operate as strongly as nature: next to food, tea and tobacco are, above every thing, necessary to the Japanese. He smokes his pipe continually, and sips tea with it. JJis little pipe is filled every five minutes, and after a few puffs laid down. Even during the night, the Japanese get up for a few minutes to smoke tobacco and drink a cup of tea, which serves to quench their thirst instead of beer, water, and kivass. The Japanese do not use the flesh of horned cattle for food, because they have an aversion to it; but they keep some, as well as horses, to draw burdens.* * Charlevoix asserts, from various authorities, that sheep were unknown in Japan, until brought there by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. — Ed. PRODUCTIONS. MANUFACTURES. 155 They manufacture of hemp the coarse cloth for workmen's dresses, and for the sails of their ships, but they make their cables and ropes of the bark of the tree called Kadzy, without using tar or any other resinous matter. Hence their ropes are not comparable, either for strength or durability with those made of hemp ; but they are good enough for their limited voyages in which they are not exposed to any great storm. Besides the cheapness of the materials allows them to have new ropes more frequently. Of this bark they often make also thread, lamp-wicks, a kind of cheap cloth, writing-paper, and paper for Japanese pocket-hand- kerchiefs. Gold and silver, so far as they serve for magni- ficence and luxury, cannot indeed be reckoned among the necessaries of life; but if we consider the advantage and the means which they afford as money, for the procuring of necessaries and the exchange of home productions, they must certainly be reckoned among the chief necessaries of an en- lightened nation, and on this account 1 mention them here. Lead, tin and quick-silver may also be reckon- ed as chief necessaries, because they are required in the refining of gold and silver, and also in the manufacture of arms, which are used by every na- tion that values its independance. For the latter reason, brimstone comes under the same head. 156 iiECOLLECTlO.NS Ob JAPAJV. Rice grows in such great abundance in the micklle part of the island of Niphon, that the Japa- nese, notwithstanding- the extraordinary population of the country, do not want to import it. It is true they receive rice from China, but only out of pre- caution, lest in case of scarcity, the Chinese Government should make a difficulty to permit the exportation of it, if they would exclude it from the number of goods which form the usual articles of trade between the two kingdoms.* The northern provinces of Japan, viz: the principalities of Nam- bu and Izyngaru, are poor in rice, and receive it, for the most part, from other countries; it is not cultivated in Matsmai, Sachalin and the Kurile * To prepare the soil for rice, it is permitted to lie under water until the beginning- of April, when the farmers begin to turn it over with a crooked hoe ; though in some instances, when the land lies low, and the waters cannot immediately be turned off, it is ploughed by oxen or cows, which are kept solely for that purpose. The rice itself is then sown in small beds about the breadth of a foot, separated by furrows of the same width ; and the same process is used for wheat or barley, which are dribbled in rows, and as soon as the corn is about a foot high, the custom is to take earth out of the furrow, thus turned into a drain, the earth itself being laid up to the rows ; the whole process presest- ing the appearance of a kitchen garden instead of a corn field. Rice is always transplanted, when a few inches high. This is performed by the women, up to the mid-leg in water and mud. The buck-wheat is far from uncommon in several parts of Japan, both cultivated and wild. Cakes are made of its flour, and boiled, but only eaten by the lower classes. — Ed. PRODUCTIONS. MANUFACTURES. 157 Islands, because it will not grow, on account of the cold climate. We saw, indeed, pieces of land sown with rice inMatsmai,in avalley nearChakodade,biit our guards told us that it was only done for a trial. The Japanese boil out of rice a kind of thick gruel, and eat it at all their meals, instead of bread ; from the flour of rice they prepare cakes and divers kinds of pastry, which resembles our confectionary. But rice is not the only bread- corn of the Japanese, they have also barley with which they sometimes feed the horses, and make cakes and other things from the flour; maize which they use in food in various ways, and some- times roast whole ears, and eat the grain; many kinds of beans, which are a favorite dish of the Ja- panese; they sometimes eat them merely boiled in water, sometimes in treacle or soy; small beans are often boiled with thick rice, and pass for a great de- licacy. The Japanese soy is also prepared of beans, and turned sour in casks. They say that three years are icipiired for preparing the best soy. Sweet and common potatoes are also cultivated in Japan, but they want land to plant them. Ihe Japanese sweet potatoes are quite different from those I saw in other parts of the world, as in i'ortugal, in the island of Madeira, in the Brazils, &:c. &c.* They * Thunberg says that in the environs of Nangascki he saw in the vicinity of every villasre, araong-st the hills, large ranges of 158 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. resemble, in size, our largest potatoes, only that they are a little longer, the skin dark red ; the inside is white, the taste agreeable, and smells like the rose. They have also peas, but it is only a garden plant with them. In so confined and populous a state as Japan, and such a climate, no corn, except rice, can be in general use, because only rice can grow in so narrow a space, in such abundance, as to be sufficient for so great a nation. i cannot exactly state what kinds of fish are caught in the southern and middle parts of the coasts of Japan, and in the rivers of that kingdom ;* sloping grounds covered with the Batatas, or Convoloulus edulis, which are mealy and much more agreeable to the taste than the common potatoe, or Solanum tuberosum, as cultivated in Japan. The latter, he says, succeeds very indifferently. — Ed. * All the Japanese who visited us, including the men of learning, unanimously affirmed, that in a river, in Japan, there are amphibious animals, which have a body like a fish, two arsheens and above, in length, and covered with scales; and whose head is covered with hair, and resembles that of a man. These wonderful animals come sometimes on shore, , and fight or play together, with great cries. If they see any body upon the water, or on the shore, they fall upon him and kill him, but without devouring him. According to the saying of some Japa- nese, they have a peculiar way of killing people: they tear the entrails out of the stomach. This account looks indeed like a fable ; but it is probable, that some unusual animal, which is not merely a creature of the imagination, may have given rise to this invention. a PRODUCTION. FISHESJIES. 159 but on the coasts of Matsraai, Knnaschier, Eetoo- roop and Sagaleen, almost all kinds of fish are caug-Jit in great quantities, which they have in Kamtschatka, and of which I shall speak in the description of the Japanese possessions in the Ku- rile Islands.* There is no kind of sea animal, except those which are poisonous, that the Japa- nese do not make use of; whales, sea-lions, all kinds of seals, sea-hogs, sea-bears, furnish them with palatable food. Hence, there is in all the Japanese possessions no coast, where there are not fisheries, which employ a number of people. They catch fish on the coast in great nets, in the seas with lines.-f The Japanese do not, like the Euro- * The northern coast appears, at a short distance from shore, to be badly supplied with fish ; for when Cook's companions were off that part, they tried repeatedly in ten fathoms water, but without success; although a little further north, off the Kuriles, they had taken very fine cod, in considerable quantities. — Ed. f There is a lar^e flat fish with a long tail, at the end of which is a piece of bone or horn, considered by the Japanese, as an infallible cure for the bite of a serpent. The gold-fish, of the most beautiful kinds, are found on many parts of the coast; also silver fish, which are caught and pre- served in ponds, and fed with worms and flies. Eels are frequently found in the rice grounds; and the Japa- nese believe that they can be made by cutting straw, mixing it with mud, and exposing it to the warmth of the morning sun. There is another curious fish — curious, at least, from the descriptions of the Jesuit missionaries, who call it Todo nocvo — 1(30 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. {»eans, venture to kill whales in the open sea, but tatch them in creeks, and close to the coast, in very strong' nets. The dead sea animals which the waves have cast on shore serve them for food ; nav, even people of the highest class think such car- rion a great delicacy.* The Japanese radish is, in the form and taste, verv different from ours ; it is thin, and extremely long, even to two arsheens in length. The taste of it is not verv bitter, but sweetish, almost like our turnips. Whole fields are covered with it. A great part of the crop is salted, the other part is bm^ied in the ground for winter and boiled in soup. Not even the radish leaves remain unused, thev are boiled in soup or salted, and eaten as sallad. The fresh leaves also of this plant are warmed by the fire till they smoke, and then put in a packet of tobacco. This, say the Japanese, hinders the to- " a small fish covered with hair, with four feet, like to hog's feet : from whence we may suppose it to be a species of seal." This is the fish whose oil is said to prevent ebriety. — Ed. * About the year 1680, a rich fisherman of the province ot Oniura, invented a new method of catching whales, by means of a net made of two-inch rope. When entangled in this, the whale lost much of his velocity, and became an easy prey to the har- poons of his assailants ; but the mode was found too expensive for general use. Ambergris is found in the intestines of one species called Mako. — Ed. PRODUCTIONS. SALT ; COTTON. 161 !)acco from drying up, and gives it an agreeable smell and taste. I really did" convince myself of the former, but did not perceive the latter, perhaps because 1 am no great smoaker. They manure the radish fields with night soil : this we ourselves saw at Matsmai. In some places they use the «ame manure for rice. Salt, as 1 have before observed, is a grand article of consumption in Japan.* The Japanese told us, that they had rock salt, but only in small quantities ; and as it is, besides, brought from the interior of the kingdom, and not easy of con-, veyance, very little of it is used. In general, they use sea salt in ahuost all parts of the kingdom ; the preparation of which is facilitated by the ex- traordinary saltness of the sea-water near the tro- pics, and by the evaporation produced by the heat. The Japanese have, therefore, large pits on the coast, into which they let the sea-water when the tide is up ; the evaporation leaves a thick sedi- ment, from which they boil their salt. According to the description of the Japanese, their cotton must be of the same kind as 1 have seen in the English colonies in the West Indies ; * In some provinces, salt is made, in the first instance, not by evaporating, but by pouring sea-water upon sand, until sa- turated ; after which the sand is washed, and the lye boiled in pots until it chrystallizes : as Kcempfer describes. — Ed. M 162 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. that is, it grows on small trees, about the height of a man. They have, however, other kinds of cot- ton, but I was not able sufficiently to understand their descriptions. The country must produce an immense quantity, as almost all the inhabitants are cloathed in it. The wadding- which they make of it serves them instead of furs. They also line their mattresses, and their morning- gowns, which latter serve them as quilts. Of cotton they likewise make a kind of writing-paper.* It is made also into wicks, of which an immense quantity must be used, as the Japanese always keep a light during the night. Rich people burn candles, as I have said above ; and the poor, fish-oil. When foreign vessels enter their ports, or an officer of distinction arrives, the Japanese hang the whole town with cotton stuft'. In a word, there is perhaps no other country in which so great a quantity of cotton is used as in Japan ; for this reason, great care is taken to extend the cultivation of it. As an in- * The kadsi, or paper- tree, also supplies them with materials for that manufacture. It grows very rapidly; and its bark is in many folds, of which not only paper, but cloth and rope are made. In the winter, the year's shoots are cut off and boiled, and the bark is then taken off and submitted to a process of con- siderable length and ingenuity. The different folds of the bark are of different fineness ; and being boiled repeatedly until mace- rated, the paper is formed pretty much in the European manner. The white colour is given by an infusion of rice. — Ed. PRODUCTIONS. SILK ; COPPER. 163 stance of the industry and activity of this original people, it may be mentioned that they import from the Kurile islands, into the interior of Japan, her- rings spoiled by keeping, to serve as manure for the cotton plants. They first boil the herrings in large iron kettles;* then put them in presses, and let all the liquid flow into the same kettles, from which they take the oil for their lamps. What remains of the herrings is spread upon mats, and laid in the sun to dry, till they corrupt, and are almost converted into ashes. They are then filled into sacks and put on board the boats. The earth round each cotton plant is manured with them, which causes the crop to be extremely abundant. Japan is also very rich in silk. We had the proofs before our eyes. Matsmai is reckoned to be one of the very poorest towns ; yet we con- stantly saw people of all nmks, especially women, in silk dresses. On festivals, even the common soldiers wore costly silk dresses. If we consider the great population of the Japanese empire, the quantity of silk must be very great, even if only rich people dressed themselves in it. It was not, indeed, difficult for the Japanese to cultivate this production to a great extent, as it requires only a ;>ood climate and industry ; the former is favour- * I myself saw this process in the island of Kunashier. m2 164 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. rtble, and the latter is possessed by the Japanese in a very high degree. Copper is also produced in Japan in great abundance.* The inhabitants cover with it the roofs of some of their houses, the fore part of their ships, and the joists in the houses. They manufacture of this metal their kitchen uten- sils, tobacco-pipes, fire-shovels, &c. Before we were lodged in the house, and still lived in the prison, our furniture corresponded with the place of our abode, but the hearth was covered with copper, and the fire-shovel was of the same metal: this shows that the Japanese do not set any great vahie upon it. The tea-kettles alone must cause an immense consumption of copper in this em- pire ; for all the Japanese, as 1 have said above^ drink, when they are thirsty, something warm, whether it be tea or water. In every house, there- fore, the tea-kettle stands constantly on the fire, which must finally spoil it. The Japanese copper * The copper, which always formed a considerable part of the Dutch trade, is expressly stated, by Thunberg;, to contain more gold, and to be finer than any other in the world. It is cast into bars six inches long^, and of the thickness of the human finger, flat on one side, and convex on the other, and of a fine bright colour. Much of the copper sent from England to India, of late years, has been cast in similar ingots, for the purpose of coinage principally, and is commonly distinguished by the appel- lation of " Japan copper."^ — Ed. PKODUCTTONS. IRON ; TIMBER. 165 utensils are, however, of very good workmanship; we often wondered at the durabihtv of the tea- kettles which we made use of ; for they stood over the fire for months together without burning through. It is well known, that the Dutch, in their trade with Japan, derived their greatest ad- vantage from the exportation of the Japanese cop- per, because it always contains a large portion of gold, which the Japanese wanted skill, or inclina- tion, to extract from it. But they are now become wiser, and give the Dutch only pure copper. W ith respect to iron, the Japanese do not possess that metal in such abundance as copper, but they have sufficient to supply their absolute wants; and if the government exchanged with the Dutch, copper for iron, this was not out of ne- cessity, but because iron is for many purposes preferable to copper. As the Japanese have a surplus of the latter, both they and the Dutch pro- fited by this exchange. They often told us, that the trade with the Dutch did not produce them the least advantage ; only some medicines and po- litical news, which the Dutch bring them from Europe, being of importance to them. If the Ja- panese had not iron sufficient for their absolute wants, they would certainly set more value on the trade with the Dutch. Timber. — The greater part of the Japanese provinces are without wood. The extraordinary 166 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. population of the kingdom renders it necessary to cultivate every spot of ground ; and therefore only the mountains, which cannot be cultivated, are covered with woods. The principality of Nambu, which lies on the north-east part of the island of JNiphon, being very mountainous, is rich in tim- ber, with which it supplies all Japan in exchange for provisions, of which it does not produce suffi- cient for the support of its inhabitants. On the mountains of the islands of Matsmai, Kunashier, Eetooroop, and Sagaleen, there are forests of all kinds of trees, which the Japanese also make use of: we saw there numbers of very fine beams, ready to be exported. Notwithstanding this, the Japanese draw but little timber from these islands, because it is so difficult to convey it from the in- terior to the coasts, and they have not yet felt the necessity of surmounting these obstacles. Jf this should happen, the Japanese will soon open a road to mountains, which other nations would consider as inaccessible ; I doubt whether any thing would be impossible for the zeal, activity and patience of this people. The Japanese wished to know the Russian name for some species of wood ; and brought to us pieces and branches of wood, asking how they were all called in Russian. We made use of this opportunity, and asked where these trees grew ; PRODUCTIONS. TEA ; TOBACCO. 1()7 by this means we learned that several kintis of oaks,* palms, of which the Japanese make very good combs, bamboo, cypresses, cedars, yews, firs, and other kinds of trees the names of which are unknown to us, grow in their islands. I have before mentioned, that habit has rendered tea one of the first necessaries of life among the Japanese. Japan produces both green and black tea.-j* The first is considered as the best; ♦ Koempfer says that the acorns are boiled and eaten by the lower classes. He speaks also of a tree called the Naalsme, or Paliurus, which has a very fine fruit. The Japanese vessels are said to be very lasting ; not from any particular attention to their trees with respect to barking, but from the system of hauling their vessels on shore, after they have been in the water, and burning both sides as high as the water line, until covered with a coat of charcoal, in order to preserve them from the worm. It is extremely probable, and deserving of investigation, that this protects them also from the dry rot so destructive to the British navy. — Ed. f The Japanese tea tree is described, by Koempfer, as having leaves like the cherry, with a flower like a wild rose. It grows, in the most sterile places, to the height of about six feet. It IS an evergreen. When fresh, the leaves have no smell, but a very astringent taste. Throughout Japan, the tea-kettle stands on the fire from morning till night. So much importance do the Japanese attach to the genteel service of tea, that masters are actually employed to teach the young people all the forms and ceremonies, like dancing masters in Europe.— .Ed. 16y RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. and, in fact, is so. The Japanese even prefer it to the Chinese green tea ; but, according to our taste, it does not merit this preference. With respect to the black tea, it is very bad, and the Japanese drink it merely to quench their thirst ; whereas they look upon the green tea as a delicacy, and treat their company with it. The ^Japanese offi- cers, and also the governor, often sent us green tea as a present ; but then the interpreters and the guards assisted, with a good appetite, in emptying the tea-kettle. J'ea grows in all the southern pro- vinces of Japan ; the best green is produced in the principality of Kioto, in which Kio, the city or residence of the spiritual emperor, is situated.* In this province, tea is cultivated with great care, both for his court and that of the temporal em- peror. Tobacco is an article which is equally indis- pensable to the Japanese. The catholic mis- sionaries were the first who introduced this plant, and taught them its use. From them too the Ja- panese received its name, aud still call it tabaco, or tabago. It is astonishing how the use of this * Some Europeans call the residence of the Spiritual Em- peror Miako ; but the word Miago (not Miako) means metropolis, and is given, by the Japanese, to this city as a distinction. Its proper name, however, is Kio, and Kioto the name of the pro- vince. PilODUCTlONS. TOBACCO. 169 worthless herb should have spread, in so short a time, over the whole earth, as it is entirely without taste, without any ag-reeable smell, without use to the health, and a mere amusement for idle people! Our interpreter, Teske, one of the most sensible of our Japanese acquaintance, was himself a great smoaker; but often said, that the christian priests had not done the Japanese so much injury by the introduction of their faith, which only pro- duced among them internal commotions and civil wars, as by the introduction of tobacco ; for the former was only a transitory, long forgotten evil, but the latter diverted, and probably would do for centuries to come, large tracts of land and a num- ber 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 labour, but now thev were continuallv 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 Ja- panese have ; but 1 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 sel! it in papers which weigh about a Russian pound. I'he Japanese consider 170 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. the tobacco from Sasma as the best, then, that from Nangasaky, Sinday, &c. The worst comes from the province of Tzyngaru ; it is strong, of a black colour, and has a digusting 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 colour.* The tobacco from Nanga- saky is very weak, in taste and smell perhaps the best, and of a bright brown colour. The tobacco from Sinday is very good, and was always given ns to smoke. The Japanese manufacture tobacco so well, that though I was before no friend to smok- ing, and even when I was at Jamaica, could but sel- dom persuade myself to smoke a Havannah Segar, yet I smoked the Japanese tobacco very frequently, and with great pleasure. Snuff is not used in Ja- pan. 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 opportunities to conversevvith the Japanese. f The literati, the interpreters, and * Thunberg says, that in those parts of Japan he visited, it grew very sparingly, and he observed no large plantations of it. He calls it almost the only relique, left behind in Japan by th§ Portuguese who first introduced it. — Ed. f They use, medicinally, a very fine sort of Snuff, like 8pa- PRODUCTIONS. HORSES. 171 guards, all smoked ; and used, too, different kinds of tobacco, according to their respective taste or ability. Out of politeness, they frequently offered us their tobacco, and mentioned its name. In this manner, a conversation usually began upon tobac- co, which often lasted for hours together. We of- ten had no opportunity to speak of other more im- portant things, and besides, the Japanese, did not all like to converse upon them. The Japanese horses are small and weak.* They resemble, in size, ourfarmers horses, but are much thinner, better shaped, and also more spirited, as the Japanese do not castrate them, but always ride on stallions. The climate permits the horses as well as the horned cattle, always to eat grass; it is only on journeys, or after some hard labour, that a little barley is given them. But in Matsmai nish, which is brought from China, It is considered most effica- cious for colds in the head, which are very frequent on account of the repeated changes of weather. — Ed. * Horses are neTer iron-shod; but, instead of it, their feet are often wrapped up in shoes made of twisted ropes, till worn out, and frequently renewed, particularly in slippery roads. The at- tendants in travelling always carry a supply; and the poor chil- dren traverse the roads offering them for sale. The Jesuit writers assert, that althoug'h the Japanese horses are generally small, yet many are found amongst them which do not yield to the finest in Persia, in beauty, in swiftness, or in docility — Ei>. 172 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. and Sagaleeri, where a great deal of snow falls in the winter, the inhabitants are obliged to lay up a provision of hay. Among all the Japanese horses that we saw, we did not observe a single white one. but mostly dark brown. We, therefore, asked the Japanese, if there were no white horses in their principal island, and were answered, that they were very rarely met with. They have also large horses in Japan, but the number of them is very smalL The Japanese never shoe their horses, foi they have no occasion to drive over ice, and have no pavement. If they travel during the rainy season in mountainous places, where it is slipper} , they use low pieces of wood of the size and shape of an ox's or horse's hoof. These pieces of wood are laid on the very thick skin of sea-lions, or other marine animal, and then iron nails are driven through the skin, with lai-ge sharp heads, which serve instead of shoes, when the skin is bound ui - der the horses feet. The horned cattle* are small and poor; fortlie * The unwillingness of all sects of the Japanese to eat horneol cattle, seems to proceed from the ceremonies of the oldest religion ; for with the followers of Camis, whoever should eat the flesh of any four-footed animal, except fallow deer, became impure for thirty days; whilst, after eating- birds, the impurity or unclean- ness, only continued for an hour : pheasants, cranes, and sea- fowl, can be eat at all times without impurity. Even killing any PRODUCTIONS. CATTLE AND HEMP. 173 Japanese do not give themselves much trouble about feeding- them, as they use neither meat nor milk. Hemp grows in the northern provinces of Ja- pan; we saw some in Matsmai: I have already mentioned for what purposes the Japanese em- ploy it.* The tree called Kadzy, grows in great abun- animal, or assisting at an execution, or being near a dying- person, or entering into a house where there is a corpse, produces an un- cleanness for that day. So great has been the scarcity of horned cattle, that the Dutch ships, formerly, always brought with them from Batavia, oxen, calves, hogs, goats, sheep and even deer, for their own use, whilst residing at the factory. They were always landed upon a small island where they were kept in stalls, and fed with grass and leaves brou^'ht by Japanese convicts ; or else, (as in winter), with rice and branches of trees. Thunberg says expressly, that the Japanese, in 1775, had neither sheep nor hogs, and very few cows t)r oxen; the latter being extremely small, and only used, (and that but seldom) for the purpose of agriculture: but their flesh, or the milk of the cows, was never used in any shape. Bulls and buffaloes are common, according to the mission- aries; the latter of an enormous size, with a large hump on the back. — Ed. ..vol! ■. i>-i| i; r ..i;-i. ' * They often find a substitute for hemp, even in the thickest kinds of cordage for maritime uses, in the nettles which grow to a considerable size, running wild on the hills. It is the bark of the stem that is used, which produces most excellent cordage, though its threads are often so fine as to be wove into linen. — Ed. 174 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. dance, and is of the most important nse to the in- habitants. The Japanese explained to us what kind of a tree it is; but I never understood them sufficiently to describe it.* The Japanese possess in several parts of the empire considerable gold and silver mines. The government however, does not permit them all to be worked, that the value of these Metals may not be depreciated .f The Japanese use gold and silver for various purposes besides coin: their temples are ornamented with these metals ; people of dis- tinction wear sabres, with gold or silver hilts and scabbards; rich people have gold and silver pipes; many lackered articles, such as table utensils, boxes, screens, &c. are ornamented with gold and silver; there is a kind of gold and silver stuffs ; nay we were told, that in the principal cities, there are numerous public buildings with gilded roofs. In the houses of the princes and great people, there are many ornaments of these metals, and * Described in Page 162. t It is asserted by Charlevoix, that when the Jesuit mission- aries first went to Matsmai, they found a river flowing past the walls of the city, in whose sands there was a great portion of gold dust, the searching for which was a great source of wealth to num- berless adventurers, who hired certain portions of the river, each drainino' his portion by means of a dyke and canal, permitting the river to resume its natural course when the search was over. — Ed. PRODUCTIONS. LEAD ; TIN ; &C. 175 the ladies frequently wear gold . and silver trinkets. Japan has sufficient lead, tin, quicksilver and sulphur for the supply of its wants.* They cast not only musket bullets, but even cannon balls of tin, because they have had no wars for these two hundred years; if it was with them as in F.urope, this luxury would soon cease. As for sulphur, they have an island, which is entirely covered with it, and which, on account of the hot * A trade in sulphur might also be very advantageous, as there are several natural souffrieres, the produce of which is very great, especially in the island Ivogesima, or Sulphur-island, besides other places ; so that the Jesuit writers consider sulphur as one of the greatest sources of wealth in Japan. Gold is also found in many parts of the empire ; dug up in ore, or smelted ; or found in sand, sometimes in copper. Much gold dust is met with in Sado, one of the northern provinces. In the gulf of Okus, a mountain had for many years leaned on one side, and suddenly fell into the sea. On digging into its base, much pure gold was found, which led them also to examine what had fallen, and by means of divers, a considerable quantity of gold was brought up, until an earthquake covered the mine with mire and clay, to a depth of many feet, rendering further research impracticable. Silver is also produced, so rich, that the Chinese have been in the habit of exchanging gold for it, weight for weight. Be- sides these, there is a factitious metal, of copper mixed with a small portion of gold, resembhng gold itself in colour and beauty, when well managed. The Japanese have long been in the secret of working it with superior elegance to other nations. — Ed. 176 KECOLLECTIOMS OF JAPAN. springs, is covered with a constant vapour. This island is one of the seven wonders of the Japanese empire, all of which they named to us.* Having thus spoken of those productions of Japan, which supply the chief wants of this en- lightened people, I proceed to those which admi- nister lather to fashion or luxury, or are at least less necessary; they are the following: Diamonds and pearls, marble and other kinds of stone,']' the camphor tree, the varnish tree, fruit trees, garden plants, various wild plants, domestic and wild animals, which are used by the Japanese. Japan produces precious stones, but of what * In the first part of my work, I mentioned, that I always wrote down my remarks on small slips of paper, which I care- fully preserved, for fear the Japanese should take away our papers. Unfortunately, 1 have lost several of those slips, and among them, that on which I had written down the seven won- ders. I remember only three : — 1st. The abovemeationed island ; 2nd. There is, somewhere, a mountain, on which flames are seen during the night, without any body's being able to assign the cause ; 3rd. A deep well, formed by nature, in which, when a small pebble is thrown down it, a dreadful noise is heard. t Some very fine agates are found nearly equal to sapphires ; also cornelians and jaspers. Pearls are found in great plenty ; but, not being considered as ornamental by the Japanese ladies, have long been reserved for the Chinese market.— -Ed. productions; pearls, marbles. 177 kinds we were not able to learn. The officers who had seen the snuff-box, and other things, which the Japatiese Kodai had received from the late Empress Catherine 11, and had brought with him to Japan, said, that there were such stones in Japan, as those things were ornamented with, but that the Japanese artists did not understand how to give them so beautiful a polish. Japan is rich in pearls, but we did not see any remarkably large. There ape various kinds of marble in Japan. They shewed us various articles made of white marble with small blue veins, and of another kind of marble, like that with which Isaac's church, at St.. Petersburg, is built. They also shewed us seals, made of cornelian, agate, jasper, and other stones, with which I am ujiacquainted. On the coasts of the principalities of Nambu and Tzyn- garu, there are found stones of different colours, and of the size of a nut, which are so washed bv the waves, that they seem almost transparent, like crystal. The Japanese gave me twelve red and twelve white stones of this kind, to use at drafts, but the sailor, whom I ordered to take them with him, lost them. Many Japanese carry perfumes about them, among which is camphor. They told us, that in the southern part of Japan, the tret which pro- duces it grows in such abundance, that notwith- N 178 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. standing- the great consumption of it in the coun- try, large quantities are exported by the Dutch and Chinese. Inhere is also an imitation of cam- phor, in Japan, ijut every body can distinguish it from the genuine.* The Japanese varnish is celebrated even 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 ; ill their houses, the walls and screens, and in short every trifle, that they wish to ornament.* We had the pleasure to see a masterpiece in var- nishing It was a bottle-case belonging to the governor, who sent it for us to look at. The po- lish on it was so beautiful, that we could see our * The kus, or camphor-lree, is of the laurel kind, with black and purple veins. Koempfer says, that the Japanese cam- phor is made by a simple decoction of the wood and roots, but bears no proportion in value to that of Borneo. — Ed. t The real Japan varnish is made from a tree called Silz, yielding a whitish juice, whose application to articles of domestic use, even at court, is considered more valuable than silver or gold. Its preparation is very simple, being merely drawn from the tree, strained through paper, and then tinted with various colouring substances, as may be required. Their varnish has always been considered much superior to that of China, or Tonquin, and the Japanese apply it in a man- ner peculiar to themselves. — Ed. productions; varnish, fruiits. 179 faces in it as in a mirror. The natural colour of this juice is white, but it assumes any colour by being- mixed with it. The best varnish in Japan is usually black, or red, and ahnost 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 poi- sonous, and very injurious to those who collect it, for which reason they employ various precautions; but after it has stood for some time in the open air, it loses its poisonous quality. The varnished utensils may be used without danger. The Ja- panese are so clever in varnishing, that you may pour hot water into a vessel, and drink it, with- out perceiving the slightest smell of the paint. This however, is true only with respect to vessels of the best workmanship ; in others, you smell the paint, even if warm water is poured into them. The Japanese have no want of fruit trees.* They have oranges, lemons, peaches, apricots, * They have a curious mode of preserving their fruit by cutting it, if large, into slices, and drying it, or working it up with yeast, from the sakki, or rice beer. The acid of the yeast penetrates into the fruit, and not only preserves it, but gives a peculiar flavour, of which the Japanese are very fond. Cucum- bers are also preserved in the same mannei-, and sent to market itt firkins. — Ed. 180 RECOLLECTIONS ^"f JAPAN. plumbs, figs, cherries, pears, apples,* chesnuts. &c. It is strange, that with a climate like that of Japan, no grapes should flourish there. The Japanese have only small wild grapes, which are very sour, and are salted and eaten as salad. |" The reason perhaps is, that they grow in the woods, under the shade of the trees, and that the Japanese do not understand the culture of the vine. Next to rice and fish, vegetables are the fa- vourite food of the Japanese. They have melons, water-melons, gourds, cucumbers, turnips, carrots, mustard, &c. We could not learn whether they had any cabbages. :|: We frequently f^xplained to * I have read, in an European work upon Japan, that there are no apples there. But we, ourselves, eat apples which came from the principality of Tzyngaru. They were indeed small and ill tasted t Yet the early missionaries, particularly Father de Angelis, assert, that wine was very common in Jesso, and the vicinity of Matsmai, in 1620; adding, that every body drank it in great quantities, without being intoxicated, in consequence of their seasoning their food with the oil of a fish called Todonoevo. Perhaps the holy father was a relative of the renowned Mendez Pinto, who had preceded him. — Ed. X Round Nangasaky many species of European vegetables are now cultivated. They have the red beet, carrots, fennel, dill^ anise, parsly, asparagus, leeks, onions, turnips, black radishes, lettuces, succory, endive, &c. But it is curious, that even there, Thunberg does not enumerate cabbages. PRODUCTIONS; VEGETAELJEB. 181 them what kind of a plant it was, and even made them a drawing of one, but they always said, that they had nothing like it growing in Japan. Ex- cept melons and water-melons, the Japanese eat no vegetables raw, and were much surprised, when they saw us eat raw cucumbers, with salt and vinegar. They mix their mustard with vine- gar and eat it with fish. They have also large quantities of red, or cayenne pepper, and poppies. They eat the pepper raw, with various dishes, or boil it in sugar, and use it as a preserve. They mix the poppy with sugar or treacle, and eat it with a paste made of pounded rice. They use poppy-oil to fry fish in, and in the dressing of various dishes. Among the vegetable productions used by the Japanese for food, are sugar-cane, black and red currants, bird cherry, (Prunus Padus Linn,) various herbs, fungi, sea-cabbage, and the Ijerries of wild-roses, or hips, which grow in abundance in the northern provinces of Japan. The Japanese use the latter as a medicine against wind, and eat them raw. The want of cabbages appears to be supplied, at least in the southern districts, by the Brassica Orientalis, or East In- dian kali, planted early in the spring, and enlivening the land- scape with its yellow flowers. Much of this is allowed to run to seed, and expressed for the purpose of burning in their lamps. — Ed. 182 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. The sugar-cane is rare in Japan, and the sugar which it yields is black, and not very sweet ; the want of land, which serves for the cultivation of more necessary plants, probably hinders the Japanese from cultivating this cane, which is merely an article of luxury.* The Japanese salt the currants and bin I cher- ries, and eat them instead of salad ; of the herbs poor people make soup, and also eat them salted : pickled mushrooms are considered as a great delicacy ; they are boiled in soups, salted, or laid in vinegar. With respect to the sea-cabbage,-f this plant, which is disregarded almost every where else, not only gives food to millions of people in Japan, but it is also an article of commerce. X The Japanese dry it, and then use it in soup ; or wrapping it * Sugar, in a soft state, generally forms part of the im- ports by the Dutch ships.— Ed. t In Ireland the sea-cabbage is used for manuring the land, and is therefore, highly esteemed. During my stay there, the owner of an estate quarrelled with his neighbour, because the latter had collected sea cabbage on his coast, and threatened to shoot him, as a robber, if he caught him at it again. X Johnson, in his Hebridian tour, alludes to the increased value of rocky reefs and islets, from the manufacture of the kelp from this, and all other kinds of sea wrack.— Ed. productions; domestic animals. 183 round fish, boil and eat both together. Often they broil it over the fire, strew salt on it and eat it without any farther dressing. This cabbage serves chiefly poor people for their support ; but the rich frequently eat them dressed in a different naanner, and even the Emperor's kitchen is fur- nished with it.* The domestic animals of the Japanese, besides horses and oxen which I have mentioned before, are swine, dogs and cats. The first are used as food by those sects that are permitted to eat meat. The dogs are employed in the chase and to guard the houses, and the cats perform the same services as in Europe, though a writer upon Japan says, * This seems to be the same species of fucus, or sea-weed, which, when dried for eating, in Scotland and the north of Ireland, \s caWed clhulish ; but when boiled, is known by the name of sloak, with which Thunberg's description agrees exactly ; for he says, that when dried and cleansed from sand, salt, and other impurities, it is used by the Japanese on several occasions. Tough as it may appear to be, yet it is eaten occasionally, and particularly, when they meet together to make merry, and drink sakki ; a statement perfectly in consonance with the Scot- tish dhulish. He also states it be cut into pieces and boiled, when it grows much thicker than before, and is Eiixed with other food. On some parts of the coast of Niphon, they gather a spe- cies of ulva, or sea-weed ; this they diy and roast over the coals, rubbing it down afterwards to a very fine powder, which they eat with boiled rice, and with soup. — Ed. 184 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN'. that the Japanese cats do not catch mice;^ This is however false; were it not, Nature must deviate in Japan from her own laws. Besides experience has convinced us of the contrary. A Japanese he- cat, that we had, understood his business perfectly, and was not inferior to any of his European bre- thren. I must observe besides, that he often amu- sed us in prison by his tricks, and was our favou- rite, and therefore was never in want of food ; yet instinct made him catch the rats and mice. If Eu- ropean writers have so often denied to Japanese animals, the qualities with which Nature has en- dowed them, can we wonder that they painted the Japanese in such false colours } * Charlevoix states, that neither greyhounds nor spaniels are to be met with in Japan; whence those islanders have few sports of the field : but when they do indulge in that amusement, they make use of common dogs, of which the number was then very great, owing to the whimsical circwmstance, of the Emperor Tsi- nigog, about the middle of the 17th century, being born under the constellation which they call " the Dog." They were per- mitted to increase to an insufferable extent ; the inhabitants being forced to maintain a dog kennel in every street. The Japanese cats have been described as of extraordinary beauty; their colour whitish, with large black and yellow spots ; their tails short. It certainly is asserted, that these cats will not molest a mouse, and are kept only for amusement. They are very fond of being caressed and carried; and the ladies treat them like lap dogs. — Ed. PRODUCTIONS; DOMESTIC POULTRY. 185 Chickens and ducks are the only domestic fowl that the Japanese use (though but seldom), as food. Thoutrhitis permitted in some sects, yetfrom attachment to these animals they do not like to kill them. If one of us was ill, and the Japanese wished to make him some chicken broth, as they had heard that it was usually given to the sick in Europe, they had great difficulty in finding any body who would sell them a fowl, though they offered a high price for one.* The Japanese are fond of eggs ; they boil them hard, and eat them at the dessert like fruit, fre- quently with oranges, For us, they boiled them in soup w ith vegetables. For people of distinction, fowls are kept in rooms,]* where they lay their eggs, and are fed with rice. The great people would not eat the eggs of fowls that run about at their will and pick up what they can find. Many keep also swans, geese and turkeys, but mere- ly for pleasure, as we do peacocks, which they also have. * So much of the Pythagorean doctrine exists here, that when any person is at the point of death, upon the days conse- crated to the deceased, it is forbidden to his relations, to kill any bird whatever. In the monasteries cocks are held sacred; frona their being considered as moruing alarums. — Ed. t Amon^ their fowls they have also the guinea fowl. 186 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAiV. Of wild Quadrupeds, the Japanese use for some purposes the following-: * wild boars, bears, deer, hares and wild goats. Those sects, which are allowed to eat meat, use them for food ; and in the northern parts of Japan, v/here the winters are very cold, the poor people use bears skins as quilts. The rich have travelling bags or cases made of these skins to put over things which they desire to protect against bad weather, such as trunks with clothes, bottle-cases and the like. The gall of the bear is made bv them into a solid mass, and used as a strengthening medicine, for weakness in thestomach, and other disorders.-j* It is highly valued by the Japanese for its medici- nal virtue, and paid for at a high price. They affirm, that the gall of those bears which are killed in the island of Niphon, is far more efficacious, than that of the bears of Matsmai, which latter are therefore * We are told by the early writers, that there have never been asses, mules, camels nor elephants in Japan. As for savage beasts, they can find no shelter in a country so well cultivated. Sheep and goats were carried there by the Portuguese, which multiplied exceedingly ; but these have been suffered by the Japa- nese to run wild, because they dare not eat their flesh, and know not how to manufacture the wool or hair. — Ed. t In the province of Figon, there are fine hogs, first imported by the Chinese. These they breed, not for use, but to sell to. the Chinese and Dutch. — Ed. productions; wild animals, &c. J 87 less esteemed. The hunters often practice great frauds in the sale of the bear's gall. When they are on the chace they kill all the animals that come in their way, and take out the gall ; if they have the good fortune to kill a bear, they carry him home as publicly as possible, in order to attract at- tention, and as the Japanese miss no opportunity of purchasing the valuable medicine, all who meet the hiint(?rs, ask if they have already sold the bear'n gall ? The huntsman then gives them the gall of some other animal, and if the purchaser is not a judge, he is defrauded. In this manner they will sell the gdll of a bear many times over. Many of the Japanese however, are able to distinguish by the taste, not only the gall of any animal from that of a bear, but even the gall of the bear of Niphon, from that of those of Matsmai. Our interpreter Kumaddschero, was such a judge. The method of using this remedy is very simple, they bite off little pieces and swallow them. Of deer-skins the Japanese manufacture a kind of thick and fine shamois leather. or useful insects the Japanese have silk- worms and bees. The honey which the latter produce is employed only in medicine, and the wax used only by apothecaries, for plaisters.* * They have besides, bees, wasps, common flies, bugs, fire flies, beetles] grasshoppers, and similar insects, in equal proper- 188 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. In the third and last division of the produc- tions of Japan, I reckon those fronn which the inhabitants derive little or no advantage. Among them I may mention coals, which are in abundance in Japan, but not used. Raspberries, wild and garden strawberries, which we esteem so highly in Europe, are not eaten by the Japanese : they consider them as un- tion with any part of Europe. But of the more remarkable kinds there is the mountain butterfly, either quite black or of thfr most beautiful variety of colours ; also the Romuri, a large night fly, extremely handsome ; with beetles that shine like a glow- worm. Of these there is one species whose hum, it is said by the Japanese, can be heard at the distance of a mile — perhaps it may be seen as far off! There are two other species which make nearly as much noise ; but, perhaps, the most curious fact is, that the females of the three species are dumb ! There is another night fly, but extremely rare, about as long as a finger, with four wings; two of which are transparent, and the others of a shining brightness, embellished with spots and streaks of such exquisite brilliancy, that the ladies actually wear them along with their jewels. When butterflies were first introduced here by the Chinese, in their insect state, and as a medicine of cordial virtues, the Japanese were quite astonished ; describing them, to Thunberg, as a crawling insect in summer, but a plant in winter; being then in its chrysalis state, and found adhering to the roots of plants. They were not aware of its subsequent change. Amongst the insects the most destructive is the white ant, so common throughout the east. They are called, in Japan, by a name which signifies the " Piercer;" as they will find their way productions; wild animals, &c. 189 wholesome. These fruits, however, are really not at all pleasant in Japan; they are, indeed, as large as ours, and of a dark red colour, but they are not sweet, are very waterv, and almost without smell. In ^'•eneral the Japanese eat no berries that grow on herbs. The following wild quadrupeds are found in Japan :* bears, panthers, leopards, wolves, wild through any substance except stone or metal. Their habits are like those of the European ants ; but they are much more des- tructive. The Japanese are of opinion that the scattering of salt will drive them away; but the red ant is their most inveterate enemy. The Centipede is also found here ; but its bite is by no means so inflammatory as in warmer climates. Serpents are not numerous; but there is a green one, with a flat head and sharp teeth, whose bite is so deadly that the Japa- nese believe whoever is bitten during the day, must infallibly die before sunset. The soldiers hunt them for the sake of their flesh; to eat which, they suppose, will make a man valiant. — Ed. * Charlevoix enumerates deer, hares, wild boars, asses, tears, wild dogs, foxes, rats and mice. In one island there is a species of deer extremely tame and gentle ; which are forbidden, by the laws, to be either killed or hunted. Should one be found dead near any house, the owner would be obliged to pay a heavy fine, or forced to labour for a certain number of days, for the temples or the public service. Consequently the people are very anxious to bury them whenever they find them dead in the vici- nity of their villages or houses. There is another animal called Ihe Tanuki, of a very singular appearance: his colour dark 190 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAiV. dogs, and foxes. Many superstitious Japanese as- cribe to the last the power of the devil. In the southern and middle provinces of the empire, there are monkeys of a small race ; in the island of Matsmai, sables, but their fur is reddish, and therefore does not bear a high price. Elephants, tigers, lions, camels, apes, greyhounds, pointers, setting-dogs, and other species of dogs, are known to the Japanese only from drawings. There are numerous kinds of birds of prey in Japan ;* such as eagles, falcons, hawks, kites, brown, with a muzzle like that of a fox ; he is not very large, and is supposed to be a species of wolf. There is also a small animal, the Itutz, of a reddish hue, so familiar as almost to domesticate itself, making- its nest in the roofs of the houses. — Ed. * When the Jesuits wrote, the wild birds were so familiar that many kinds might be considered as nearly domesticated. The crane was protected by special edict ; and no person could kill one without the emperor's licence expressly for that purpose, even though it might be for the diversion of that prince himself. In fact, cranes and tortoises are considered as animals of good augury. Their figures are painted on the walls of the royaJ apartments and of the temples ; and such is the respect in which the former are held by the lower classes, that they are neve! spoken of without an honourable prefix to their name, tanta- mount to " His worship the Crane!" Herons are white, grey, and bluish. Wild geese are of two sorts, which never intermix : one white as snow, the other of an ashey grey. It is death to kill them without a licence. One species of the duck is so very beautiful that many per- productions; birds. 191 &c. Of wild fowl, the sects tliat may eat meat use geese and ducks for food. Swans and cranes are held sacred, and nobody dares to kill them. Of singin<>- birds, such as vve also have, we saw in cages, starlirigs, bull-finches, and green-finches ; but no others. The Japanese are fond of singing birds in their houses, and there are shops that deal in them. sons, who have seen paintings of it, have believed them to be coloured from fancy. The plumage is formed of various shades of the most brilliant colours; the vermillion predominating in the neck and breast : the tail and wings have a most curious arrange- ment ; and its step is peculiarly majestic. The pheasants are extremely beautiful, with very long tails, formed of the most exquisite colours. Snipes are very common: in fact, the snipe and the mullet are found in all parts of the world. The wild pigeons have a black and blue plumage. They are not peiinitted to make their nests in the houses, on account of the very inflammable nature of their excrement, from the quantity of saltpetre contained in it. The storks remain all the year in Japan. The best falcons are brought from the northern provinces ; and are kept rather for shew than service. Sparrow- hawks are very common, and of extraordinary fierceness. Crows have increased amazingly, from two that were brought from China as a present to one of the earlier emperors. There is a nocturnal bird, called Token, of most «;xquisite flavour, only served up on the tables of the great, and upon extraordinary occasions. It might be of use if imported into this country, as its ashes are said to be very efficacious in restoring sour beer. Amongst other wild birds there is a beautiful species of white herons, so numerous and fo tame as to follow, or rather to accompany, the peasants whilst at work with their hoes, in 192 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. More common birds, such as cuckoos, ravens, crows, sparrows, &c. are as numerous in the north of Japan and Matsmai as with us. Parrots and canary birds are not met with in Japan : on the coasts there is abundance of sea~fowl,* such as albatrosses, cormorants, various species of gulls, Greenland pigeons, &c. This is all that 1 am able to say of the natural productions of Japan. In speaking of the manufactures of this em- order to feast upon the worms. In this useful occupation they are encouraged ; and protected by the wholesome superstitions of the people. In the south-west district of Japan, there are immense numbers of pelicans, which, with wild ducks, &c. build their nests in the pine trees. — Ed, * Amongst these we may enumerate the Bisago, carnivorous, and resembling the sparrow-hawk. It lives principally uponi fish ; and selects holes in the rocks where it deposits its prey. It is in great demand, and sells very dear. Sea mews, sea crows, sea pies, sparrows, swallows, and other small birds, are as com- mon as in Europe. The Japanese larks have a finer song thaw ours ; and the nightingales are in great demand. Shooting does not seem to be a very favorite amusement m those districts which Thunberg visited; hs he declares that whilst sailing amongst the islands, particularly in fine weather, several species of wild ducks, particularly those called the Chi- nese Teal, were assembled on the surface of the sea, in such numbers that at a distance they seemed like islands, from whence they are never scared away by the gun.— Ed. MANUFACTURES OF SILK, STEEL, &C, 193 pi re, those of silk, steel, porcelain, and lackered goods, must have the tirst place.* i T-ihe silk manufactories are important, not only on account of the quantity but also the good quality of the articles which they furnish. The Japanese make several kinds of stuffs and costly ar- ticles, which are not at all inferior to thoseof China. With respect to steel manufactures, the Ja- panese sabres and daggers surpass all others in the worlcJ, those of Damascus perhaps excepted. They bear extiaordinary trials. The Japanese are ex- tremely skilful in polishing steel, and all other metals: they make metal mirrors, which are scarce- * All the mechanic arts are said, by the earliest writers, to be much cultivated : yet it is strange that the Japanese are con- sidered as totally without invention, deriving dll their knowledge from China ; though it must be confessed that they have brought many of the Chinese arts to very high perfection. Nothing- comes out of their hands but with the highest finish. In gilding, chasing, and engraving, they were considered incomparable, a century ago. Their silks and paper were much superior to Chinese manufacture. Their porcelain was of the finest kind ; and the temper of their steel was such that nothing could resist the cut of their sabres. The greatest number, and at the same time the best of the workmen, as well as manufacturers and artists, together with the most capital merchants, are all established at Meaco, the capital of the Spiritual Emperor. There are to be purchased tlie finest velvets and silks, wove with gold and silver, besides wrought metals and manufactures in gold, silver and copper. Their cloths^ and likewise their best weapons are to be had only at Meaco. — Ed. o 194 llECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN ly inferior to looking-glasses. We often saw car- penter's and cabinet-maker's tools, made in Japan, which might almost be compared with the English : their saws are so good, that the thinnest boards may be sawn out of the hardest wood. That the Japanese lackered goods surpass those of other nations is notorious. The Japanese porcelain is far superior to the Chinese ; but it is dearer, and manufactured in such small quantities, that it is insufficient for the consumption of Japan itself; so that a great deal of porcelain is imported from China. The Ja- panese have also a more ordinary porcelain and earthen-ware, but they are both coarse and clumsy: it is only on the best porcelain that they employ much time and labour. The cotton manufactories must be extremely numerous, from the universal use of cotton stuffs ; but the Japanese want either skill or inclination to manufacture good articles out of cotton. At least we never saw any thing particular of this kind. When they saw our East-fndia pocket handker- chiefs, and muslin neck-cloths, they would not be- lieve that they were made of cotton.* * There is an amusing little tradition, amongst the Japa- nese, (mentioned also by our author, in Chapter the second,) respecting the first introduction of the fine, and indeed the useful arts, into their country, from China, They believe that a Chi- nese Emperor, about two centuries before the Christian Era, FINE ARTS, SINGULAR TKADinON. 195 In the working of metals the Japanese are <^xtremely skilful, particularly in the manufacture of copper utensils. The Japanese understand the art of casting- metal statues ; they also carve them in stone and wood; but, to judge by the idols which we saw in the temples at Matsmai, tliese arts are very imper- fect among them. In these, as well as in painting, engraving, and printing,* they are far behind even thinking- the life of man too short, became anxious to procure some specific against death ; and, for that purpose, sent literary missions into every country with which he was acquainted. These researches, of course, were in vain; but one of his SavanSy anxious to escape from his tyranny, conceived a plan, and founded it upon this circumstance. Kis first measure was to inform the Emperor that he knew, to a certainty, the grand desideratum was only to be found in Japan j but that it was a plant of such a delicate nature, and of such a tender organiza- tion, that, unless it should be culled by the purest hands, and vnth the greatest precaution, it would lose all its virtues before it could be brought to China. He therefore proposed that three hundred virtuous youths, and as many virgins, should be selected for their beauty and sound constitutions ; adding, that he him- self would lead them to the spot. This was readily agreed to by the Emperor, The wiseman sailed with tho little colony of his friends, and settled in Japan ; and the Japanese now record on their annals that from this adventure their ancestors acquiied a knowledge of literary cultivation, of the arts and useful sciences. — Ed. ♦ Their taste in painting is very singular ; but they may be said to excel in it. Their penciling is very delicate ; but it seems o2 V,)6 KCOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. those Europeans among whom these arts are still in their infancy. In carving, they are tolerably skilled ; and their gold, silver, and copper coins are well executed.* They follow various trades with success. They have great distilleries, in which they distil, from rice, their brandy, called Sotschio, and their wine, Sagi : also tobvicco ma- nufactories, iron-works, &c. Thousands are em- ployed in the manufacture of straw-shoes, hats, and mats. The manufactories are spread over the whole kingdom, but the principal are in the cities of Kio, Yeddo, and Osaga. 7'he Japanese pursue, with equal diligence, various other species of employment, particularly the fishery. They catch animals of various kinds in traps, but they shoot still more ; they use dogs merely to trace them. They take birds in nets, as _ . __ — , — ^ ' ■ — ■ '*"- • — S-» ..^l I ■-^— ■ ■ . .^» ■■ , that they pay very little attention to portrait painting, confiniug themselves generally to birds, flowers, and the like. They paint always upon paper; some sheets of which have been sold for four thousand crowns of gold. These must cf-.rtainly have been much superior to any specimens of their art that have ever found their way to Europe ; and, indeed, they are said to be preserved in the cabinets of the rich with the most jealous scrupu- losity, — EfO. * The copper used in coinage, so celebrated as Japan copper, after being roasted and smelted at various smelting houses, is always refined and manufactured at Meaco; where also all the coin is struck and stamped. — Ed. BEGGARS AND JUGGLERS, STRANGE CUSTOMS. 197 well as by shooting them. A particular method is employed to catch small birds : they make of tar, or the sap of a tree, a thick and clammy paste, with which they smear the trunks of fallen trees, and strew rice around. The rice tempts the birds, which stick to the trees, and are caught in flocks. Before I finish my account of the industry of the Japanese, I must observe, that there are among them, as among all nations, idle people, who ramble about the streets and public houses, and seek their livelihood by juggler's tricks, and begging.* The following method, by which idle people, especially women, gain money, deserves particular mentiou. J hey catch a number of snakes, of different sizes and colours, from which they extract the sting so skilfully, that they cannot do any mischief. Then they strip themselves quite naked, cover merely the parts which decency teaches even savages to conceal, and wind snakes round their arms, legs, and their whole body. In this manner they make themselves a motley covering of the open, hissing serpent's heads ; and in this dreadful and brilliant costume, thev ramble about the streets, sing, dance, and play all manner of anticks, to obtain a reward, or rather charity. * Juggling and necromancy are so much in vogue in Japan that one class of their bonzes, or monk<>, openly profess to prac- tice the magic art. — Ed, 198 llECOLLIiCTIONS OF JAPAN. Japan may certainly be called a commercial state, if an extensive national trade, alone, gives a claim to this title.* All the principalities, and provinces of this populous Empire have a com- mercial intercourse with each other. The extraor- dinary diversity of climate produces, in the different provinces, a great variety of articles which all mu- tually want. Necessity, the industry and activity of the people give them means to make use of the productions of nature and art ; so that the inhabi- * Their internal commerce must feel a severe check from the want of wheel carriages ; the only ones seen by Thunberg, were between Osaka and Meaco. These were long" and narrow, built like carts, and running on three wheels, two behind and one forwards, in many instances, the wheels consisted of an entire piece of wood sawed off a log ; with a cord, or other substitute for a tire hoop, put round the felly, to guard against the wheel being worn by friction. Sometimes, indeed, these wheels were made with staves and spokes, bearing a faint resemblance to an European wheel, yet still unmounted with iron, and extremely lia- ble to be broken. Some of these carts, which were drawn by oxen, had only two wheels ; but the whole of them were so destruc- tive to the roads, that they were only permitted to drive on one side of the high way, whence it became necessary to adopt a whim- sical regulation, that all carts leaving the city should depart in the morning, and that none should be permitted to approach the city until the evening. The whole of this detail manifests that stagnation of improve- ment, and the check to advancement in civilization, which the Japanese system produces. — Eo. COMMERCE, NAVIGATION. 199 tants of the whole empire carry on a commercial intercourse with each other, both by land and wa- ter. The latter is the most common. The sea along the coasts, and the navigable rivers, are co- vered with thousands of vessels, which convey goods to all parts of the empire. Though theii- navigation is wholly confined to the coasts, and their vessels quite unfit for long voyages, particularly in great seas, they however are well adapted to their purposes. Many of them are above 100 feet long, and uncommonly broad. The largest Japanese ships can carry a burthen of from 16, to 20,000 poods * * Thunberg describes one of their largest vessels, in which he performed a voyage, coastwise, of one hundred leagues, as ninety feet in length, and above twenty-four in breadth, very square at the stern, with a large and wide opening there, for the rudder, which can easily be unshipped. He adds, that agreeably to the stictest orders, all vessels must be in this form, with a view to prevent the people from going to sea in them, and quitting the country. They are frequently built of fir or cedar, and by no means so strong as European vessels. The keel has a turn, up- wards, fore and aft : they have only one mast; and in a calm they are rowed; the cabins project beyond the sides of the vessel. The mast may be lowered like those of our own river barges; and is always down when in port, the sail forming an awning for the people. One of their vessels, of one hundred tons burthen, was seen by Peyrouse, who describes her as having about twenty men on board, 200 RECOLLECTIOINS OF JAPAX. The Japanese have many useful regulations and institutions for the safety of navigation; such as pilots in every port, to conduct the ships in and out, and to foretel the weather according to cer- tain signs, in order to advise the captains either to sail, or to wait ; in dangerous places, people are employed to keep up fires ; upon eminences, marks are set up for the direction of mariners, &c. For dressed in blue cassocks like those worn by catholic priests. She had one very lofty mast, exactly in the centre, and which appeared to consist of several small poles, kept together by brass hoops and numerous wootrin^s. Her main sail was of cloth, the edges of the breadths not sewed, or seamed, but laced. The sail was very large for her size; and two jibs with a sprit-sail, completed her canvas. A small gallery or gangway, about three feet wide, pro- jected over her sides from stem to stern ; and at her head she had outriggers painted green. She had a boat, stowed athwart ships forward, seven or eight feet longer than the breadth of the vessel. Her shape and sheer were very ugly ; flat poop with two little windows; very little carving; and bearing scarcely any resem- blance to Chinese vessels, except in the mode of securing the rud- der by ropes. Her projecting gangways were not more than two or three feet above the water line ; and even the boat, as Peyrouse supposed, must dip when she came to roll in a heavy sea. That unfortunate navigator adds, that every thing he saw in the appear- ance of this vessel made him believe that she was not intended to go any distance from the land, and that she would find any thing of a rough sea extremely hazardous; but, he conjectured that the Japanese must have vessels fitter for the sea during the winter. He also slates, that he passed so near to her as to be able clearly to 8ee the countenances of the people, which expressed neither fear INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS AND TRADE. 201 the convevance of ooods, bv land, where it canuot be made by water, good roads and bridges are constructed; Matsmai is merely a Japanese colony ; yet, notwithstanding the high mountains and pre- cipices, the rapid torrents, and the rudeness of the climate, the roads are in an admirably good condition. In the open country, far from the towns, we saw bridges,* such as I did not meet nor astonishment; and they never changed their course, until within pistol shot of his consort, when they yawed in order to give her a clear birth. This vessel had a small white flag on which were some words written vertically ; and her name was painted upon a kind of weather board, close to the ensign staflf. It is a certain fact, however, that formerly the Japanese navi- gation was more extensive ; for in 1604, when Sir Edw. Michel- burne, and John Davis, two English captains, were amongst the islands to the N.E. of Java, they fell in with a Japanese junk, which had been " pyvating along the coast of China, and Camboia." There are some curious particulars about them in Purchas' Pil- grims, vol. I, p. 138. — Ed. * Thunberg describes the bridges, in the southern district, as being built in a magnificent style, and furnished with ballus- trades. The largest in the empire is at Mickawa, built of wood, and cost near 100,000/. Where there are no bridges, fords are always pointed out, with pi-oper guvdes for passing them. Though some of these are dangerous, yet few accidents occur, which Koempfer attributes to the precautionary regulation of making the guides answerable for the lives of those whom they undertake to conduct across. — Ed. 202 ICECOLLECriONS OF japanT with ill many European states, and in provincial towns. The commercial spirit of the Japanese is visi- ble in all the towns and villages. In almost every honse there is a shop, for more or less important goods ; and, as we see in England the magnificent magazine of a jeweller, next door to an oyster shop, so we see here a rich silk merchant and s mender of straw shoes,^ live and carry on their bn- •^iness close to each other. In their regard to or- der, the Japanese very much resemble the English ; they love cleanliness and the greatest accuracy. All goods have in Japan, as in England, little print- ed bills, on which are noted the price, the use, and the name of the article, the name of the maker, or manufactory, and often something in their praise. Even tobacco, pomatum, tooth-powder and other trifles, are wrapped up in papers, on which a notice of the quality and the price is printed. In packing up goods, they observe the same order as in Europe. Rice and other grain they pack in sacks made of straw. They have no casks for liquids; but keep them, as Sotschio, Sagi, Soja, &c. in tubs which hold three or four pail-fulls. These tubs have only wooden hoops, and are broader above than below ; in the top board there is a small hole, generally square. The best kind of sagi is kept in large earthen jars, stuffs of all kinds, tea, &c. are packed up h< CUST03I-H0USES; SMUGGLING REGULATIONS. 203 chests. Silk goods are laid in pieces, in separate chests which are made of very thin boards, and have an inscription indicating- the article, the name of the maker, the measure and the (|uality. In every port there is a bureau, or custom house,* which has the superintendence of the loading and unloading of goods, takes care that nothing is privately imported or exported, levies the duty, and has also other functions. The duty, for almost all goods imported, is paid by the mer- * Thunberg says, in 1775, that there were no custom-houses - either in the interior, or on the coasts, nor were customs de- manded either from strangers or natives, on import or export; but the search, which he describes as taking place, in order to guard against the introduction of prohibited goods, was so strict as to be always extremely troublesome and inconvenient, and often most absurdly whimsical. Beds were ripped open ; butter tubs and sweet-meat jars probed with iron spikes; holes cut in cheeses, which were also pierced with wires ; and even a certain number of eggs broken! A Dutch seaman once endeavoured to carry a par- rot on shore in his trowsers; but the bird, talking, was discovered ! The officers of the Dutch ships had long carried on a lucra- tive smuggling system, through the personal exertions of the cap- tain alone, as he always made it a practice to go on shore with an immense coat, and also large inexpressibles stuffed out with prohibited goods, to such an extent, that he was sometimes un- able to walk without assistance. This farce was always com- menced on first making the coast, by the captain putting on his smuggling dress stuffed with cushions, in order to avoid suspicion ; but this was discovered, and put a stop to, when Thunberg vi- sited Japan. — Ed. 204 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. chants into the coffer of the Emperor, or of the i*rinces, according as the port is in the dominions of the Emperor, or of one of the Princes. The superintendence of the ships, in the port, is con- fided to an officer, whose functions nearly corres- pond with those of our harbour-masters ; in Japan, they are also superintendents of the pilots. Before we were released from Japan, we lived at Chako- dade, in the house of a harbour-master, and saw that a great many seamen and other persons, came to him every morning, whence we could conclude, that his post was not inconsiderable. For the advantage of the merchants, and to facilitate trade, the government publishes a kind of commercial gazette, which contains an account of the prices of goods in the different parts of the empire. In the same manner, the public is informed by little billets of the good crop of rice, and other productions, in all the provinces ; nay, from the time that the corn begins to shoot, till the harvest, the people are informed from time to time of its condition. This attention of the Ja- panese government, to the general and individual interests of its subjects, is highly laudable, and may serve as one reason for us Europeans no longer to look upon the Japanese as barbarians. In order to extend trade over the whole em- pire, and give the merchants more resources and facilities, the Japanese havi? introduced bills of PAPER CURRENCY; COINS. 205 exchange, and promissory notes, such as are met with in the European states, under the protection of the laws.* In one of the southern principali- ties of Japan, there are bank notes, which circu- late as money. There are three kinds of coin in Japan ; gold, silver, and copper. The latter are round, with holes in the middle, by which they are put upon a string, and carried as in a purse. This money is called by the Japanese mon. When they saw our copecs, they compared them with this coin, and found that four Japanese mo?i made one copec. The gold and silver coins are longish, four cornered, andthickerthan an Imperial. The name, value, date of the year, and name of the maker, are stamped on each. As I had no op- portunity of learning either the standard of the metal, or the weight, I cannot compare them with our coin. The greatest trade by land, is carried on in the city of Kio, the residence of the spiritual Em- peror /j* This city does not lie on the sea, but is * Thunberg says, that he never met with any representa- tive or paper money; the only circulating medium being specie, coined and stamped by the government, and the silver coin not being always of the same size, it was customary for the merchants to weigh it upon receipt. — Ed. t No change of life with respect to the spiritual Emperor, 206 RFCOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. very populous, and has manufactories of all kinds ; it is, therefore, visited by merchants from all parts of the empire, who cannot convey their ovi^n goods thither, or bring away what they purchase, except by land. Of all the maritime cities, Yeddo, the residence of the temporal Emperor, and the Osaga, the most beautiful of all the cities, 120 Japanese ri, (or 500 wersts,) southwest of Yeddo, carry on or Dairi, seems to have taken place, when Thunberg visited Meaco, or Kio. His court and palace are within the town, but in a separate quarter from the rest, forming a large town of itself, surrounded by a fosse, and lofty stone wall. There he lives, sur- rounded by his concubines, a great number of attendants, and priests. It is, indeed, to him a prison, for out of it he never passes, and whenever he leaves the palace to walk in the gardens, it is made known to the attendants by certain signals, in order that no unholy or male personage, shall approach his sacred per- son. These pedestrian excursions, within his rules, seem not to be very frequent, as the signal was made but once, during a stay of several days at Meaco by Thunberg and his companions. It is at the court of the Dairi, or spiritual Emperor, settled at Meaco, that the principal encouragement is given to all kinds of literature, indeed the support there afforded, places it in the rank of a royal academy. In consequence of this, Meaco has become the emporium for literature, and all books permitted to be published, are there printed. When captain Saris was here, in 1612, the principal temple he describes as built of free-stone, and as long as from the west end of (old) St. Paul's, in London, to the choir ; being as high arched, and borne upon pillars, as that was. — Ed. restrictions; ancient trade. 207 the greatest trade. There are, besides, in almost every principality that borders on the sea, consi- derable commercial cities. It is well known in Europe, how restricted the trade with foreigners is in Japan. The cause of it is probably the distrust of the Japanese govern- ment in the Europeans, and their bad opinion of them, for which it must be owned that the Euro- peans alone are to blame. Whether the Japanese government judges rightly or not, I leave to others to decide, and will merely observe, that the people of Japan, in general, wish to trade with foreigners, particularly Europeans.* The enlightened Japanese reason as follows : " The people are blind, as far as regards the government of this kingdom, and only know superficially, what most nearly concerns them ; they cannot see two steps before them, and therefore, might easily fall down a precipice, unless they were guided by persons who can see. Thus the Japanese, without considering the bad consequences which might result from an inter- course with foreigners, see only the personal ad- vantage which they might derive from trading with them." * Amongst the prohibited exports are coins, chests, maps, books descriptive of Japan, and all sorts of arms, particularly their scimetavs, which are said to be of a temper that no other (Country can equal. — Ed. 208 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. I Till the attempt of the Europeans to introduce the christian religion into Japan, that empire car- ried on an extensive commerce with all the East.* Japanese ships sailed not only to China and the Indian Islands, but even to the continent of India, vv'hich the Japanese call Tendzigu. But the christian religion, or rather the catholic preachers of it, in- spired the people with such terror, that the Go- vernment, after the extirpation of Christianity two centuries ago, forbade the Japanese, under pain of death, to travel to foreign countries, and did not allow foreigners to come to Japan, except with great precautions, and in small numbers. Japanese ships can now only trade to Corea, and the Likeo (Loo-Choo) Islands, because the inhabitants are * Of the extent of conversion, so much boasted of by the Jesuits, we may form some judgment by a circumstance that took place at Firando, on the arrival of the first English ship there. Captain Saris states in his journal, that leave was given by the general to several women of the better sort to enter the cabin, " where hung a large framed picture of Venus and her son Cupid, somewhat wantonly drawn ; they, taking it for their Lady and her son, fell down and worshipped it, with shows of great de- votion; telling him, in a whisper, (that some of their companions* who were not so, might not hear) that they were christians ; by which they knew them to be Romanists, converted by the Portu- guese Jesuits." ^ It is curious to contrast this with the assertion of Charlevoix, that the astonishing progress of Christianity was such that there were almost as many saints as Japanese converts. — Ed. FOKEIGN TRADE. 209 considered, in some measure, as Japanese subjects, as they pay tribute. Only Corean, Loo-Choo,* and Japanese ships are admitted in Japan, but in small number Of the Europeans only the Dutch have a right to trade with them, but on such hard terms that the Dutch, in Japan, more resemble prisoners * When Charlevoix wrote ia the early part of the past cen- tury, drawing his information from the latest Jesuit missionaries, it appears that the people of Loo-Choo were only permitted to carry on commerce with Japan at one particular port, and only to a certain amount; but then they carried on, with considerable ac- tivity, a contraband trade. The exports from Loo-Choo were silk, stuffs, and other Chinese manufactures, grain, rice, vegetables, fruit, ardent spirits, mother of pearl, and large oyster-shells, similar to those in different parts of Lidia, which, when cut in laminae, serve as a suJ^stitute for glass in windows, besides flowers and other articles of curiosity and luxury. Much information respecting these islands may be drawn from the recent voyages of the Alceste and Lyra. Thunberg, in speaking of them, though he did not visit there, says that, a great many years ago, emigrations were very frequent from China to Japan, especially to the southern islands called Liquejo, which he describes as subject to Japan, but being in the habit of making annual presents to the Emperor of China. It appears from the details of Fernand Mendez da Pinto, who was not so very much of a traveller, as some have supposed him to be, that the Loo-Choo Islands were well known to the Chinese and Portuguese, previous to the first discovery of Japan, in 1542. But Pinto, though he now appears to have spoken truth about Japan, confesses that he did enlarge a little respecting the greatness and power of Portugal, when he was carried, on his first arrival in Japan, to visit the prince of that district. Of this, P 210 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. than free men who are engag-ed in a commercial intercourse with a friendly power.* The Chinese supply the Japanese with rice, porcelain, wrought and unwrought ivory, nankeen, one example may suffice for all future travellers. When the Prince asked Pinto, if it were true that Portugal was larger and richer than China, that the king of Portugal had conquered the greatest part of the known world, and that he had two thousand houses all filled with gold and silver, as had been stated by the Chinese, in whose ship Mendez was then a passenger, that gentleman had such a delicacy for the veracity of his companions, that he scorned to utter a doubt respecting these extraordinary assertions, and boldly answered in the affirmative ! — Ed. * When the Portuguese (the first Europeans who visited Japan, in the middle of the sixteenth century) began to trade with the Japanese, they had extraordinary privileges. They had the right to import into Japan whatever goods they pleased and to sell them at their own prices in all parts of the empire. But pride, rapacity, and particularly the eagerness of the catholic priests in making proselytes, offended the Japanese government, and laid the foundation of the distrust of the Japanese in the Europeans, except in the Dutch whom they call their friends, doubtless because they consider the Dutch as the most honest among the European nations. The first positive intercourse of European shipping with Ja- pan was in 1542, when a Portuguese vessel was driven upon the coast by stress of weather. A friendly reception ensued, and the trade continued for a century, coming into the hands of the Spa- niards, at the union of the two peninsular crowns, in 1580. The Portuguese, anxious to renew their intercourse with Ja- pan, in 1640 sent a ship from Macao with two ambassadors and a TRADE WITH THE CHINESE AND DtJTCH. 211 moist sugar, ginseng root,* medicinal herbs, alum, and divers trifles, such as fans, tobacco-pipes, &c. They receive from the Japanese, in return, copper, varnish, lackered goods', salted and dried fisli, sea- cabbage and some Japanese manufactures.j* suite of more than seventy persons. On their arrival at Nangasaki, they were immediately made prisoners, and notice sent to court; orders were received to put them all to death, which was done, with the exception of twelve who had contrived to escape. This horrible murder was performed by decapitation, which was in- flicted upon them all at the same instant; and a proclamation was issued, with the barbarous and impious menace, that if the king of the Portuguese, or the God of the Christians should come there, the same fate should attend them. — Ed. * Ginseng, (Dschin-sen) or the Chinese root, is much valued in China and Japan, where it is sold at a high price, because it is supposed to possess the property of renewing or strengthening the physical powers, which debauched persons early lose. f The Chinese, however, are only permitted to trade at Nan- gasaki ; should one of their junks visit any other part of the coast, she would be instantly ordered round to that part. So that, ac- cording to Thunberg, they had no further privileges than what were allowed to the Dutch. When general intercourse with foreigners was first prohi- bited, except with the Chinese and Dutch, the former were only allowed a certain number of vessels, and a certain value of mer- chandize, buttwice as much as was permitted to ihe latter. In other ^espects the Chinese were the worst treated, because the Japa- nese had not forgotten the ill usage they had formerly suffered in the ports of China, from whence they had been rudely driven. p2 212 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAP^N. From the Dutch the Japanese receive sugar, spices, ivory, iron, medicines, saltpetre, alum, some sorts of colours, cloth, glass, and other European articles, such as watches, looking-glasses, mathe- matical instruments, &c.* They give, in return, — — Thunberg- says most positively that the liberty which the Chinese formerly enjoyed with regard to commerce, was, in 1775, greatly curtailed. The cause he assigns is that the Chinese were actually suspected, not only of positively favouring the ca- tholic missionaries in their own country, but also in regard to their designs upon Japan ; and he states it as a fact, that the Chinese certainly were so imprudent as to introduce catholic books, printed in China, into Japan. — Ed. * When the Dutch trade was first established at Nangasaki, the Emperor gave the strictest orders to permit no Japanese ves- sel, nor even a single individual to go to any other country; to put to death all who should be taken in the attempt; to inflict corporal punishment upon every Japanese who should return from any foreign country; to take every means of checking the spread of Christianity ; to pay one hundred pieces of gold to whoever should seize a priest ; that merchandize should not be sold to one man, but to many; and finally that no noble or soldier should purchase any thing, directly from a foreigner. The Dutch smuggling trade, formerly carried on to an im- mense extent, principally by the chief of the factory, and the captains of the different ships, was completely checked about the year 1772, by an unfortunate discovery in consequence of one of their ships having become so leaky, during a gale of wind on the coast, that she was abandoned by the crew under the idea that in a few hours she must go down. The order to burn the vessel in such cases was neglected; and the Bury, so she was called, in- TRADE WITH THE DUTCH. 213 copper, varnisli, lice, m\d some of their manufac- tures, such as lackered articles, porcelain, &c. i heard that the Dutch carry on a very advantageous trade with the Japanese goods in the Malay and Molucca Islands. It is only the harbour of Nangasaky,* in the south of Japan, that is open to the Chinese, as well stead of sinking, as expected, actually drove towards the land, was seen by the Japanese and towed into Nangasaki harbour, where a minute examination of her took place, and a complete knowledge wns acquired of the system that had been carried on for years; for all her various secret hiding places were opened, and found filled with every species of prohibited goods, especially gin- seng, in chests and bags marked with the names of the factors and officers. This excited such suspicions, that on the arrival of the next ships, the captains were obliged to pull off their coats and trowsers, reducing themselves to the natural size; a metamor- phosis which is described by Thunber^ as affording matter of great astonishment to the Japanese, who had hitherto believed that all the Dutch captains surpassed even their other countrymen in rotund obesity ! — Ed. * The imports by the Dutch ships at Nangasaki, consisted, in 1775, of sugar, elephant's teeth, Japan wood for dying, tin, lead, bar-iron, fine chintzes, Dutch cloths of various colours and fineness, silks, spices, tortoise-shell, saffron, Venice treacle, Spa- nish liquorice, canes, optical glasses, watches, and the sea-uni- corns' horns from Greenland, which bear a high value in Ja'pan. The exports were copper, raw camphor, lackered wood work, por- celain, silks, rice and soy. Hither also England traded until the Dutch procured a prohibition in 1601. The English trade with Japan, which had begun early in tht 214 RtCOLLECTIOiXS OF JAPAN. as to the Dutch : all other ports are shut against them. In the same manner, one and the same method is uniformly observed by the Japanese in their trade, or rather barter, with the Chinese and Dutch. When a ship enters the harbour of Nan- ofasaky, after the usual ceremonies and questions, the goods are landed.* Then the imperial officers (for the foreign trade is a monopoly of the Em • peror's) examine the quality and quantity of the goods, considt together, and fix the price in those goods, which the owners of the ship desire to have in return. The latter must either accede to the terms of the Japanese, or take back the goods; for all bargaining is impossible. In this manner, the Emperor buys foreign goods, by the medium of seventeenth century, ceased about the year 1624, and it was not until 1673, that an EngUsh ship arrived off Nangasaki, when she underwent a very strict examination, particularly as to the religion of England, which the captain assured the Japanese was the same as that of Holland, a statement that at first seemed to be quite satisfactory. But the Japanese having been informed, through the jealousy of the Dutch, that King Charles II. was married to the Infanta of Portugal, all negociations were instantly put an end to, and the ship obliged to depart. — Ed. *Charlevoix observes that capital punishments are very unfre- quent, except at this city, where the temptation to defraud the Prince of his dues produces a great number of smugglers, who are never suffered to escape when discovered, and who find it im- possible to conceal themselves from the numerous custom-house officers. — Ed. TRADE WITH THE DUTCH. 215 his commissioners, and sells them wholesale to the Japanese merchants, who sell them by retail. To judge by the high prices, which are paid in Japan for Dutch goods, it must be supposed either that the Dutch are paid exorbitantly dear for them, or that the Emperor and his merchants fix high prices on them; probably both are gainers. 216 RtCOLLECTlONS OF JAPAN. CHAPTER V Population and Military Force. FoK. these two centuries past, Japan has had no wars either abroad or at home, with the exceptioit of very rare internal disturbances; epidemics, as plague and other disorders, except the small-pox and the venereal disease, are unknown to the Japanese ; they are therefore unacquainted with those evils that hinder the increase of population in other countries, and are especially happy tlnit the great destroyer of the human race, war, does not brandish among them its destructive torch, A country which enjoys a healthy climate, and uninterrupted peace must be populous. Japan is so. It was however impossible for me to learn the real population of Japan ; for the Japanese could not even inform me whether the government had authentic accounts of the number of thp people. They considered it as extremely difficult, if not impossible; because many millions of poor people have no fixed abode, and live in the open air, in the streets, in the fields, or the woods. To give us an idea of the population of their country, the literati and the interpreter Teske, shewed a map of Japan, which was drawn upon a very large long sheet of paper. On this map were marked population; suicide, infanticide. 217 not only all the towns but also the villages, so that the paper was hardly to be seen for the names written on it.* They shewed on the road from Mimai to Yeddo, a place which they call a desert, (Steppe^ J because a neighbouring river, after heavy rains, overflows this spot and renders it unfit for cultivation. This desert is so immense, that the litter bearers who carry travellers, when they set out in the morning, meet wi.th no village till noon, and when they have rested, have to travel again through the desert till sun-set. Ac- cording to their way of travelling, in litters, they must pass through two l)arren places, each of M'hich may be above 18 wersts; and this the Japa- nese call a desert If * The Jesuits have said that the country seemed peopled as if the cities were deserted ; whilst the cities swarmed with people as if the country was abandoned. Every one laboured ; not an idle person was to be seen. — Ed. t However incredible it may at first appear, it is by no means unlikely that a decrease in population may arise from and be accounted for in part by, the extreme frequency of suicide in Japan. It is asserted by the Dutch ambassadors that when a criminal of any rank was to be put to death by order of the prince, he always had the choice of ripping up his own bowels or ordering one of his own slaves to cut his head off; in default of which, the punishment was inflicted on him by the king's officers, and his whole family perished with him in infamy and dishonour. On those occasions, the best friends of the culprit 218 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. They also shewed us a plan of the capital, and told ns that a man could not walk in one day from one end of it to the other. When we questioned the Japanese respecting its population > they affirmed that it contained upwards often mil- lions of inhabitants, and were very angry when we doubted it. They brought us the next day a paper from one of their officers, who had been employed in the police in Yeddo. It was stated in this paper that the city of Yeddo has in its principal streets,* two hundred and eighty thou- always immolated themselves along with him ; nay many did so even in private life, and servants actually render it part of the agree- ment with their master. Such practices must naturally produce depopulation. It must be owned indeed that no decrease in popu- lation seems to have been suspected by Koempfer, who, in 1690, said that considering- the supplies of food from the sea, the agri- cultural industry, with the frugal way of living of the Japanese in general, it was not to be wondered at, that an empire so vast and populous should be abundantly provided with all the necessaries of human life; and that as a particular world, which nature seems purposely to have separated from the rest of the globe, by encompassing it with a rocky and tempestuous sea, it can easily subsist of itself, without any assistance from foreign countries, as long as arts and agriculture are followed and im- proved by the natives. — Ed. * In Japanese Sodo-ie i. e, house, the front of which is to the street. They are distinguished from the small houses and huts which are not in the street, but lie scattered about in the city. POPULATIOX ; ORDER OF THK BLIND. 219 saiul houses and in each of them there live from thirty to forty people. Suppose there were only thirty, the number of the inhabitants must amount to eitiht millions four hundred thousand ; * add to this the inhabitants of the small houses and huts, those who live in the open air, the Imperial Guard, the guard of the princes in the capital, their suites, &c., the number of the inhabitants must exceed ten millions. As a confirmation of their asser- tions, the Japanese mentioned besides, that Yeddo alone contained 36,000 blijid people. -j* To this * However exaggerated this may appear, it is a fact asserted by Koempfer that in the secondapy city of Meaco, or Kio, he was a whole day riding through, from one end to the other ; but as he acknowledges, not exactly in a straight line. If London iu a space of six miles by two, contains one million, a city of twelve miles square, closely inhabited, might contain the above number. Indeed Xavier in 1553, asserts, that he had the best information for saying, that Meaco, previous to some devastation which it had suffered, actually contained 180,000 houses. Captain Saris also describes the city of Surunga, in 1012, to be as large as London with all its suburbs. Surunga at that period, was the residence of the Emperor, his heir apparent living at Jeddo, or Edoo as Saris calls it, who also says, that this latter city made a most splendid appearance, the ridge-tiles and corner-tiles of the houses being richly gilded, and the posts of the doors ffilt and varnished. — En. &■ t Among the many singular institutions in Japan, is the class or order of the blind, who, with the consent of government, are 220 KECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. we conUi say nothing-, and neither allow the Japa- nese to be in the right, nor contradict their asser- tion. These data may however be very true, tor ac- cording to the plan of the city, and considering the narrowness of the streets, it may fully contain ten millions of people ; as the greatest diameter is more than eight Japanese Ri, or 32 to 35 wersts. Teske assured us that the city, notwithstanding its- immense size, increassd more and more, and men- tioned as a confirmation of this, that during his stay united in a society in the whole kingdom, which has its privileges, laws, and a governor, whom they call Prince. They have assistants, treasurers, &c. who are all blind. They employ themselves ac- cording to their abilities in different works, and deliver to their Prince, the money obtained for them, which is placed in a gene- ral treasury, and employed according to the rules of the society. Many blind men are physicians, especially in different diseases which the Japanese cure by means of baths ; others are musi- cians. The society owes its foundation to a brave Japanese Ge- neral, who during the civil wars lost his prince and benefactor, and was made prisoner by his adversary. The victor loaded this general with favours, and at last asked him if he would serve hiuj ; but the general answered, that he was indeed sensible of his good- ness, but as he had murdered his former master and benefactor, he not only would not serve him, but could not even look at him without feeling an ardent desire of revenge. He was therefore resolved to deprive himself of the means of exercising vengeance, and at these words tore his eyes out of his head, and threw them EXTEINT OF THE METROPOLIS. 221 in the capital, be lived with a merchant who dealt in stones, for foundations, and had a considerable demand for them ; but as the frequent fires in Yed- do, cannot destroy the stones, they were without doubt bought for new buildings. The prodigious^opidation of Japan frequent- ly obliges poor people to kill their children, at their birth, when they are weakly and deformed. The laws prohibit those murders under severe penal- ties; but the government never enquires rigorously how the children died, perhaps from politii al mo- tives. Thus crimes of this kind are committed without the parents being called to account for at the feet of the victor. After the death of this hero, his friends instituted the order of the blind which still exists. (Author's Note). Early writers describe two orders of the blind. The first was founded by a son of one of the Emperors, named Senmimer, a gay handsome fellow, noted for his intri, 226 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. arms of every soldier.* Their muskets and pistols have copper barrels which are very heavy. The butt ends are very small, and they do not put them to their shoulder when they fire, but lay them to their right cheek and so take aim. Instead of a flint they have a match to the lock, which they light when it is necessary; but as, in loading the piece, it is necessary to be extremely careful that the powder in the pan may not catch fire too soon, their loading proceeds very slowly. The Japanese are more dexterous in the ma- nagement of the bow and arrows: their pikes are fastened to long poles, and are very heavy and inconvenient. The constant uniform of the Japanese sol- diers consists in a short coat which I have before described under the name of chauri ; they wear it over their own clothes without a girdle. Only the imperial soldiers have black silk chauri, with white seams on the breast and back. The soldiers of all * Marco Polo describes an extraordinary kind of defensive armour, worn by some of the Japanese in the 13th century when invaded by the Tartars under a grandson of Zengis Chan. He says that the Tartar troops took only one castle, and put the gar- rison to the sword, with the exception of eight Zipangrians who carried on their arms (or between the skin and flesh, as one old edition has it,) certain precious stones, which iron or steel could not pierce ; so they were obliged to complete their slaughter by means of heavy clubs. — Ed. I MILITARY FORCE; UNIFORMS, PAY. 227 ithe reigning princes have particular uniforms made of cotton, but all of the same cut, Thus for in- stance, the soldiers of the prince of Nambu have light blue chauri, with a white cross on the back ; those of the pHnce of Tzyngaru, black chauri, with a white square, «Scc.* The state or holiday dress of the soldiers is very costly : it consists of white trowsers, and a short upper garment like a cloak or hood, both made of fine silk, and embroidered with gold, sil- ver or silk. These dresses are of different colours. They are preserved in the imperial arsenals, and delivered to the soldiers when it is necessary. When the Diana lay in the harbour of Chakodade, all the soldiers in the citv wore their state dresses. * These marks or insigriia are g-enerally spoken of byThunberg and other writers, as if similar to European heialdry, to which however they can only be synonimous, if any dependence can be placed on theengiayed title-page of the London edition of Koemp- fer, apparently copied trom the Dutch one. The " Insignia gen- tilitia" with which it is ornamented, bear a greater resemblance to the merchant's marks, more in use formerly than now, than to heraldry. These consist of fruits, flowers, fancy ornaments &c. : but in one or two instances, there are a cross bottonn^, a shield paly of 7, a rudder, and some things which resemble water bougets. It is a curious fact stated by St. Francis Xavier, that at his first arrival in Japan, he met a prince whose heraldic mark was a cross argent, though he was totally ignorant of any thing con- nected with Christianity. — Ed. q2 228 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. The military uniform of the Japanese soldiers consists of short, wide breeches, and a jacket, over which they hang armour upon the breast, back and arms. Even the thighs from the waist down to the knee, are cased in armour. Over the ar- mour they wear the chauri, but not in battle. On their heads they wear large lackered hats, which like the armour are of metal. The Japanese, also use vizors to protect their faces from the blows of their adversaries. The Japanese military dress is on the whole, heavy, and hinders the soldier from acting with proper rapidity The soldiers receive their pay in rice ; only in the islands of Matsmai, Kunsaschier, Eetooroop and Sagaleen, they receive part of their pay in rice and part in money. They generally sell the greater part of the rice, in order to provide themselves with other necessaries. The soldiers of the prin- ces are better paid than those of the Emperor ; but the latter have several privileges. I do not know whether it is a constant prac- tice in Japan ; but during our residence in the island of Matsmai, the soldiers were frequently ex- ercised in firing, both with cannon and small arms ; and he who hit the mark twice running, received a reward. The Japanese assured us, that this was their constant rule. I am rather inclined to think, that they were at that time preparing for war, for as they had taken us prisoners by treachery, they » MILITARY FORCE ; OFFICERS, &C. 229 could not but expect that Russia must come to an understanding with them, in some way or other. There are no permanent generals in Japan • if a war breaks out, the Emperor appoints the prin- cipal commanders, and the princes name the others. This was the custom in Russia, till the introduc- tion of regular troops. The Japanese commanders are called by the general name of Taischo, with the addition of other titles, to distinguish their rank and authority. The chief commanders are generally princes; the others are chosen from among the nobility, and civil officers. For this rea- son, no comparison can be made between the rank ofthemilitary andcivil officers asisthe case with us.* In engineering, the Japanese are as inexpe- * There are also states in Europe where this comparison cannot be made ; for example, in England, where the secretary of state, the first lord of the admiralty, the first lord of the treasury, and others, generally have no rank. In Japan on the contrary, all the civil officers have a rank, which they retain when they are discharged from their office. If they are employed in the army, they receive according to the determination of the Emperor, or the Princes, a command in which their rankis not considered. The civil officers, after the governors, follow in the following order: — I. Ginmijagu, (Counsellors) : they are commanders in the great cities of the imperial provinces, except in those where there are bunjos. II. Schrabijagu, assistants of the Ginmijagu; from among them are chosen the judges, in civil and criminal causes, and the commanders of the smaller cities, sea-ports and frontier fortresses. 230 ilECOLLECTlONS OF JAPAN. rienced, as in other branches of the military art. The for 236 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. disposed, mild and timid, and are more like the Chinese than the Japanese. Their language has some resemblance with that of China. The islands produce many plants and vegetables, which also grow in Japan and China. The Japanese give them metal-wares, japanned goods, salt and dried fish, sea cabbage, European goods, which are brought to them by the Dutch, and Chinese productions ; and receive, in return, tea, tobacco, silk, cotton, and some productions of their manu- factures. The islands of Matsmai, Kunaschier, Eetoo- roop, and Sagaleen, may be called Japanese colo- nies ; but for the honour of the Japanese be it said, that not lust of conquest and rapacity, but only necessity, forced them to settle on a foreign soil. About two centuries ago, a Japanese prince bought, from the natives of Matsmai, a part of the south-west coast of this island, and which is still called the Japanese country; and in which, in many Japanese villages, not a hut can be found which belongs to an ancient native. The Japanese call the other part of the island Ainu-kfuni, or the country of the Ainu : so they call the inhabitants of Matsmai.* The abundance of fish found on * When the Japanese settled upon Matsmai the inhabitants ealled the island Einso-zi. The Japanese called the part bought by one of their princes by the name of Matsumai, after one of TRIBUTARIES AND COLONIES. 237 the coast of Matsniai induced the Japanese to treat with the natives, and to enter into conventions, to receive permission to establish fisheries on the coast ; in return for which they gave them a cer- tain quantity of necessary goods. In this manner did the Japanese spread, by degrees, over the whole island. The profit which the Japanese de- rived from this farming of the fisheries led them to trade with the islands Kunaschier, Eetooroop, Ooroop, and others, as also with the south part of Sagaleen.* The Japanese government farmed out his titles, and called the north part of the island Einso-zi, or Einso. This Einso g^ave rise to the country well known to the learned world, which our geographers call Es-so, and about which they disputed and wrote so much, till LaPeyrouse, Brough- ton, and Krusenstern assigned it its proper place. The other Kurile islands are in general called, by the Japanese, Toi-sma ; that is : Distant Islands ; but individually they have retained their Kurile names. * So far back as 1612 the commerce with Matsmai must have been lucrative. In Saris's voyage there is an account of a Fleming, who went there from Firando, in a Japanese boat, where he sold pepper, broad cloth, and elephants' teeth; receiv ing in lieu, bars of gold and silver. It is stated by several writers that the Japanese give the name of Jeso to the whole groupe of islands between Japan and Kamtschatka. Matsmai is the southernmost, and has been long subject to Japan: but in 1779, Kunashier and Zellany to the north-east, and three others, called the Sisters, were perfectly independent. — Ed. 238 RECOLLECTIONS Or JAPAN. this trade, in portions, to merchants ; and in this- manner they long traded with those islands, with- out forming a settlement, or thinking on conquest. By chance, they heard that the Russians had con- quered the northern Kurile islands, and extended their possessions further to the south.* The Japa- nese then formed the resolution to make them- selves masters of the south islands, that they might afterwards give no foundation for a war, or lose the fisheries, which were of so much con- sequence to them. The inhabitants did not know the real cause of the behaviour of the Japanese, and attempted to resist them, but were soon con- quered, and made subject to the Japanese em- peror. Since that time, the Japanese have built fortresses on the islands, furnished them with gar- * The Hairy Kuriles are said to inhabit islands lying in the latitude of 44° north. They are described by Spanberg as hav- ing their bodies covered all over with hair. Their clothing consisted of a loose striped silk gown, reaching to their ancles ; and in their ears they wore silver rings. An idea of their reli- gion may be drawn from the fact that when so«ie of them were carried on board of Spanberg's ship, they espied a live cock upon deck, and instantly fell on their knees before it. As they speak the same language with the other Kuriles, the cause of this ex- traordinary hairiness of body forms a curious subject of medical and philosophical inquiry. That the fact is certain, cannot well be doubted, since the authorities for it are both numerous and various. Their country is called Nadeegsda, but is evidently part of the ancient Jeso. — Ed, TRIBUTARIES AND COLONIES. 239 risons, and g-overned the natives as subjects of (heir emperor ; but left them many privileges, of which more will be said in the sequel. Several travellers doubt that the inhabitants of Matsmai, and the other Kurile islands, once formed one people ; and affirm that the Ainu and the Kuriles have not the least resemblance with each other. I believe that the inhabitants of all the Kurile islands,* except some tribes on the southern half of Matsmai, are only one nation; and the following- is the proof. The chain of islands, lying between the south end of Kamts- <'hatka and Japan, was called Kurile'j' by the * I reckon Matsmai among the Kurile islands ; it is the twenty-second, and last fromKamtschatka. f It was the opinion of Captain King, in his continuation of Cook's Third Voyage, tliat the population of the Kuriles was much diminished from its former state, in consequence of the fatal effects of the small pox in 1767. The inhabitants of whole villages were swept away. In 1779, it was computed that the whole of the inhabitants paying tribute to Russia, in Kamt- schatka, the Koreki countiy and the Kuriles, did not exceed three thousand ; nor can this be attributed to oppression, as we have Captain King's testimony that the Russian government, established over these countries, was mild and equitable, consi- dered as a military government, in a high degree. The punish- ment of death, in all cases, had been remitted ; but it must be confessed that the knout, in extreme cases, such as murder, was administered with such severity that few survived it. The tribute from the Kuriles was by no means excessive, as one sea- otter's skin was sufficient for several persons. — Ed. 240 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. Russians, because they saw, from the coast of Kamsrhatka, the smoking- vokauoes which are on those islands, and called them Kuriles from the Rus- sian word Kuril,* to smoke.* The natives have no name for the whole group, but merely for thesingle islands, and perhaps because they formerly knew no other country but their islands, and even took Kamtschatka and Japan for small islands.-j* The Kuriles of al' the islands, includijjg- Matsmai, call themselves Ainu, which sometimes signifies, in their language, man : to distinguish the inhabit tants of the different islands, they add to every word the name of the island, as, for example, Ku- naschiri-Ainu, Iturpu-Ainu, &c. ; that is, people from Kunaschier, Eetooroop. But when they saw for the first time foreigners, they seemed to doubt whether they were Ainu, i. e. man ; for they did not give them this title, but called them after the name of the strangers : Rusko, Russians ; and Ni- ponno, Japanese. They know only these two na- * From the information of a Russian missionary it appears that the Kuriles are a friendly, hospitable, generous, humane race of people ; extremely well formed, docile, and quick of under- standing. — Ed. f The inhabitants of the islands in the South Sea merely have a name for every island, not for the group or the A rchipe- lago, as they do not suppose any other countries existing ; their clusters of islands do not therefore want to be distinguished from others. KURILE LANGUAGE AND ORIGIN 241 tions. The language of the inhabitants of all the Kurile islands, except some tribes on the south part of Matsmai, is alike, with the exception of _ such words and the names of things as the northern Kuriles first got from the Russians, and those of the south from the Japanese ; for with the use of these things the former introduced the Russian, and the latter the Japanese names. With respect to the inhabitants of the southern half of Matsmai, it is observed, that though there are many foreign, particularly Japanese^ words in use in their lan- guage, it was originally Kurile.* Alexei, the Ku- rile, our companion in imprisonment, frequently conversed M'ith them, and though he had difficulty ^ in understanding them, yet it never happened that he did not comprehend them, after some explana- tion ; in a word, the languages of the inhabitants of Matsmai, and of the other Kurile islands re- semble each other much more than the Russian and Polish. The appearance of the inhabitants * la Paramousir tlie natives believe that their ancestors came from an island farther south, which they call Onecutan ; but the northernmo&t are a mixtuie of Kuriles and Kanitschat- dales. Paramousir was seen by Cook's companions, after his death ; and is described as very high, and in the month of October entirely covered with snow, with a high peaked mountain that had the appearance of a volcano. — Ed. u 242 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. of Matsmai, and of the other Kurile islands, shews clearly that they are of one race : the features, the uncommonly brown colour of the hairy body,* the black shining hair, the beard, every thing, in short, indicates a common origin. The only dif- ference between them now, is, that the Ainu of Matsmai are handsomer, stronger, and more ac- tive than the Knriles, to which perhaps a more active life and abundance of good food have greatly contributed ; for the Japanese have traded with them for these four centuries, and bring them not only rice but even articles of luxury, such as to- bacco, sagi, &c. The other Kuriles, particularly the northern ones, live in indigence, feed on roots, sea animals and wild fowl, of which they indeed never are in want ; but idleness often hinders them from collecting a proper stock, so that some- times they pass several days without food, in indo- lence and sleep. Even their manners shew that the Ainu and Kuriles are one people. The Kuriles dependant upon Russia are, in- * The Russians call 'the inhabitants of the northern islands Kuriles, and those of the southern Hairy Kuriles ; because their body is entirely covered with hair. Yet the northern Kuriles are Z not less hairy than the southern. Our Alexei, who was born in one of the northern islands, was more hairy than many inhabi- tants of Matsmai. KUHILES; RELIGION. 24'-i deed, baptized, but have no other idea of religion than that they must cross themselves in the pre- sence of the Russians, and bow before the images of the Saints, which tliey, at other times, probably throw, with tlie crosses, into a corner, or give to their children to play with. If they see any Rus- sians, they put on their crosses, and give the images the place of honour in their huts ; it can, besides, be neither required or expected that they should be attached to a foreign religion, in which nobody instructs them. The priests visit them once a year, and that not always. They see hardly any Russians but Promyschlenniks (hunters) ; rude men, addicted to drinking ; whose conduct and cruel treatment of them inspire them with no advan- tageous opinion of their religion. Hence the Ku- riles, though they pretend, before the Russians, to know no religion except Christianity, are still at- tached to their ancient faith. Our Kurile, Alexei, would not confess that his countrymen do not highly honour the christian religion ; but merely said, that the old people consider the faith of their fathers to be the true religion ; and that resem- bles that of the inhabitants of Matsmai : of which I shall speak in the sequel. Among an unen- lightened people, young persons will certainly not honour what the old despise. In trifles the Kuriles jike to imitate us ■ thus, for example, they shave ji 2 244 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. their beards, and wear long tails. The Ainu,* on the contrary, wear their beards, and cut their hair hke the Russian waggoners, only something shorter. Our Kuriles wear Russian dresses of all fashions, as they receive them ; for the Ainu, on the other hand, the Japanese prepare a certain dress, according to the Japanese cut, and of hempen cloth, which resembles our coarse un- bleached sail cloth. The Elders receive cotton and silk dresses. If one among them particularly distinguishes himself, the Japanese government reward him with a splendid dress, embroidered with gold and silver ; or with sabres in silver scabbards. The Kuriles and Ainu love to orna- ment themseb^es with trifles ; which the former receive from us, and the latter from the Japanese : but it IS still the custom for the women to paint their lips and eye-brows blue. Their expressions of civility, songs, dances, &c. shew the common origin of the Kuriles and of the Ainu. When the Japanese subdued the Ainu they left the most important rights of man inviolate : free exercise of the religion of their forefathers; their own laws and administration ; their own * So I call the inhabitants of the southern Kurile islands, who are dependent on the Japanese, to distinguish them from our Kuriles. FOOD AND CUSTOMS. 245 dress and customs in social life. They allowed them to live in separate villages, under the govern- ment of chiefs, chosen bv themselves and con- firmed by the Japanese officers. The government has ordered that the Ainu shall not work for any Japanese, not even for the crown, without payment. For every kind of work a price is fixed, with which they are, however, not satisfied, because it is not answerable to their labour. The Ainu live, in winter, in what are called Jurten, or huts of earth ; and in summer, in straw huts, in which they hate no benches or seats, but sit on the ground, either on fehe grass or on Japa- nese mats. Their food consists of rice, which the Japanese supply them with; offish, sea animals, sea cabbage, wild herbs and roots. Many have gardens in the Japanese fashion ; others employ themselves in the chace: they kill, with their spears and arrows, bears, deer and hares ; catch birds, and also eat dogs. The Ainu are, in general, extremely un- cleanly. We often saw, with disgust, that they took little animals from their hair and cracked them between their teeth like nuts. They never wash their hands, faces, or bodies, except when they have to go into the water to do some work : they never wash their clothes. In this particular 246 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. therefore they are very different from the Ja- panese. They receive their clothing, as I have said before, from the Japanese; but, in winter, they wear fur cloaks, made of the skins of the animals which serve them for food ; particularly those of bears and dogs : wearing the skin outwards. Polygamy is allowed among them ; they have two or three wives, and the Elders still more. If it happens that an Elder governs several villages, he has a wife in eyery village. Their children learn nothing except hunting, fishing, the use of the bow and arrow, and the necessary domestic labours. They have no writing, and consequently no written laws ; every thing is handed down by tradition from one generation to another. They live in admirable harmony with each other; and are, in general, mild and good hearted, hospitable, officious and polite. To salute any one they put both hands, with spread out fingers, to the face, let them sink slowly on the beard ; bend, at the same time, the head a little ; look the person sharp in the face, for whom the compliment is in- tended ; and repeat it two, nay even three times, if they do it to a distinguished person. The total want of words of abuse in their language, is a proof of the mildness of their manners. Our Kuriles told us that if they are angry with an} - DOMESTIC MANNERS. 247 body, they call hin> a clumsy or aukward fellow; if they want to abuse him still more, they call him a fool ; a thorough rogue they call a dog. When a Kurile is so out of temper that all this does not satisfy him, he has recourse to Russian words of abuse, which were introduced to them by the Pro- myschlenniks. They sit in the same way as the Japanese, i. e. cross-legged, like our taylors. They are great friends of tobacco and strong liquors ; of the former the Japanese sell to them as much as they please, but the latter only in a limited quantity, which nobody dare exceed, that these dangerous liquors may not bring sickness, discord, and crimes among them. The Japanese government does not permit the Ainu to make use of powder and fire arms. Their weapons, therefore, only consist of sabres, spears and arrows. They often dip the last in the poisonous juice of the ranunculus jiavtimula^ and then the wound is generally mortal. The Ainu have not a cheerful countenance, but seem very melancholy and downcast, yet they, however, love singing and dancing. The for- mer is very disagreeable, and the latter consists merely in contortions of the body. The sun and moon are their divinities. But they have neither temples nor priests, nor any reli- gious law. They believe in two spirits the good 248 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. and the evil. They invoke the first by a bundle of pulse, which they place upon their dwellings. They trouble themselves so little about their belief, that it was long before the Japanese knew whether they had a divinity or not. The principal profit which the Japanese derive from their possessions in the southern Kurile islands and Sagaleen, arises from the productive fisher} . They catch on the coast, in great abun- dance, herrings, cod, mackarel, Kischutsch, Nerka, Gorbuscha, Kunscha, (all of the salmon kind,) Gol- zi/, plaice, and many other kinds of fish the names of which are unknown to me. Of sea animals, there are whales, sea-hogs, sea-lions, sea-bears, sea- otters, and seals. Shell-fish and sea-cabbage are also gathered in great quantities. Amongst shell- fish there is one kind, which our Kuriles call Bu- darki (boats,) and which are much esteemed by the Japanese, the Chinese and the Coreans, be- cause they are used by the lovers of the fair sex ; they are therefore sold at a high price. The woods on Matsmai, and the other islands belonging to Japan, give them no small profit, which must still increase in future. They have here, oaks, firs, yew, the tree called the scented tree (a kind of cypress,) birch, lime, various kinds of poplars, maple, aspen, mountain-ash, and many others. Of Quadrupeds, there are on these islands JAPANESE AND CHINESE POLITICS. 249 and particularly in Matsmai : bears, wolves, hares, ^ rabbits, deer, wild-goats, sables, and field-mice; ' in summer, geese, ducks and swans visit them. In general all the same sorts of land and sea-birds are found here, as in Kamtschatka. The Japanese assured us, that the mountains in Matsmai contained gold, silver, and lead mines, but that the government did not think it worth while to work the first two ; the Japanese now get lead out of a mine which lies to the west of the city of iMatsmai, at the distance of 18 Japanese 7?i (or 75 wersts) . The Japanese call the island of Sagaleen Ka- rafta, because it is so called by the natives ; who give the south end of Sagaleen the name of Tschoka, ^ which probably induced many to call the whole island so. Till the arrival of La Peyrouse, the Ja^ panese had no settlements on Sagaleen, and only visited it to trade with the inhabitants. But when this navigator appeared on the coast with two fri- gates, they, being afraid that the Europeans would settle there, then took possession of the south part of Sagaleen, and represented to the Chinese government, the danger which threatened them, if the Europeans should ever become their neigh- bours. The two nations agreed, on this, to divide the island between them, and prevent the Euro- peans from taking possession of it ; since that time, 250 RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPAN. the north part belongs to the Chinese and the south to the Japanese. Of the climate, the productions of the soil, and the manufactories of Sagaleen, almost the same may be said, as what I mentioned of Matsmai ; but on Sagaleen, according to its geographical situation, the winter is colder, and the summer is worse than in Matsmai. The Japanese assured us, that the inhabitants of the south half of Sagaleen, whom the Japanese call Karafta-Ainu, in many things resemble theKu- riles, and that this resemblance, particularly in their language, indicates that both were once, the same people. When I compared La Peyrouse's collec- tion of Sagaleen words with my Kurile lexicon, I found that the great number of words, quite alike, put the opinion of the Japanese beyond doubt. I find it impossible to state the population of the Kurile and Sagaleen islands, subject to the Japanese, because, those with whom we were ac- quainted did not even know it themselves. I think it foolish to fix a number by guess or supposition. The same may be said of the revenues of the Ja- panese Empire. f » ACCOUNT OF THE VOYAGES OF Messrs. CHWOSTOFF ^ DAWIDOFF. ACCOUNT OF THE VOYAGES OF MESSRS. CHWOSTDFF ANE) BAWIBOFF. The frequent mention, madein Captain Golownin's Narrative, of the names of Lieutenants Chwostoff* and Dawidoif, and of the unjustifiable and unau- thorised attack stated to hare been made bv them on the Japanese, which led to the captivity of Captain Golownin and his companions, must natu- rally give the reader a very unfavorable opinion of those officers, and maJke him curious to know what inducement they could have to act in a hos- tile manner towards a nation at peace with the Emperor their sovereign, without any authority for so doing. As neither of these oflScers lived to publish an account of their proceedings, and the notes left by Dawidoff" were so imperfect, that much time would be necessary to put them in order, the only information we have hitherto on the subject is from the introduction prefixed, by Vice-Admiral Schischkofi', to the account of a pre- vious expedition of Messrs. Chwostotf and Dawi- doff, which he has edited from the notes of Dawi- dofi\ From this preface it appears, that these two 254 VOYAGES OF CHWOST OFF young men were officers of the highest character, that they were under the immediate orders of Mr. Resanoff who planned the hostile expedition against the Japanese, and gave them detailed in- structions for carrying it into effect, and that they had every reason to suppose, that the plan had been laid before the Emperor, and approved of by the government. Nay, Admiral Schischkoff does not state that Resanoff deceived them, when he iaid, he had dispatched a report on the subject to the Emperor and to count Romanzoff; so for aught we know, it may have been approved by both: it evidently results at least, from the account given by the admiral, that no blame whatever, was at- tached by the Russian government to Messrs. Chwostoff and Dawidoff for their conduct in this affair. Our readers, we are convinced, will peruse with interest the account of these two young men, and lament the unhappy event which de- prived their country of their services. Of the journey to which Admiral Schichkoff's preface is prefixed, we shall extract a few of the most inte- resting particulars : — Nicholas Alexander Chwostoff, the son of a counsellor of state, was born on the 28th of June 1776, and began his career in the corps of marine Cadets, so early as the year 1783. His first cam- paign was against the Swedes. In the 14th year AND DAWIDOFF. 253 of his age he was present at two great naval bat- tles, and obtained a gold medal. When peace was concluded with Sweden, he received a com- mission in 1791, and after some voyages in the Baltic, went in 1795 to England, on board the squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral Chanykoff, the destination of which was to cover the Eniilish coast. After the lapse of a year, the squadron returned to Russia ; but, when it had only reached Copenhagen, a part of it under Rear-Admiral Ma- karoff had orders (o return to England, whither ChwostofF accompanied it. This part of the squa- dron remained another year in England, and then returned to Cronstadt. The following summer, that is in 1798, another squadron was fitted out, to act in union with the British fleet against the common enemy, the French and their allies. The command of this squadron was given to Vice-Admi- ral MakarofF. Chwostoff did not let slip this op- portunity to visit England for the third time. This expedition lasted nearly three years. When the English squadron, under Vice-Admi- ral Mitchel, took the Dutch fleet in the Texel com- manded by llear-Admiral Storey, two of our ships the Mstislaw and the lletwisan, were with the En- glish squadron. Chwostoff, who was '^en lieute- nant, was on board of the latter. The misfortune which then happened to some of ihe English ves- sels, and to the Iletwisan is ivell known. Chwos- 256 VOYAGES OF CHWOSTOFF toff contributed not a little to save tlie ship, and during the moments that they had destruction before their eyes, he wrote to a friend: "Our situation is intolerable ; all the ships sail by us, while we are aground, and serve them as marks to avoid the danger. Our hope of sharing in the battle, and in the capture of the Dutch fleet, has vanished. In our vexation we abused the pilot and loaded him with reproaches, but he was al- ready half dead. An English ship, the America, is also aground, and this is some consolation to us. Though we ought not to rejoice at the misfortunes of others, we have several motives for doing so : at least the English will not now say, " that only a Russian ship ran a-ground : and perhaps Mitchel will not give battle without the two ships ; we shall then make haste to get afloat again, and share his laurels." This in fact happened ; notwithstanding the dreadful situation in which they were during the night, they succeeded in getting themselves afloat in the morning, when they placed themselves in order of battle with the others, and prepared with their half foundered wreck, to combat the enemy. The behaviour of this young man, on that occasion, sufficiently proves his presence of mind in the midst of fear and confusion, and his ardent love of glory. After his return to Russia, he was obliged to live a year and a half in one place, because no op- AND DAWIDOFF. 257 portunity offered to distinguish himself. Not- withstanding his attachment to his parents, and to his brothers and sisters, and the happiness he en- joyed in their society, he did not feel himself born to pass his life in repose and inactivity. He looked with impatience for an opportunity which should open him a way to some bold undertaking-. Ex- traordinary attachment to his relations, and bound- less thirst of glory, were the principal features of his character. His father had been deprived of his property, which was not considerable, by a law-suit, which had lasted twenty years, and lived in indigence with a numerous family. The son, without ac- quainting any body with his purpose, sought for an opportunity to n>eet with the Emperor, he threw himself at his feet, and begged his Majesty to deign to cast a look on his poor parents. The Emperor, astonished at seeing* an officer in this attitude, thought that his own necessities had com- pelled him to take such a step, and ordered him to rise and compose himself. A few hours after a present of 1000 roubles was brought him from the Emperor, He declined accepting- the money, and requested the messenger to let the Emperor know, that as he had his pay, he was in no want of mo- ney, and had not ventured to solicit his Majesty's favor for himself, but for his parents, mIio were ruined by a law-suit. The Emperor being ac- s 258 VOYAGES Ol;' CHWOSTOFF cordingly informed of the truth, sent him an order to take the money. His Majesty made enquiries concerning the law-suit, and the situation of ChwostofF's father, in consequence of which, he granted him an annual pension of 1000 rubles. The son, full of joy, sent the 1000 roubles which had been given to him, directly to his mo- ther, who happened to be in the country, and had soon after, the pleasure to acquaint his father with the grant of his pension. He satisfied in this manner, one object of his wishes, and had soon an opportunity to obtain the second. The chamberlain, Nicholas Petrowitsch Resanotf, one of the principal shareholders of the American company, (afterwards ambassador to Japan,) was personally acquainted with ChwostofF, and having heard his courage and abilities highly commended, proposed to him to go by land to Ochotzk, and thence with the ships of the Ame- rican company to North America. Chwostoff immediately acceded to this proposal, and merely requested a delay of five da}s, that he might go into the country, and take leave of his parents. The same day he visited a friend, and met with the midshipman Dawidoff", a young, but very able officer. He related to them his intention of going to America, and inspired young Dawidoff, (he was not yet eighteen,) with a desire to accom- pany him. Chwostofi" was pleased with his spirit, AND DAWIDOFF. 259 he took him to Kesanoff, and both entered the service of the American company. They were at full liberty to do this, express permission having been at that time granted to officers of the navy, to engage in the service of commercial companies without qiiitting that of the Emperor. Chwostoff immediate]}; went to see his parents. It is easy to imagine the surprise and affliction of his relations, particularly of his mother, who loved him tenderly. The parting was extremely painful, but to comfort his mother, he affected to be cheerful, and sup- pressed his tears and sighs, till he had torn him- self from her embraces, and hastened away. Then nature resumed her rights, and he had gone but a short distance when he fainted, and on his reco- vering himself, a flood of tears came to his relief. Having staid only a few days at St. Petersburg, he sat out with his companion on his journey to America, the description of which is contained in the following work. ..." (of which we proceed to give an analysis.) So many travellers have already published their itineraries from St. Petersburg to Ochotzk, and Kamtschatka, that we cannot expect to find much novelty in that of our young mariners, it is in fact an unadorned narrative, written by Da- widoff, who was then only eighteen years of age. They left St. Petersburg on the 19th of April, 1802, and reached Moscow on the 24th, and Ca- s2 260 VOYAGES OP CHiVO^TOFI' sannon the 12th of May. From Ecatherinetiburg', where they arrived on the 21st of May, they pro- ceeded to Irkutzk, by the road which passes by Ishim, instead of that by Tobolsk, which is the most frequented, but 250 wersts longer than the other: llie two roads join at Kainsk ; in this in- terval there is oidy one town, that of Schadrinsk, 200 wersts from Ecatherinenburg- ; of this town Mr. Dawidoff merely says, that it is situated on the river Iset, which in that place divides into many branches, forming several islands. The most .important part of this itinerary, is that in which the author describes the new route from the river Aldan to Ochotzk, through a de- sert, which is traversed bv the mountains of Sta- nowoy-Chrebet. As it was hitherto unknown, Dawidoff carefully notes all the stages and their distances, as well as the names of the large and small rivers, which it is necessary to pass and repass every moment. He describes, as far as the rapidity of the journey will permit, thf^ nature of the soil, the form of the mountains, and even some of the productions of this rigorous climate. Theie are few journeys, Avhere the traveller is ex- posed to so many hardships ; scarcely any provi- sions can be obtained, except by the chace ; tra- vellers are almost always obliged to encamp, or rather to bivouac, for if they have not tents Avith them, (hey seldom can find any shelter, unless it AND D VWIDOFF. 201 ii \ye now and then a kind of straw roof set up on four posts, which is some defence against the rain ; the insects are extremely troublesome, and great dangers are incurred from troops of exiles, who escape from the places assigned for their abode, and plunder and murder travellers. Our young mariners had two rencontres of this description. The first is related by Dawidoff in the following terms : — We had scarcely pitched our tent and made a fire, when suddenly we heard two musket *' shot close to us. Our Jakutschians (some of the " natives who attended them) immediately threw " themselves on the ground, and there appeared, " at the same moment, from different sides, seven " men, two of whom advanced directly towards " us, with their muskets aimed at us. We instantly " took up our muskets, which were quite wet. " Chwostoff, who could not immediatelv find his, " ran towards them with his sabre drawn, and ex- " Claimed : ' What do vou mean ? How dare vou " advance in this manner towards the Emperor's " soldiers? Lay down your arms or I shall give " orders to fire at you.' 1 his bold language, frightened the captain of the robbers; he or- dered his people to lay down their arms, and said : ' We see that } on are soldiers, and do not ' demand any thing from you.' The other rob- *' bers also called out: 'Don't fire! don't fire j it (( 262 VOYAGES^OF CIIWOSTOFF " The captain looked at Chwostoff with surprise, and proposed to him to accompany him to his tent, which he said was not ahove two hundred paces distant. Chwostoff, not to sliow any fear^ said: 'Come!' They went to the tent, where " above ten robbers collected. One of them be- " came impertinent, and said to Chwostoff, strik- " ing him on the shoulder : ' You are but a boy» " and make so much noise!' Chwostoff, sensible " that this boldness might encourage the others to " further liberties, instantly took his resolution, and gave the robber, with all his force, a blow which laid him sprawling on the ground. ,He then brandished his sabre and said : ' If you will attempt any thing against me, it may cost you dear ; I will alone be a match for you, and my companions are at hand." The robbers were confounded ; the captain gave the aggressor a " reproof, and said : ' You have forgotten that you " are a Warnack (exile), but His Honor an Impe- " rial Officer !* He then made him fall at Chwo- " stoff's feet, and beg his pardon. Thus peace " was made with the robbers, who now, not only " gave up all thought of plunder, but even offered '• us all they had, except sugar, which they said " they had found upon a merchant. We declined " their offers, and badeihem beware of attempting " any treachery towards us. They assured us they " would not, and that they were not such robber& AND DAWIDOFF. 263 '* as they were supposed to be ; that they had run " away out of necessity, took from the merchants " only what was absolutely indispensible, and " could not prevail on themselves to kill any " body, except in their own defence." The intrepidity displayed by Chwostoff, on this occasion, was exerted with the same success, some time after, in a rencontre with a still larger band of robbers. Respecting* the half-savage tribes which inha- bit this extensive region, we find in Mr. Dawidoff' s narrative numerous particulars, some of which per- haps are more interesting than new. The Jakutschi- ans are a tribe remarkable for their good nature, simplicity, credulity, superstition, gluttony, un- cleanliness and in general all their habits. The following account of their mode of proceeding to- wards the bears combines almost all the features of their character. " When they meet a bear on their way, they pull off their caps and salute him. They call him Commander, Old Gentleman, GrandflUher, and other flattering names. They humbly entreat him, to be pleased to let them pass, and assure him, that they will neither attack him, nor speak ill of him. If the bear does not listen to them, but attacks the horses, they fire at him, as if by accident, and then eat him with great delight. Meantime, they make an image, which represents Boenai (their 264 VOYAGES OF CHWOSTOFF i\v ! will you the;i eiitirely sacrifice yourself for us?" He however interrupted her, and fell on his knees, saying : " hear me, dear mother ! it cannot now be altered, I must be gone ; I therefore beseech you, do not rob me of my only consolation ; it wil' make me easy while I am far from you, and con- stantly put nie in mind to take care of my life, since it can !?till be useful to you." When every thing was at last settled, and he had made himself ready to set out with his com- panion Ddwidoff"(\vho would not quit him), Chwos- toff seemed to feel a new interest in the journey. The reason was, that on his one day waiting upon the nnnister of commerce, the latter asked him, whether if an expedition were resolved upon, which required great exertions and an enterprising spirit, he should like to undertake it? Chwostoff replied, with his usual ardour, " the more dange- rous it is, the more agreeable it will be to me.** — This question inspired him with a hope, that 278 VOYAGES OF CHWOSTOFF some opportiinity might perhaps be afforded him of distinguishing- himself in an extraordinary manner. With this hope which flattered his lead- ing passion, thej set out on the 14th of May 1804. It may be proper to mention here, that a short time before his return to St. Petersburg, the imperial counsel or of state and chamberlain, Re- sanoff, sailed as ambassador to Japan ; with the Nadeshda and the Neva, commanded by captain Krusenstern. The reader knows from captain Krusenstern*s narrative, that the Japanese govern- ment did not receive the embassy, declined enter- ing into negociations for a commercial intercourse, and refused to let our ships enter their harbour. Meantime, Chwostoffand Dawidoff arrived at the end of August atOchotzk, whence they sailed for America on board of the ship Maria. This ves- sel having sprung a considei'able leak, they were obliged, in order to save themselves, to enter into the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul, where, on account of the advanced season, they remained to winter. In the month of May, in the following year (1805), the frigate Nadeshda, arrived there, with the ambassador Resanoif on board, after the failure of his mission to Japan. Here Chwostoff and Dawidoff saw the ambassador, and passed un- conditionally under his orders. Soon after, Kru- senstern sailed M'ith his two ships, to return to Rus- sia, but Resanoff staid to regulate the affairs of AND DAWIDOFF, 279 the American company, and went with Chwostoff and Dawidoff to America. They visited the islands of Oonalashka, St. Paul, and Kodiak, and arrived at last in the har- bour of new Archangel in the island of Sitka. Resanoff, in whose person the Russian ambassa- dor had been insulted by the Japanese, here de- sired means to inspire them with greater respect for our flag, and to make them sensible, that if they lived in hostility and strife with us, they ex- posed themselves to feel the force of our arms; whereas, if they were on terms of peace and amity, they might expect numerous and important advan- tages from us. This he believed to be the only way to force them to amicable and commercial relations with us. This hope was increased by secret information which he had received during the time he was in Japan, that the spiritual and the temporal powers, were at variance with each other : the latter and the people, were inclined to receive the embassy and to enter into commercial relations with us; but the spiritual power had opposed it, and had prevailed. Consequently, the smallest support given by us to the temporal power, would reduce the spiritual to silence. Building upon this, he formed the following plan : — Near to Japan lies the fruitful island of Saga- leen, the aboriginal inhabitants of which, are a dif- ferent race from the Japanese. We once had ade- 280 VOYAGES Ob CHWOSTOFF sign, (it may be about 60 years ago,) to form a permanent settlement upon it ; but it is not known what became of the colonists who were sent thi- ther. The Japanese took possession of shis island, settled upon it, subjugated the inhabitants and treated them as slaves, ilesanoff resolved to send an expedition to this island, to expel the Japanese from it, to destroy their settlements, to carry away as much as possible and deliver the rest to the in- habitants or consign it to the flames. We were to take the inhabitants under our protection, to dis- tribute medals among their chiefs, and declare them Russian subjects. Some Japanese were to be seized, particularly the priest for the pagoda, with all the idols and sacred utensils. This he thought necessary, that the Japanese who were taken to Ochotzk might be treated as well as pos- si"ble ; their priest might perform divine service according to their own rites, and at the end of a year, they were ail to be sent to Japan, that they might then give an account of the good reception they had met with from us, and inspire the people with some confidence in us, ResanofF considered the trade with Japan not only as necessary, to open new sources of wealth, but as the only and indispensible means, to pre- serve our establishments in those barren and in- hospitable regions. He thought that it was time' to chastise the Japanese, for their offensive con- AND DAWIDOFF. 281 duct in not receiving our embassy, and to induce them to another line of rondiut by force of arms. The p'an havine, had he not happily under his command Lieutenant (-'hwostoff, an officer full of fire, zeal, ability and uiiparalleled intrepidity. Soon after the building of one of the ships was began, an opportunity offered to pur^ saved their lives, and to whom a piece of biscuit must have been more welcome than treasures. lu consequence of this order the magistrate detained tliem at Jakutzk. Soon after the governor-general of Siberia, who had heard of it, sent for them to Irkutzk. Meantime their letters had been received at St. Petersburg, and laid before the Emperor ; AND DAWIDOFF. 293 Upon which orders were immediately issued, by the minister of the marine, not to detain them any where. At last, after an absence of five years, they returned, in 1808, to St. Petersburg. They had scarcely enjoyed two or three months repose, after their long- hardships, when his Excel- lency Count Buxhovden, commander-in-chief of the army in Finnland, who had been informed of their return from America, and had heard much of their talents and courage, wrote to the minister of the marine, Tschitschagow, particularly request- ing these two officers to be sent to him, to employ them against the enemy. The minister of the marine applied to them to ask their consent. The American Company was unwilling to part with them ; but they both replied, without regard to their narrow circumstances and the hardships they had endured, that they were at all times ready to serve the Emperor and their country. They immediately set out for Finnland and on the third day after their arrival there, embarked on board the gun-boats, TTie division under the command of Captain Seliwanow was sent against an island belonging to the enemy. It consisted of twenty gun-boats and one larger vessel : the fifteen first of which were under the particular command of Chwostoff, and the five others of Dawidoft*. The actions of Lieutenant ChwostolF are suffi- ciently known from the official accounts. In the 294 VOYAGES OF CHWOSTOFF battle which took place, on the 18th of August, between the islands of Sudzala and Worzella, he was the chief cause of the victory over the enemy, whom they accidentally met with, and whose force was thrice as great as their's, as may i)e seen in the printed account of this battle; in which among other things, it is stated, " Captain Seliwanow re- " ports to the commander-in-chief, Avith particular " gratitude, the courage of the whole division, " and bestows the highest commendations on ': Lieutenant Chwostoff, who is a model of incre- " dible bravery. Regardless of the shower of grape " shot, and not deterred by seeing four gun-boats *' sink under him, and of six rowers only one left, '• he continued to advance, and defeated the enemy. " The same praises are bestowed on his courage " by the commanders of the land forces. All those " under his command extol him, and wherever he " shewed himself his presence inspired every one " with fresh courage." It is well known that when the commander- in-chief heard the cannonade, and was thus in- formed of the approach of the superior force of the enemy, who was not thought to be so near, he gave up all our gun-boats for lost ; but when the division returned, and Chwostoff brought the ac- count of the victory, his joy went so far, that pass- ing, just at the moment, by the principal guard, which turned out to present arms, he exclaimed, AND DA WI DOFF. 295 '' Not to me, not to me — to the conqueror T' pointing' to Cinvostoif. The detailed report, and the accounts given by the officers of the army present at this battle, of the heroic deeds of this officer, so greatly ex- ceeded probability, that the commander-in-chief resolved to inquire of those immediately under him, and went, expressly for that purpose, to that part of the coast where the gun-boats lay. He addressed both sailors and soldiers, saying, " Tell me, friends, who was the cause of the victory ?" To which they unanimously answered " Chwos- toff." The hand of Providence seemed to have protected his life in this battle. Four times the enemy's balls and grape shot destroyed the gun- boats under him ; four times the waves covered him ; yet he did not lose his presence of mind ; was every where, and ordered every thing; ani- mated the people, and commanded them to follow him. When the first gun-boat sunk under him, and he was taken up out of the sea, he went on board another, and his first word was " advance !" A ball having entered the prow of this gun-boat, and killed many men, the people, in the confusion, seeing the water enter, and not knowing how to stop the leak, were going to put about the vessel, when Chwostoff pulled off his uniform, ordered 296 VOYAGES OF CHWOSTOFF them to stop the leak with it, and exclaimecf, " row ferward I" Actions like these gained him general esteem. Though not wounded he felt in his whole body the consequences of these exertions. The com- mander in chief allowed him, to live on board his yacht in order to recover himself; but he did not repose long. He soon went with Dawidoffto Vice-Admiral Messajedow who commanded, at another place, a tleet of galleys and other vessels. Here, exclusive of some dangerous and fatiguing expeditions, they were conquerors in two actions, on the 6th of September, off the island of Palwo, and the 19th of September oif the island ofTev- salo. Chwostoft* received the command of a pretty large division, with which, he every where de- feated the superior forces of the enemy. Vice-Ad- miral Messajedow in his reports, speaks of him in the highest terms. Dawidoff accompanied Chwos- toff everywhere, was slightly wounded in the foot, displayed on all occasions extraordinary bravery, and was also highly commended. After the con- clusion of the campaign, towards the commence- ment of winter, the commander in chief, desirous of rewarding them for their distinguished services, took tbem into his snite, and let them go to St. Petersburg to remain there, for the recovery of their health, till they should be promoted. On the 4th of October 1809, Captain Wulf AND DAWIDOFF. 297 arrived from the United States of North America. This was the captain of whom they bought the Juno, as related above, with whom they had sailed from the island of Sitka to California, and had always been on the most friendly terms. This captain and Mr. Von Langsdroff, who was also well acquainted with them, paid them a visit, and as the captain was to go to Cronstadt the following day, in order to return to America, they agreed to spend the evening with Langsdoff who lived in Wassilij-Ostrow. They accordingly met there, and staid till two o'clock in the morning. When they got to the bridge over the Newa, they found that it was open* As they wanted to be at home early in the morning, they were in haste to get to the other side. At that moment, (so the accounts say) a boat was passing through the bridge. It appeared to them easy to jump from the bridge into the boat, and from that, to get again on the bridge. But the attempt failed, and both fell into the water. The darkness of the night, the rapid current under the bridge, and a violent wind, rendered assistance impossible. The Newa had buried them in its waves. Such was the melancholy end of these two highly distinguished and unfortunate officers. Their bodies were not found. * It is a draw-bridge. (See note, page 301.) 298 VOYAGES OF CHWOSTOFP After this short account of these two officers, I must mention in what state the work which I now publish was at their death. Dawidoff after his return from Finnland lived with me. I had several of his papers and letters to his friends, written at different times, from various places in America, and found many interesting- particulars in them. I advised him to compile out of them a regular narrative of both his journeys to America. He objected indeed, that all the necessary mate- rials, such drawings, plans, charts, remarks, &c., had been taken from them at Ochotzk, and were doubtless lost with all their effects. I however per- sisted, and by help of his memory and his remain- ing papers, he completed the narrative of their first journey and voyage, which being shewn to the Board of Admiralty, Avas approved and ordered to be printed. Only eight sheets were printed, when DaAvidoff and his friend perished in the manner above related, so that he was never able to begin the account of the second journey and voyage. The only materials for the compilation of this, are de- tached notes and letters to friends ; but all in such a state, that it will require much time, reflection, and pains to form them into a connected narrative. I preserve them, however, in the hope of being- able in time, to put them together and publish them. The reader will, perhaps, be glad to hear some AND DAWIDOFF. 299 particulars of the character and manners of these two officers, with whom I was very well ac- quainted. Chwostoff united in his character two contrary qualities, the gentleness of a lamh and the fire of a lion. At home he was the most respectful son to his father and mother; in affliction or sickness, he never quitted them a moment, and was ready to sacrifice everv thiu^- for them. He was much at- tached to his relations and friends, and would rea- dily have laid down his life for a friend, (even though the latter might not entertain the same sentiment towards him) when he had once be- come attached to him. In company he was fond of talking- and disputing, but was very good tem- pered, and often bore offensive expressions, which his opponents had used in the warmth of dispute, without calling them to account for them. All knew his intrepidity, and the strongest and most daring of his companions, who were so formidalde to others, though conscious oftheir superior bodily powers, (for he was of a middle stature, and but moderately strong) never ventured, if they saw the smallest symptom of anger in him, to provoke him any farther. To his superiors and commanding officers, he was respectful and obedient, but when it was necessary, he freely, though with modesty, expressed his sentiments. He was extremely obli- ging to every body, and so kind to the poor and 300 VOYAGES OF CHWOSTOFF needy, that he frequently gave away all the money that he had about him. Such was his character in the domestic and social circle. What he was in the field of battle, may be judged from what has been above related. Eye witnesses relate the fol- lowing characteristic anecdote : — In the battle near the island of Tevsalo, he was sent with some gun- boats to meet the enemy. He had approached within two cannon shot, and was preparing every thing for the combat, when a letter was delivered to him from his mother, in which she conjured him to think of her, and not expose his life to too much danger. On reading this letter he burst into tears. His people were astonished at this sight, and lost their courage: but the enemy's first shot is fired and his ardour returns. — One who had been under his command told me that, in the con- quered places, his greatest care was to preserve the inhabitants from suffering any offence or violence from the victors. He was often sent to by night, or from distant places, to ask his protection, and he never failed to go himself, to hear the com- plaints and give satisfaction to the injured party. He perished in his 34th year, and therefore much under the age in which the Cooks and the Nelsons reaped their laurels. What hop6s perished with him ! AND DAWIDOFF. 301 Gavvrilo Ivvanowitsch Dawidoff was born in the year 1784, brought up in the corps of sea cadets, and made officer in 1798. In his earliest youth he was distinguished not only by remarka- ble acuteness of understanding, but also by extraor- dinary application. He acquired a considerable degree of literary and mathematical knowledge, so that he was the first on the list of 50 or 60 young men who were recommended that year, to be ap- pointed officers. He was tall and robust, of a pleasing countenance, an agreeable companion, enterprising, resolute and bold, more fiery than ChwostofF, but not so firm. He possessed a lively imagination and a good understanding, read a great deal, was fond of amusements, con- versation and company, but readily renounced them for dangers and enterprises. He was seven or eight years younger than Chwostoff, with whom he first became accjuainted, as 1 have related above, on the occasion of their first journey to America. They never separated after this, and even the hand of death seized them both at the same time. Note. — Thoug-h nothing has yet been published from the papers of Mr. Dawidoff, except the account of the first journey and expedition from St. Petersburg to Ochotzk, and thence to the North-west coast of America, a particular account of the subsequent voyages both to the North-west coast of Ame- rica, and thence to California to procure provisions, has been 302 VOYAGES OF CHWOSTOFF AND DAWIDOFF. published by Mr. Langsdorff,* who had accompanied Captain Krusenstern, in his voyage to Japan, and arrived at the harbour of St. Peter and Paul at the time when Messrs. Chwostoft' and DawidofF were there with the Maria. Mr. Resanow wishing to have a physician with him, proposed to Mr. Langsdorff to quit the expedition, and accompany him on his intended expeditions. To this proposal he acceded, notwithstanding the regret he felt at leaving Captain ^Crusenstern, but animated with a desire of exploring countries hitherto but imperfectly known. The result of these researches have been given to the world, in the second volume of his highly interesting and instructive narrative. He quitted Sitka to return to Kamtschatka, leaving Mr. Resanow there with ChwostofF and DawidofF preparing for the first expe- dition against the Japanese. Mr. LangsdofF was still at St. Peter and Paul, when first DawidofF, and afterwards ChwostofF arrived there, as above related. Mr. LangsdorfF gives some account of their proceedings against the Japanese, which he, like Admiral Schischkow, attributes to the Chamberlain Resanow, who says he *' had, ever since his unsuccessful mission to Japan, borne the ua- " tion no little grudge, and thought of revenging the affront by *' sending a secret expedition against the Japanese settlements, " in the southernmost of the Kurile jsiuiids, on the plea, that '* these islands as stated by Pallas, had been all previously taken " possession of by the Russians." Mr. LangsdorfF speaks of Messrs. ChwostofF and DawidofF, in terms of the warmest friendship and respect, and eloquently laments their unhappy fate, after spending in his house the last night of their lives. They had, he says, passed the bridge, and called to him and cap* tain AVolf when they were safe over ; but, for some unknown reason, must afterwards have attempted to return. * A Voyage to the Aleutian Islands, and North-West Coast of America; and return by Land over the North-East parts of Asia, through Siberiu tj Peletsburgh, a route never before performed. 4to , Plates, 13 J 4, FINIS. LONDON : PRINTED BY SCHULzE A N O DEA N, 1 3, POLAND STREET, OXFORD STREET. X *J ou 1 i University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 • Box 951388 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. t .^^ 3 1158 00272 2865 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000 105 631 6 iFORNlt LBS