builder, and tried to content him by giving him "a living like unto a lordship in England, with eighty or ninety husbandmen as his servants and slaves," but he still pined for home, and importuned to be allowed to depart, as he says, "to see his poor wife and children, according to conscience and nature." The first Dutch vessel arrived at Firando in 1609, whence a deputation was sent to the emperor, which succeeded in obtaining leave to establish a factory at Firando, to supply which they might send a ship or two yearly. By means of this vessel Adams sent a letter to the English merchants settled at Java, which is still extant. After enclosing a note for his wife, "in a manner a widow," to be delivered to her at Limehouse, he proceeds to write: "You shall understand that the Hollanders have here an Indies of money, so that they need not bring silver out of Holland to the East Indies, for in Japan there is much gold and silver to serve their turn in other places where need requireth." He then adds the following description of the inhabitants: "The people of this island of Japan are good of nature, courteous above measure, and valiant in war. Their justice is severely executed, and without partiality, upon transgressors. They are governed in great civility. I think no land in the world better governed in civil policy. The people are very superstitious in their religion, and are of diverse opinions. There are many Jesuits and Franciscan friars in this land, and they have converted many to be Christians, and have many churches in the island." This letter being read to Captain Saris of the Clove, who arrived at Bantam in October, 1612, he determined on proceeding to Japan, and anchored off Firando in the following year. No sooner had the ship anchored than the king came off, by name Foyne-Sama, who had shown so much kindness to the Dutch, now seventy years of age, attended by his grandson. The account of the interview is amusing enough:

They came with forty boats, or galleys, with from ten to fifteen oars aside; but on approaching the vessel all fell back, except the two which carried the princes, who came on board unattended, except by a single person each. They were bareheaded and barelegged, wearing shoes but no stockings; the forepart of their heads shaven to the crown, and their hair behind, which was very long, gathered up into a knot. They were clad in shirts and breeches, over which was a silk gown girt to them, with two swords of the country at their side, one half a yard in length, the other half as long. Their manner of salutation was to put off their shoes, and then stooping, with their right hand in their legs, and both against their knees, to approach with small sidling steps, slightly moving their hands at the same time, and crying, "Augh! augh!"

Captain Saris conducted them to his cabin, where he had a banquet spread, and the king received with much joy a letter from the King of England. After he had gone on shore, all his principal people visited the ship, bringing presents of venison, wild boar, fruit, fish, &c. The captain took several of the better sort of women into his cabin, where a picture of Venus and Cupid "did hang somewhat wantonly, set out in a large frame, which, mistaking it for the Virgin and Son, some of the women kneeled to and worshipped with great devotion." Soon after, King Foyne came on board again, and brought with him four women of his family. They were barelegged, except for a pair of half-buskins bound by a silk ribbon above their insteps, and were clad in a number of silk gowns one over the other, bound about their waists by a girdle, their hair very black and long, and tied in a comely knot on the top of the

head, no part of which was shaved like the men's. They had good faces, hands, and feet, clear-skinned and white, but wanting colour, which, however, they supplied by art. They were low in stature and fat, courteous in behaviour, of which they very well understood the ceremonials according to the Japanese fashion.

At first the ladies seemed a little bashful (writes Saris), but the king "willing them to be frolic," and all other company being excluded but myself and the interpreter, they sang several songs, playing on an instrument much like a theorbo, but with four strings only, which they fingered very nimbly with the left hand, holding in the other a piece of ivory, with which they touched the strings, playing and singing by book, the tunes being noted on lines and spaces, much the same as European music. Not long after, desirous to be "frolic," the king brought on board a company of female actors not much better than slaves, being under the control of a master, who carried them from place to place, and who exhibited comedies of war, love, and such like, with several shifts of apparel for the better grace of the matter acted.

From Firando Captain Saris and his company proceeded to Suruga, where the emperor held his court. He describes the highway as level, but sometimes cut through mountains, the distance being marked in divisions of about three miles by two little hillocks on each side of the way, planted at the top with a fine pine-tree "trimmed round in fashion of an arbour." This road, crowded with travellers, ran through a succession of farms, country houses, villages, and great towns. It passed many fresh rivers by ferries, and near many temples situated in groves, "the most pleasantest places for delight in the whole country." Every town and village was well supplied with taverns, where meals could be obtained at a moment's notice. Here two horses and men were obtained for the palanquins, like post-horses in England. The general food was rice, though the people also ate fish, wild fowl, fresh and salted, and various herbs and roots. They ploughed with horses and oxen, and raised good red wheat. The entrance into Suruga was not so pleasant, as they had to pass several crosses on which malefactors were nailed. The town itself the travellers estimated as large as London with its suburbs. All the handicraftsmen lived in the suburbs, not to disturb the inhabitants with their hammering. On being presented to the emperor (after first saluting the empty chair of state), Captain Saris was graciously received, and presented the king's letter, which the emperor took and raised towards his forehead. The captain was then requested to go to Jeddo and visit the emperor's son. That city was found to be much larger than Suruga, and with much handsomer buildings, making a very glorious appearance, the tiles and posts of the doors being richly gilded and varnished. There were no glass windows, but shutters opening in leaves and handsomely painted. From Jeddo the travellers proceeded on a visit to the seaport of Orenga, whence they coasted back to Suruga, where the imperial letter was awaiting them, granting the English the same commercial privileges as the Dutch.

The result of these interviews with Protestants was that the emperor issued still more stringent edicts against the Jesuits, who were all ordered to quit Japan. On their refusal, they were very harshly treated, and many gained that crown of martyrdom for which they yearned. The churches at Nagasaki and the monasteries were destroyed, and, as if to root out all memory of Christianity, heathen temples were built on their

sites. Still the monks would not relax in their efforts to smuggle in missionaries, and, consequently, in 1624, all the ports of Japan were closed against foreigners, except Firando and Nagasaki, the former remaining open to the Dutch and English, the latter to the Portuguese, and both to the Chinese.

Finding that the means hitherto employed had little effect upon the missionaries and their native assistants, a new torture was resorted to, known as the torment of the fosse. A hole was dug in the ground, over which a gallows was erected. From this gallows the sufferer, swathed in bandages, was suspended by his feet, being lowered for half his length head downwards into the hole, which was then closed by two boards fitted together around the victim so as to exclude light and air. One hand was bound behind the back, the other was left loose with which to make the prescribed signal of recantation, in which case the sufferer was at once released.

Excited by these outrages, the people of Arima, who were all Christians except the king and nobility, seeing no other hope, broke out into rebellion. Mustering about thirty-seven thousand, they took possession of a fortress, but being besieged there in 1637, they were cut off to a man. The Portuguese were accused of being the instigators of the revolt, and at once were ordered to quit the country, while no Japanese were allowed to leave it. The Portuguese ships that arrived the next year were sent back, but the governor of Macao, alarmed at the loss of such a valuable trade, sent deputies to intercede with the emperor. These were seized and killed, with the exception of fourteen of the lowest class, who were sent back to Macao, and thus the connexion of the Portuguese with Japan finally ceased. The intrigues of the Dutch had thus triumphed, and they hoped to reap the reward. Although they displayed their subserviency by giving up to the Japanese every friar captured on board Spanish and Portuguese ships, and helped in putting down the revolt of the Christians, they excited jealousy by building a strong stone fortress at Firando, which they were ordered to demolish. They obeyed, but were transferred to Nagasaki, and confined to the same small, artificial island of Desima, where the Portuguese had been so long shut up. Other measures were also soon taken to reduce their profits. The Japanese were growing alarmed at the great efflux of silver, which amounted in one year to nearly two millions of dollars, and set an appraisement on the Dutch goods much less than the old prices. In 1685 an order was issued prohibiting the Dutch from selling more in one year than the value of 300,000 taels, or about 80,000l. of our money. In the same way the Chinese trade, which had been largely increasing, was limited to 600,000 taels, the annual number of junks not to exceed seventy. It was at this period that Kämpfer, the most celebrated of all the travellers in Japan, entered the Dutch service as surgeon to the factory at Desima. To him we shall be indebted for many of the details we are enabled to collect.

Kämpfer reached Nagasaki on the 22nd September, 1690. On sighting land, all books relating to religion were given up to the captain, who put them in an old cask to be hidden away from the Japanese. So soon as the ship dropped anchor she was boarded by the revenue officers, who took complete possession of her. All their arms and gunpowder were taken away. "In short," says Kämpfer, "had I not been beforehand

acquainted with their usual proceedings, I could not have helped thinking I had got into a hostile country, and we had been taken for spies." Most particular was the care shown by the Japanese in comparing the ship's manifest with the persons on board. Great difficulties were raised because the steward had died the previous day, but the officers at length satisfied themselves by inspecting him to see whether he had any cross about him, and then burying him without the presence of the crew. At length, all preliminaries being arranged, Kämpfer landed for his two years' imprisonment in Desima. His object was to gain all possible information about the country, but in this he encountered many difficulties. The Japanese officers with whom the Dutch came in contact were bound by an oath not to talk with the Dutch respecting the domestic affairs of the country, its religion, or politics, and were also bound by oath to watch and report on each other. Strangely enough, the Japanese felt a contempt for the Dutch because they were only merchants, whom they place in the lowest caste. However, by great liberality, Kämpfer succeeded in gaining the friendship of several Japanese, who gave him much valuable information. The most important part of Kämpfer's work is certainly that relating to his two journeys from Nagasaki to Jeddo and back, and to these we will confine our attention, as they furnished him with the chief opportunity of seeing Japan as it was. first for the preparations for the journey:

And

To complete our traveller's equipage some other things are requisite, which are commonly tied to the portmantles; such are: a string with seni, a brass money with a hole in the middle, they being more proper to buy what necessaries are wanted on the road than the silver money, which must be weighed-people that travel on horseback tie this string behind them to one of the sashes of the seat, foot travellers carry it in a basket upon their back; a lantern of varnished paper, with the possessor's arms painted on the middle-this is carried before travellers by their footmen upon their shoulder in travelling by night; a brush made of horsehair or blackcock feathers to dust your seat and clothes-it is put behind in a net more for show than use; a water-pail, which is put on either side of the seat, opposite to the brush, or anywhere else; shoes or slippers for horses and footmen. These are twisted of straw, with ropes, likewise of straw, hanging down from them, whereby they are tied about the horses' feet, instead of our European horse-shoes, which are not used in this country. They are soon worn out on stony, slippery roads, and must be often changed for new ones. For this purpose, the men that look after the horses always carry a competent stock along with them tied to the portmantles, though they are to be met with at every village, and are offered for sale by poor children begging along the road.

Among the natives, it is customary to wear a cloak made of doublevarnished oiled paper, so wide that it covers horse and rider. To keep off the heat of the sun, travellers are provided with a large hat, made of split bamboos or straw, very artfully twisted in form of an extended sombrero or umbrella." On their journeys they wear very wide breeches, tapering toward the legs, and slit on both sides to put in the ends of their long, loose gowns. They never go abroad without fans, and, on their journey, these articles have an itinerary printed upon them, telling them at what inns to put up. Some buy, instead of these, books of the road, sold by numbers of poor children begging along the highway. The buildings, Kämpfer tells us, are not so magnificent as those in Europe,

even the palace of the Dairi, or ecclesiastical emperor, being only one story high. The reason for this is found in the numerous earthquakes; but if not so large, the houses are superior to ours in cleanliness and curious furniture. There are no partition walls to divide off rooms, but they use folding screens, made of coloured or gilt paper, which can be removed as they please. The floors are made of boards, covered with fine mats, all of the same size, through the empire. The ceilings are covered with gilt or coloured paper, embellished with flowers, and, in short, "there is not one corner in the whole house but looks pretty and handsome: and this the rather, because all their furniture may bought at any easy rate." The castles of the nobility are built either on the banks of rivers or on hills. They generally consist of three different fortresses, covering one another. Each enclosure is surrounded by a deep ditch and a thick, strong wall, with gates, but they have no guns.

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Passing through cities and villages, we always found upon one of the chief public streets a small place encompassed with grates, for the supreme will, that is, for the imperial orders and proclamations. The governor of each province publishes them in his own name for the instruction of passengers. They are written in large, fair characters upon a table a foot or two in length, standing on a post at least twelve feet high. The oldest contain the edict against the Roman Catholic religion, and specifying what reward will be given to any person discovering a Christian or a priest. Sometimes the edicts have pieces of gold or silver money nailed to them, as a reward to any person who first discovers any criminal therein mentioned. Another remarkable thing we met with, were the places of public execution, easily known by crosses, posts, and other remains of former executions. They commonly lie without the village on the west side.

The gardens of the inns are beautifully kept up, and the more drew the attention of our traveller, as the only places where he had liberty to walk freely. They are generally thirty feet square, paved with round pebbles, laid out in a mosaic fashion. There are a few trees and shrubs, and a small rock curiously made in imitation of nature, with brazen birds and insects placed among the stones. Another ornament is usually a small temple, with a brawling stream running past, and very often may be noticed a fish-pond with live fish, surrounded by aquatic plants. All along the roads Kämpfer found an innumerable quantity of smaller inns and cook-shops, where a handsome housemaid, or two young girls, invited people to come in and buy something. The landlord and maids began blowing up the fire directly they saw a traveller in the distance. Some made tea, others prepared soup, or filled cups with saki (rice beer), which they offered to the guests. The tea used in Japan is very coarse, being made only of the old leaves, for the natives say that tea prepared after the Chinese manner is deleterious. The account given by Kämpfer of the morality of the Japanese ladies appears fully to confirm the statements recently made by writers in the Times. The less said about it will be decidedly the better. Suppose we turn to the account of the visit to the emperor at Jeddo:

We were conducted up two staircases into a spacious room next to the entry, being the place where all persons admitted to an audience wait till they are called in. It is a large and lofty room, but, when all the screens are put on, pretty dark, receiving but a sparing light from the upper windows of an adjoinIt is otherwise richly furnished, according to the country fashion,

ing room.

VOL. XLIV.

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