About The Distance Indicated In The
Text, There Is A Town And Bay Named Odavara, On The Western Side Of
The Gulf, And In The Direct Way Back To Surunga, Which May Possibly Be
The Oringgaw Of The Text.
- E.]
[Footnote 23: The characters have by some been thought to be those of
China, but I compared them with Chinese books, and they seemed to me
quite different, yet not letters to compound words by spelling, as
ours, but words expressed in their several characters, such as are
used by the Chinais and as the brevity manifesteth. I take them to be
characters peculiar to Japan. - Purch.
In a marginal reference in the plate given by Purchas, the lines are
said to read downwards, beginning at the right hand. It may possibly be
so: But they appear letters, or literal characters, to compound words
by spelling, and to be read like those used in Europe, from left to
right horizontally. In a future portion of our work, the subject of the
Japanese language and writing will be farther elucidated; when, we
believe, it will appear that they have two modes of writing, one by
verbal or ideal characters like the Chinese, and the other by
literal signs like all the rest of the world. - E.]
Letter from the Emperor of Japan to the King of Great Britain.
Your majesty's kind letter, sent me by your servant Captain Saris, who
is the first of your subjects that I have known to arrive in any part of
my dominions, I heartily embrace, being not a little glad to understand
of your great wisdom and power, as having three plentiful and mighty
kingdoms under your powerful command. I acknowledge your majesty's great
bounty, in sending me so undeserved a present of many rare things, such
as my land affordeth not, neither have I ever before seen: Which I
receive, not as from a stranger, but as from your majesty, whom I esteem
as myself, desiring the continuance of friendship with your highness:
And that it may consist with your good pleasure to send your subjects to
any part or port of my dominions, where they shall be most heartily
welcome, applauding much their worthiness in the admirable knowledge of
navigation, as having with much facility discovered a country so remote,
not being amazed by the distance of so mighty a gulf, nor the greatness
of such infinite clouds and storms, from prosecuting the honourable
enterprises of discovery and merchandising, in which they shall find me
to encourage them as they desire. By your said subject, I return to your
majesty a small token of my love, desiring you to accept the same as
from one who much rejoices in your friendship. And, whereas your
majesty's subjects have desired certain privileges for trade and the
settlement of a factory in my dominions, I have not only granted what
they desired, but have confirmed the same to them under my broad seal,
for the better establishment thereof. Given from my castle of Surunga,
this fourth day of the ninth month, in the eighteenth year of our reign,
according to our computation; resting your majesty's friend, the highest
commander in the kingdom of Japan.
Subscribed
Minna Muttono[24]. Yei. Ye. Yeas.
[Footnote 24: In the copy of the privileges, Purchas gives this name
Mottono while the editor of Astley's Collection has altered it to
Monttono. In the privileges formerly inserted, the date is made in the
nineteenth month, perhaps an error of the press in the Pilgrims, which
we have therefore corrected to ninth. - E.]
At my return to Surunga, I found a Spanish ambassador from the
Philippine islands, who had only been once introduced to the emperor,
and delivered his presents, being certain Chinese damasks, and five jars
of European sweet wine, and could not obtain any farther access to the
emperor. The purpose of his embassy was, to require that such Portuguese
and Spaniards as were then in Japan, not authorised by the king of
Spain, might be delivered up to him, that he might carry them to the
Philippines. This the emperor refused, saying his country was free, and
none should be forced out of it: But, if the ambassador could persuade
any to go with him, they should not be detained. The cause of the
ambassador making this request was on account of the great want of men
to defend the Molucca islands against the Dutch, who were then making
great preparations for the entire conquest of these islands. After the
ambassador had waited for an answer till the time limited by his
commission was expired, and receiving none, he went away much
dissatisfied: And when at the sea side, an answer was returned, as
mentioned above, together with a slender present of five Japanese gowns,
and two cattans or swords.
About a month before I came to Surunga, being displeased with the
Christians, the emperor issued a proclamation commanding that they
should all remove immediately, and carry their churches to Nangasaki, a
maritime town about eight leagues from Firando, and that no Christian
church should be permitted, neither any mass be sung, within ten leagues
of his court, on pain of death. Some time after, twenty-seven natives,
men of good fashion, being assembled in an hospital or Christian
Leper-house, where they had mass performed, and this coming to the
knowledge of the emperor, they were all commanded to be shut up in a
house for a night, and to be led to execution next day. That same
evening, another man was committed to the same house for debt, who at
his coming was a heathen and quite ignorant of Christ or his holy
religion; but, next morning, when the officer called at the door for the
Christians to come forth for execution, and those who renounced it to
remain behind, this man had been so instructed during the night by the
others, that he came resolutely forth along with the rest, and was
crucified with them.
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