The Journal of Olof Eriksson Willman Signature of Olof Eriksson Willman

The Journal of Olof Eriksson Willman Signature of Olof Eriksson Willman. Photo Kurt Eriksson, Riksarkivet, Stockholm The Journal of Olof Eriksson Willman

From His Voyage to the Dutch East Indies and Japan 1648–1654

Translated, Annotated and with an Introduction by Catharina Blomberg

LEIDEN • BOSTON 2014 Cover illustration front: Original seal of Olof Eriksson Willman. Photo Kurt Eriksson, Riksarkivet, Stockholm.

Cover illustration back: The chalice and paten donated by Olof Eriksson Willman to Västervåla Church. Photo Catharina Blomberg.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Willman, Olof Eriksson. The journal of Olof Eriksson Willman : from his voyage to the Dutch East Indies and Japan, 1648–1654 / translated, annotated and with an introduction by Catharina Blomberg. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-26126-6 (hardback : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-90-04-26127-3 (ebook) 1. Willman, Olof Eriksson--Travel--Japan. 2. Japan--Description and travel--Early works to 1800. 3. Willman, Olof Eriksson--Travel--Indonesia. 4. Indonesia--Description and travel--Early works to 1800. 5. Willman, Olof Eriksson--Diaries. I. Blomberg, Catharina. II. Title. DS808.W55 2013 910.4’5--dc23 2013033801

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CONTENTS

Introduction by Catharina Blomberg 1

Part One The Journal of Olof Eriksson Willman 19

Part Two Notes to the Text 79

Bibliography 133 Index 137

INTRODUCTION

Catharina Blomberg

The annals of the Dutch East India Company, VOC, as well as the very limited number of journals and travel accounts written by its employees, provide valuable source material for the history of the European presence in Asia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Scholarly works from this period written specifically about Asian countries, their peoples and customs by those who had had an opportunity to make first-hand observations are extremely rare, forming an entirely different genre. The following work, in two parts, written by a Swedish employee of the VOC in the mid-seventeenth century, presents an uncommon, not to say unique, view of life before the mast. Olof Eriksson Willman had enlisted in the Company as a soldier bound for the garrison in Batavia, headquarters of the Dutch trading empire in Asia. His main objective was to travel as far as possible from Europe and see the world, and he carefully recorded everything that he considered worthy of note during his years in Asia, and especially in Japan. Having had the benefit of a university education, albeit prematurely interrupted, he was able to note down his impressions and observations with some precision. There are few examples of detailed personal accounts of the actual sea voyage to and from Asia, and the same can be said about daily life in the Dutch factory at Deshima in the harbour of Nagasaki as well as during the long journey to Edo, present-day Tokyo, and the stay there. Ships’ log- books and the daily journals, known as Daghregisters, of the VOC factories tended to record events in a formal and businesslike manner, border- ing on the laconic. Willman, however, presents us with a succession of glimpses from the lives of ordinary people, whose curiosity, often mixed with a wish for social preferment or indeed sheer avarice, made them set out for countries and conditions largely unknown to them. Some of the more adventurous led extraordinary, often brief, lives in the proximity of local princes and potentates, only to be cut down in their prime by dis- ease, shipwreck or violent death by other causes. Willman, whose time in Asia was spent in hard work but comparative safety, lived to tell his tale. Olof Eriksson Willman was probably born in the early 1620s, the son of Ericus Magni (Erik Månsson) Björkstadensis, the rector of Västervåla, a

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parish in the diocese of Västerås in central Sweden. His father, who hailed from the parish of Björksta in the same diocese, hence his Latinized sur- name, had taken up office in 1614, according to the register containing the biographies of the diocesan clergy, known in Swedish as ‘Herdaminne’, i.e. ‘Memorial of Shepherds’. He is on record as ‘a careless and useless clergyman, who neglected his work because of his concern for victuals and hard agricultural labour, so that the people forgot the catechism, of which he himself also had scant knowledge. However, he remained for so long in his position that he had to be removed from it in 1654 because of old age and infirmity’, and already in 1628 he had been required to keep a curate.1 He was succeeded by his son-in-law, Petrus Johannis Svedviensis (Peter Johansson from Svedvi, also in the diocese) born in 1602, who had been his curate for twenty years and had married his daughter Kerstin (Christina Wallenia), an older sister of Willman, in 1634. It was customary, and indeed often a prerequisite for obtaining the position, among Swedish clergy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to ‘conserve the widow’ of their predecessor in the office by marrying her. Willman’s father had married Margareta Andersdotter, widow of his predecessor Christophorus Olai (Christoffer Olsson) in 1614. There were five children, two sons and three daughters, and the fact that their births went unrecorded seems to bear out the criticism of Ericus Magni as neglectful of his duties. His wife died in 1627, and he married again in 1631. Ericus Magni died in 1667, his second wife, Barbro, having predeceased him in 1658. Of the other two daughters, Sara married Per Kart, a burgher in Västerås, and Elisabeth married Lars Jacobsson ‘of the parish’, who farmed the vic- arage land. Of his two sons, the older, Anders, was born in 1615 according to his own diocesan record, and later, together with his sister Kerstin, adopted the family name of Wallenius, calling himself Andreas Erici Wallenius after his ordination as a clergyman in 1644. According to the diocesan records his younger brother, Olof Eriksson Willman, adopted his own family name ‘because of his vita erratica’. The Swedish verb ‘villa’ means ‘to err, to go astray, to lose one’s bearings’, and because of his travels, which took him to all the continents of the known world at the time, he must have found this name apposite. The older brother Anders was admitted to the Latin school in Västerås, considered one of the best in Sweden, in 1625, and was matriculated in Upsala University in 1638. After returning to Västerås he was a prebendary of various parishes in the

1 Muncktell, Joh. Fr.,Westerås Stifts Herdaminne, Tredje Delen, Upsala, 1846, p.200.

introduction 3

diocese while also teaching Hebrew in the Latin school in Västerås. He died in 1663, having spent his last years as a vicar in Mora in the adjacent county of Dalarna (Dalecarlia). Olof Eriksson Willman was admitted to the Latin school in Västerås in 1632, and if we assume that he began his formal schooling at the same age as his brother the year of his birth would have been 1622 or 1623.2 He was matriculated in Upsala University in 1641, the entry for 11 February of that year mentioning an ‘Olaus Erici Vesmannus’, i.e. Olof Eriksson from the county of Västmanland, but returned to the Latin school in 1643. He ‘abandoned his Studies’, as he himself put it, in 1644 in order to join the army, which was engaged in one of Sweden’s frequent wars with Denmark. When the peace treaty had been concluded at Brömsebro in the summer of 1645 Willman remained in the south of Sweden, spending the next two years ‘in Service’ in the town of Halmstad on the coast of Halland, one of the counties just ceded by Denmark. Halmstad had a fortified castle, and further fortifications were being planned. Most probably Willman was still employed by the Swedish army, presumably for a fixed term. He obtained his discharge in the autumn of 1647, and was at last able to indulge the strong desire to travel abroad which had made him give up his studies. He lost no time in travelling across to Kronborg in Denmark, i.e. the town of Helsingør, where he made the acquaintance of the captain of a Dutch ship which was homeward bound. Once he arrived in Amsterdam he joined the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, commonly abbreviated VOC, i.e. the Dutch East India Company, on a five-year contract. From the time when the ship to which he had been assigned set sail in the New Year of 1648, to his return to Stockholm in July 1654, practically every single day, or at least month, of Willman’s life is accounted for. His journeys to and from Asia, as well as his stay in Batavia and his year in Japan, are in fact the best documented part of his life. Details concerning his subsequent career in Sweden are sketchy, although it seems clear that he must have joined the Royal Swedish Navy almost immediately upon his return, since he was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1655. Royal Swedish Navy records show that in 1658 he commanded the Admiral’s ship Kronan (The Crown) in the war between Sweden and Denmark which concluded with the peace treaty at Roskilde the same year, but which soon flared up again. In October-November 1659 Willman commanded the ship Solen (The Sun) in a flotilla of four ships

2 Ekström, Gunnar, Västerås Stifts Herdaminne, II:I, 1600-talet, Västerås, 1971, pp. 78–80; p. 268.

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sailing in Danish waters from Korsør in Sealand to Stubbekøbing in Falster and preying on merchant vessels from Lübeck. Three letters reporting on this expedition and addressed to the King, Carl X Gustaf, are still extant, dated 24 and 28 October and 7 November. At least two merchant vessels from Lübeck, one of them bound for Copenhagen with a valuable cargo, had been captured, and the last of the three letters contains bitter com- plaints by Willman and his second-in-command, Anders Jacobsson, that although the ships had been brought to Stubbekøbing ‘untouched, fully laden up under all the hatches so that one couldn’t put one’s foot inside’ they had been completely emptied by the ‘Commissary’, presumably the official in charge of making an inventory of the cargoes. Willman and Jacobsson declared their total innocence in the strongest terms, signing themselves ‘Humble and Faithful Servants as long as we live.’ The first letter, of 24 October, is particularly interesting, not because of its contents, which deal with the effects of a severe storm and the insubordination of a captain, but because it was written on a double sheet of paper. One half of the sheet was left blank, and when the letter was folded it was this side which was used for the address of the intended recipient, i.e. the King, using all his titles. Of the two black seals, one is still completely intact, bearing Willman’s initials in the form of a capital W with a capital O superinscribed. The seal is about one square centimetre in size, in the shape of a square with truncated corners, i.e. a non-equilateral octagon. A gold signet ring is mentioned in the inventory for the probate of his will, and judging by the seal this was a tasteful and elegant object. In 1663, Willman is on record as the commanding officer of a company known as the ‘the winter guard’ in Stockholm. In 1664 he commanded a frigate, Höken (The Hawk), which was conveying the Moldavian Prince Stefan Georg from Pärnu (Pernau) in Livonia to Stralsund, both Swedish possessions at the time. This unfortunate personage, who had been driven from his country by the Turks in 1658, spent the last decade of his life travelling between friendly courts in search of shelter and pecuniary assistance. He had been an ally of the late King Carl X Gustaf, and in 1665 he was awarded a state pension by the guardians of the ten year old King Carl XI before moving to Brandenburg, where he died destitute in 1668. Willman appears to have commanded the ship Göteborg (Gothenburg) in 1665, and Örnen (The Eagle) the following year. In 1667 he was to have commanded the man-of-war Danska Fenix (The Danish Phoenix) on a cancelled piratical expedition to the Barbary Coast. From 1668 to 1669, he was master of a merchantman, travelling to London, Amsterdam and Portugal. In 1673, Willman wrote a petition

introduction 5

addressed to the King, giving details of his long and honourable service in the Admiralty and asking for the promotion he considered his due and which had eluded him so far. The petition, dated 14 May 1673, the day when it was received, states that he had served in the Royal Navy for eigh- teen years. Willman referred to his ‘manifold Travails in foreign Countries’, as well as the rich prizes he had taken, including a single ship worth 60,000 riksdaler, drawing attention to the fact that some of his former subordi- nates, who in his opinion were less deserving, had long since received promotion. He humbly supplicated the King to consider this, ‘with some Promotion, with which to comfort me for my long and faithful service’. The document bears Willman’s signature, ‘Olavus Willman’, but the text itself is in another hand, if we compare it with the letters of 1659 and a previous petition written in 1671. This was also addressed to the King, and concerned a farm, owned by the Crown but with fixity of tenure, in the county of Småland in southern Sweden. Willman had acquired this in 1667, apparently in lieu of repayment of a loan he had given the previous tenant, and was hoping to have his own tenancy ratified in perpetuity. In this document he referred to his sixteen years’ service in the Royal Navy, hence the presumed date of 1671, as well as ‘the perfection at the Acad emy of fourteen years of studies’ and ‘ten years in foreign countries’. Although he had ‘taken part in all occasions of war’ he had not ‘enjoyed any Promotion or Benficium [sic!]’. The text and Willman’s signature are written in the same hand and ink, obviously his own. The ‘fourteen years of studies’ would seem to include some primary tuition, probably received in his home. Nothing seems to have come of either petition, and he died soon afterwards, on 25 July 1673. The parish records of the church of Hedvig Eleonora in Stockholm contain an annotation concerning a payment made on 5 August of that year, presumably the day of his funeral, for three ring- ings of the bells for ‘Captain Oluf Willman’. He left a widow, Catharina Johansdotter, daughter of the Mayor of Torshälla, Johan Christofferson, and two young sons, Erik, nine, and Johan, five years old, apparently named after their paternal and maternal grandfathers, as was the custom in Sweden. There had been an earlier marriage, apparently without sur- viving issue, to a Christina Jacobsdotter Lenaea. Willman’s Travel Journal and History of Japan were not his only literary achievements. He appears to have composed a threnody in Latin and Swedish upon the death of his father-in-law in 1671, demonstrating his martial knowledge. A much earlier poem, from 1644, lamenting the death of a daughter of the bailiff of the royal castle of Strömsholm in Västmanland,

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is creditably attributed to him. In 1664, he published an ode composed by his late brother Anders, vicar of Mora, who had died the previous year, adding a dedication in Latin to King Carl XI and the dowager Queen Hedvig Eleonora. The author’s name is given as Andreas Erici Wallenius, and the work, entitled In honorem Amplissimae Suecorum Provinciae Dalecarliae (In Honour of Dalecarlia, Most Plentiful Province of the Swedes), is a panegyric to the county and its people which includes a list of the kings of Sweden as well as all his clerical predecessors in the diocese. The work was printed in Stockholm, and the dedication bears the signature ‘Olavus Willman, Reg. Navis Praefectus’ (Olof Willman, Captain in the Royal Navy). Already in 1645 Anders Wallenius had published a short poem in hexameter, Martis et Artis Honor (The Honour of Warfare and the Arts), extol- ling the virtues of the Swedes and dedicated to Queen Christina. During his years as a teacher in Västerås, Wallenius also wrote several celebratory verses to colleagues on the occasion of the publication of their theses, and to friends, benefactors or other acquaintances at their weddings, as well as epitaphs for funeral sermons, all of them in Latin. A poem in Swedish praising the natural beauty of the county of Dalecarlia was published in 1670 by his son Gabriel Wallenius (1648–1690), who added a foreword in Latin. Another son, Daniel Wallenius (1658–1698) was able to finance his studies at Upsala University by composing occasional verse. This talent may well have rendered him his last position before his death, as tutor to the sons of the renowned statesman and poet Count Erik Lindschöld, and he was posthumously characterized as ‘a dedicated lover of poetry since his tender years.’ The inventory for the probate of Willman’s will, dated 12 February 1675, shows that he was fairly comfortably off. He owned two properties in Ladugårdslandet, then the eastern outskirts of Stockholm, valued at 7,000 riksdaler together, amounting to half the value of his entire estate. There were several items of jewellery, including ten plain gold rings, one diamond ring, and another ring set with ‘nine small rubies’. A gold signet ring is also mentioned, and as we have seen above from the seals on Willman’s letter dated 24 October 1659 at Falster in Denmark it bore his initials O.W. The table silver, including four tankards weighing nearly 400 grammes each, several drinking cups and sixteen spoons, was valued at over 1,400 riksdaler. The most valuable single item among sundry household goods was a clock, ‘horologium’, worth nearly twice as much as the diamond ring. Several firearms, including two rifles and a carbine are to be found under the heading ‘musketry’, together with ‘one halberd of no value’.

introduction 7

Judging by the number, over a dozen, of his debtors, among whom we find his niece Brita Wallenia, the daughter of his late brother Anders, Willman was a benevolent man. He appears to have given careful thought to the education of his two young sons, whose schooling was to include the necessary exercises, i.e. riding, drawing and fencing, and who were to take up occupations for which they showed an inclination as well as aptitude. Olof Persson Lindblad, an accountant in the Admiralty, was appointed their guardian, and in fact married Willman’s widow in 1675. Willman’s eldest son Erik became a government clerk in Stockholm, and his descendants were either burghers or government officials, the family eventually dying out in the early twentieth century. Concerning the fate of his younger son nothing appears to be known. Interestingly, Willman left an unusually large library for a person of his station at this time, comprising some one hundred and seventy volumes. There were nineteen volumes in folio, including ‘Dictionarium Calepini Octo Linguae’ (Calepino’s Dictionary in Eight Languages), one of many editions of this sixteenth and seventeenth century vademecum for travellers, as well as Euclid’s ‘Elements of Geometry’ and Livy’s ‘History of Rome’. Among other folio volumes we find ‘Itinerarium Jan Huyghens’ (Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, Itinerario) an account of voyages to the East Indies between 1579 and 1592. The work, published in 1596, contains a chapter on Japan. Another volume dealing with Asia was ‘Athanasii Kircheri Descriptio China’ (Athanasius Kircher, S.J., China Illustrata), a compilation based on written and oral Jesuit sources, published in Amsterdam in 1667. It is tempting to speculate that Willman may have acquired this work in 1668–1669 when he travelled regularly to Portugal. The Jesuit order was proscribed in Sweden, together with the Catholic church, and such works would not have been for sale in Sweden. There was a further item in folio, intriguingly described as ‘A written Dutch Book’, i.e. a bound manuscript in Dutch, possibly a copy made by Willman himself of a work he may have been able to borrow. One may perhaps be allowed to speculate even further that this was in fact François Caron’s work on Japan, of which more below. There were forty-three volumes in quarto, including several on Asian travel, among them Willman’s own book, ‘Olai Willmans Reesa’. Here we find ‘Petri Willem’s East Indian and Chinese Journey in Dutch’ (Pieter Willemsz. Verhoeff, Journael), a journal of travels to the East Indies, China and the Philippines from 1607 to 1612, published in 1645, as well as ‘Diarium Nauticum Itineris Batavorum in Indiam Orientalem’ (Nautical Diary of the Journeys of the Batavians, i.e. the Dutch, in East India). This was

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almost certainly Gerrit de Veer’s Diarium Nauticum, from three journeys undertaken in 1594, 1595 and 1596, published in Amsterdam in 1598. We also find ‘Joh. von Twist’s description of India in Dutch’ (Johan van Twist, Generale Beschrijvinghe van Indien), a description of India, and particularly Gujarat, published in 1645, as well as ‘Wijbrandt Schramb, East- Indian Journey in Dutch’ (Wijbrant Schram, Journaal ende Verhael Vande Oost-Indische Reyse, gedaen bij den Heer Admirael Wybrant Schram), 1626, new edition 1650. The number of volumes in octavo and duodecimo amounted to one hundred and eight, and included a work by Arnoldus Montanus, presumably his Gedenkwaerdige Gesantschappen der Oost-Indische Maetschappij aen de Kaisaren van Japan (Noteworthy Embassies of the East India Com pany to the Emperor of Japan), published in Amsterdam in 1669, i.e. two years after the first edition of Willman’s own work. This was another volume which he could have bought himself when in Amsterdam in the year of its publication. The inventory of his library continues: ‘Furthermore old [books], some Dutch printed, some written [i.e. in manuscript] which are of little value’, and goes on to mention ‘… some Disputations and placards and other writings’. What these were we will never know, but one cannot help wondering whether, for example, the material for Willman’s account of François Caron’s near-fatal contretemps with the Bakufu, or the tragic outcome of one of the last Portuguese embassies to Japan might not have been included here. The subjects represented in Willman’s library were in the main useful for a professional naval officer, and indicative of a methodical and cul- tured mind. The bulk of the books were in Latin, although there were not a few works in Dutch, German, French and Danish, as well as several Latin and Greek dictionaries and grammars. Among works on arithmetic, astronomy and mathematics we find not only Euclid, but also Joseph Justus Scaliger’s De emendatione temporum (On the Correction of the Reckoning of Time) originally published in 1583. The so-called Julian period, named after the author’s father, Julius Scaliger, and not to be confused with the Julian calendar, put the beginning of time in the year 4713 b.c. There were books on economics and geography, as well as biology and botany, and the numerous historical works ranged from Livy to contemporary European and world history. Military history, military sci- ence and navigation figured prominently, as did military law, including a work on maritime and naval law by Johannes Loccenius (Johann Lochen, 1598–1677), originally from Holstein, who taught history and jurisprudence at Upsala University at the time when Willman studied there. There

introduction 9

were also some topographical works, of which the most useful must have been a guide to Amsterdam, in Latin. Willman owned several Bibles in Swedish and a New Testament in Latin, and many theological works, including commentaries by Luther and Melanchton. Among the fine arts we find literature by classical authors, e.g. Cicero, Horace and Plutarch, as well as works on music and drama. Poetry appears to have been something of a special interest in Willman’s family, as we have already noted above. He owned a copy of the poems (Poëmata), published in 1617, of Hugo Grotius (Huig de Groet, 1583–1645), the Flemish academic and statesman, who taught jurisprudence at Upsala. His most remarkable work, De jure belli ac pacis (On the Laws of War and Peace) 1625, laid down ethical rules according to the law of nations as well as natural law concerning the justification of war, peace treaties and the treatment of prisoners of war, and Grotius’s fame soon rendered him an appointment as Swedish ambassador to the court of Louis XIII of France, 1634–1645. Particularly noteworthy among the poetical works in Willman’s library is the first edition, printed in 1658, of Hercules, a poem written in hexameter in Swedish by the statesman Georg Stiernhielm (1598–1672) on the theme of Virtus heroica (heroic virtue). This epoch-making work earned Stiernhielm the appellation ‘the father of Swedish poetry’, and it is interesting to see that Willman kept up with the latest developments in this particular field. The library of Västerås Grammar School contains an inscribed volume, Schindleri Lexicon Pentaglotton (Schindler’s Dictionary of Five Languages), which had been a gift from Willman to his brother. The volume has several inscriptions in Latin, the first by the original donor, H. (?) Munthe, to ‘my singular friend Mr. Willman’. The second inscription is by Willman himself, ‘Olavus Willman West-Montania Suecus’ (Olof Willman from Västmanland, Swedish), beginning with ‘Christ is my only symbol of hope’, and going on to state that ‘I wrote this at Helsingör of the Danes, in Öresund, when I sailed from Norway to Sweden, the Day of May 24th in the Year 1654.’ The third and longest inscription is by Willman’s brother Anders: ‘Olof Eriksson Willman, my most beloved Brother, returned to Västerås after a decade on the 24th Day of July 1654, having circumnavigated Europe, Africa, Asia and America, and furthermore having visited the Indies and Japan, aided throughout by divine clemency. In memory of this event he gave me this book, among other objects, records of various tribes and peoples, a token of fraternal love, as a gift. Andreas Eriksson Wallenius.’ The last inscription, in Swedish, dates from 1692, when a descendant of Anders Wallenius gave the book to a friend, as a memento of his late brother. Only

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one volume which can be traced back to Willman’s library, since it appears in the inventory, has so far been found, namely Herrmann Fabronius’s Newen summarischen Welt Historia : unnd Beschreibung aller Königreiche und Fürstenthumb auff Erden (New World History in Brief, with a Descrip tion of all Kingdoms and Principalities on Earth), published in Schmalkalden in 1612 and now in the Royal Library, Stockholm.3 No mention has been found anywhere else of the objects brought home by Willman and presented to his brother, nor is there any indication in the inventory for the probate of his will of anything which might be construed as having an Asian provenance, unless the item ‘16 small portraits’ referred to some travel souvenirs. The only tangible objects remaining, apart from the neat imprint in black sealing wax of his signet ring, are the silver gilt chalice and paten donated by Willman in 1661 to his old parish church of Västervåla, possibly in commemoration of his wedding. The cup of the chalice was enlarged in the eighteenth century, however, and it is not clear whether the inscription bearing the names of Willman and his wife in fact replaces an original engraving. Willman has been rather cursorily mentioned in a surprisingly small number of mainly scholarly works published in Sweden, nearly always in references concerning such fields as cartography, bibliography and military history. The Linnaean scholar Carl Peter Thunberg, author of the Flora Japonica, Leipzig, 1784, and the seminal work in four volumes entitled Resa uti Europa, Africa, Asia, förrättad åren 1770–1779 (Travels in Europe, Africa, Asia, Undertaken in the Years 1770–1779), published in Upsala 1788–1793 and immediately translated into English, French and German, nowhere mentioned that he had any knowledge of Willman’s work. His contemporary, the eccentric theologian and polymath Samuel Ödmann included Willman in his Strödde samlingar utur Naturkunskapen till den Heliga Skrifts Upplysning, Fjerde Flocken (Various Collections from Natural History for the Explanation of the Holy Scripture, Fourth Group), published in Upsala in 1798. Ödmann mentioned Willman in his preface: ‘Although he cannot be considered as belonging among trav ellers in the Levant, he often provides remarks about animals which are mentioned in the Bible. His journey is written in diary form, and bears the stamp of the strictest credibility. Willman not only alleges that he has seen what he describes with his own eyes, but also refers to witnesses.’ (…) ‘His diary from the journey to Jedo, as well as the general

3 Walde, Otto, ‘Bokanteckningar och lärdomshistoria’ (Book Notes and the History of Learning), Lychnos, Upsala, 1941, pp. 41–43.

introduction 11

account of the Japanese, is good for its time.’ A doctoral thesis by Birger Gezelius, entitled Japan i västerländsk framställning till omkring år 1700. Ett geografiskt-kartografiskt försök (Japan in Western Accounts up to around the Year 1700. A Geographical-Cartographical Attempt), published in Upsala in 1910, quoted Ödmann’s characteristic of Willman’s account as ‘bearing the stamp of utmost reliability’, but devoted a mere two pages to a sketchy report of Willman’s work. In 1923 Harald Hjärne published Två svenska japanfarare (Two Swedish Travellers in Japan) about Willman and Thunberg, devoting considerably more space to the latter and more famous of the two. The main difficulty is that none of the above, nor any subsequent authors mentioning Willman, had any specialist knowledge of Japan, let alone its history and society in the seventeenth century, and that they have borrowed from one another’s writings. A paper in a celebratory volume published by the Gothenburg Museum of Shipping in 1948 provided a sketchy and incomplete outline of Willman’s career in the Admiralty, and the author of a monograph on the printer Johann Kankel, published in 1965, quoted from it concerning Willman’s naval service.4 No modern edition of Willman’s work has so far been published in Sweden. It is, alas, necessary to draw a veil over two amateurish attempts in the early 1990s at producing popularized renderings of his Travel Journal and History of Japan. An equally futile exercise was a Japanese translation of the Travel Journal, published in 1953, which inexplicably omitted Willman’s account of his stay in Japan. Three papers by the present author and translator, entitled respec tively ‘‘Mecanical Apples’—Olof Eriksson Willman’s Impressions of Japan, 1651–1652’, Transactions of the International Conference of Orientalists in Japan, No. XXXVII, The Tōhō Gakkai, Tokyo, 1992; ‘Idolaters and Devil Worshippers—Religion in Olof Eriksson Willman’s Travel Diary from Japan, 1651–1652’, Le Vase de béryl, Etudes sur le Japon et la Chine en hommage à Bernard Frank, ed. by Jacqueline Pigeot and Hartmut O. Rotermund, Editions Philippe Picquier, Arles, 1997; and ‘Jammaboos and Mecanical Apples—Religion and Daily Life in Olof Eriksson Willman’s Travel Diary from Japan, 1651–1652’, Itinerario, European Journal of

4 Forsell, Arne, ‘Till historiken om Nils Mattsson Kiöpings och Olof Eriksson Willmans reseskildringar’ (To the History of the Travel Accounts by Nils Mattson Kiöping and Olof Eriksson Willman), in Herbert Jacobsson 1878–1948, Sjöfartsmuseet i Göteborg, 1948, pp. 49–51. Almqvist, Sven, Johann Kankel, Per Brahes boktryckare på Visingsö (Johan Kankel, Per Brahe’s Printer on Visingsö), Upsala, 1965, pp.40, 102, 106, 131, 137.

12 catharina blomberg

Overseas History, Vol. XXII, No. 2, Leiden, 1998, are the first to have dealt specifically with Willman in a foreign language. Willman’s book, in two parts, comprising his travel journal as well as a history of Japan, was first published in 1667 at Visingsö, the domain of Count Per Brahe (1602–1680). Brahe, a leading statesman in seventeenth century Sweden, was Chancellor of the Realm, Governor General of Finland, and a member of government during the minority of Queen Christina, who succeeded her father, Gustaf II Adolf, at the age of six in 1632. In 1636, Brahe set up a school on the island of Visingsö in Lake Vättern in southern Sweden, and ten years later he acquired a paper mill nearby. In 1666, Brahe employed Johann Kankel (1614–1687) from Wolgast in Swedish Pomerania as his private printer, and the volume containing Willman’s work and that of Nils Mattsson Köping, another Swedish travel- ler in Asia although not in Japan, was indeed the first book to be printed by Kankel. The first edition amounted to five hundred copies, of which one hundred were for sale, the rest being for Brahe’s private use. During its twenty years’ existence the press produced thirty-five works in all. Willman’s book was reprinted in 1674, after his death, with no significant revision, except a slight mitigation of his critical remarks about the VOC and what he saw as its collusion with the Japanese government in bringing about the expulsion of the Portuguese merchants. The historical part of Willman’s work is an unacknowledged translation, virtually in extenso, of François Caron’s Beschrijwinghe van het Machtig Coninckrijke Japan (Description of the Mighty Kingdom of Japan) which had been completed in 1636 and was first printed in Amsterdam in 1648. The edition used by Willman had been printed in 1661 with Caron’s own corrections. At a time when the concept of copyright was not yet even considered it was not uncommon for one author to borrow material from another, but to translate a work in its entirety without even mentioning the original author seems rather high-handed, especially since Willman expressed his great admiration for Caron more than once. The translator of Caron’s work into English, Captain Roger Manley, clearly stated the original author’s name on the title page of his book, published in 1663. Willman interspersed Caron’s text with his own remarks and addenda, abbreviated it, sometimes quite drastically, and misread or misunderstood it in places. All such instances are discussed in the footnotes. Willman’s translation of Caron’s work, incidentally, is still the only one in the Swedish language. Willman’s travel journal may appear somewhat reminiscent of Xenophon’s Anabasis, with its constant repetition of the movements

introduction 13

of the author and his party. It shows a genuine desire, however, to give detailed descriptions of noteworthy events during the sea voyages as well as during his stay in Batavia. The places visited by Willman in Japan were of particular interest to him, and he carefully copied down their names and remarked on their chief characteristics. He clearly made notes throughout, and must have carried pen, ink and paper in his luggage. Among his mannerisms a veritable mania for recording place names as well as the dimensions of the buildings he visited in Japan is of particular interest, as several of the edifices he described no longer exist. He noted unfamiliar features in the landscape as well as among the people, making comparisons with conditions in Sweden. The quality of the roads, particularly the Tōkaidō (Eastern Sea Route) between present-day Kyoto and Tokyo, masonry in general, and especially the bridges, won his unquali- fied admiration. Japanese food, which he sampled only occasionally during the journey to the Shōgunal court, left him indifferent. He was unable to distinguish between Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, and referred with abhorrence to anything connected with Japanese religion as ‘idolatry’. We may note, however, that he displayed an equally strong revulsion against the persecution of Japanese Catholics, despite the fact that he was the son of a Lutheran clergyman and a staunch Protestant. Since 1192, the de facto ruler of Japan was the Shōgun, Generalissimo, while the power of the Emperor was entirely symbolic and ritual. A series of Shōgunal dynasties had succeeded one another, and after a century of intermittent civil war, from 1477 to 1574, the country had been united under three successive warlords. The last one of these, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had been appointed Shōgun in 1603, had finally succeeded in bringing all the feudal lords, daimyō, to heel in 1615, when they were required to swear an oath of allegiance to him personally. The régime was consoli- dated under his successors, who at last put an end to the foreign presence in Japan which had begun with the arrival of the first Christian missionaries in 1549. There had been a fair number of converts to Catholicism, especially in Kyushu, and Portuguese merchants based in Macao had followed in the wake of the missionaries. The first Dutch ship arrived in Japan in 1600, and within a decade the Dutch East India Company, VOC, which was based in Batavia, had established a flourishing trade with Japan. The Tokugawa government, Bakufu, viewed Christianity as a threat to the political and social stability of Japan, and there were waves of persecution of Japanese Christians, culminating in the expulsion of all foreign missionaries in the 1620s. After the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637–1638, a peasant revolt against prohibitive taxation but with certain Christian elements,

14 catharina blomberg

the Portuguese trade was terminated. The VOC were allowed to continue trading with Japan, largely because the Dutch as Protestants had no interest in carrying out any missionary work, and henceforth only Dutch and Chinese merchants were allowed into the country. 1651, when Willman arrived in Japan, was an unusually momentous year. The only serious attempt to overthrow the Tokugawa Bakufu, the so-called Rōnin conspiracy, instigated by a group of lordless samurai, was discovered in time and foiled, and early in 1652 Willman witnessed the outcome of it when he saw two hundred executed conspirators outside Osaka while on the court journey to Edo. The third Tokugawa Shōgun, Iemitsu, died in 1651, and was succeeded by his ten year old son, Ietsuna, whose accession was celebrated with a general amnesty. This event appears to have been much talked about in the Dutch factory at Deshima, not least because one of the interpreters had a brother who had been imprisoned on suspicion of being a Christian and who was released on this occasion. The Dutch factory, originally situated at Hirado on the north-western coast of Kyushu, had been forcibly moved to the artificial island of Deshima in the harbour of Nagasaki ten years earlier and was to remain there for the duration of the VOC’s existence. The VOC officials were kept under strict surveillance by the guards and interpreters posted on Deshima by the Japanese authorities, and the only passage to the town of Nagasaki was via a guarded bridge. The head of a VOC factory was known as Opperhoofd, and only in Japan did the authorities require that the incumbent be changed every year. The high point of the year in Japan was the so-called Hofreis, court journey, when the Opperhoofd, accompanied by his second-in-command and the physician, in the seventeenth century usually a mere barber-surgeon, as well as the Hofmeister or majordomo, travelled to Edo for an audience with the Shōgun in order to request renewed permission to trade. On these occasions the VOC brought lavish gifts for the Shōgun himself as well as the leading members of the Bakufu. There were sometimes requests from the Shōgun for specific items, and new technical inventions or novelties, particularly firearms, and objects such as field glasses, spectacles or magnifying glasses were especially sought after. The Hofreis, complete with a sizeable retinue of Japanese guards, interpreters, porters and grooms, including a cook who prepared food for the foreigners, sometimes in the European style, was paid for by the VOC. Willman, who seems to have had a frugal streak, often commented on the cost of meals or the party’s lodgings. The office of interpreter was hereditary, and practised by a number of families who often intermarried. There were different ranks, according to seniority and profi- ciency, and since the interpreters had to accompany the VOC physician,

introduction 15

whose services were greatly in demand during the stay in Edo, a number of them eventually took up medicine as a profession. The interpreters were not encouraged to fraternize with the Dutch at Deshima, although some appear to have been more forthcoming and communicative than others. By the mid-seventeenth century the Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602, was a large and profitable organization, with twenty- nine factories from Persia via Bengal, Ceylon, Burma, Siam, China and Formosa to Japan. It also covered most of the Indonesian islands, with its Asian headquarters in Batavia, present-day Jakarta. The Governor General and Council in Batavia were obliged to report back to Amsterdam, where the so-called Committee of Seventeen made the final decisions, and since all correspondence was carried on VOC ships news and instructions took several months to arrive. Batavia was built along the lines of any Dutch port city, but with a strong fortress, like all the other VOC trading posts. The merchants and officials attached to the VOC formed an often very wealthy bourgeoisie, leading lives far above their original station at home. Willman did not mention anything about living conditions, either in the different garrisons where he was stationed in Batavia, or in the considerably more confined space on Deshima, nor did he discuss the conditions aboard ship, except to mention that a sizeable part of the crew died of scurvy or other illnesses during the sea voyages. Through one of his contemporaries, the German Johann Jacob Saar, whose work Reise nach Java, Banda, Ceylon und Persien, 1644–1660, Nürnberg, 1672 (Journey to Java, Banda, Ceylon and Persia, 1664–1660, Nuremberg, 1672) is to be found in the collection entitled Reisebeschreibungen von Deutschen Beamten und Kriegsleuten im Dienst der Niederländischen West- und Ost-Indischen Kompagnien 1602–1797 (Travel Accounts by German Officials and Soldiers Serving in the Dutch West and East India Companies 1602–1797), The Hague, 1930, we have detailed information about the rations aboard ship. These were distributed weekly, on Sundays, when each man was given five pounds of ship biscuit, one glass of oil, two glasses of vinegar, and half a pound of butter. Meat was served three times a week, and three quarters of a pound of meat was distributed every Saturday for the coming week, although this was very heavily salted, having been stored in brine for four to six years. On Tuesdays half a pound of smoked streaky bacon was distributed. Beer was served as long as the stock lasted after departure. Every morning a quantity of vermouth was served, and after the midday meal an equal measure of Spanish wine, and with the evening meal a glass of French wine was served. Smoking was prohibited below deck, due to the fire hazard. Fresh food, such as

16 catharina blomberg

chickens, eggs, bananas and lemons, was bought in the Cape Verde islands according to Saar, and Willman also mentioned the taking on of fresh provisions whenever possible. It is interesting to note that the famous diarist Samuel Pepys mentioned in his Memoirs Relating to the Royal Navy, 1679– 1688, that his sister-in-law, who had spent the years 1664–1673 in Holland with her husband, had remarked to him that the conditions of Dutch seamen were known to be greatly superior to those of their British coun terparts, especially where clothing and conditions on board ship were concerned. In Batavia as well as in Japan a more varied diet was available, although the preferred cuisine was almost exclusively European. The VOC provided new suits of clothes for those who went on the Hofreis, a mark of respect for the Shōgunal court as well as a means of demonstrating the Company’s worth. On the journey to Edo the VOC party wore clothes of blue serge. Black was worn when appearing in front of high Japanese officials, or when moving about Edo. For the Shōgunal audience or official meetings with members of the rōju, council of state, a red and white suit of clothes was worn, according to the instructions for Pieter Blokhuys embassy to Japan in 1649.5 Whether he made notes with a view to subsequent publication is impos sible to say, although it is clear that Willman wished to have a record of his travels for his personal use. He was very keen to demonstrate that he had enjoyed a university education, inserting references to such luminar- ies as Tycho Brahe or Scaliger and showing off his Classical learning whenever possible. Despite the fact that he was sailing before the mast he often seems to have managed to make friends with his superiors, for example the mate on the ship in which he returned to Europe, another Swede, who revealed the contents of sealed orders in confidence. He must have made frequent mention of his past experience of warfare, and since no detail in the lives of the VOC employees at Deshima was likely to escape the vigilance of the Japanese interpreters attached to the Dutch factory the fact that he possessed some specialist knowledge of the use of firearms was duly reported to the authorities. The journey to Edo and the Shōgunal audience were the high points of his travels, and Willman’s real moment of glory came when he was inter- viewed by the head of the Japanese government’s secret intelligence on several occasions, and rather lavishly fêted at least once. He could not refrain from recording the annoyance displayed by the VOC officials at

5 Michel, Wolfgang, Von Leipzig nach Japan, Der Chirurg und Handelsmann Caspar Schamberger (1623–1706), Iudicium, München, 1999, p. 59.

introduction 17

what they must have regarded as a breach of etiquette by someone in a subordinate position. His description of the audience at the Shōgunal palace in Edo is particularly valuable, as Edo castle was ravaged by fire a few years later and entirely rebuilt. Next to nothing can be said with certainty concerning Willman’s char- acter, except that he must have been an intelligent man, something we can deduce from his writings. His promotion while in VOC service in Batavia, and the fact he was chosen for the position of majordomo in the employ of the head of the VOC factory in Japan, indicate that he was com- petent as well as dependable, and that his manner must have been pleasant. The so-called Hofmeister was, among other things, in charge of the table silver, which played an important part when the VOC entertained prominent Japanese officials. It would appear, however, that the competition for this position may not have been overwhelming, as it has been remarked that: ‘The European soldiers were the scum of all nations. They were poorly paid, ill treated, and half-disciplined; they fought in a strange country, under a debilitating climate, constantly subject to sickness.’6 Willman’s subsequent career, as well as those of a number of people mentioned by him, shows that there were some notable exceptions to this rather sweeping generalization, however, and that talent had a way of showing through. Furthermore, the biographical data of a number of governors, heads of factories and others in high office in the VOC administration allow us to conclude that there was no dearth of adventurers, opportunists, or those who were simply out for the main chance, and not too particular about how they obtained it, among their ranks also. Willman’s work is characterized by the inconsistent and erratic spelling of proper names so typical of his time. This applies to place names also, and the modern spelling has been added in brackets throughout. Similarly, an occasional word or phrase has been added, also in brackets, in order to clarify the meaning, or as a substitute for an obviously acciden- tal omission. Willman’s transcription of Japanese personal names, terms or place names is extremely garbled, no doubt due to the fact that he only heard them spoken, or copied down written Dutch material. The correct transcription has been added in brackets. His punctuation can only be described as idiosyncratic, with interminable sentences, a trait which has been retained to some extent as it serves to illustrate the author’s way of

6 Day, Clive, The Dutch in Java, Oxford University Press, 1966, p.51. First published in New York and London 1904, under the title The Policy and Administration of the Dutch in Java.

18 catharina blomberg

thinking. The old usage of spelling nouns with capital letters has been retained, in order to preserve a modicum of the original flavour of Willman’s prose, and the same applies, within reason, to his syntax. Willman chiefly used Swedish weights, measures and currency, and these are explained in the relevant footnotes. It is impossible to say when the book was written, as it was published more than a decade after Willman’s return to Sweden, but we may perhaps be permitted to speculate that the travel journal was written up first. The fact that it was written in Sweden seems clear from internal evidence, i.e. frequent references to places, persons or customs ‘here in Sweden’ or ‘here in Stockholm’, and since the narrative retains a certain freshness we may perhaps assume that it was written fairly soon after Willman’s return. It is a plain, matter-of-fact account, although not entirely devoid of sophis- tication, written in a style which may occasionally appear somewhat whimsical in the eyes of the modern reader. Willman’s narrative completely lacks the kind of sensational details which tend to appear in travellers’ tales, especially from little known exotic places, while his rather sparse personal comments provide some hints of what interested or astonished him. When Willman’s book was published the historical description, pirated from Caron and entitled The Kingdom of Japan, came first, followed by his travel journal. In this edition I have decided to reverse the order, since the chief interest lies in Willman’s own impressions. The history of seventeenth century Japan holds few secrets for the interested modern reader, but to have omitted The Kingdom of Japan would have meant leaving out several of Willman’s observations and remarks on life in Japan, which are interesting in their context, but which would have been quite pointless if presented merely as disjecta membra. Through Willman’s work we get a brief view of Tokugawa Japan, seen with fresh eyes by a stranger whose only real prejudice consisted in regard ing the Japanese as heathen idolaters, a view he shared with the majority of his fellow Europeans. His observations, casual and fortuitous though they may have been, add to our information about Japanese life and society, and by even a cursory mention of them Willman also succeeded in bringing some life to a number of persons who might otherwise have remained names only in the archives of the VOC. Perhaps most impor- tantly, we have here the unbridled observations and reflections of an alien observer, who felt completely unconstrained by the rules of politeness or other considerations, and who reported on things as he saw them, ‘simply and briefly in our Swedish Tongue’.

PART ONE

‘An Exceptional Longing and Desire to View Foreign Places by Means of Travel’

THE JOURNAL OF OLOF ERIKSSON WILLMAN OLOF ERIKSSON WILLMAN’S JOURNAL

Here follows A Brief Description of a Journey to East India and previously described Japan Made by a Swedish Man and Ship’s Captain called Oloff Erichsson Willman. Printed at Wijsingsborgh by Johann Kankel in the year after the Birth of Christ MDCLXVII.1

Oloff Willman’s Journey

After having pursued my Studies in primary School as well as in the Grammar School and at the Academy during 14 years’ time, I abandoned them completely and was seized by an exceptional Longing and Desire to view foreign Places by means of Travel, whereto I also had Permission by my Parents.2 Thus, in the Year 1644, I boarded a Barque in Västerås and travelled to Stockholm.3 And on July 8th I travelled with Bernhard von Steenhausen [Steinhausen] to the Army in Denmark. In the Year 1645, in August, when the Peace was concluded between Her Royal Majesty Queen Christina of Sweden and the King of Denmark, I travelled to Halmstad in Halland, where I stayed for some time in Service.4 On October 16th 1647 I got my Discharge from Halmstad and travelled to Kronborg, and after some time 2 Dutch Vessels came into the Sound, and soon I got to know the Captain of the Gilded Moon, and received permission to accompany him to Holland. On October 24th I went on Board with the Captain, and in the Evening of the 30th inst. I arrived at Texel, where I boarded a Vessel bound for Amsterdam. The 31st inst. I came to Enkhysen [Enkhuizen], where I went Ashore for a short while. On November 23rd I entered the East India House as an Adelsburst [Adelborst] in order to receive 10 Guilders each Month from the East India Company, and to remain for 5 years in the East Indies.5 On the 26th of that Month before my Departure I went to the Lutheran Clergyman there and received the Lord’s most revered communion since I knew that I would not be able to enjoy this for a considerable period of time. In the Morning of the 29th those of us who had been engaged were gathered at the East India House, where all the Laws and Regulations (which we were then subject to) were read out, which every one of us

22 part one

assented to abide by with an Oath and raised Hand. On the 30th inst., after having received 2 Months’ Pay and having been reviewed we walked through Amsterdam to Monnekelberg’z Tower [Monnikendam], where all of us were ordered into the Ships, each in his place, and set Sail the same Evening. On December 5th we came to Texel, where 2 Ships, The Elephant and The Ostrich bound for East India, lay ready. I was rowed across and assigned to the Admiral’s Ship, The Elephant.6 We were delayed in Texel over Christmas by Headwind, and thus ended the old Year. It is to be noted that after this Date my entire Journey is written according to the Dutch Style, which differs by 10 Days from the old Style, until the Time when I returned home.7 In the Year 1648, January 11th Styl. Nov. [i.e. in the new style] (New Year’s Day in Sweden) at Daybreak such a frightful Storm arose that for all one knew everything in the Water would perish. We saw one Ship founder and another drifting onto the Beach, as well as a third, which had lost all its Masts overboard. When a Ship, which had lost all its Masts, drifted right across our Bow we committed our Souls in the Hand of God since we could not believe otherwise than that everything would founder with it. But God be praised it passed us by, drifting so close that one Man of its crew jumped into our Spanker and thus saved his Life. The Ship drifted aground and perished with all Hands; it was a Merchantman bound for the West Indies, called The Dutch Lion. All of us took this sorely to heart, although we did not fare well either, as we were drifting despite 4 Anchors and were unable to heave to or find an anchoring-ground. The Carpenters were told to throw the Masts overboard, having first cut loose the Jolly-boat and the Skiff, which were full of Water, and soon the Ship hove to. The Wind was so strong that the Water flew like Smoke all over the Ship and one could not look up because of the salty Water. However the Lord God in Heaven helped us wondrously in that the stormy Weather began to abate somewhat later in the Day. After Midday there were only 3 Ships lying safe with us in the Harbour, The Elephant, The Ostrich, and a small Ship which lay in front of our Bow, although that Morning there had been over 26 altogether. On the 17th inst. we weighed our Anchors and set Sail as did The Ostrich, and when we came outside the Skerries we were mustered since we were then to take up our Appointments; thus we were found to be 366 Men strong on The Elephant. On the 24th inst. we ran Aground at Night, about 2 o’clock, and suffered one Shock after the other which caused such Alarm on the Ship that no-one knew what we ought to do since there was no-one on the Ship who knew which Shore we were near; Yes, neither the

the journal of olof eriksson willman 23

Master nor the Mates themselves, for the Current and the Calm had put us off our right Course. We therefore began to fire shots for help, but what could this avail, Night and Darkness had fallen and none of the Inhabitants were willing to go out at Night, but had rather that we would all perish, so that they could later plunder Ship and Goods.8 Thus we were obliged to remain there until Daybreak with great Wailing and Lamentation, especially by the Women and Children of whom we had 15.9 At Daybreak we set out the Skiff with which the Master intended to go Ashore, however he thought better of it and returned on Board, fearing that in his Absence the common People would set out the Jolly-boat and leave the Ship, which would also have happened since one Party was engaged in this. But when the Steward returned on Board he gave orders all around to load all the Cannon with Grape-shot, in order to sink them with it, and also that all Officers were to arm themselves, each with his Cutlass by his Side. Here I saw the Master himself weeping like a Child with many sad Tears and Words. However the Poop was found to be free, having 4 Fathoms at the back of the Steward’s Cabin, therefore one Anchor was brought towards the back with which we might warp ourselves clear, if it were possible. Also there came an English Ship, which sailed around us 3 or 4 times, at last, after many Entreaties he came on Board and with his help we then came afloat.10 And he guided us past all the Shallows and Shoals, among which we drifted with the Current during the Night. Around Noon we came into Deep Sea, where we presented the Englishman with a fair Gift before he left us. This took place off Harwits [Harwich] in England. The 29th inst., when we had circled for 12 Days without getting a Northeasterly Wind with which we could run through the Sound between England and Holland, we were therefore obliged to seek Harbour in Hellewort Sluwijs [Hellevoetsluis] in Holland, where we found before us 2 Ships by Name The Schieda [Schiedam] and The Zelandia, which were also under orders to go to the East Indies. Because of Headwind we were obliged to lie in this Harbour for a Period of 6 Weeks, with much Snow and Foul Weather. Here is a dreadful Current, especially when the Tide is going out. Twice we set Sail, but because of Headwind we were forced to seek the same Harbour again. The third time, which was March 13th, we set out, and the next Day we sailed past Calis [Calais] and the Douver [Dover]. On March 15th we reached the Sea outside the Sound between England and Holland, and thus left Europe and headed for the Canary Islands. On the 23rd inst. we were off the Straits of Gibraltar. On the 26th inst. we sighted Canary Island [Gran Canaria] about 40 Miles away at Sea, and that was in clear Weather. On the 27th inst. we sailed

24 part one

past Tenerife, with the Canary, which is a terribly high Mountain and reached through the Clouds, down below it was Summer, and above full of Snow. Scaliger writes that this Mountain is 15 Miles high, but this must surely be from the Foot, for no Mountain rises vertically upwards higher than half of a third of a Mile.11 The 30th inst. we passed the Tropic of Cancer for the first time, and entered Zonam torridam or the warm Continent. On April 5th we passed S. Antoni [São Antão] on the right and S. Vincent [São Vicente] on the Left Side, straight opposite each other, these Islands are also called Hesperides, Gorgades, Atlantides, begin at 15 Degrees and End at 19. They are situated from 70 up to 106 Miles in the Sea away from the mainland Cabo Verde [Cape Verde], or the green Cape, and are 10 in number. The same Day we saw Whales for the first time. On the 6th inst. we sailed past the large Island S. Jago or Jacob [São Thiago] with many tall Mountains where Fires were burning in several Places during the Night.12 On the 8th inst. we first saw flying Fish, like Herrings, whose Wings were like those of a Bat. They could fly as long as their Wings were wet. On the 15th inst. the two Ships bound for the West Indies left us for Pernabuco [Pernambuco] in Brazil, after having fired [a salute] and drunk Valete, but when 5 Days had passed they returned to us again because of Headwind. On April 26th we passed the Equinoctial Point and thus lost the North Star; it was very hot there and we suffered greatly from Thirst: the same Day the West Indiamen left us for the second time. On May 3rd we drifted in the Calm, and caught several species of Fish, such as Albacore, Dorado, Tunny, Dolphin; and a great many Sharks, a couple of hundred, circled the Ship. We caught as many of them as we wanted, cut a piece from the first and put on the Hook, and they rose immediately. We caught such a large number that we threw them overboard again. They are not the best for eating, except those which are young, and one has to flay the skin off them first. This fish is also a great glutton for Human Flesh, apart from the Fact that they eat each other, like the dead ones we threw overboard. The Dutch and Portuguese Diaries are full of Stories, giving Accounts of how many People whose Legs and Thighs they have bitten off. For this Reason it is forbidden upon Punish ment on the East Indiamen to jump overboard and wash oneself in the Places where they fear the abovementioned Sharks. I am aware of two things from them which are used in Medicine, the Liver and the Brain, which is a stone-like Matter, known in Portuguese as Pedra de Tonieron.

the journal of olof eriksson willman 25

This is used for pregnant Women who suffer from Morning Sickness, likewise for the Stone [i.e. kidney stones], and also for Virgins who do not have their Period. The Liver is eaten raw by those who have weak Eyes, who have experienced a great Improvement, which I have seen being used. In this connection I have heard many who are of the Opinion that this Fish is the same as the one Tobias pulled out of the Tigris, with whose Gall he healed his Father’s Eyes, and with the Liver banished the evil Spirit.13 He has five rows of Teeth in his Mouth. The following Day we caught one which was so large that 8 Men had a great deal of trouble to pull him on board with Rope and Tackle. In his Stomach we found a red Cap which a Sailor had dropped overboard half an Hour earlier. On the 10th inst. we arrived at Pernambuco in America, where we went ashore in order to get fresh Water and other Victuals. On the 11th inst. we left with a driving West Wind, so that we went past Abrothos [Abrolhos].14 On the 16th inst. there was a Thanksgiving that we had passed by Abrothos; These are Shoals under Brazil, which are situated around 18 Degrees South of the Equator or the Line, stretching over 60 or 70 Miles away from Land on the right hand side, if one falls within them the whole Journey is almost in vain, or one has to return to Holland. On the 26th inst. we passed the Tropic of Capricorn. On the 29th the Ship Zelandia lagged behind because of Storm and Foul Weather. On June 1st we saw the outermost Point of Africa. On the 3rd inst. The Zelandia rejoined us. On the 9th inst. we passed Trista de Cumba [Tristan da Cunha]. These are high Mountains and Rocks, which are situated about 300 Miles from the great Cape of Africa, lost in the middle of the Sea. We had a driving Wind, and were sailing 50 to 60 Miles a Day. On the 16th around Midnight [sic!] we saw 3 Rainbows in the Sky, the next Day there followed a quite dreadful Storm, so that we had to take in all the Sails, Poles and Yards, and allow ourselves to drift at the Mercy of God on the great Waves of the Sea, so that I could certainly say with King David in the 107th Psalm: ‘They are carried up to the Heaven, and down again to the Deep: their Soul melteth away because of the Trouble’; which lasted for 13 Days.15 On the 30th we saw the Sun for a little while during the Day, far to the North, just as we see it in Sweden around the time of St. Luke’s Day in the South, when the Nights are long and the Days short.16

26 part one

On July 6th towards Evening we sighted the Islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam, between which we sailed in the Evening; They are situ ated around 700 Miles off the great Cape of Africa, and we were all of us pleased, because when one misses them one may soon lose the Ship under the Southern Land or Magellanicam, which has often happened before.17 A Sailor saw this Land first, and he was given a suit of clothes, 4 Rix-Dollars and a Pottle of Spanish Wine, for this is the practice on each East Indiaman, and thus we set our course straight towards great Jawa [Java].18 On July 7th we sighted great Jawa [Java] right opposite Mataram about 80 Miles from the Sunda Straits; We set our Course along the Land towards the Straits.19 On the 10th inst. in the Morning we entered the Straits and cast Anchor in the Evening inshore of Crackatow [Krakatoa]. On the 11th inst. we fired one Shot at Daybreak, and then the Javanese came on Board with Refreshments consisting of all kinds of Indian Fruits. And towards Evening we set Sail. On the 12th inst. we were met by 5 Dutch Ships, which were destined for Persia; an Admiral as well as a Vice-Admiral were in Command, these were sent as Deputies to visit all Fortifications, Castles and Houses in Persia, Malabar, Ceylon and the East India Route: They were lavishly entertained on Board our Ship.20 The 11th inst. we arrived in the Roads off Batavia in great Jawa [Java], which is the main Staple Town and Fortress of the Dutch in the East.21 We had been travelling for 5 Months and a Day from Hellewot Sluis [Hellevoetsluis], but for 7 Months and 3 Days since we sailed from Texel, and on the way we had lost 14 Men, who died from Scurvy and other Illnesses and were then thrown overboard. From Holland to the Cape of Good Hope or the great Isthmus of Africa there are 2200 Miles, and from there to Batavia 1400 Miles, a Sum total of 3600 Miles. Glory be to the Holy Trinity for Ever. Thus I travelled past the 4 Parts of the World, Europe, America, Africa and Asia, and this Year I had 2 Winters and 2 Summers. On the 15th inst. some of the Dutch Emissaries arrived and ordered that all Letters and Dispatches should be delivered into their Hands, asking them whether there were any Book-learned among the Ship’s Crew.22 Then I was mentioned with one other, when this had been seen to all the Soldiers with their Things were put into a Lighter, set on Shore in front of the Castle and put in Position, after which we went into the Castle right in front of the General’s Palace. He greeted us: ‘You are welcome’, and asked among us how the Journey had been, speaking a few Words, and thereupon we were soon divided into several Companies. I was put on the

the journal of olof eriksson willman 27

English Side, as they call it, in the Square, in Captain Johannes Burgers’ Company.23 On September 3rd the Javanese held a Riot at Night outside the City, killing some Christians and 3 Slaves; the others withdrew across the Moat under the wall. On the 4th inst. there was an Attack, the Burghers by Land and Captain Johannes Burgers with a company of Soldiers by Sea up the River Anekie, where they met each other. No Javanese were found, however, and they returned again in vain. In October, November and December several ships followed us from Holland. Among these the Master of the Ship Malacca told us with his entire Crew that as they were sailing on the boundless Sea an 8 Pound Cannon Ball had come into the Ship, striking Dead 2 Seamen in full view of everyone. In the Year 1649, on January 3rd, I was sent to Castle Friesland from Ceulenburgh or the Square. On the 9th inst. a Fleet of 9 Main Ships left for Holland, laden with many valuable and exquisite Things. On February 2nd the Chinese celebrated their New Year’s Day with much Music, Games and Fireworks for several Days. On the 20th inst. Soldiers were appointed to Ternate, Amboina [Ambon] and Banda; all the Drunkards and Parliamentarians were directed to Ternate, as there was a war there. To Amboina all the Cripples and half blind, to pick Cloves; to Banda all the Aged and lame to fetch Nutmeg, and these were about 300.24 On April 18th News came that 2 unknown Ships were cruising in the Sunda Straits, having fired on a Junk or Barque belonging to the Queen of Achem [Aceh]. Immediately 8 Dutch Ships were made ready to find them, under the command of Gerort Demmer, Member of the India Council, and the Major Adrian van den Berg.25 They were found under Bautam [Bantam], and they accompanied them of their own volition to the Roadstead of Batavia. These were 2 good Ships belonging to the Duke of Genoa, and at first they had been a Company of 4, of which two had gone to the Red Sea in order to prey on Turkish Vessels.26 On these Ships there were several kinds of Seamen, Italians, Germans, Swedes, Danes and Norwegians, and also many Dutchmen, who were all taken to the troops, and thus the Genoese were obliged to sell the Ships at half their Value, since they did not have enough Seamen to manage them. One of the Ships, called The Rhinoceros, was bought by some Burghers for the Company’s Money, and the other was bought by a Portuguese, it was

28 part one

called Johan Baptista [São João Baptista], this was later also taken by the Dutch, under Japawa [Japara].27 One should know that they have Orders from the East India Company in Holland to remove any Ships which arrive in India, belonging to whomsoever it might be, and pay all those of the Company Tenfold, in order to keep the Profit and the Route to themselves. On May 2nd I was ordered to the River Carawano [Bengawan?] with the Sergeant Jan Wittmansit, to escort those who were to cut Timber there. When we came to the River a Crocodile (or Caiman in the Indian Language) was sitting on a Spit of Sand, sunning himself, unafraid of the vessel. I levelled my Musket and he fell into the Water with a great deal of splashing. When we left again after 4 Days we found him dead, since I had hit him in the Neck. He was about 3 Fathoms long.28 On the 10th inst. I was again ordered, with the Ensign Michel Michelsson, to the 1000 Islands, to escort those who were going to break Stones from the Water, for use in the Fortress.29 Here one had to be constantly on guard against the murderous Javanese. I went ashore for some Game and on the Beach I shot an Animal which lives both on Land and in the Water, which is called in the Indian language Legewan [Leguan], and which closely resembled a Crocodile but was no larger than a small Dog, with a green Skin, which we flayed off, and we fried part of the Carcass and boiled part of it. The Meat was as white as Fowl and tasted very well; on these Islands there were innumerable Pigeons. On June 5th a Crocodile was brought into the Fortress, which was 24 Feet in length, he was cut open outside the Castle, and over 1000 Copper Rings (which the Indians wear on their Arms and Legs) were found in his stomach, as well as two complete human Hands and an iron Chain for a Monkey. This I have seen, and I have held the iron Chain in my Hands. On the 16th inst. a Snake was brought into the Castle, which had swallowed an entire Doe, he was out open and dragged into the Packing- Warehouse; the Doe weighed 115 Pounds: and the Snake alone no more than 83. This was also seen, together with myself, by the Ship’s Captain Johan Olufsson Bergh, when he was serving as a Sailor in India.30 On July 26th Blockhovius [Blokhuys] left with the Ship Rubijn [The Ruby] as Envoy to the Emperor in Japan, bringing with him two whole Ca:tousner [Fr.: cartouche] and many European Gifts.31 This Blokhovius used to be a Schoolmaster in Batavia, he died during the voyage to Japan and was embalmed: his Secretary Andreas [Andries] Frisius travelled up to the Emperor in his Place and performed everything well and returned the following Year in December, bringing with him the dead Blockhovius,

the journal of olof eriksson willman 29

who was buried in Batavia.32 Johan Schedler (later an Artillery Major here in Stockholm) accompanied the same Embassy, in order to teach the Japanese the use of Mortars, Artillery and Matters of Fortification.33 On August 13th a Danish Merchant was buried, by the Name of Anders Nielsson [Nielsen], who came from Tranquebar on the Coromandel Coast, where the Castle Danskeborgh is situated.34 This man died of Arrack (a Drink in India like Aquavit) and paid the Doctor while still alive so that he would remove the Stomach after his Death and wash it with Arrack, which also happened.35 On the 14th inst. I was ordered to accompany the Governor General some Miles inland, under the Pepper Mountain, and we returned during the Night. The 20th inst. at Night there was a Fire in the Bandanese Quarter, where a cluster of Bamboo Houses burned down. It was as if 2 Armies had been fighting, because each Joint of Bamboo makes as loud a Crack as a Musket. In September as well as October a Multitude of Ships from the South arrived, as well as the Fleet from Persia which we had encountered the previous Year in the Sunda Straits. On November 10th a Tiger was brought into the Castle, shot dead by a Freeman or Burgher since he had mauled his Horse the previous Day. One should note that Money has been put up by the Company, 20 Riksdaler for a Tiger or Rhinoceros, 1 Real for each Foot of a Snake, Crocodile or Cayman, for those who are able to kill such [animals].36 On December 7th I was again sent from Friislandh to Ceulenburgh, with the Main Guard, where I ended that Year. Glory be to God eternally. In the Year 1650, on January 11th, a sumptuous and richly laden Fleet consisting of 9 Ships sailed for Holland under the Command of Arent Barentson [Barentszoon]. On March 2nd the Siamese Envoy was admitted with a large Escort and much firing [of salutes] bringing Gifts to the Company, 16 Elephants (one died on the Way, and one after they had come ashore, 14 were left; among them two were of an enormous Size, almost as tall as the Houses) and also a Velvet Hat, set with precious Stones, Diamonds, Rubies and Pearls.37 On the 9th at Night there was an Earthquake, but thanks be to God without Damage; it was very severe. I twice rolled to and fro in my Bunk. On April 24th came the news that 5 Ships bound for Ternate had foundered off Bouton [Butung], the Hands and part of the Cargo were salvaged.

30 part one

On June 4th a Troop of Soldiers was sent to Aracan on two Ships under the Command of Pieter Cock.38 The Reason was that the King owed the Company some Money, which he did not want to pay, but had the Merchant killed with all the Dutch, and the Houses were destroyed. In the same Place Slaves are easy to come by. On the 20th inst. a Snake was brought into the Castle which was four and a half Fathoms long and very thick. On July 6th 5 Ships left for Tajovan [Tayowan] on the Island of Formosa with Troops, two of which, The Potvisch [Cachalot] and The Duijff [Dove] were lost in the Paracel [Islands] opposite Chauchinchina [Cochin China] with all Hands, and there were more than 16 women on board.39 On this occasion the Son of the Superintendent of Narva, Stahl, was drowned.40 One Ship, The Holmstedhe, was destroyed by fire in Bengal, so that the Dutch here in India lost more than 9 or 10 Ships in several Places. On the 13th inst. Mr. Pieter Sterthemius left as Envoy to Japa[n] (in order to release Blockhovius [Blokhuys] or his Secretary) with the Ship de Vrede [The Peace].41 On September 19th there arrived among others from Holland the Ship Smient [The Wild Duck], which set sail from Texel on May 12th, and had not been on its Way more than 4 Months and 7 Days. They brought Letters from the East India Company that the Governor General Cornelius van der Lijn was to be deposed, and that Carl Reimersson [Karel Reijnierszoon], formerly a Councillor in India [Raad van Indië], was to replace him, which happened soon afterwards.42 On October 1st Carl Reimersson [Karel Reijnierszoon] was confirmed as Governor General over the Eastern Countries, and Cornelius van der Lijn was deposed. Otherwise nothing else worth writing about occurred in this Place during the Year. Thus I ended this Year in the Name of the Lord. In the Year 1651 on January 2nd a sumptuous Fleet of 12 Ships set the course for Holland, under the Command of Cornelius van der Lijn and Caron.43 On April 3rd the Ship Orange arrived from Holland, in which the Barber in one Morning had destroyed 7 Men in a Purgation.44 On June 1st Mr. Adrian von der Burg [Adriaen van der Burgh] was elected to travel to Japan as Emissary. On July 3rd I was accepted in his service as Majordomo during the Journey, and also as Sergeant on the Ship.45 On the 12th inst. I went on Board with his Things on the Ship Young Prince. On the 15th inst. I bade my Countrymen Farewell, of whom there were then about 24 in Batavia, all of them serving as Soldiers, except one

the journal of olof eriksson willman 31

Aegidius Hartman who was a Burgher and Magistrate in Batavia, born here in Stockholm.46 On the 14th inst., once the Fiscal had visited the Ship and left, we set Sail with a Land-Breeze (and fired 5 Shots) past many Islands, in the company of the Ship Tayowan.47 On The Young Prince we were 75 Persons, and 4 Slaves or Serfs; On The Tayowan there were 48 Persons in all.48 On the 15th those from the Ship Tayowan came on board, receiving Orders how they were to conduct themselves during the Journey. On the same Day we met an English Ship, which came from Jamba, laden with Pepper and was destined for Bantam, where the English have their House.49 The Captain Johan Boije then came on Board, asking kindly to be allowed to buy some Provisions. At that time he had been under Way for 10 Weeks, and had obtained no Fresh Food. The Emissary gave him 1 Pound of Meat, 12 lemons, 2 Chickens and 2 Ducks, for which he offered profuse thanks. On the 16th inst. we passed Lusapora [Lusapura], lying 3 Miles from Sumatra. On the 17th inst. we sailed between Bancka [Bangka] and Sumatra (just as between Schylla and Charybdis). At one End of Banca [the Straits of Bangka] there is a high Mountain, named Monapij, which we passed by in the early Evening. On the 18th inst. we passed by the 7 Islands of Pulo-Tan, 15 Miles from Monapij, and Pulo-pon.50 In the Evening we crossed the Line where Day and Night are Equal [the Equator]; this was the second time that I passed it. Here the Weather was not as calm as between Africa and America, for the reason that there are many Islands here which cause Storms and Tempests. On the 19th inst. we sailed past the Islands of Pulo-Panian and Bintam [Bintan], which are situated about 30 Miles from Polo-Pon (sic!): Pulo- Bintam is an Island with two high Mountains and a valley in between. Here we took in our Boat, as the Weather began to worsen, one and a half Degrees North of the Equator or the Equinoctial Line. On the 20th inst. we sailed past the Islands of Pulo-Tiugo, Pulo-Awa, Pulo-Pisang and Pulo-Timaon with a fair Wind.51 They are all situated between the Mainland (Chersonesum Auream, [the Golden Chersonese], where Malaccha [Malacca], Johr [Johore] and Sinea-Puura [Singapore] are situated) and Borneo, a very large Island, where the best Camphor in all the East Indies comes from. On the 23rd inst. we travelled past Pulo Candoor [Pulo Condor] and here encountered a violent Storm.52

32 part one

On the 24th we sailed slowly along the coast of the Country of Cambodia, and past high Mountains. Then we hove to in an Inlet and went ashore for Water, and also shot a Rhinoceros which did not have a Horn, nor was the Meat particularly good to eat. There we saw two Elephants, but I did not dare to shoot at them; And so we came on Board again at Night and soon set Sail. On the 27th inst. we saw the last of all the high Mountains of Tsiompa [Tsiampa].53 On the 31st inst. in the Morning we caught sight of the Island of Annam, which is situated in the Bay off Quinam and Tonkin where the great Kingdom of China begins.54 On August 1st we saw many flying Fish, of which some flew into the Ship, which we fried, and they tasted very well. The 2nd we had Headwind and Storm for some Days. On the 6th inst. we sighted the Chinese Channel [the Straits of Formosa]. In the Evening we encountered a crowd of Sailors, who were hailed in Malay, ‘Sap Orangh’, ‘What Man goes there’ (for no-one knew Chinese). He answered ‘Orangh China’, more we could not hear because of the bad Weather and Storm.55 They were presumed to be Fishermen from the Pescadores, which lie between China and the Island of Formosa. On the 7th inst, we passed the Tropic of Cancer, which lies 23 Degrees, 31 and a half Minutes (according to the Calculation of Tycho Brahe) North of the Equator.56 We continued sailing along the Chinese Channel, and were still about 170 Miles from Japan. On the 10th, 11th, 12th inst. the Weather was calm, and the entire Sea was as if strewn with Chaff, from the Dust and Husks which had blown off the Land. On the 14th inst. a Storm began and increased, so that we had to take in all the Sails, strike our Yards and let ourselves drift at the Mercy of God. In the Evening, Prayers were held in the Cabin, as no-one could remain Above, and we sang the 103rd Psalm of King David.57 In the same place, at a Guess, and in the previous Year on the Ship The Peace, our Captain had lost all his Sails with the main Mast and the Yards, and had 7 Feet of Water in the Ship. Then, after much Work and in a wretched State he arrived in Nagasaki, where they saw him adrift without Sails and Mast and came to his Aid. On the 16th inst. the Wind began to abate and we set our Sails again, longing greatly to catch sight of Land, since we imagined that we were not far from Meaxuma [Meashima]. On the 17th inst. in the Morning a Sailor sighted Meaxuma [Meashima]. It is situated about 20 Miles from Nagasaki in Japan. The same Evening we

the journal of olof eriksson willman 33

saw the Land clearly, but were unable to put in, and stood off and on all Night, longing greatly for Daybreak. On the 18th inst. we entered a Bay, but it was too far up, namely 10 Miles from Nagasaki. After a long Search we found the right Fairway, where we entered in the Evening, firing 15 Shots in Honour of the Emperor, and anchored off the City of Nagasaki on the Island of Sayckok [Saikoku].58 This City is situated at 32 Degrees 40 Minutes in Latitude and at a Guess 167 in Longitude from Pico de Canaria, 750 Miles from great Java or Batavia. In the Harbour here two Ships lay [at anchor] before us, one was called The King of Poland, [which had] come from Siam, and the other was called The Pelican, [which had] arrived from Tayowan. On the 19th inst. Mr. Sterthemius came on Board, with the Japanese Town Bailiff, and we were all mustered, whereupon I accompanied both Envoys ashore on the Island Schitzma [Deshima], which is separated from the Town by a Bridge where there is always kept Guard, and over which no Christian comes without the Consent of the Governor.59 On the 20th inst. I went on Board, since my Chest was the first to be examined; they removed all Writings, yes, not even the smallest Piece of Paper on which anything was written did they allow to remain. The same Day a Ship from Siam arrived. On the 21st inst. both Gentlemen went on Board, by then the Ship had been unloaded by the Japanese and Powder, Bullets, Muskets, Sails and Rudder had been brought Ashore; all the Hatches had been sealed with a Japanese Signet.60 They fired 9 Shots as a Farewell when we went Ashore, in the Ship not one Powder-horn remained. On the 25th inst. the Ship Heligonsberg [Heiligenberg?] arrived from Tayowan, which had been 9 Days under Way. On the 28th inst. in the Evening all the Streets in the Town were seen to be full of Lights, and each and every Habitation had a Paper Lantern hanging outside the Door. The Tombs of the dead were also trimmed with burning Lanterns, and all the Idol Churches and Graveyards were visited, so that for all I knew the entire Country was on Fire. This was an annual Feast Day in honour and remembrance of the Dead, called Bon by the Japanese and celebrated with great Veneration.61 On September 4th a Ship called The Falcon arrived from Tayowan, it had come across from Tonkin. On the 7th inst. the Ship Campen [Kampen] arrived, also from Tonkin; then there were 8 Dutch Ships in the Harbour, apart from 8 or 10 Chinese Boats, all of them laden with Merchandise, which had arrived from several Places. The Objects belonging to the Dutch were valued at 8 Tons of Gold.62

34 part one

On the 13th inst. in the Morning at 6 o’clock there occurred a frightful Earthquake here. On the 22nd inst. there was a Market here. One should know that as soon as the Dutch Ships have arrived Letters are written to the chief Market Towns in Japan, that on such a Date the Trade with the Dutch will take place, which they obey, arriving in great Numbers in Nagasaki. Then each and every one of them is at Liberty to enter Schisma [Deshima] and trade with the Dutch as long as the Ships are lying there; but later no-one [can do this] without Permission from the Japanese Governor. On October 2nd both Gentlemen went to the Japanese Governor in the Town, asking Permission to let some of the Ships leave.63 On the 18th inst. 4 Ships, The Campen [Kampen], The Pelican, The Heligonsbergh and The Falcon were ordered to leave for Tayowan in Formosa, laden with Rice, Copper and Silver. On the 22nd inst. another two Ships set sail, The Tayowan and another one bound for the same Place, richly laden. On the 24th and 25th there was a great Japanese Feast, with much Play and Games, the like of which I have never seen in all my Days, nor can I describe it.64 On November 1st the last two Ships left, The Young Prince for Tayowan and Persia, and The King of Poland straight for Batavia with Mr. Pieter Sterthemius. These 8 Ships were estimated at 18 Tons of Gold at their Departure. There was now little Trade, since earlier they had been used to making 30, even 40, from 10.65 The Reason is that nowadays so many Chinese Ships arrive here, bringing Silk and other Merchandise in abundance.66 Those of us who stayed behind in Japan on the Island of Schitzma [Deshima] were 19 Persons, 16 Christians, 2 black Serfs or Slaves, one of them a Malabar, the other one a Bengali, as well as a mixed one, of a black Mother and a Christian Father. On the 16th inst. News came that the new young Emperor at his Coronation had set free all Prisoners in Japan, about 3000, among whom were 200 suspected Christians, who for many Years had been in Prison in several Places solely on Suspicion.67 In Nagasaki there were about 50 released [prisoners], among them the Brother of Citsebee [Kichibē], our senior Interpreter, who had been imprisoned for 8 Years, because of the Bones of a Catholic Monk, [which had been] discovered in his House.68 On November 17th we began to make ourselves ready for the Journey up to Edo with the proper Gifts for the Emperor and the Councillors of State. Those of us [who] were to travel received Bed Clothes: a Mat or Coverlet, a Pillow, patterned and stuffed with Cotton; 3 Suits of Clothes,

the journal of olof eriksson willman 35

one of fine Broad-cloth, two of Stuff; 4 pairs of Slippers, one pair Leather Baskets, 6 pairs of Tapies [tabi] (these are thin Shoes with a Sole of the same Leather) which one wears in the Slippers; and when we arrive at a Door the Slippers are left standing outside, and upon the Floor (which is covered with fine Carpets) we walk in these Tapies. Likewise we were also given a Raincoat made of Paper.69 We stayed there throughout the whole of this Month. On December 10th there arrived an Order from the Emperor that the Emissary and also the old Governor Babba Sabroseman [Baba Saburōzaemon] were to travel up to Jedo [Edo], the Capital City.70 On the 14th inst. the Governor left Nangasackij [Nagasaki] bound for Jedo [Edo]. On the same Day it snowed here for the first time, something which I then had not seen in 4 Years, since I saw it under the Southern Land at Mid summer on my outward Journey.71 On the 24th, 25th, 26th we brought our Things on Board. On the 27th inst. we set sail in a Japanese Barque, bidding our Com panions Farewell. There were only 4 Christians in our party, the Master Adrian van der Burg [Adriaen van der Burgh] who was the Emissary, Mr. Johannes Bouchelioen [Joan Boucheljon] as his Fellow Emissary, with a Barber Surgeon, Johannes Wunsk [Johannes Wunsch], and myself as Majordomo.72 In the Evening we lay at Anchor under Kibatz [Kibatsu]. On December 28th our Interpreter Mangabe [Shizuki Magobē] returned to Nangasacki [Nagasaki]. He told us that the Interpreter Cacheremon [Kimotsuki Hakuzaemon] had died, and that he was being cremated the next Day according to Custom.73 On the 29th inst. we set sail, although by Midday we were forced to run into an Inlet because of Headwind. On the 30th, 31st inst. we travelled through the 99 Islands and saw many Stones, like high Gates, which one could sail through.74 In the Evening we lay at Anchor in Firando [Hirado] where the House and Trading Post of the Dutch had previously been situated, but torn down during Mr. Caron’s Governorship.75 It is a very pleasant Place; at the End of the Wall there now stands a huge Lantern, which burns every Night for the Seafaring Folk, so that they will find their way into the Harbour. The Japanese do not sail further than within sight of Land, since they have neither Chart nor Compass. They cannot luff, nor sail when it is raining, but at once hurry into Inlets and cover the Barque with Mats; if the Weather is calm they row with 20, 30, 40 pairs of Oars, always singing, so that they will move evenly. All the Tackle is made of Straw, except three main Hawsers and the Anchor Rope, these are made from Bast which grows on Trees.

36 part one

In the Year 1652, on January 1st, we set sail again, and in the Evening we arrived at Jobboki [Yobuko], where we went Ashore for our Pleasure, and here we saw wondrous Graves, Playhouses, and frightfully large Whale bones.76 In the Forest here were Pine and Birch, just as in Sweden. On the 2nd inst. we saw a Town and a very beautiful Castle called Cocora [Kokura], which was built pointing upwards, and was situated at the End of Sayckock [Kyushu].77 In the Evening we lay at Anchor in Chimonosickij [Shimonoseki] which was on the Japanese Mainland [i.e. Honshu], at a distance of a Musket Shot from Sayckock [Kyushu]; we sailed between them. On the 3rd inst. we left with a driving Wind, between the many Islets scattered in the Sea, and in the Evening we arrived at Mianusiuti [Murozumi?]. On the 4th inst. we set sail again with a driving Wind, past Camonosickii [Kaminoseki], where there were buildings on both sides, and further between some innumerable Islands past Camro, Jove, Sua, Caroto, and in the Evening we travelled past Cammangarij [Kamagari], Jocosimi [Yokoshima], Tantanomi [Tadanoumi]; during the Night the City of Mevarij [Mihara], and the Castle Binga [Bingo].78 Otherwise on the right Hand side there were two Castles, Samnick [Shiramine?] and Marganij [Marugame] on Islands in the Sea, which we did not see because of the Dark.79 On the 5th inst. we travelled past Ontsehemado [Shimotsui?], and in the Evening we lay at Anchor in Mooro [Muro], a beautiful little City, although not fortified, where we remained the following Day. On the 7th inst. we passed the strong Fortress Accasie [Akashi], which by the look of it is frightfully strong; in the Evening we lay at Anchor in Fiumgo [Hyōgo], and here we sent a message in advance to our Host in Hosacka [Osaka].80 On the 8th inst. we set sail again, when [we were] one Mile from Hosacka [Osaka] our Host Seroimon came to meet us in a handsome Yacht, with a House on it, and took us in to himself, where we were treated to Sackie [sake], gilded fried Birds and Sackaan [sakana].81 Later we passed a couple of thousand Vessels, and saw near them several thousand Wild Geese and other Birds, but they were all tame, since no-one dares to shoot them in this Place; In the Evening we arrived in Hoosacka [Osaka], where one could hardly advance in the Street because of the Number of People.82 On the 10th inst. we brought out our Gifts and crossed over a very large Bridge and also [passed] the Castle, which is considered one of the foremost and best fortified in the whole of Japan, with a very deep Moat and high Wall [made] of incredibly large Stones like Houses.83

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Early in the Morning of January 13th, a good two Hours before Daybreak, we travelled from Hoosacka [Osaka] with 50 Horses [and] 60 Japanese, and we were 4 Christians: The Master was carried in a Novimon [norimono] or Barouche; of 10 Novimon 2 at a time are carried.84 We rode on Horses, having a Leather Basket on each side, and the Bed on top of this, covered by a red Cloth, as if made of Felt; on top of this we sat, each having a Japanese who led the Horse and was to help us in getting on and off.85 Everyone who travels in Japan has to bring bedclothes with him. Each Horse to Edo cost as much as 24 Daler Silver Coin, they were shod with Straw Shoes and were not much to look at, but were very strong. In the Morning at Daybreak we passed 150 Crucified [persons] and 50 Heads which were placed on Iron Rods, who had wanted to betray the Castle Hoosacka [Osaka]; Everyone who has been put to death always has a Board nailed up by him upon which it is written what he has sinned.86 Furthermore I saw how Cotton grows upon little Trees, just like Raspberry Bushes, the fields were white as Snow. The entire Road was as tall as a Bank of Earth; upon both Sides Trees had been planted, so that the Soil would not fall off on either Side; one rode there as if along a Street. On the right Hand there was a very wide River [Yodo], which was full of innumerable Birds, and they were all tame, to the Left there were Fields and Meadows. Along the Road there were Sluices in many places where the Water could be led from the River into the Fields, and back again, since the Rice Plots where Rice is growing always have to be overflowing with Water, until Wheat or other things are sown upon them. On the high Ground there is a very curious Road. Wherever a Mile ends they have (as we in Sweden have Stones or Poles) a Mound of Earth, like the Mounds at Upsala, on each side of the Road, with very large and tall Trees, either Cypress trees or Camphor.87 This continued all the Way to Jedo [Edo], so that one cannot lose track of the number of Miles, all done with great Care, so that I probably dare say that nowhere in the World are there such costly Roads. On the left Side there was a small Castle, called Fagats, about a Quarter of a Mile from the Lodging-House, there we were met by the Landlord or Cassieren as they call him.88 He greeted us and bade us Welcome, getting down on his Hands, and bowing his Head to the Ground, then he immediately got on his Horse again and returned home in advance: This happened at every Lodging for the Night along the entire Route. By Midday we rested and were given Food in the Japanese Manner at Firacatta [Hirakata], with two Wooden Sticks; the Fish we ate raw, which had been cut into thin Slices, dipped in Vinegar. Smelt and other small

38 part one

Fish were boiled. We had a Japanese who was our Cook, he travelled on ahead every Day with all the Utensils, and sometimes fried a Black-Cock or Hare in the Swedish Manner, otherwise we had to be fed in the Japanese Way all the Way up to Jedo [Edo], and drink hot Water to quench our Thirst.89 Along the entire Route we lodged in the finest Inns, and were each given our own Table, with many little Bowls with a good many Courses, and always paid for each Dinner 1 and a Half Cubans [Koban] (that is Gold, beaten out like an Egg) and worth as much as 50 Daler Copper Coin; each Night we spent 3 Cubans [Koban] or 100 Daler.90 We had a young Japanese at our Table, serving warm wine, who in their Language is called Sackie nesan.91 For Sweetmeats there are fried chestnuts and Mecanical Apples, which are smaller than Seville Oranges but very sweet.92 After Dinner we passed the Town and Castle Jondo [Yodo], which is very well fortified in the Japanese Way, all of it proper Work without any Conformity, with terribly large Stones in the Wall.93 Having passed this Place we crossed the River, over which a very large Bridge had been built; all the Posts were covered with cast Copper, like a Tower. Towards Evening we rode past two terrifying Idols and an Idol House, built like a large Tower; I have never seen anything like it, since it was frightfully tall and wonderfully constructed, on the top of it there hung 10 Crowns, one above the other.94 On the other side was a Playhouse set back from the Road.95 In the Evening we arrived in Meaco [Miyako], where Dairo [Dairi] or their Archbishop had his Seat.96 It is a rather large City, although not fortified. On January 14th we left Meaco [Miyako], and the Landlord accompanied us for half a Mile; the Road there was splendidly built through the Mountains. We passed Ocz [Ōtsu] and Jesij [Zeze], which are separated only by a Bridge, there was also a very beautiful Castle, which was situated in a fresh Lake (18 Miles long); Here we went indoors for a short while and drank what they call Sackie [sake].97 This Day we passed a large Inlet and a very large Bridge, all the posts were clad with Copper, where the fresh water Lake discharges itself.98 The Castle looked very beautiful across the Lake, along which we rode, and in the Evening we came to Cousats [Kusatsu], from which Place all Japanese Rattan-canes or Knobbly Rods come, with many little Joints; They are the Roots of a kind of Tree taken in the Soil.99 Throughout the entire Day we had Buildings on both Sides, all the way from Meaco [Miyako] to Cousats [Kusatsu]. The 15th inst. we left, passing Issobe [Ishibe], and by Noon we arrived in Minacuts [Minakuchi], where the foremost Rope-makers in Japan are to be found, they make Boxes and Baskets from Rope and String so neatly

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that no-one in Europe can do the like. Here there were also pretty Women, they came inside to us and allowed themselves to be seen, something which did not occur throughout the entire Journey.100 After Dinner we travelled past Tontchiamma [Tsuchiyama] and Sacka [Seki] and down the gruesome Mountain Susikasacka [Suzukasaka]; the Road was very dangerous because it twists just like the Staircase to an Attic.101 We dismounted here and walked, when we came down the worst [part]; the Road is walled on one Side with a Parapet so that the Water off the Mountain will not cut away the Road; In the Evening we arrived at Secknyieso [Sekinojizō]. The 16th inst. we rode out a couple of Hours before Daylight, and at Daybreak we passed Cammana [Kameyama], a fortified Stronghold, built on high Earthworks; there are some Rivers with Embankments on both Sides.102 Further on we rode past Chionno [Shōno] and at Midday we were in Issiackes [Ishiyakushi]. After Dinner we saw some Salines, and Rivers with Embankments. By early Evening we arrived at Quano [Kuwana], a Town with a large Castle, situated in the Sea, very pleasing in the same way as the previous ones. Here the Sea forms a large Bay, which we crossed on Barges for 7 Miles, arriving late in the Evening at Mia [Miya], which is a Town with a small Castle, also situated in the Sea, where we stayed the Night.103 In this Town live the foremost Locksmiths in the whole of Japan, they make Scissors and Knives so sharp that one can cut Iron with them just like Lead. On the 17th inst. we left past the Towns of Narmij [Narumi] and Siri [Chiryū]; A Mile off the Road there was a large Town Ovarri [Ōhira]; at Noon we arrived at Ockasackij [Okazaki] a fortified Town with a Castle in the centre. After Dinner we crossed a splendid Bridge 180 Paces long, there I saw how they were burning a Dead [body].104 Here there were also innumerable Birds and Animals for sale, strangely shaped. Further we travelled past Josinda [Yoshida], a Town with a beautiful Castle, and splendid Bridge, and Ftagau [Futakawa], Sirascha [Shirasuka] and Fissieaw [Fujikawa], in the Evening we were in Ackasackij [Akasaka], there were very white Women, but they had black Teeth and Hair like Pitch, which is considered to be a great Ornament for them.105 On the 18th we stayed in this Town because of Rain and bad Weather. On the 19th we set out on our Journey again; We passed Siraska [Shirasuka], where we met the Sons of Jamaboos, who had a Stick in their Hand with 6 Copper Rings which rattled, and a Crown at the End. They spoke another Language, calling Taine maine, Taine maine, with which they wished us luck, the Japanese themselves could not understand their Language,

40 part one

because these were Students.106 At Midday we rested in Arij [Arai], where there were innumerable Birds. After our Meal we crossed a small Inlet of the Sea for 1 Mile on Barges (the Water was no deeper than about 4 or 5 Feet) to Maijasackij [Maisaka], and there we mounted our Horses again; in the Evening we arrived at Famamats [Hamamatsu], a Town with Gates and barely fortified.107 On January 20th we travelled on, crossing a swiftly flowing River or Stream on Barges.108 In this Place, as elsewhere where we had to cross in Barges, no-one is allowed to build a Bridge across, but when the Emperor travels to Meaco [Miyako] and Dairo [Dairi] (which commonly occurs every five or seven Years) a Bridge is put together, which is always kept in a House, and which can be erected in two Days, but as soon as the Emperor has crossed it, it is taken down and stored again. On each side of the River I have seen 6 large Beams standing where the Bridge begins and ends.109 Further we passed Mijtseckij [Mitsuke], there stood two Idols, and a small Church or School.110 At Noon we rested in Fouckeroen [Fukuroi]. After Dinner we passed Kakingau [Kakegawa] and across two tall Mountains Nisaka [Nissaka], it is a grievous ascent and descent; in the Evening we took Lodgings in Camija [Kanaya], which was situated below at the Foot of the Mountain.111 The 21st inst. we rode across a broad rapidly flowing River, Oijenkauva [Oigawa], which was no deeper than that the water stood under the Belly of the Horses, which were supported by two Men, so that the Current would not sweep us away, something that often occurs in Rainy Weather, since the Water then runs off the Mountains with such force and in such Abundance that one is obliged to tarry here a few Days until it lessens.112 I was in Mortal Danger here, because my Horse fell, but Praise be to God he immediately got up again; and further we passed Summunda [Shimada] and Fonseiedo [Fujieda], where a crowd of small Girls followed us a Quar ter of a Mile while singing in faint Voices.113 By Midday we were in Ockabee [Okabe], where a little Boy, who was the Landlord, came towards us; he behaved very politely in the Japanese Manner.114 After Dinner we again travelled across a tall Mountain, and also passed Surngau [Suruga], an unfortified Town, with an old famous Castle, where the Emperors have previously been living, but their sons in Jedo [Edo].115 In the Evening we arrived in Jesire [Yaizu]. We saw Water along the Road which was boiling of itself, and also a Man who had been cut with one cut from the Shoulders straight through to his Waist, he lay dead in the Road since no-one wanted to cremate him.116 In Japan every Master has Power over his Servants and Maid-servants to kill them, which often occurs for a very slight Reason.

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On January 22nd we travelled on past Cambaro [Kanbara] and many Salines along the Sea and a rapidly running River with Barges on it (called Fusikauwa [Fujikawa]) and also a very tall Mountain, Fusino-jamma [Fuji no yama], whose Height is by no means second to Pico de Canaria.117 We had previously seen it for 4 Days, I said that we were 4 Miles from the Mountain, but the Japanese said well over 10; on the Summit there was Snow, and in the middle of the Mountain the Clouds were drifting. To this Mountain a Human Being is sacrificed every Year who never returns. Apart from this much is told which I consider unnecessary to write [about].118 At Midday we rested at Issoware [Yoshiwara]. After Dinner we travelled through the Town of Numats [Numazu] and in the Evening we were in Missima [Mishima] under the Mountain Fauckonij [Hakone].119 The 23rd inst. we travelled up the Mountain Fauckonij [Hakone] with fresh Horses, and by Midday we arrived at the Summit of the Mountain, a Place where we rested and which was also called Fauckonij [Hakone machi].120 Here was a very deep Lake with fresh Water and splendid Fish, Perch and Pike; By this Lake dwelt a crowd of Idol Priests, who sold Writings, written on a thinly sawn Chip (like the ones used here by Book Binders) with nine Letters on it, they put these at the Edge of the Lake. I saw several Thousand among the Stones. They make the People believe that when they are dead they will come there freely and drink Water. I also bought such an Indulgence, which I did not put into the Lake, but kept, at which the Japanese grumbled a great deal. By the Edge of the Lake there were also several hundred raised Stones, like Towers, some like a Cross, some of them inscribed with gilded Letters.121 After Dinner we travelled down the Mountain, and in the Evening we arrived at Odoura [Odawara], a very beautiful and pleasant Town, situated at the Foot of the Mountain Fauckonij [Hakone], with many Idol Chapels; the Water from the fresh Lake up in the Mountain runs past here becoming a large Stream, which in little Brooks is led through all the Streets of the Town.122 There, in the Evening, we sent a Man ahead to Jedo [Edo] to announce our arrival. The 24th inst. We left there, and at Midday we arrived at Oijs [Ōiso]; after Dinner We again travelled along a River in Barges: Here a discovered Christian was also conveyed in a closed Cabin, where he was obliged to sit Night and Day, he was going up to Jedo [Edo] to be questioned by the Emperor.123 A little further along the Majordomo of Hoosacka [Osaka] met us with a great deal of Magnificence.124 We also travelled past Fousesau [Fujisawa], and in the Evening we arrived at Touscha [Totsuka]. On January 25th we set out early in the Morning past Cammangau

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[Kanagawa], and by Midday we rested in Cauwasackij [Kawasaki]; after Dinner we travelled past Simaugau [Shinagawa], where there was a large Idol House, the same as in Meaco [Miyako], although smaller, with only 4 Stories.125 Here we saw such an Abundance of Birds that I cannot describe it, they were very tame, so that they did not want to step off the Road when we came riding, because here it is forbidden on Pain of Death to shoot any [of them]. Towards Evening we arrived in Jedo [Edo], the Capital of Japan, where the Emperor resides, and rode for well over an Hour through much Congestion and Crowds of People before we arrived at the Lodgings. The 26th and 27th we rested after our Journey, and all was quiet; in the Night there was an Earthquake, very slow. On February 1st We received a Message from the Emperor’s Commis sary General, Sickingodonne [Chikugo dono], that on the 28th Day of their Month Siwas [Shiwasu], which was February 7th according to the Dutch style and Reckoning, We would be allowed to appear before the Emperor.126 On the 4th inst. I went with Mr. Bouchelioen [Boucheljon] to the Commissary, he asked me how long I had been in India, what Countryman, and how old I was, upon which I replied.127 On the 5th inst. I was once again with Mr. Bouchelion [Boucheljon] at the Commissary’s, in order to fire a Stock with 9 Shots, and Bullets from each End, which occurred in his Garden, in the Presence of all the Councillors of State, who wondered greatly at this. Besides this I shot with an Air-gun and an Air Stock, at which they all called out in Wonder.128 These three Objects had come as Gifts, and had first to be tried out in their View; We were here very hospitably entertained. During the Night there was a Fire with much Shouting and Alarm of Bells. On the 7th inst. We had our Audience; the Master was conveyed in a Carriage, and we three Christians rode in the Japanese Manner, the others went on Foot. When we had entered the first Fortification of the Castle we dismounted in the House of one of the Councillors, Andoockasamma [Andō Ukyōnoshin], where we whiled away the Time for about an Hour, and then we travelled on, as far as the second Fortification or Gate, further no-one is allowed to Ride.129 There we dismounted and walked across the Bridge through the Gate, into the second Fortification, as far as the third, further no-one is allowed to be carried in a Noriman [norimono] or Sedan Chair. Here the Master had to get out, and We all went on Foot into the third Fortification, where the Emperor dwells. There we were at once brought into a large Hall, where we waited for another Hour; then a Japanese Gentleman arrived, and brought us through two Halls further

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into a large Cabinet, where we again waited for some time, until two Sliding Doors were opened, and the Master was led in there. Then they asked him to sit down, again two Doors were opened, and there the Emperor was sitting on a high Dais and the Councillors of State all around [him] on the Floor, with their Legs crossed; the Gifts were standing straight in front of the Emperor.130 We were obliged to Bow with our Faces towards the Floor, until we were given Permission to look up. An old Councillor spoke for the Emperor, saying that the Presents were Welcome, promising the Dutch in return Free Trade in Japan hereafter, as before, only if they do not trade with the Portuguese, which the Envoy on behalf of the Dutch promised would never happen; Whereupon We were given Leave for this time, and returned to our Lodgings.131 On the same Day all the Governors in Japan also had an Audience; There were several thousand People in the Castle, so that we had great Difficulty in passing through. After Midday we were at Babba Sabrosemon’s [Baba Toshishige Saburōzaemon], who was Governor the Year before, and thanked him that We had been permitted to speak to the Emperor so soon.132 On February 8th We presented the Gifts to all the Councillors, two of whom sent them back, Abinofussima Sam [Abe Tsushima no kami Tadaaki] and Fotta Cangasam [Hotta Kaga no kami Masanobu], whose Parents had cut open their Belly with the Emperor Daijoinsama [Daiyūin sama] the Year before, on June 8th 1651; wherefore they were in mourning, and would not keep the Gifts, but returned them after a few Days, with great Politeness.133 The 9th inst. We went to greet the Wife of this Year’s Governor of Nangasackij [Nagasaki], Krocava Jossiosama [Kurokawa Yōhei Masanao]; there We were entertained by her Sons, though We did not get to see her, but she asked to see our Hats and the Envoy’s sword, which We sent into her Chamber by her youngest Son.134 That Day we travelled all around the Castle, and went past two Triumphal Gates, one of them built by the King of Satsuma, where the Emperor had been to a Meal 4 Years ago. The other was built by the King of Fingo [Higo] 3 Years ago.135 More about this, and everything else I have treated of in greater detail in the Description of Japan, which comes before this. Later We also rode past two large Idols, in an Idols’ Church; One of them was gaping horribly; The other held its Mouth closed, which the Japanese made obeisance to and worshipped.136 This Day, which was their New Year’s Eve, all the Streets were deco rated with green Trees on both Sides, into which, above each Gate, were entwined all kinds of Comestibles and Spices, Seville Oranges, Micanical Apples, boiled Crabs and other things, indicating that no such thing

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would be in short supply during the entire Year.137 February 10th was their New Year’s Day, in the Morning they all came into the House and wished us [happy] New Year, with New Year’s Gifts. One group had Chestnuts, as large as Hen’s Eggs, with a piece of Sea Cat, in Paper, bound with a Gold Thread, this each one of us 4 Christians received separately.138 On the 11th inst. which was their second New Year’s Day, I saw a laugh- able Game, how all those newly married last Year were doused with Water, during which Bonsios Siobe [Shōbei] and the Scribe Nemon [Niemon] received more than 15 Buckets of Water over their Upper Bodies, although it was a cold Morning.139 After Midday I was called to the Commissary, in order to instruct him on a Globe and Map, which were formerly often presented. Here he also let me see a small Vocabulary in Latin, Portuguese and Japanese, printed in the Year 1595 in the City of Amacusa [Amakusa], 4 Miles from Nangasackij [Nagasaki], where the Portuguese previously used to have an Academy or Grammar School and a Printing-House.140 In the Evening when I walked home I met the Guard, which made the Round in such a Manner that first came 10 [men] with Matchlocks and Holsters on, then 10 with Bows and Arrows, after these 10 with Pikes or Partisans, and lastly 10 with Morning Stars, who walked behind each other, just like Wolves in each other’s Footsteps.141 The 14th inst. I was yet again summoned by the Commissary Sickinga donne [Chikugo dono] together with the Interpreter Mangabe [Shizuki Magobē] and thoroughly interrogated concerning all Matters of Warfare, such as Pyrotechnics, the Art of Fortification, Mortars, Grenades, Sapping, and about Petards. And although I was not completely skilled in all these Matters, yet I had so much Knowledge about everything that I gave him ample Information and Explanation, so that he was pleased; wherefore I was greatly favoured and regaled with many Delicacies, placing me next to him, and drinking my toast, an Honour which the Master himself did not enjoy, wherefore the Dutch were later annoyed with me.142 The 19th inst. We were summoned to the Court and were given permission, with such Instructions that as long as the Dutch do not enter into a conspiracy with the Portuguese to harm the Japanese this young Emperor would keep the Alliance which his Father had entered into with the Dutch. And then 30 Garments were presented by the Emperor to the Master, which were Japanese Silk Shirts, very thick, stuffed with Silk, whereupon we bade Farewell.143 After Dinner, and the following Day, the Councillors of State sent their Presents, one after the other, all consisting of Silk Jackets of different Colours, so that the Emissary received 106 Pieces.144

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The 21st inst. we took our Leave of the Commissary Sickingadonne [Chikugo dono], for the Reason that on the following Day he was travelling to the Emperor’s Tomb at Nicko [Nikko], in order to pray over it, which happens annually.145 The 22 nd inst. we went to the Governor Sabrosemon [Baba Toshishige Saburōzaemon], and Krokauwa Jossiosama’s [Kurokawa Yōhei Masanao] Wife, and bade Farewell; We thus rode around and through the Castle for the second time. On the 24th inst. all the green Trees were removed from the Streets; so many Days do they celebrate their New Year. On the 25th inst. we paid our bill at the Lodgings, each Person cost 15 Maes every Day (this amounts to 2 Riksdaler) for the duration of our stay in Jedo [Edo].146 On the 26th inst. Mr. Johannes Bouchelioen [Boucheljon] said to me: Willman, You have wished to travel this far, here we must now turn back, because no Dutchman, Spaniard, Portuguese or Englishman has ever come any further. I was completely satisfied with this and wrote my Name at the top of the Wall in the Sitting-Room, where the Names of some Christians were previously written. Jedo [Edo] in Japan lies around 4.800 Miles from Stockholm.147 The 27th inst. we left Jedo [Edo] in the Name of the Lord. When we came outside the City We were conducted into an Idol’s Chapel; in the Gate stood two frightful Images, about two Fathoms tall. In the Courtyard there were also some Stone Images made from carved upright Stones, upon which there were Japanese Letters, and the Japanese paid them great Respect. Inside the Church sat 5 completely gilded Idols, in a Turnery Box, they were one Fathom tall; On the other Side stood several hundred small [ones], all Gilded, which all the Japanese worshipped in our Presence.148 By Midday [we were] in Cauvasackij [Kawasaki], where we bade Farewell to our Host in Jedo [Edo], who accompanied us with his Servants and excellent Food. In the Evening We were in Touscha [Totsuka].149 The 28th inst. We travelled on across the River Banrieriw [Banyū]. By Midday we arrived at Oijs [Ōiso] and in the Evening at Odaura [Odawara].150 The 29th we travelled up the Mountain Fauckonij [Hakone], where we rested on the summit by Midday, and in the Evening at Missima [Mishima]. On March 1st We again set out, and by Midday we arrived at Cambara [Kanbara], then past the Salines, where a few hundred People were work- ing, pouring Water on the Soil; there We also went into an Idol Church,

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where many curious Trees had been planted. There was also a Bell, hanging in a Belfry, just as here in Sweden, but the Bell was of the same width above and below like a barrel.151 In the Evening We arrived at Jesire [Yaizu]. The 2nd inst. we travelled past Surngau [Suruga]; by Midday to Ockabee [Okabe]; then We crossed the River Oijenkauva [Ōigawa], which was now very quiet, and in the Evening we were in Camija [Kanaya]. The 3rd inst. We left there, and by Midday arrived at Fouckeron [Fukuroi], and in the Evening at Famamatz [Hamamatsu]. The 4th inst. We left this place, and by Midday arrived at Ftagau [Futagawa], and in the Evening at Ackasackij [Akasaka] for our Quarters for the Night. The 5th inst. We again set forth, and by Midday rested at Siri [Chiryū], and by Mid-evening arrived at Mia [Miya], where we had to wait until the Water increased; by Midnight We went across and arrived on the 6th inst. in the Morning at Quano [Kuwana]. By Midday [we came] to Yssiackes [Ishiyakushi], and in the Evening to Seknyieso [Sekinojizō], where we each received as a Gift 10 Rolls of Match-cord, made of Straw.152 The 7th inst. we travelled on, and thus arrived by Midday at Minacuts [Minakuchi], and in the Evening at Cousats [Kusatsu]. The 8th inst. We left, arriving by Midday in Meaco [Miyako], where We remained that Day. The foremost Lacquer Workers in all Japan live here.153 The 9th inst. We rode out of the City, past some beautiful Idol Churches, across a tall Bridge, made entirely of Stone, with Arches and strong Foundations. There were Stones 20 Feet long, skilfully joined together, just as if they had been planed. When We rode further along We arrived at a very large Idol Church, surrounded by a Churchyard; There We dismounted, and the Master got out of his Carriage, to look at this. Before the Churchyard there was a large and wide Plain, where we walked. On the right Hand there was a large Stone Pillar, set in a tall Earthwork, just like the Mounds at Upsala, under this same Pillar were buried all the Ears which they have cut off the Koreans, when they last made them Tributaries (I have related more about this in the Description of Japan), as an eternal Memento.154 In the Churchyard Wall there were Stones as large as Houses; At the Gate stood two gruesome Images about 4 Fathoms tall, one of them was gaping, the other held its Mouth closed.155 The House was very tall and squarely built (in which sat the largest Idol in all Japan, entirely covered in fine Gold, called Dayboth [Daibutsu]), and had 12 Pillars in length inside, and 8 Pillars in Width, there were 8 Feet between each Pillar, and each Pillar was 3 Fathoms thick in circumference. A larger wooden

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Building I have not seen.156 Upon the right Hand Side there was an old dilapidated Imperial Tomb, it looked like the old Works of an Organ.157 When we came outside there stood before us around 100 Leprous Women who were begging. A Stone’s Throw outside the Churchyard, on the other Side where we went out, there hung a Bell without a Clapper, 8 Fathoms wide in circumference and half a Span broad in the Rim.158 A little further along they took us into another House of Idols, about 80 Paces in length, as I was able to measure in Haste. Innumerable Lamps were burning there. In the middle stood an entirely gilded Idol, and around him all Heathen Idols, Jupiter with Lightning and Thunder, Vulcan with the Fire, Mars, Neptune, et cetera, although not gilded; Along both Sides 3333 Images were standing, all gilded and covered with Gold, as tall as I was able to reach up to their Faces with my Fingers. They were standing on Benches each one above the other, so that one got a good view of the Face and half the Torso, each of them having 30 Arms. These, they said, were the Inventors of all the Arts.159 When we came out of there, the Landlord had [arrived] who conducted us into a House and gave us food; And here We bade Him Farewell with Gifts.160 By Midday We were in Fussimi [Fushimi]; Between Meaco [Miyako] and Fussimi [Fushimi] there were Buildings on both Sides, just as if it had been one City, only there was a Bridge in between.161 Here we loaded our things onto Barges, and travelled down the River, past Jondo [Yodo]. There were two very tall Wheels propelled by the Water, which drew up the Water with Buckets and poured [it] into Conduits, which ran all around the Wall and into the Castle, [and] out again on the other Side. In the Evening We arrived in Hoosacka [Osaka]. The 13th inst. We set sail and travelled past all the Places which I have written about in the Upward journey; And the 27th inst. [we] arrived in Nangasackij [Nagasaki]. There We found some of our Countrymen the Christians, and were very Welcome to them, who were anticipating our Arrival with much Longing. Fifteen Days We were under Way from Hoosacka [Osaka] to Nangasackij [Nagasaki]: The entire Journey was 354 and a half Miles long, 220 Miles at Sea and 134 and a half on Land, which We completed in 3 Months. On December 27th We set sail, and on March 27th We arrived, count- ing 25 Land Miles and 35 at Sea, against our 15 to one Degree. On May 12th the Japanese cut their Cereal Crop; Wild Strawberries and Raspberries were ripe here at that time. On June 10th the unwholesome Period of too much Heat began here. On July 18th the Governor Babba Sabrosemon [Baba Saburōzaemon] returned to Nangasackij [Nagasaki], who is a great Persecutor of

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Christians; he had now been promoted to a higher office in Jedo [Edo] because of his Industry and Artfulness in exterminating and Tormenting the Christians, under whose Government several Thousand have been put to death. The 19th inst. the new Governor, Quiemon [Kurokawa Yōhei Masanao], who was to relieve him, arrived here. All the Japanese who were living there at this Time, and had the Name Quiemon, were obliged to change it, and instead they were called Cosemon, in order that he was to keep his Name alone.162 On August 1st I watched with great Commiseration as 6 Christians were taken to their Place of Execution; this was an entire Family from Fingo [Higo]. Before them were carried two Tablets nailed to a Pole, on which it was written why they were to die. Next followed one of them, who was an old Man, riding on a Horse, his Hands were tied together on his Back and his Feet under the Belly of the Horse, [he was] surrounded by many Pikes and Morning Stars, and a Multitude of white Paper Flags. He was followed by his Son-in-Law and Son in the same manner, next followed two Women in like manner, and last a little Lad. In front of each Person walked a Man with a drawn Sword, calling out Christan, Christan [Kirishitan]. In this way all of them were conducted through the entire City, as a Spectacle for all and sundry, and in every Street what was written on the Tablets was read out. And lastly they were taken to the Place of Execution: Two Men were hung up by their Feet, the third as well as the two Women and the small Boy were beheaded.163 The 4th, 5th inst. Copper was weighed and bought up in anticipation of the Arrival of the Ships, namely 6.700 Pijcol [Pecul], one Pijcol makes 100 Cattij [Catties], 100 Cattij 125 Pounds Dutch Weight.164 The 6th inst. the Ship Pelican arrived from Tajoan [Tayowan], on which was Friederic Cojet [Fredrik Coyet] who was to relieve my Master and depart as Emissary to the Emperor. This Cojet [Coyet] was born in Stockholm; he came to India as [a] Merchant.165 At this Time several Ships arrived from several Places, The Morning Star, The Schmient [Smient, i.e. Wild Duck], The King of Poland, The Sandijck [Zandvoort?], The Tajoan [Tayowan], The Falcon, The Crowned Lion. At that time 9 Dutch Ships were lying in the Nangasackij [Nagasaki] Roadstead; With a number of Chinese Boats from Cambodia, Quina [Quinam], Tonqvin [Tonkin], Hockreo [Hangchow?], and the entire Chinese Passage.166 On September 1st: at 3 o’clock in the Morning, a terrifying Earthquake occurred here, but Praise be to GOD, without Damage. The 16th inst. The Pelican, The Sandijk [Zandvoort?] and The Crowned Lion left for Tajoan

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[Tayowan], and likewise The Tajoan [Tayowan] and The Falcon for Tonqvin [Tonkin]. On November 3rd Frideric Cojet [Fredrik Coyet] was appointed in my Master’s Place, and the same Day I took my Leave of him. Once all our Things had been put into the Ship King of Poland We left Schissma [Deshima] and Nangasackij [Nagasaki] in Japan, and thereupon set sail in the name of JESUS. Thus We headed for Meaxuma [Meashima], which we passed the following Day at Dawn. The 10th inst. We caught sight of Baboxina [Baboshina], under the Chinese Passage, which is a sure Sign that one must shift the helm towards the Island of Formosa, especially for those who wish to go to Tajoan [Tayowan].167 The same Evening there was a dreadful Storm, so that We were forced to take in the Sails and make them fast, allowing the Ship to drift by the Mizzen, between Formosa and China. The same Night we passed the Tropic of Cancer, and were rolling to such an extent that every single one of us thought that We would go down with the Ship. I commended my Soul into the Hand of God, reading and contemplating the 107th Psalm of King David. After much Hardship and deadly Peril we sailed past Qvelang [Kelung], Tamswij [Tamsui] and Piscatoris [the Pescadores].168 The 18th inst. We arrived in the Roads off Taioan [Tayowan]. The 19th inst. I went Ashore with my Master, where he greeted the Governor Niels Werburg [Nicolaas Verburg] in the Castle Seeland [Zeelandia], which is very well fortified. Here We learned how the Chinese have wanted to occupy Formosa, but more than 2000 had been killed, of whom that very Day 4 were cut into pieces while alive and broken on the Wheel. Here I saw how the Public Prosecutor let a Japanese Scimitar be tried, with which the Executioner struck off the Heads of two Chinese with one Blow.169 On the 25th inst. my Master’s Things were transferred onto the Ship Troon [The Throne]; And once the Fiscal had carried out due Inquiry of the parties concerned we set sail in the Evening, directing our Course towards the Chinese Passage.170 Then I passed through the Equinoctial Line for the third time. On December 17th in the Morning We arrived in the Roadstead of Batavia, about 1000 Miles from Japan. The 20th inst. a 20 Foot long Snake was brought into the Castle. At this Time I still had another six months left to serve in India; However, through good Friends I was granted and remitted by the Governor General to travel to my Fatherland. Thus I received Permission to be delivered from the Heathen Places and Countries: And with this I went to the Captain

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Johann Burgers, in order to demand my Discharge, which I also received. Subsequently I was appointed to the Ship Elephant, with which I had earlier arrived in India, and thus concluded this Year in the East Indies. In the Year 1653, on January 31st, after I had duly received my Discharge, I went out to The Elephant with my Things. On February 1st We drifted with a Land-wind from the Roadstead of Batavia, and including ourselves we were a company of 3 Ships, The Admiral, Provincia and Enckhusen [Enkhuizen], remaining in the Evening 2 Miles off the Roadstead.171 On February 2nd the Fiscal brought the others to us; then We were immediately mustered, and Anders [Andries] Frisius was made Com mander of this Fleet, until we could catch up with the previous Fleet, either at the great Cape in Africa or St. Helena.172 The 3rd inst., after they had bidden us farewell, we weighed Anchor and set sail, luffing in the Sunda Straits before We were able to get out. On March 10th I passed the Tropic of Cancer for the third time. On April 11th We caught sight of Aethiopia [Ethiopia] and the African Mainland. The 19th inst. we arrived in the Harbour of the Cape of Good Hope or the great Isthmus of Africa. Here a Redoubt had been dug by the Dutch, by the name of the Good Hope, with 4 Bulwarks and 16 Cannon, but not half of it completed. It had been begun in April 1652, for the Purpose of victualling the East Indian Ships, so that they did not have to go to St. Helena.173 On the 10th inst. [sic!] our Commander went ashore, bringing with him what had been sent to that Place from India, namely Fruit and other things, which in the future might be useful for the East Indian Ships.174 On the 6th inst. [sic!] We set sail, but at first the Weather was calm, so that We had to remain under the Roadstead before the Island, where in the Evening We saw many Whales playing with each other, and from time to time producing such Blows as a three pound Piece of Ordnance; they spouted Water far into the Air and roared just like Elephants: So that here I found the Words of King David in Psalm 104, verse 25, 26, and 107, verse 23, 24 to be true.175 On the 7th inst.We left Africa, steering our Course towards the Line, past St. Helena. At that time we were afraid that the English would be cruising there, since while in Africa We had received reliable Information that there was open War between them and the Dutch.176 We received sealed letters there which were not to be opened until by the Flemish Islands Corvo and Flores; Thus We travelled North-west with a South-easterly

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Wind, which lasts throughout the Year here, as far as the Equinoctial Line.177 The 16th inst. I passed the Tropic of Capricorn for the fourth time. On June 1st, which was Whit Sunday, We passed the Island Assension [Ascension] and saw innumerable Sea Birds there. On the 9th inst. We changed our Course, going towards the North-west, with a good Land-wind. The 11th inst. We passed the Equinoctial Line, and that was my fourth time. The 15th inst. We lost the South-east Wind which carried us all the way from Africa. Here We had variable Winds with Rain, and the same Day I saw the North Star again. On July 7th We sailed past the Sun, which was then in the South, and We in the North, by Midday it was straight above the Head, and this was 53 and a half Minutes from the Tropic of Cancer. Here we entered the Sargasso Sea, or the Croes Sea [Krooszee] as it is called by the Dutch, the entire Ocean was overgrown by greenery. We sailed as though through a green Meadow, but were unable to touch the Bottom. During the Night we passed the Tropic of Cancer, and that was my fourth time. On the 15th inst. we left the Sargasso Sea and had a clean and clear Sea again. On the 17th inst. at Daybreak we saw a Boat some way away in the Sea, whither the Mate travelled with the small Yacht, 6 Musketeers and 7 Sailors in order to catch up with them and ask for more certain Tidings, which also happened. It was an English Boat, which had come from the Island New Land [Newfoundland], which lies 50 Degrees under the Northern part of America. They had taken on dried Fish in Conception Bay, in order to run with it to Barbudos [Barbuda] under Hispaniola [Haiti] and exchange the Fish for Tobacco, and then to the New Netherlands between Virginia and Nova Francia.178 These people had not been to England for 14 Months; they were completely despoiled, and the Crew was dispersed among the Ships, away from each other.179 The 29th inst. we saw the Flemish Islands, which are called the Acores [Azores] or Citherides, there are nine of them, and they are mainly situated between the Latitudes of Thirty-eight and Forty Degrees; They belong to the King of Portugal: Angra is the Capital of Tercera [Terceira].180 The 31st inst. they came on Board from the other Ships, in order to open the sealed Letters, the Contents of which none of the Ordinary Seamen on the Ship were to know. However I was told secretly by the Mate, who was Swedish, that on this Journey we would not run between Scotland and Hetland [Shetland] as was customary, but between Iceland and the

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Faeroes, because of the English; for our Course was set towards Stadlandet in Norway and thus followed the Norwegian Passage. Also We were obliged at all times to stay so far away from Land that we could escape in any kind of Weather, and steer well clear of the Bay of Trondheim, where the Current runs North.181 On August 6th we encountered a small Ship, whose Skipper was an old Man, it came from the New Land [Newfoundland] under America, and was now on the Homeward Journey to Rochelle [La Rochelle], wherefrom it had set sail 3 Months ago. They were not able to tell us any definitive News of how the War between England and Holland had turned out. On our Ship many were ill with Scurvy and Dropsy, so that every Day some were thrown overboard, for We had nothing Fresh, because of this we at last took Apinier [Actinia] which were boiled for 3 Days, but they were still as tough.182 Finally We set to with the Rats, which were rather large on the Ship, eventually they cost a Dutch Shilling [Stuiver] or 6 Silver Pieces.183 The Food in the Ships was rotten and completely spoilt: We were now not even allowed to boil Rice, since We had no fresh Water; Thus we were in rather a pitiable state. Many wished for the arrival of the English, so that they would be able to save their Lives. The 15th inst, we saw many small Birds of the Forest, which flew around the Ship chirping, which made us happy, since we thought that we were not far from Land, but according to my Surmise and Reckoning We were about 36 Miles off the Faeroes. The 18th inst. we were at a Latitude of 62 Degrees 10, at which Level the Northern end of the Faeroes lies, and thus set our Course directly Eastwards, so that we would not sail past it, which we sighted at Daybreak on the 20th inst. We sailed the entire Day along the Land, past the North End, where in the Evening we set our Course in the direction of Stadlandet in Norway, making the Ship ready for Engagement.184 The 23rd inst. we encountered a Dutch Ship from Vlissingen, destined for France. It intended to go around the Faeroes, and because of a Storm we could not get close to one another, but had to communicate by the Flag at the rear of the Ship; thus we learned that two small Galliots were sailing after us with Letters from Holland. The 25th inst. in the Morning We saw the Norwegian Mainland. On the 26th inst. we met one of the Galliots which had set out 6 Weeks ago, bringing Orders from Holland that all Ships were to keep safe in the Norwegian Ports and often put into them, since it was impossible for them to reach Holland, inasmuch as the English, 140 Ships strong, were sailing off Texel and Vlie [Vlieland]; at Sea during the Night, and during

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the Day under the Embankment: Wherefore it was decided that we would put into Bergen together, and it was thought to be 12 Miles thence to the Fairway. On the 27th inst. the other Galliot arrived, We sent them both ahead, in order to seek the Fairway to Bergen, but because of Headwind We were obliged to put into the Harbour of Alegrund, three Miles from the actual Fairway, this was very narrow and dangerous, as We might run into the Cliffs with the lower Side of the Ship, where we had cast Anchor. On September 3rd We sailed away from there, and in the Evening arrived at Herlehampn [Herløhavn], straight opposite Herlekyrckia [Herlø church], and sent a Message to Bergen for Seamen. The 5th inst, We arrived off Bergen, where many Vessels and West Indiamen had put in before us. We learned that the former Fleet under Jacob Demer had put into Flekkeröen [Flekkerøy], and thence further to Copenhagen. While We lay in Bergen I got my Discharge through the Intercession of the Governor of the Castle Mr Ååke Bielke, on Condition that I would procure another Person in my stead, who would sail with the Ship to Holland, which I did, bringing my Things ashore and prais ing the Lord God in Heaven, since during this Year I had sailed through and travelled past all four Continents.185 On New Year’s Day I was in Asia, on Easter Sunday in Africa, at Whitsuntide off America, and now in Europe again. From Bergen I twice set out to Sea towards the Sound this Autumn, but was chased back by Pirates both times, thus I had to remain there against my Will this Year. In the Year 1654 at Easter I learned that Peace was to be concluded between Holland and England, and because of this I set sail on May 10th on a Barque from Rostock bringing freight from Bergen to Danzig.186 The 13th inst. I passed Jutland, Skagen, Lessow [Laesø], Annout [Anholt], and in the Evening We got a Headwind with a Current from the Upper Sea. The 15th inst. I arrived in the Sound [Öresund], where I went Ashore with my Things, waiting for some Vessel bound for Sweden, which did not occur until June; then Mårten Mårtensson arrived with a Company Ship from Portugal, whom I immediately accompanied. On June 15th We set sail in the Name of the Lord from Helsingör in Denmark, but it was completely calm the entire Way, so that We did not arrive in the Swedish Archipelago until July 6th; then We put into Landsort and in the Evening lay off Älvsnabben.187 The 7th inst. in the Evening We arrived at Dalarö, where I hired a Boat and on July 8th arrived back in Stockholm in the Name of the Lord.

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Praise, Glory and Magnificence therefore to the Holy Trinity in all Eternity. * * * Now follows a brief Account of THE KINGDOM OF JAPAN Its Emperor and Regiment, and also what Time and how long the Portuguese have traded there and have at last been driven out. Likewise how the Dutch have arrived there, pretending not to be Christians like the Portuguese, so that they were able under this Pretext to banish the Portuguese and Japanese Christians, because of which it occurred that the King, or as he is now called the Emperor of Japan, has pitiably murdered all Portuguese and Catholic Christian Japanese, and with the most cruel, unheard of Torments and Martyrdom completely exterminated several hundred thousand Men, Women and Children, who did not want to deny Christ, but have remained steadfast in the Faith and become just Martyrs. Described by Oloff Willman His Royal Majesty’s in Sweden Ship’s Captain. Printed at Wijsingsborgh by Johann Kankel, Anno 1667 188 * * * Japon, or now more commonly Japan, and by the Inhabitants called Nippon, is still as far as is known held to be an Island (Lately at least one Map has been published, which makes Japan connected to Asia, with frightfully high Mountains), although Truth to tell no-one knows, yes not even the Japanese themselves. The Emperor has several times sent out from the Land of Jesso [Yezo] (which lies far to the North-east of Japan) those who were to seek the farthest End, but they have always had to return without result in order to save their Lives. Otherwise the Country there is very Mountainous. Some of the People who live there are furry all over their Bodies, with long Hair, Beards and Moustaches, more resembling wild Animals than Humans. Here sumptuous Furs are caught.189 Previously in the Year 1643, on February 3rd, the Dutch have dispatched two Ships from great Java, The Castricum and The Breskens, each one equipped with 60 Men, under the Command of Mårten Gertsson Fris

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[Maarten Gerritszoon Vries], which brought with them a Sample of several European and Indian fine Goods, as well as People speaking several Languages, and Instruments, with the Command that they should sail East of the Philippine Islands and Japan. When they arrived at the 45th Degree they were to seek the Eastern Passage to Tartary, and on the 56th Degree, in the Province Cathaija [Cathay] find a River, named Polisange, which was said to reach 80, 90 or 100 Miles into the Country, with many excellent commercial Cities, such as Tangio, Brema and Cambalu. They were then to seek the Western Passage from there to America, and if possible to travel past the Anian Strait.190 In fact they arrived at Ternate, opposite the Castle Malaija. Thence they then set sail again, and lost each other at 34 Degrees because of a Storm, under an unknown Country, which they considered to be the Japanese Islands rich in Gold, which are situated about 60 Miles South-east from Japan or Indo [Edo].191 (To seek which Commodore Matthias Qwast had been sent previously in the Year 1639.) The Ship Brescens [Breskens] has been at 40 Degrees, and because of a Lack of Fresh [Provisions] put into the Harbour of Namboe [Nambu] in the Kingdom of Massame in Japan, where the Skipper Schaap and the Merchant Wilhelm Bilefeldt, with 8 Sailors, who went ashore, were taken prisoner by the Japanese (who considered them to be Portuguese), and taken to Indo [Edo], where they sat imprisoned until December 8th.192 The Chief Mate sailed the Ship to Tajowan [Tayowan], and further to Batavia, arriving back in great Java no wiser than when he left. The Ship Castricum reached 42 Degrees, and was forced to turn back because of Mist, Fog and bad Weather, without any decisive Account whether Japan was an Island or was connected to the Mainland. And thus they returned safely to Batavia. For which Reasons it is still not possible to decide how far Japan reaches.193 Close by Japan [Honshū] two excellent large Islands are situated, Sayckock [Saikoku] and Chickock [Shikoku], which are altogether ruled by many Kings and Lords, who are subjected to the Emperor; to describe the Cities, Castles and Names of them this brief Composition of mine certainly does not permit, although I have the Account of this for the entirety of Japan.194 They enjoy large Revenues annually, so that the Sum of all that the Emperor expends during one Year for his Court, Military Force (which consists entirely of Noblemen), Kings, Princes and Lords, amounts to 28.345.000 Dutch Guilders, or 17.715.625 Daler Silver [coin], which makes 106 Tons of Gold and 29.375 Riksdaler, at 5 Daler a piece, which according to our reckoning appears to be an incredible Sum, but which nevertheless in truth is this large, if not larger.195

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His Majesty is called Emperor, considering that so many great Kings and Lords are obedient and subject to him, whom he, meanwhile, has the Power to depose because of a minor Misdeed, send to Prisons on far off Islands, or punish by Death; and also to give and offer their riches in Land and Income to whomever other [person] he considers more deserving.196 From the Beginning, as described by the Japanese Chronicles, the Country has been ruled by their Dairo or Archbishop, being the rightful Heir to Japan, whom they held to be very sacred, so that to oppose the Dairo would be the same as to sin against God in Heaven because of his Holiness. He never sets foot on the Ground; Neither Sun nor Moon may shine on his Head; His Beard and Nails are never cut; Each time he has a Meal the Food has to be cooked in new Pots or Pans.197 The Dairo’s oldest son always succeeds his Father in the Dairoship, and the second is the Commander-in-Chief over the entire Country, who qui- etens all Misunderstanding between the Kings and the Country. If the Dairo had any more Sons they were to rule for three Years each: From which followed that one Brother during his three Years’ Reign allied himself to such an extent to the greatest Nobles of the Country, that he neither heeded his Father’s Admonitions, nor could be separated from his Calling with Importunity, so that the Dairo was forced, with the aid of the Kings and the other great Nobles, to attack this unwilling Son of his and put him to Death, which caused the first War against the Dairo in Japan.198 The third Son or General arranged the Matter to his own Advantage, since he had the Sword and Regiment in his Hands, in such a Way that after the Dairo’s Death he declared himself the ruler of Japan, letting the Dairo’s Court be maintained with Regulations, Reverence and Means; and remained in his former ways, which caused the second War, and brought about the result that another General was chosen, whom this one banished again with the assistance of the Kings.199 This man did as the two previous ones, which for the third time caused a War in the Country, which turned into a civil War, so that one King opposed the other, each one wanting to be his own Master. No Town or Village was so small that it didn’t want to be superior to the other.200 Finally there came an eminent Hero, who was a simple Soldier; he began with 50 Men, and because of his brave Courage and good Fortune he vanquished all the Cities during the space of three Years, thus bringing the entire Country to Obedience and Submission under himself. He, like the ones before him, left the Dairo with all his Followers in their former Glory and Splendour, with the exception of the Government, which he

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kept for himself: Was thus crowned Emperor by the Dairo, with much Splendour and Honorary Titles, and was called Taicko [Taikō]. This occurred about 130 Years before the Present.201 Taicko [Taikō] the first Emperor of Japan was a Man of great Intelligence who fully understood that the noblest Kings and Lords of Japan would take it amiss to be ruled by such a lowly Person, and that this would cause another War. In order to forestall such an event he used Conspiracy, sending the noblest Kings and great Lords, who he considered would in due course become his severest Opponents, with 6000 Soldiers to Corea [Korea] (which is situated between China and Japan) in order to subju- gate this country under Japan, keeping them there during a time of 7 Years with encouraging Letters and Promises; Admonishing them not to return until the entire Country had been conquered and subjected to Japan.202 Because of the length of time this Army, Officers as well as Privates, began to long for their Native Country, Wives and Children, and became angry, exercising great Tyranny, with Murder, Fire and Devastation, and bringing People as well as Cities and Castles to ruin. Finally the Koreans found it necessary to send an Emissary to the Emperor in Japan, Taicko [Taikō], who for Love of his Native Country killed the Emperor Taicko [Taikō] and himself with Poison.203 When the Japanese Lords and Generals who pursued the War in Corea [Korea] understood that their Emperor was dead they abandoned everything and without Permission they returned home as fast as they could, wanting to see which one of them the Empire would go to. Taicko [Taikō] had only one Son, by the Name of Fiderij [Hideyori], who was then 6 Years old, wherefore when he felt Death to be imminent he chose the Noblest and Greatest in the Country, called Ongoschio [Ō-Gosho], and in his last Will made him the Guardian of his Son during his Minority, letting him sign it with his own Blood that when Fiderij [Hideyori] reached the age of 15 Years Ongoschio [Ō-Gosho] would by means of Dairo’s Ceremonies have him crowned Emperor of Japan.204 Ongoschio [Ō-Gosho] who was a sharp-witted and sensible Man, accepted Taicko’s [Taikō] Request (with the Permission of the Kings and the other Lords that no-one else would intrude upon the Position during the Years of Fiderij’s [Hideyori] minority and foment new Wars in the Coun try) and thus came to head the Government as Viceroy. Ongoschio [Ō-Gosho], however, did not keep his Promise (which he had sealed with his own Blood), but falsely accused the young Fiderij [Hideyori] of many insidious Conspiracies, [saying] that he was preparing for War with the Intention of taking the Country from his Guardian by Force, and also

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that he allowed himself Imperial Honours before they were due to him and had been crowned Emperor; with much else which was none of it true.205 At last this Ongoschio [Ō-Gosho] gathered all his Forces in the Kingdom of Surnga [Suruga], and came with them to Hoosacka [Osaka], where the young Fiderij [Hideyori] had his Court and Residence, he was severely besieged and defeated after 3 Months.206 When Fiderij [Hideyori] was reduced to Extremity he begged most humbly that his Life might be spared, declaring that he did not wish to be Emperor but only a Liege Lord and Ongoschio’s [Ō-Gosho] Heir to the Realm. In order to further improve this Request he sent his own Wife (who was Ongoschio’s [Ō-Gosho] Daughter, given to him as a Spouse) to her Father. He refused to let his Daughter speak, however, but remained firm in his Intent, letting, once the Castle had been conquered, all the Floors wherein Fiderij [Hideyori] had concealed himself with his Mother and the grandest of the Nobility, be surrounded with Firewood piled high and set on fire, wherein all these People perished miserably. He also had all those killed who had sided with Fiderij [Hideyori] and opposed him, making the entire Country obey him, even bringing it to such good Shape as had previously been accomplished by Taicko [Taiko]. Ongoschio [Ō-Gosho] died the following Year 1609, at the time when the Dutch first came to Japan.207 Coubosamma [Kubō sama] came into Power after the Death of his Father, and was crowned Emperor by Dairo according to custom. (During whose governance the Persecution of the Christians was first begun in Japan, with several Torments.)208 He was about 50 Years old when he died, and before his Death he summoned his Son and addressed him thus, among many other Admonitions : The Country and all Treasures in my possession are yours, but what I have myself wished to arrange is this: There are in these Boxes or Baskets the old Legal Codes, Chronicles of the Country, written Sentences and Wisdom, and the finest Treasures of the Country; receive them with Reverence, for they have been held in great Esteem by myself and my Ancestors.209 Among these Treasures were some Scimitars, Teapots and written Works, each of them cost nearly one Ton of Gold. To his three Brothers he gave one Sabre each, and a Portrait of lesser Value. To his good Friends of different Stations, and his Blood Relatives, he gave each according to his Merits 300 Tons of Gold.210 Chiongon [Chūnagon] succeeded his Father as a Ruler; he was a Sodomite and the worst Persecutor of the Christians. Died in the Year 1631. He set all Prisoners in Japan free before his Death, with no exceptions,

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on one [and the same] Day and Hour; everyone who was poor received some Pieces of Money. This Man killed over 40.000 Christians during his Lifetime.211 Daijomsamma [Daiyūin sama] succeeded his Father as Emperor and was a Persecutor of the Christians and likewise a great Sodomite. Died in the Year 1651, on June 8th.212 Nogumsamma [Naidaijin sama] his Son, born in September 1641, was 11 Years old when we were given an Audience with the Dutch Emissary. He is now the ruler at this Time. More Emperors have not ruled Japan except Dairo and his Sons, who were Generals.213 The Treasures and Riches of the Emperors, consisting of Silver and Gold packed in Chests, 100 Tayl [Tael] in each, are incredibly large and unknown to the common Man. They are distributed to be kept under all Castle Towers, more in one Place and less in the other. Among them are Treasures of Writings and Testaments, many hundreds of Years old, which are revered because of their age and are added to daily. For the Expenses during one Year for the entire Country and the Armed Forces do not even amount to two Months’ Income. From this one may surmise what untold Riches, Silver and Gold, lie concealed in Japan.214 In Japan there are several strong and large Castles and Cities, among which Jedo [Edo] and Hoosacka [Osaka] count as the most beautiful and strongest. The Castle in Indo [sic! Edo], which is situated inside the City, is fortified with three Moats and three Walls. The first Moat is 60 Paces across, and the Wall 16 Paces thick, with two Gates very well fitted with Iron Bands, inside which the noblest Lords in Japan live with their Wives, Children and most important Chattels. The second Moat is 40 Paces across and the Wall twelve, with Gates fitted with Iron Bands, each of them threefold, a small one on each Side and the large one in the middle; as far as this Moat it is permitted to ride on horseback, and here all must dismount, where there is a large Ground on which the Horses are left standing. Within this all the Emperor’s Blood Relatives are living, and this is the second Enclosure. The third Moat is 60 Ells across and the Wall 16. It looks very deep. This far one may be conveyed in a Carriage or Norimon; again there is a large and spacious Ground, where they [the norimono] are set down in orderly fashion. Here everyone has to walk on Foot, however great a King or Lord he may be, through five great Gates, all with Copper fittings: At each Gate there is a square Place inside, so large that in Wartime a couple of thousand Men can be put there in Defence; and inside this the Emperor lives. All Fortifications in Japan are solid Work, with many crooked Angles.215

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To all positions of Governor two are appointed, who govern half a Year each, the other [half] they are obliged to be in Indo [Edo], with their Wives and Children, whom the Emperor always keeps inside the Castle, just like Hostages with their best Chattels.216 All these Governors or Lords have large annual Incomes, but because of their Travels they have no profit: For some of them travel back and forth with no less than 6.5.4.3.2.1 Thousand Men, apart from the People each one of them must keep annually in their Houses in Indo [Edo], with their Wives.217 The Lord of Firando [Hirado] (where the Dutch have previously been staying) is one of the lesser Lords in the Country, and he never travels with a smaller number than 300 Men, Noblemen, Officers, Soldiers, Musketeers, Attendants and Servants. Furthermore he also keeps, in his two Houses in Indo [Edo], more than 1000 Souls, Men as well as Women, Servants and Maid-servants.218 The great Lords do likewise, according to their Means and Fortune, so that they compete in this, each seeking the Emperor’s Favour: Because of which everything in Indo [Edo] (which appears like a World full of People and Courtiers) is very expensive. At the Time when we were given an Audience of the Emperor the daily cost of each Person was 15 Maes [Mas] or two Tay [Tael]; 4 Daler Silver Coin in Swedish [money]; apart from their sumptuous and splendid Garments (because their foremost Servants, Maids and Female Servants are all dressed in Silk Fabrics of several colours), Banquets, Gifts and Presents at the powerful Court, all of which soon exceed their Income.219 When the noblest Lords have a new House built inside the Emperor’s Castle (as has been said before) they manufacture (apart from the Gate that they use daily, which is threefold and entirely fitted crosswise with Iron, fastened with strong Nails through it, and on top of it a large House, where in an emergency a few hundred Men may stand and defend themselves) a Triumphal Gate near it, covered all around with Images, of Dragons and terrible wondrous Animals, all of them lacquered and gilded. When the Emperor has been there for a Meal (which never occurs more than once in one House) and has walked in and out through the Gate, it is nailed up, and never again is any Person in the World worthy to walk through it. To this Meal he must be invited 3 Years in advance, during which Time they have work enough to prepare everything which is to be used for it, and to describe this goes too far. The Emperor’s Coat of Arms adorns everything that is used, such as Clothes and other things, and all of this is afterwards kept as an eternal Memorial that the Emperor has thus humbled himself, and that the Lord has enjoyed this great Honour. This Meal or Banquet lasts for 3 Days, once the Emperor has been there the

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first Day; so that firstly the construction of the House, the Emperor’s Meal, and then all the Expenses, could well make a rich King poor. Two such Triumphal [Gates] or Gates of Honour we travelled past when we had our Audience of the Emperor, which looked more like Mountains of Gold than Houses. One of them had been erected by the Lord of Zatsuma [Satsuma] a few Years before, at the Time when the Emperor was there for a Meal, and presented him with an annual Income of 6 Tons of Gold, which had never before happened to any King.220 For all the Lords who are in charge of important Positions in the Government the Emperor appoints a Secretary, with these Words: You have a great deal to manage, therefore, mindful of this and caring for you I send you a wise and faithful Man who has been brought up in my House. Let yourselves be served by him, and may my Solicitude be pleasing to you. These Persons have in their Youth been at the Emperor’s Court, and brought up there, and also served through all the Ranks, so that the Emperor can trust firmly in them, whom he has also found to be endowed with good Sense. They must first swear upon their Oath and the signing with their own Blood, that they will let the Emperor know both small and great things which concern that Lord’s Government, Life and daily Intercourse, yes, all that they see and hear, and keep a Journal. No Lord or King dares do anything without the Knowledge of this Chancellor, for the Government of the entire Realm rests on one and the same Person.221 For this Reason all the noble Lords in Japan procure for themselves Persons of keen Intelligence, by whom they are daily, expressly and without any Dissimulation, reminded and addressed concerning their Faults, being of the Opinion that a Human Being, particularly one who has things of the utmost Importance to deal with, may soon make Mistakes because of Hastiness, Anger, Pride or Voluptuousness, and that he should be able to see his own Faults. Therefore they would rather be secretly admon- ished by their own faithful Servants than slandered by others behind their Backs.222 The Emperor’s Councillors of State each have their Title and Office, except four, who are the highest, who must be daily in the Emperor’s presence and deal with all Matters that arise. These are also held in great Reverence by the Kings and local Lords, and much honoured: Their Incomes are large, the Highest have twenty, the Middle ten and the Lesser two, three, one Ton of Gold annually. They are not in the least able to compel the Emperor, much less (once they have received an Answer) give advice a second time, without being removed from their Office.

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Most Matters pertaining to the Realm are dealt with through them. They are very cautious; what the Emperor says they agree with, and do not take the liberty of saying anything to the Emperor, except when there is a favourable Opportunity. All important Matters are dealt with by them at a suitable Moment.223 The Marriages of all great Lords are decided by the Emperor, and the Wife he gives them is kept in great state. New Houses are built in anticipation of her arrival, and many Chambermaids and Maid-servants are pro- cured, up to 200.100.50.40.30 in number, according to the Lord’s means. These are very well provided with Clothing: They live in sumptuous lacquered and gilded Houses, decorated with Images. When their Wife goes out (which only happens once a Year) in order to visit her Relatives and good Friends, all these Maid-servants follow in closed Palanquins, up to 50.40.30 in a Row (two Fathoms between each Palanquin), which are very sumptuously covered and inlaid with Gold. The Children of this Wife are the legitimate Heirs, and succeed their Father in the Dominion; if she is not fecund, or only bears Daughters, the Realm is given to another unre- lated Lord.224 As many Concubines as a Lord wants and can afford to keep are freely permitted to him, whence it follows that they bear many Children. The King of Mito, 54 Years old, had even at this Time as many Sons [as the years of his age], apart from Daughters, whose Number was unknown to the common People, since they were Women, however no- one, except by the wedded Wife, may succeed his Father in the Dominion.225 Everything which may have been invented by them for a Person’s Amusement they have in the Houses of their Women, who are kept pains- takingly and with great Care; without the least Company of Men they have to while away their Time with Chambermaids. Here there is no Suspicion, however insignificant the Deed may be, which does not deserve Death and is punished with it.226 When a great Feudal Lord dies, there are commonly 10.20.30 (according to the greatness of the Lord and the number of Subjects) who cut their Bellies. Many have previously during the Lifetime of their Lord pledged to do this on Account of the Fact that they have enjoyed particular Favour and Boons before others; Saying with expressions of Gratitude: Stern Lord, your faithful Subjects are many, why is it that I have deserved this great Honour of enjoying Life (although it belongs to my Lord)? Thus I give it back to you and promise that my Body will have life no longer than yours. In confirmation of this they drink a Toast in Wine together, which is strictly Sacred, so that no Union upon which this Toast is drunk may be broken.227

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Some Servants (when their Lord is building a House or Fortification on behalf of the Emperor) desire the Honour of laying themselves under the Wall, believing that the Wall under which a living Person is voluntarily lying is subject to no Misfortunes. Thus they go and lie down under the Foundation, allowing very large cut blocks of Stone to be rolled over them, by which they are immediately crushed.228 Cutting one’s Abdomen occurs in many different Ways; he who can do it best is given the greatest Honour, and this is how it is done: Firstly they invite their Blood Relations to gather, with whom they all go into a Church, where they sit down on Carpets, and as a Farewell they eat and drink together and amuse themselves. When this has taken place they cut their Abdomens crosswise, first all the way down, and then straight across, if they are able to do anything else they cut their Throat and thus give up their Ghost.229 Every fifth or seventh Year the Emperor travels to Meaco [Miyako] in order to Venerate his Dairo or Archbishop with Feasts and Presents.230 For this Journey all Preparations and Arrangements are planned and carried out an entire Year in advance; how, with which Retinue, on which Day of the Month each Lord is to travel, so that there will be Room for them on the Roads. Half of them travel some Days before, after them follow the Emperor and the Councillors, during the next few Days follow the remaining Kings and Lords, at which Time an incredible number of People are travelling on the Highways. In Meaco [Miyako] (which City comprises over one hundred thousand Houses) they all gather [together], where many temporary Houses made of Wooden Boards are also erected all around the City for Soldiers and common People. Here the Emperor invites the Dairo as his Guest, with his entire Court, Wives (of whom he has twelve), Children, Lords and Servants, which occurs with very great Pomp and Magnificence during three Days. Then the Dairo returns to his House, again with great Pomp. Each Meal for the Dairo consists of 140 Dishes.231 Each and every Master, from the Emperor to the lowliest Burgher has his own Jurisdiction, and is the Judge over his Subjects and Servants; they can, when it so pleases them, either punish or kill for a small Wrong. It happened that a haughty Servant offered his services to a poor Nobleman as a Shoe Boy [i.e. sandal bearer], and because of his beautiful appearance asked for a higher Salary from the Nobleman than he knew that he was able to pay out. The Nobleman saw the audacity of the young Man, and thought that the young Man wanted to mock him: He betrayed nothing, but answered him thus: You have asked for too high a Salary, but since

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you are pleasing to my Eyes you shall be my Servant. After three Days the Nobleman sent him on an Errand. When he returned his Master told him that he had been gone a long time, and killed him: taking Revenge under this Pretence for his great Impertinence and Pride.232 A Nobleman or Soldier is granted the Honour that when he has deserved Death he is allowed to cut his own Belly and take his own Life.233 But a Burgher, Merchant or inferior Person has to die according to Justice. For a Merchant is held in no Esteem because of his Lies and Fraud, since he tries to deceive both Noblemen and Commoners for his own Profit without any Conscience.234 For this Reason the Dutch (since they [i.e. the Japanese] know that they are Merchants) are held in very low Esteem in Japan, but are in fact oppressed and caused every Annoyance. So that in the entire Orient no Country is as skilled at mocking them as the Japanese. During our Journey up to Jedo [Edo], wherever we entered the Cities, the Children followed us all along the Streets (particularly in Jedo [Edo] and Hoosacka [Osaka]) continually calling Toosin bay bay, Toosin bay bay, which in Swedish is: You Rogue or Cheat, sell your Roguery; all of which we had to endure.235 No Misdeed is so small that it is not punished by Death, above all Theft, even if the value was no more than one Öre Silver Coin.236 Gambling and Betting for Money, and telling lies in Court are also punished by Death. Killing, deliberate or otherwise, and other Misdeeds are punished just as here in Sweden, so that every one dies for his Misdeed. But when someone offends against the Sovereign, then the entire Family of the Male Sex, Father, Brother and Sons, no-one excepted, has to die on the same Day and Hour. Their Estates and possessions are taken away from them: The Female Sex, such as Mother, Sister, Daughters, are sold as Slaves.237 This Money [i.e. the confiscated property] is collected and saved by certain Treasurers and kept in the proper Account, and when Necessity or Occasion demands it is distributed to Churches, Bridges, Roads or the common good.238 A Nobleman not far from Jedo [Edo], [lord] of a Province, forced his Subjects to pay up more than the amount of their Interest, by which means he largely increased his wealth for a Time. But this Encumbrance became too hard on the Subjects, so that they made the matter known by means of a Supplication to the Sovereign. Because of this Misdeed the Nobleman was sentenced with his entire Family to cut his Belly. The same Nobleman had a Brother in service to the King of Fingo [Higo] 247 Miles to the West; an Uncle living in Zathsuma [Satsuma], which was 20 Miles further away; One who was in Service with the King of Kinocumi

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[Kii(-no-kami)]; A Grandson [by one of his Daughters] serving the King of Massame [Mutsu], 100 Miles East from Jedo [Edo]; One Son with the Governor of the Emperor’s Castle Quano [Kuwana]; with him two Brothers who were Soldiers with the Emperor; Close by Jedo [Edo] lived his youngest Son, who had married the Daughter of a very wealthy Merchant, she was an only Child, and promised to him from Childhood. The same Merchant was engaged in a very large annual Trade with the Dutch. All these Persons, although they were far away from each other in the East or West, still died on the same Day and Hour; in such a way that it was calculated in how many Days the Mail could reach Zathsuma [Satsuma] (which was furthest away), which could happen on the eighth Day in the Month of Fatsinguat [Hachigatsu]. By which Time the others who remained also received written notice that this Lord who has such a Servant should let him cut his Belly on the eighth Day of the eighth Month (just at the time when the Sun stood at its highest in the South), which was strictly carried out in each Place. The Merchant in Hoosacka [Osaka], whose Daughter had the Nobleman’s Son for a Husband, immediately died of Grief, and his Daughter, once her Husband has cut his Belly, wanted to kill herself, but was saved from this by others; Wherefore she decided neither to eat nor Drink from that Day, so that she gave up her Ghost after 11 Days. What the outcome was for the others every Sensible [person] may easily think and consider.239 These Misdeeds count as Offences against the Sovereign: Breaking the Emperor’s Command and Orders. Bad government. Peculation and theft from the Emperor’s Exchequer. Minting false Coins. Lying with other Men’s Wives. Violating Virgins. Such [criminals], according to the serious- ness of the Deed, are either crucified, Feet upwards and Head downwards, or torn to pieces by four Oxen, and also boiled in Oil or Water, which has sole reference to Burghers and Common Men.240 With Kings and great Lords things are done differently. Fourteen Miles from Jedo [Edo], to the East, there is an Island, about 1 Mile in circumference, and steep on all Sides, having no Anchorage, called Faytsinsima [Hachijō-shima]. Thither they are sent into Exile and hoisted up, and kept under strong Guard on all the Promontories, so that no-one can help them and effect a Rescue. The Guard is changed each Moon. As for Nourishment and other things they are forced to live miserably.241 No-one in Japan, whether King, Lord or Burgher may build any House of Stone, but of Wood, nor any covered Vessel, excepting the Emperor himself, in order that they will not be able to sail to foreign Countries. If anyone can be proved to have been to China, the Island of Formosa, or some other

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Place, and returns, then he is immediately killed.242 From this follows that their Houses are subject to a great deal of Fire and Burning. When we arrived in Japan there had been a Conflagration, and during two Days 100 Streets were burned, turning 3000 Houses into Ashes, among them the Houses of 112 great Lords. And 300 Souls perished in this same Fire, for the most part by drowning, for the Reason that some of them rescued their Goods in Barges, onto which so many People ran that the Barges sank. A Merchant who had lost everything on this Occasion bought the Ashes from the burned-down House of a great Lord for a small Sum; in the Ashes he found Silver to the value of 70 Chests, or 140.000 Daler Silver Coin; from which one may get an idea of their costly Houses, Buildings and great Riches.243 All of them are Idolaters (some worship the Moon, when it first rises, which I have seen with my own Eyes) and also tainted by the Sins of Sodom, which are not considered shameful by them. In Yedo [Edo], when I was at the Commissary Sickingadonne’s [Chikugo dono], something occurred which I cannot write about out of Politeness, whereupon I humbly answered thus: That because of this one Sin 4 Cities in the Land of Judea had perished, in such manner that Fire and Sulphur rained upon them from Heaven, which is still burning to this Day. When he had been pondering over this for a considerable Time, I received this Reply through the Interpreter: Is this true? Then all of Japan ought to be set on Fire.244 No Man proposes on his own accord to get a Wife, but everything occurs through his Parents, and, in case the Parents are dead, through their close Blood-relations or Family.245 If it does not please the Man to keep his Wife he may let her leave with an annual Discharge and be divorced from him. Likewise he is at liberty to frequent Whores, and keep as many as he pleases, in contrast to which his Wife is subject to Death upon the least Suspicion. For this Reason one will rarely or never hear of a wanton Married Woman in Japan, but this alone, which follows, has occurred: That a Man pretended that he was going away, and when he unexpectedly came in he found a Male Person in the Chamber with his Wife, whom he immediately killed, and tied his Wife to a Ladder, Feet up and Head down. The next Day he invites his Wife’s entire Family (although this is against the Customs of this Country, considering the Womenfolk never frequent the Society of the Menfolk, however it happened on this occasion). The Guests asked several times, especially the Women, about his Wife; the Husband answered: she is detained by the preparation of the Meal, enjoy yourselves, she will be coming. When the Meal was half ended, and the Women and Men began to be merry, the Man went and

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cut the Private Parts from the dead Body, which he put in a Box surrounded by Roses and Flowers and closed it. Then he set his Wife loose from the Ladder, dressing her in Burial-clothes or a Shroud and let her Hair hang loose; Then gave her the Box with these Words: Go and take these Sweetmeats to the Guests, and see if I will have mercy on you for the sake of your Family and Friends. The Wife was half dead, and did not have all her wits about her. She did as her Husband commanded (not knowing what was in the Box) and came in front of the Guests in this dreadful Attire, fell down on her Knees and opened the Box, and when she saw what was in it she fainted away and fell down on the Floor. The Husband was right behind her and cut off her Head with a Scimitar: which caused such Terror among the Guests that every one tried to get to the Door as soon as he could.246 The Women are very faithful and modest in Manner; they are keen to lose their Lives for their Honour, on which subject I will only give two Examples.247 A Nobleman in the Kingdom of Fingo [Higo] had a Wife of surprising beauty: the King secretly had the Nobleman killed, and after a few Days summoned his Wife to him. However she was well aware that the King had caused his Death, and addressed the King thus in answer to his dis- honest Request: Willingly, o King, would I be joyful and count myself lucky that I am worthy to serve you; But all the same I say that at the Moment when you touch me I will bite off my Tongue so that I may die. But if you would first grant me my Request, then I will certainly become your Servant. In such a way, that you will give me the time of 30 Days, in which to mourn for my Lord, and arrange his Funeral with due Ceremony, and then prepare a Meal in his honour in your Castle Tower, with which I may end my Sorrow with all the Blood-relatives of my Husband. The King consented to this her Entreaty, being very puzzled as to why this Meal was to take place up in the Tower. When the afore-mentioned had been accomplished, and the King began to be merry with the Wine, of which he was now drinking more than usual, with the Prospect of being about to slake his unseemly Lust, then this beautiful Woman went outside, as if intent on amusement, and in the Presence of the King and the other Guests she threw herself Head first from the Tower and thus (without any Intercourse with the King) ended her Life.248 At the Time when Fiderij [Hideyori] was made war upon by his Guardian Ongoschio [Ō-Gosho], the King of Cocora’s [Kokura] Queen and Children were held Hostage, with many other Consorts of Kings and Lords, by Fiderij [Hideyori] in Hoosacka [Osaka], but her Husband the

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King surrendered to Ongoschio [Ō-Gosho], against Fiderij [Hideyori]. And when Fiderij [Hideyori] became aware of this he commanded the Queen and Children of Cocora [Kokura], as a greater Guarantee, to move into the Castle, which she very politely refused with these Words: Stern Lord, I am a Woman who is the obedient Servant as much of my Husband as of Your Majesty, and therefore I refer all such matters to my Husband in order that I may be commanded by him to comply with your Behest and Order. Fiderij [Hideyori], who was offended by this, brought word to her that in case she did not wish to come willingly she would be made to do so by Force. The Queen who was of elevated Birth, considered it a great Shame, for the sake of her Husband as well as for herself, to leave her House. And when she now saw that she was unable to resist Federij’s [sic! Hideyori] Order she resolved to die rather than to allow such a dishonour to befall her. Thus she retired to a Chamber, where she had Firewood and Gunpowder piled up all around, with her Foster Mother, Children and Maids (who wanted to take their Lives in the company of their Mistress). She wrote her Testament with some melancholy Verses, which she delivered to a faithful Nobleman, her Servant, with the command that as soon as he saw her end her Life with the breaking out of the Fire he would speedily announce this to her Husband and deliver the Testament, all of which occurred and was carried out.249 Here follow two Examples of the modesty of Japanese Women. A Lord, who had a Number of beautiful Maidens sought out in his Country as Chambermaids for his Wife, found among others the Daughter of a poor Soldier’s Widow, who was so pleasing to his Eyes that he took her for his Concubine. Her Mother wrote her a secret Letter, in which she complained at length about her Destitution, [saying] that she was no longer able to live in her Misery. And while she was reading the Letter her Husband [sic!] suddenly entered the Room, demanding to know what Letter this was and by whom it was written. She was ashamed to let her Husband find out about her Mother’s Destitution, and would not allow this, but since she realized that she was too weak to resist she pushed the Letter (which was written on thin Paper) down her Throat, whereupon she choked and fell down as if she were dead. In Eagerness and Anger her Husband immediately had her Throat cut open, and found that the Letter was written by her Mother, without any Iniquity. Thus he changed his Anger into Sorrow and Tears, and soon sent for her Mother, whom he kept generously and in great Honour until the Day of her Death.250 A young Maid in a Lord’s Manor was sitting in the Japanese manner (just like a Tailor with the Legs crossed), and when she was about to pour

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Wine for her Lord across the table she stretched too far so that there came (by your leave be it said) a Report from behind. Whereof she was so ashamed that out of Modesty she did not dare to stand up and leave, but secretly, under cover of her clothes, she put her Mouth to her right Breast, which she bit through in such a way that her Teeth were locked together, and with this gave up her Ghost.251 There are twelve kinds of Sects with their Priests in Japan. All of them are subject to the Dairo, just as all kinds of Monks under the Pope in Rome. Among these the Priests of the eleventh Sect may not eat anything that has been alive, nor have anything to do with Women (but unfortu- nately [they] practise the Sins of Sodom instead). If anyone is caught by the Authorities having transgressed this Law or Statute, then this same Priest is buried up to his Armpits in the Earth by the Main Road. Anyone (excepting Noblemen) who passes by must pull or saw this buried Priest once in the Neck with a wooden Saw so that he cannot die until after three or four Days.252 These People are not Superstitious, they say neither Evening nor Morning Prayers, nor [do they] say grace before or after the Table, much less in between. He must be not a little Pious, who goes to Church once a Month. The Word Namanda is the Name of one of their greatest Idols, they use it often, particularly when there is an Earthquake.253 According to his Duty a Priest makes a sermon three times a Year, and in the largest Churches they are twenty in number, in the other smaller ones 16, 15, 10 and down to 3 according to the size of the Church. Their Office mostly consists in reading the Law before their Idols, burning the Dead, and then burying their Ashes with Ceremonies.254 There is also a Sort whom they call Jammaboos [Yamabushi] or Moun tain Priests, who can easily run a Race with the Deuce and drive out the Devil: They walk stark naked in the Streets, with a little Straw hanging down around the Waist and a small Bell in the Hand. These are mainly used by People who are ill, for whom they read and rave during Twenty- four Hours. No-one can understand it, for all their Divine service, Law and Arts of Healing, together with other Arts, are described in a higher Language than the one which is used by the common People. This Script no-one, except he who has studied, can read.255 All the Learned who have studied have shaven Heads and wear thin black Silk Coats.256 Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Tonkinese and Quinamese are five individual Languages, separated from each other by several Characters, so that one cannot understand a Word of the other. Yet among them they also have other kinds of Letters, and a higher Language (in which, as has been mentioned, all their Wisdom is described), this can be understood and

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read by all five Provinces. These all have the same Contents, yet in five different Languages.257 All of them write very well with Brushes. Their Supplications to the Sovereign the Japanese write very briefly, although in wondrously complete Sentences. All Books, Libraries and Annual Chroni cles are always written by Dairo and his Retainers (who are more than eight hundred).258 They do nothing but study, lead a comfortable Life and enjoy the Pleasures of this World. They are all of one Family and Relations, live together, separated by Walls from other People, dress differently [and] use a higher Language and Speech. Because of their Wisdom and honourable Family they are very Proud, considering no-one to be their equal. They do not frequent anyone except their Comrades, so that among them there are more than one hundred Persons who are held in higher Regard and Honour than the Emperor himself, yes, worshipped as Gods by the common Man.259 Many kinds of Water are also to be found in Japan, such as Cuprous [copper], Nitrous [saltpetre], Sulphurous, Ferruginous [iron], Stanniferous [tin], Saline [alum], sweet and fresh Waters: Some are so hot that no Man can boil them thus with Fire; These serve to heal sick People.260 The Portuguese in East India have first acquired Knowledge from the Siamese, Cambodians and Chinese about Japan (which lies 750 Miles from great Java) and traded there for about 110 Years, during which Time they have converted to the Christian Popish Doctrine more than one third of Japan [and] built many beautiful Churches in Nangasackij [Nagasaki].261 In Amacusa [Amakusa] four Miles away [they] have had an Academy or College, and a Printing-house. At the Time when I was in Edo there was brought to me a Dictionary in Latin, Portuguese and Japanese, in the House of the Commissary Sickingodonne [sic! Chikugo dono]; it had been printed in the Year 1595 in Amacusa [Amakusa] in the Island Sayckock [Saikoku].262 Many of the Japanese studied so extensively that they became ordained as Priests and were Monks. This the Portuguese continued to do until the Year 1622. In the Reign of the Emperor Chiongonsamma [Chūnagon sama] (who clearly discerned the Intention of the Jesuits that they in Time aspired to the entire Country) the Persecution of Christians began, in such Manner which follows.263 At first they were simply beheaded, then crucified, which at that time seemed punishment enough. But when they saw that they went to their death well prepared while singing in a cheerful Mood, some 30, 50, 100 together, then they saw to it that their Song and Laughter changed into Weeping and Tears: In that they roasted some of them on Gridirons, and some were tied to Poles and the Firewood was piled high one and a half

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Fathoms away to be fired, they were well-nigh fried rather than burned. In this Manner some Thousands were killed. This killing of many People began to provoke them, because they could see no Decrease. And thus they began to devise in what way they could bring them to Apostacy, which was tyrannically brought about with terrifying Torments. Tender young Virgins and Women they forced to walk naked on their Hands and Feet along the Streets, and in the Presence of all the People they let them be shamefully manhandled by Rogues. They bound them by their Hands and Feet onto Horses, to be abused by them, put them into Barrels among hundreds of Snakes, which crept into all their secret Places and ruined them so that they pitifully gave up the Ghost. They dealt with them in such a way that I dare not write about it for Shame. The Private Parts of Mothers and Daughters were stuffed with Tinder, and those of the Sons were bound with the same Stuff, forcing them to set Fire to each other and torture each other with a thousand Torments.264 Not far from the town of Arima there is a Place by the Name Singock [Jigoku], Hell in Swedish, at the Foot of a Mountain where hot Water rises some Fathoms high, and it is so poisonous that the Flesh falls off unto the bare Bones. Here the Christians were brought, so that the Mother would pour over the Children and the Children again over their Parents; then they allowed them to heal and later pour Water on them again, so that they were not allowed to die but they wanted to bring them to Apostacy which was their Delight.265 Some hundreds were branded on the Forehead and driven naked in groups into the Forest, prohibited upon pain of Death from being given the least morsel to eat by anyone, much less shelter. At the Water’s Edge tall wooden Railings were erected and a group of Christians thrown in, who had to sit in the Water half of the Time and the other half on dry Land, according to how the Sea rose and fell. They were allowed to eat, so that they would suffer and be tormented for a longer time, which commonly lasted for 12 Days. They covered the Eyes of the Parents, torturing their Children with unbearable Torments, so that the Children cried with many Tears: Alas, Father and Mother have mercy on us, deliver us from this Pain from which we will not be saved unless you apostatize, O Mother, O Mother help us; so that the Hearts of the Parents seemed to break into pieces; Yes, some gave up their Ghost because of their Grief.266 On some Christians they cut the Nails off their Hands and Feet, piercing their Thighs, Arms and Legs: On some of them they tied Stones around the Neck and threw them into the Sea. One Group was thrown off steep and tall Mountains. Yes, in hundreds of Ways they tortured and killed them, all of which would take too long to describe.267 When someone is

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convicted of being a Christian then he must die with his entire Family and two next door Neighbours on each Side (because they have not kept Watch more carefully, and made such things known) which together makes 5 Families, so that for one Christian over 100 Persons may lose their Lives.268 In each Market Place in the Towns 200 Pieces of Silver, about 800 Daler Silver Coin, are nailed up surrounded by a Grating; By them is a Tablet upon which it is written that anyone who can reveal any Christian will first receive the same [amount as a] Gift from the Emperor, and then all the Goods and Possessions of the Christian.269 Their Children of 6, 7 to 15 Years, some of whom were offered to live, have refused this with great Fortitude, saying: We do not want to live, nor do we fear Death. Where our Parents go we want to accompany them with great Joy, where you will not be able to cause us any more Sorrow. Those who were not so plucky were comforted by their Parents with these Words: Come my dear Children, and do not live among these evil People, We will take you to a Land which is sumptuous and very beautiful, where we will always live in Delight. All Lepers’ Houses were searched throughout Japan, among which there were 358 Christians, who were divided into two Boats and then given as a Gift to the Portuguese to be taken to Manilha [Manila] and the Philippine Islands.270 Lastly they began to hang all the Christians by their Feet, which is the greatest Pain and Torment that can be invented or described at any Time. I have spoken to some Persons who have been hanging for two Days, and were forced to apostatize, they told me that no Fire or any other Torments can be compared to this hanging. Most of them die on the third Day.271 In the Year 1636 all the Portuguese with Wives, Children and Belongings were driven out for the sake of the Doctrine, forbidden on Pain of Death ever to return. In the Month of October they set sail with all their Property, contained in four Galliots. They were taxed 2.300 Chests of Silver, each Chest [containing] 2000 Daler Silver Coin, which happened with great Grief, since most of them had taken wives in Japan, and had been living there for a long time. In the Year 1639 they returned, with two Galliots, humbly attempting to trade in Japan as before, but were this second time forbidden and warned. In case they returned again all of them would die an ignominious Death, which the Portuguese did not heed.272 Thus in the Year 1640 in July they returned a second time from Macau [Macao] to Nangasackij [Nagasaki] with a Galliot equipped with 74 Persons, among whom were four eminent Emissaries, humbly attempting as before to be allowed to trade in Japan. They would have been ignominiously killed at once according to the

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Emperor’s Command, and burned with their Ship and Goods. But since they arrived without Merchandise (possessing nothing but Victuals and bringing Letters from Macau [Macao] to the Governors in Nangasackij [Nagasaki] just like Emissaries) such action was postponed until further Orders from Jedo [Edo]. In the Meantime all the Portuguese were kept under strong Guard; Sails and Rudder were taken ashore. On August 2nd two Commissaries invested with full Powers arrived hastily in Nangasackij [Nagasaki] from the Emperor’s Court in Jedo [Edo], Caugats Memunbedonne [Kagazume Tadazumi Minbu dono] and Nonnojammma Sumbedonne [Nonoi sama, Tsuge dono?], who immediately had all the Portuguese brought to them. The Portuguese were very joyful and decked themselves out very sumptuously, with Adornments on their Heads, thinking that something to their Advantage was going to be discussed, but things went completely contrary to their surmise, since the Commissaries addressed them thus: You are forgetful, recalcitrant Fellows, who have been forbidden on Pain of Death ever to return to Japan, which Prohibition you have now transgressed against. Last Year you were liable to be punished by Death, but out of Mercy you were allowed to live, wherefore you (considering that you have arrived without Merchandise and as if to supplicate) are now going to be punished by Death without any torture.273 These last Words had hardly been spoken when all the Portuguese were tied up and thrown into Prison by 3 Companies of Soldiers. If it hadn’t been for the Feast of the Full Moon they would have been killed that moment.274 The Portuguese were tied up and forced to spend the entire Night weeping in Prison. The second Day they were taken to the Place of Execution: many were so dispirited and feeble that they fell to the Ground, with whom the Guards had their hands full before they could bring them to this gloomy Place. Among these 74 Persons there were 13 Indian Soldiers: They were decked out with a white Flag, which stood up at the back over their Heads, as a Sign that they were not to die.275 When the remaining 61 Portuguese became aware of this they hastened to announce their lamentable End, [mentioning] their Wives, Children and Friends. But not one of the black Indians dared to answer a Word, much less make a Sign, so that this was going to be fulfilled and obeyed. The Portuguese were allowed to pray and take their Leave of this World according to their Manner. Soon they were beheaded one after the other, and the Heads were put on Palings, 6 Feet apart and 6 Feet above the Ground, all 61 in a row, pierced through with Nails: the Bodies were thrown together into a deep Grave and buried.276

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When all this had been accomplished all the Gold Chains, Household Goods, Clothes and Equipment of the Portuguese, together with 6000 Tael Silver (which were found in addition to their Food) in all amounting to 14.000 Tael, or 28.000 Daler Silver Coin [were confiscated].277 They did not hide the least little item, but loaded them onto their Galliot, took the Sails, Rudder and Cannon on Board, and rowed the Galliot with all its furnishings to the Place where they had first dropped Anchor, and there, in the Presence of the 13 Indian Soldiers, set it on Fire and guarded it until everything had sunk to the bottom.278 When the 13 Indian Soldiers had been viewing the Heads of their Officers for a while on the second Day they were addressed thus by the Commissaries: You will be allowed to live this time, for no other purpose than that you shall bring News to Macau [Macao] of what has befallen your People. Now we have first asked the Emperor, which will not happen again, so that [those of] your Nation who return will be undone in the very act and slain, wheresoever they are found to be. The Indians were brought back to the Prison and kept under strict guard, until the Northerly Monsoon, and on September 1st in the same Year [they] were sent to Macau [Macao] on a Chinese Ship and at the Expense of the Emperor. In the Year 1647 in June two Galliots arrived from Macau [Macao] in Nangasackij [Nagasaki] for the third time, having nothing else on board but Victuals, Gunpowder, Bullets and other Equipment for Warfare, ready for Battle, commanded by an Admiral, called Antonio Fialio [Fialho].279 This man tried, just like the others, to regain the Trade in Japan, alleging to them that Portugal by now had its own King, by the Name of Don Juan the Fourth, and was no longer subject to the Spaniards.280 The Japanese came on Board, and according to former Custom requested that all the Ammunition, Sails and Rudder be brought ashore. The Portuguese replied that they were not in the least willing to surrender in any way, nor allow more than 10 Men to come on Board; in case that this happened, however, they were immediately to open Fire, and blow them out of the Water, saying frankly that they were all of them prepared to end their Lives fighting. This was speedily announced to the Emperor in Jedo [Edo]. In the meantime thousands of Japanese gathered together in order to belay the Portuguese in the Estuary, Barge by Barge, like a Bridge across the Sound, so that not even the smallest Vessel was able to get out or in. Iron Chains, Cables and Ropes were also drawn across, the Barges were bound together and Poops with Cannon [were] built upon them. All of which the Portuguese watched being made ready, although they could have put out

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to sea before this was completed. But for all that, taking no heed of such things, they lay still and waited for the Emperor’s decision. At last came the Emperor’s Order that the Japanese were to attack and take the two Galliots by storm, not sparing the Life of one [person]. However, although the Japanese were several Thousand times stronger, they did not dare to assail the Portuguese, realizing that some Thousand [men] would have to be lost in the game before they could be vanquished; inasmuch as all the Portuguese were prepared to die and no-one would ask for Quarter, since they knew well (if they were taken prisoner) that they would still be killed dishonourably. The Portuguese also had in mind (when they saw that the Japanese were getting the better of them, which would first have cost [the lives of] some Thousands) to let their Galliots be overrun by the Japanese and then set Fire to the Powder-magazine. For these Reasons letters were written to the Emperor a second Time, alleging that the two Galliots could not be forced without the Loss of several thousand Men, so well equipped were they. Whereupon the Decision followed that this time they were to allow the Portuguese to sail away safely, with serious Admonitions never to return, if they wanted to avoid a shameful Death. With this the Portuguese set Sail and left after a few Days, and have never returned after that Time.281 In the Year 1609, on July 1st, the Dutch arrived in Japan for the very first time with three Yachts, pretending not to be Christians like the Portuguese, which at that Time was not greatly inquired into. Because of this they were given Permission to trade in their Country [Japan], which the Dutch continued annually, at first making a great Profit, in that they gained Two hundred Percent.282 When the persecution of the Christians began to be carried out at its most intense in Japan all the Christians in the Castle of Arima armed themselves. Some Christian Japanese Lords also fled to this Place, and fortified themselves very well there, with Walls around the Castle, so that the Japanese were unable to storm them there. They [the Bakufu] therefore soon asked for Help from the Dutch, which they immediately agreed to, in order to tie themselves more closely to the Japanese in this Instance, and thus exterminate the Portuguese, in order that they were to obtain the entire Trade in Japan. To this end the Dutch positioned themselves with 7 Ships off Arima and fired at the Wall, by which means the Castle was taken and all the Christians pitifully killed by the Japanese. In India I have spoken to many Persons who were there at that Time and who told [me] that many escaped from the Castle upon the Arrival of the Dutch, and asked for Mercy from the Japanese, but they were immediately driven

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back with these Words: When we get every one of you, then you will have equal Justice. The Dutch are unable to deny this.283 Because of this the Dutch were given great Favours by the Japanese, so that they were at Liberty in Firando [Hirado] to frequent them, walk wherever they wished, take wives during the Time they were there and abandon them upon their Departure (for a small Sum to the Wives’ or rather, I should say, the Whores’ Parents, about 4, 5, 6 Rijksdaler) whom they, for the duration of their stay, were obliged to keep in Clothes and Board.284 Franciscus [François] Caron, who had come out as a Scullion, and remained in Japan all his Time, had learned the Japanese Language, dressed in their Manner, won himself a Japanese Wife, travelled a great deal through the Country, and very carefully observed its Condition. At this Time he was the supreme Ruler of the Trading Post of the Dutch, and their Superior in Japan.285 He made a request to be allowed to build a Warehouse made of Stone for their Merchandise upon the arrival of the Ships, for which he received permission. Instead of a Warehouse Caron had a Castle built, with several Embrasures, in order to put Cannon there later, and for this purpose he requested several hundred Men and Cannon (hidden in Bales of Cloth and Chests) from Batavia in great Java, which arrived in Japan with Eleven Hundred Persons.286 In the Meantime the Japanese, who resented this Building (which was more sumptuous than that of any King or Lord in the Country) and who furthermore had been well informed by the [crews of the] Portuguese Galliots that the Dutch were also Christians, just like the Portuguese, for such things are announced to the Emperor, therefore decided to forestall this in Time. They immediately sent the Chief Commissary Sickingodonne [Chikugo dono] to Firando [Hirado] with the Order that he should inspect everything and act if this turned out to be True, and what he further had to do.287 In the Year 1640, on November 9th, the Commissary arrived in Firando [Hirado], and immediately visited their Warehouse and Castle, in the company of the Lord of Firando [Hirado] and Nangasackij [Nagasaki], looking whether he could not find any distinctive Signs of Christianity there.288 When all this had been carried out he had Caron summoned to him and addressed him thus: His Imperial Majesty is reliably informed that all of you Dutch are Christians, just like the Portuguese, although this has previously been denied by you. You keep Sunday, You have the Year after the Birth of Christ written at the top of the Gables of your Houses, in the Sight and View of our entire Country, You have the

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Ten Commandments, Our Father, the Faith, use Baptism, the Sacraments and the Eucharist, the Bible, the Testaments, Moses, the Prophets and the Apostles; to sum up, one Practice. We consider the difference between the two of you to be small. That you are Christians like them is something we have known for a long time, but supposed and believed that this was a different Christ. Wherefore the Emperor, through myself, commands you to tear down all the Buildings (excepting none on which the Year after the Birth of Christ is written) beginning on the North Side, which was constructed last, and continuing to the end, until all of them have been razed to the ground. From this Time you must no longer keep your Sunday openly, in order that the Remembrance of its Name may at one time come to an end. You must change your Chief Ruler annually, and not allow him to linger here any longer.289 Caron, who had been warned in advance by good Friends, made no objection, but answered thus, with great Reverence: All that it pleases the Emperor to command us we will comply with by all means. The Commissary was pleased as well as puzzled by this Reply; Pleased that it was brief, and Puzzled by the fact that Caron had prepared his Report. If Caron had even hinted at pleading anything else, either the great Damage to the Company, a Malevolent Account having been made to the Emperor, or other such things, he would have been killed that very Instant. Twenty nimble Men who were seated behind Caron had strict Orders to accomplish this, and were to have been given a Sign when the Commissary would address Caron thus: You who disobey the Emperor’s Order and Command are not worthy to [be allowed to] live. With this they were to have seized all the Dutch in the Warehouse, and utterly destroyed the Dutch Power, for which purpose over one hundred Barges from Fingo [Higo] and Arima lay in Readiness with several thousand Japanese; all of this being prevented by Caron’s pleasing Reply. The next Day Caron speedily had the entire beautiful Construction, which had cost the Dutch several thousand Riksdaler, torn down by two hundred Sailors from the Ships and two hundred Workmen from the Town (himself striking the first Blow in the Wall). Caron was ordered to sail away with the Ships, with [his] Wife and Children, and never to return there. Maximilianus le Maire [Maximiliaen Le Maire] was appointed Chief and Regent in his Place.290 In 1641, the following Year, on May 11th, when he had an Audience of the Emperor and brought in the Gifts, he was ordered by the Councillors to move the Dutch Trading Post from Firando [Hirado] to the Island of Schisma [Deshima] in Nangasackij [Nagasaki], where the Portuguese had

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formerly been obliged to stay for a Time (in the same way that Prisoners were kept) before they were completely driven out. Le Maire complied with this Command the same Year in June, when he moved with all the Dutch to Nangasackij [Nagasaki]. Thereupon they also lost all their Liberties, which they had previously enjoyed in Firando [Hirado] (at the Time when they were considered not to be Christians), so that they were not allowed to bury a Dead [person] in the Ground. In the same Year a Chief Barber-Surgeon died on the Ship called The King, and Maximilian le Maire [Maximiliaen Le Maire] attempted to have him buried on the Island of Schisma [Deshima], according to the previous Custom at Firando [Hirado]. But the Governor replied to his request: No dead Body of a Christian is worthy of the Soil; instead he would have him buried 5 Miles out in the Sea, which is done until this Day. For during the Time when I was in Japan a Sailor on the Ship called The King of Poland fell overboard from the Galliot because of Drunkenness and drowned, whom the Japanese fished out the next Morning, and brought out, together with some others who had died of Illness, some Miles into the Sea and buried.291 The Dutch here are kept under great Constraint since they were revealed as Christians. They now fear the Japanese more than God in Heaven at this Time, so that when the Ships arrive they nail Placards to the Mainmast, in which all obvious Gestures which hint at Christianity are forbidden, no mention of the Name of Christ on pain of Death, no saying of Prayers before or after a Meal, in the Evening or in the Morning. In Truth, in my Time when I was there in their Service we were forbidden to change any Clothes on a Sunday, so that we would not by this means reveal that we were Christians: All of which the Dutch are well able to endure and suffer for the sake of Money and Profit.292 I have written this simply and briefly in our Swedish Tongue, for the reason that we should thank God for Peace and Tranquillity in our dear Fatherland, where we do not know such Persecution, and still steadfastly beseech him that he in his Fatherly Mercy will hereafter by his Grace preserve us from foreign Rulers and Teachers. God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost be thanked, lauded, praised and venerated by us, now and in all Eternity. Amen.

PART TWO

The Journal of Olof Eriksson Willman

NOTES TO THE TEXT NOTES TO THE TEXT

1. The original title in Swedish is: ‘Här på fölger Een kort Beskriffningh på een Reesa till Ostindien och förbeskreffne Japan, Then een Swänsk Mann och SkepsCapiteen Oloff Erichsson Willman benembdh, giordt hafwer. Tryckt på Wijsingsborgh aff Johann Kankel, Åhr effter Christi Bördh MDCLXVJJ.’ In the two Swedish editions of Willman’s work the History of Japan came first. I have taken the liberty of reversing the order here, since our primary interest lies in his own original text, i.e. the Travel Journal. 2. Willman seems to have matriculated at the University of Upsala on 11 February 1641, as the entry in the University register mentions an ‘Olaus Erici Vesmannus’, the ‘Vesmannus’ indicating the county where he was born, Västmanland. 3. The quickest route between Västerås and Stockholm in Willman’s day was by boat on Lake Mälaren. 4. Sweden and Denmark were involved in almost constant warfare during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the peace concluded at Brömsebro in 1645 Denmark ceded the province of Halland, in south-west Sweden for 30 years, while the terms of the peace concluded at Roskilde in 1658 changed this to perpetuity. In view of Willman’s service in the Swedish army it appears likely that his stay in Halmstad was in military service, although he does not specify the nature of his situation there. 5. The standard monthly wage in the Dutch East India Company, Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, was nine Guilders during the nearly two centuries of the VOC’s existence. Willman joined as Adelborst, the second lowest rank, comparable to that of ensign, at a slightly higher wage. 6. The term ‘Admiral’ was used to denote the ship in which the senior officer of a group of ships was travelling. 7. The Gregorian calendar was used in the Netherlands, whereas Sweden retained the ‘old style’ Julian calendar until 1753. 8. The firing of shots was the only distress signal possible at night. 9. This is the only mention Willman makes of the fact that the ship carried passengers, presumably wives and children accompanying the officers or going out to join their husbands and fathers in Batavia or elsewhere in the East Indies.

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10. ‘He’ would appear to refer to the Captain of the English ship. 11. This mountain, later compared by Willman to Mount Fuji in Japan, was Pico de Teyde in Tenerife, which is 3,710 metres high. Joseph Justus Scaliger (1540–1609), the French protestant philologist and son of the Italian classicist Giulio Cesare della Scala who Latinized his name upon moving to France, was one of the leading scholars of his time and commonly referred to as an authority on a variety of subjects. Willman’s strange measure concerning the height of a mountain peak would seem to amount to approx. 1,750 metres. 12. The Cape Verde Islands being volcanic, the fires seen from the ship may in fact have been due to volcanic activity. 13. The Portuguese word for shark is ‘tubarão’, whereas the word for por- poise is ‘toninha’, so it seems likely that Willman has got them mixed up. I have so far failed to discover any mention of this particular rem- edy in the medical literature of the time. The Book of Tobias is one of the apocryphal books of the Old Testament. 14. Pernambuco is the capital of the state in eastern Brazil of the same name, and better known as Cidade do Recife, commonly abbreviated Recife. The Abrolhos, or Isles of St. Barbara, are a group of small islands and rocks off the coast of Brazil, south south-east of Porto Seguro. 15. The Psalms of David, Psalm 107, verse 26. 16. The Feast Day of St. Luke is 18 October. 17. The islands of New Amsterdam and St. Paul are situated in the Indian Ocean, half-way between Africa and Australia. ‘(Terra) Magellanica’ refers to the Antarctic. Cf. the Straits of Magellan between Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. 18. A pottle equals four pints. 19. Mataram is the ancient name of a principality and its capital on the island of Java, present-day Yogjakarta. 20. The ‘fortifications, castles and houses’ refer to VOC trading posts in these places. 21. There appears to be a misprint here as the date should clearly be the 14th. 22. ‘… his hands’: this refers to the Governor General, Gouverneur- generaal. ‘Them’: the ship’s officers. 23. The Governor General of Batavia at this time was Cornelius van der Lijn (1608–1679), who held the position from 1645 to 1650. 24. These islands in the Moluccas provided the Dutch with some of their most lucrative export commodities. The Banda nutmeg was of the highest quality, and after the conquest of the island in 1622, when

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the local inhabitants were exterminated, the Dutch had a monopoly on the trade with nutmeg as well as cloves. Judging by Willman’s account, the Moluccas expeditions seem to have served as a means of making use of those who were otherwise unemployable. ‘Parliamen tarians’ appears to refer to those who argued and were quarrelsome. 25. The India Council, Raad van Indië, led by the Governor General, held the executive power in the VOC. 26. Genoa, like Venice, was a powerful city state under an elected doge, or chief magistrate. 27. The São João Baptista was bought by the Portuguese merchant- adventurer Francisco Vieira de Figueiredo, who had traded suc cessfully on the Coromandel Coast and in Macassar (on Celebes), for 9.000 rials, i.e reales de ocho or ‘pieces of eight’. The real de ocho was the most frequently used silver coin in the Far Eastern maritime trade once Spain had annexed the Philippines. Vide Boxer, C.R., ‘Francisco Vieira de Figueiredo: A Portuguese Merchant-Adventurer in South East Asia, 1624–1667’, in Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal, Land- en Volkenkunde, Deel 52, ‘S-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff, 1967. The VOC obviously made the most of this unexpected windfall by attaching the sailors on board the Genoese ships (willy- nilly, as it would appear) to their garrisons. Japara was a small VOC factory north of Samarang on the coast of Java. 28. One fathom was 1.78 metre, thus the beast would have been about 5.3 metres long, according to Willman’s reckoning. 29. ‘The 1000 islands’ refers to the Lesser Sunda Islands. 30. Johan Olofsson Berg was born in Norrtälje in 1618, and enrolled in the Royal Swedish Navy in 1640. Having served with distinction in the war with Denmark he joined the VOC in 1646. His duties took him to India, Siam, Batavia and Japan, and upon his return to Sweden in 1651 he became a lieutenant in the Admiralty. During the Danish wars of King Carl X Gustaf he showed great bravery, eventually being promoted to the rank of admiral in 1676. This elevation caused him to adopt a new name with a more noble ring to it, Bergenstjerna, but he did not receive his letters patent before his death later in the same year, nor was his family name immatriculated at Riddarhuset (The House of Knights) in Stockholm. 31. A cartouch is a closed metal cylinder filled with grape shot and designed to be fired from an artillery piece. 32. Pieter Blokhuys, Doctor of Jurisprudence and former headmaster of a Latin grammar school, had been chosen for this important mission in order to soothe the feelings of the Japanese government, still in

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some turmoil because of the unwelcome news that Holland and Portugal were no longer at war upon the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Andries Frisius, head merchant and private secretary to Blokhuys, was under orders to act as his deputy, in the event of Blokhuys’s death, which does not appear to have been entirely unexpected. 33. Judging by the Swedish term used by Willman, i.e. ‘förmysare’, these were the kind of small mortars which were attached to the mouth of a cannon in order to fire grenades. They were a new invention, and it is interesting to see how keen the Japanese were to keep up to date with the latest ordnance. ‘Johan Schedler’ is Willmans rendering of the name Juriaen Schedel. He was a mortar-gunner especially attached to the VOC party led by Anthonio van Brouckhorst, Opperhoofd, i.e. Chief Factor, from 1649 to 1650, at the Bakufu’s request. Schedel and three other VOC employees remained in Edo for nearly six months after the departure of the other members of the Hofreis in order to teach the use of mortars and guns to the Japanese. Schedel apparently also taught geometry and surveying. Vide Boxer C.R., ‘Notes on Early European Military Influence in Japan (1543– 1853)’, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, Second Series, Vol. VIII, Tokyo, 1931, p. 86. According to Wolfgang Michel the instructions given by Schedel were so comprehensive that the Bakufu official Hōjō Ujinaga (1610– 1670) was able to write them up in a treatise entitled Oranda yuriamu kōjōden, ‘The Dutch Juriaen Method of Attacking Fortresses’, which he presented to the Shōgun in 1651. Vide Michel, Wolfgang, ‘Caspar Schambergers Reisen nach Edo’, Doku-Futsu Bungaku Kenkyu, (Studien zur deutschen und französischen Literatur), Heft 42, Gesellschaft für Deutsche und Französische Literatur, University of Kyushu, 1992, p. 53, passim. Hōjō Ujinaga was one of the earliest Japanese cartographers, whose surveys of Edo and other districts were relatively accurate, possibly, as Boxer suggests, as a result of Sche del’s instruction. Vide Boxer, C.R., Jan Compagnie in Japan 1600–1817, An Essay on the Cultural, Artistic and Scientific Influence Exercised by the Hollanders in Japan from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Centuries (originally published 1936, new ed. 1950), Oxford in Asia Historical Reprints, Oxford University Press, 1968, p. 13; p. 41. 34. The port city of Tranquebar, on the Coromandel Coast, was the commercial centre of the Danish colony, acquired in 1620 from the Rajah

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of Tanjore. It remained a Danish possession until 1845, when it was sold to the English East India Company. 35. Arrack, spirits made from fermented and distilled palm juice or rice and molasses, manufactured mainly in Java and Ceylon and also in southern India. 36. Riksdaler, Swedish silver coin minted from the beginning of the seventeenth century. In Willman’s time a daler contained about 25 grammes pure silver. 37. In the seventeenth century the Dutch trade with Siam was very lively and in serious competition with that of the Portuguese. Judging by the magnificence of the gifts brought for the VOC the King of Siam was anxious to further his country’s trade relations with The Netherlands. 38. Aracan, a narrow coastal strip on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, in present-day Burma, was at times an independent prin cipality during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Portuguese had established a trading post at Martaban, south of Pegu, in 1517, and the VOC was apparently also attempting to trade there. One of the chief commodities produced in Aracan was indigo. 39. Tayowan, bay on the south-western coast of Formosa where the Dutch fortress Zeelandia was situated. Part of present-day Anping. 40. The city of Narva, in present-day Estonia, was part of the province of Ingermanland which with the peace treaty of Stolbova, 1617, had come under Swedish rule, represented by the Governor General of Livonia and Estonia. A Lutheran superintendent was appointed in 1641, to reside in Narva and oversee matters of the church. This was Henrik Stahl (?–1656/57), former dean of Reval cathedral (present-day Tallinn). His two sons Henrik and Eberhard matriculated at Upsala University on 1 June 1641, just over three months after Willman, who seems to have known them, and who may in fact have met his fellow student again in Batavia. 41. Pieter Sterthemius, Opperhoofd at Deshima from 25 October 1650 to 3 November 1651, was sent out to replace Anthonio van Brouckhorst, who had been there since November 5th 1649. Blokhuys, who was sent out on a special mission, had never been intended to fill this position. Cf. supra, note 32. 42. Cornelius van der Lijn was relieved of his office and recalled to Amsterdam in order to answer charges of malfeasance concerning

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his office as Governor General in Batavia. The accusations against him proved to be largely unsubstantiated and he was given a more or less honourable discharge. Karel Reinierszoon had been a member of the Raad van Indië since 1639, and was Governor General from 1650–1653. 43. François Caron (1600–1673) is one of the more colourful and remarkable characters in the history of European-Japanese relations. He had come out to Japan in 1619 as a cook’s mate on a VOC ship, learned Japanese and advanced from a position as assistant and interpreter in the VOC factory at Hirado in 1626 to that of Opperhoofd from 1639 to 1641. Because of the unfortunate ‘Anno Domini affair’ (vide infra, note 75), of which more below in Willman’s Brief Account of the History of Japan, Caron was forced to leave the country for Batavia. During the next ten years he sailed to Holland as Admiral of the return fleet, came back to Batavia, spent the years 1644–1646 as Governor of Formosa, and was Director General in Batavia from 1647 to 1651. He was recalled to Amsterdam at the same time as van der Lijn, on similar charges of mismanagement, but was not exonerated. Caron offered his services to France, and when Colbert founded the French East India Company, Compagnie des Indes, in 1664 Caron was appointed Director, serving in this capacity from 1665 to 1673 and travelling to Surat, Malabar and Bantam. In 1672 he was awarded L’Ordre de Saint-Michel (the Order of St. Michael), France’s highest distinction, by King Louis XIV, the only Protestant, apart from the Dutch naval hero, Admiral Michiel Adriaanszoon van Ruyter (1607– 1676), to be so honoured. Caron was drowned in 1673 off Lisbon, when the ship in which he was returning to Europe foundered, and with him disappeared the treasure of jewels which he had collected during his last years of service in the East. It is obvious that Caron must have been something of a legend in Batavia, and it seems likely that Willman may have seen him. He certainly devoted more space to Caron than to any other person, European or Japanese, in his writings, and to his unacknowledged borrowings from Caron’s famous book Beschrijvinghe Van het Machtigh Coninckrijcke Japan (Description of the Mighty Kingdom of Japan) published in Amsterdam, 1648, he added several anecdotes about Caron which he must have heard in Batavia or in Japan. 44. At this time the only person on board ship with some medical knowledge was commonly the barber-surgeon, who treated minor ailments, bled and purged his patients, and may have had some skill in tending wounds and setting bones. The killing of seven men in the course of

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one morning’s work must have been something of a record, however, even in the mid-seventeenth century, since Willman commented on this unfortunate occurrence. 45. Willman’s promotion to sergeant, as well as his appointment as majordomo or Hofmeister for the duration of van der Burgh’s year as Opperhoofd of the VOC factory in Japan, seems to indicate that he had served with some distinction in the garrison and was known to be reliable. 46. ‘The 15th inst.’ is obviously a misprint for ‘the 13th inst.’. It is interesting to note that as many as two dozen Swedes were in VOC service in Batavia at this time, and that among them there were also those who had become burghers and holders of public office. 47. Among the officials of the VOC in Batavia was a Water Fiscaals, Shipping Fiscal, who appears to have searched departing ships before they were allowed to set sail. 48. The VOC officials at Deshima customarily brought native slaves with them from Batavia to act as their personal servants. 49. ‘Jamba’, i.e. Jambi: a river on Sumatra and the district surrounding it. The English East India Company had a factory at Bantam, on the west coast of Java in the Sunda Straits, which was the centre of its Indonesian pepper trade until its fall to the Dutch in 1682. 50. The ‘seven islands’ seems to refer to the Lingga archipelago, on the Equator. 51. Probably the present-day Anambas Islands. 52. Pulo Condor, two large and several smaller volcanic islands off the south coast of Cochinchina, the old name for Tonkin, Annam and the area around the Mekong River delta, in present-day Vietnam and Cambodia. 53. Tsiampa, the indigenous name of the area known by the Europeans as Cochinchina. 54. Willman appears to have confused Annam, on the east coast of Indochina, with the island of Hainan, in the Bay of Tonkin. Quinam was the main city of the kingdom of Quang-nam, also on the east coast of Indochina. The ship clearly sailed within sight of the coast whenever possible. 55. In Willman’s time as well as today, pirates were common in the South China Sea, and it was probably wise to enquire of any passing vessel or vessels what nation they belonged to. Willman is not very clear here, but the fact that he mentions ‘a crowd of sailors’ seems to indicate a fleet of several small boats. 56. Tycho Brahe (1546–1601) the famous Danish/Swedish astronomer and colleague of Johannes Kepler, spent his final years as Astronomer

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Royal in Prague at the invitation of the Emperor Rudolph II. Brahe was famous for his powerful astronomical instruments, and for his interpretation of the material he obtained, and his calculations concerning the Tropic of Cancer appear to be remarkably accurate. 57. The 103rd Psalm, which begins ‘Praise the Lord, O my soul’, contains several verses which seem suitable for those in peril on the sea, e.g. ‘Who saveth thy life from destruction’ and especially ‘The days of man are but as grass: for he flourisheth as a flower of the field. For as soon as the wind goeth over it, it is gone: and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the merciful goodness of the Lord endureth for ever and ever upon them that fear him…’ 58. Saikoku, literally ‘the West Country’, denoted south-western Japan in its entirety. Nagasaki is situated on the island of Kyūshū. 59. Nagasaki was under the direct control of the Tokugawa government, Bakufu, which from 1633 appointed two governors, Bugyō, one of whom was resident in the city, the other residing in Edo. Civil administration in the city, including control of all commerce, was in the hands of the town councillors, Machidoshiyori, who were from four to nine in number. The ‘town bailiff’ refers to the Nagasaki daikan. The fan-shaped artificial island of Deshima in Nagasaki harbour was separated from the city by a strongly guarded bridge, and special permission was required for any European who wished to enter the city. 60. The ‘two gentlemen’ would have been the present Opperhoofd, Pieter Sterthemius, and his successor, Adriaen van der Burgh. 61. O-Bon (Sanskr. Ullambana) is the Buddhist festival of the dead, during which the spirits of the departed are invited to visit their old homes. Paper lanterns light their way in the cemeteries as well as outside the houses, and on the last day of the festival the spirit visitors are sent on their way by means of miniature boats with paper lanterns in them which float away in the sea, bound for the realm of the dead. 62. A ‘Ton’, from the German Tonne, ‘barrel’, is an old measure of goods or money, amounting to a value of 100.000, thus in this case 100.000 Guilders. 63. ‘The two gentlemen’: the Opperhoofd and his successor. ‘The Japanese Governor’: the resident Bugyō. 64. This was the famous Ōkunchi, the Shinto matsuri of the Suwa shrine at Nagasaki, which to this day is celebrated annually in October. The high point of the festival is a dragon dance with musical accompani- ment, and there are different kinds of stage entertainments and pro- cessions throughout the city. Nothing even remotely similar was to be

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seen in Protestant Sweden in the seventeenth century, and one may perhaps forgive Willman for having been rendered speechless by this exotic spectacle. 65. Willman’s estimate seems somewhat exaggerated, although a net profit of 200% was not unheard of. Among the commodities imported into Europe, black pepper and spices such as nutmeg, cloves and cin- namon played the most important part, together with cotton and silk textiles. A variety of goods, from powdered sugar, saltpetre and indigo to ebony, diamonds and porcelain, also found their way into Europe in more limited quantities, laying the foundations for the solid wealth of the VOC. From Japan the chief export commodity was copper. Important quantities of porcelain, polished rice and soy sauce were also shipped to Europe, as well as some luxury goods such as lacquer objects, fans and lengths of woven silk, although the narrow Japanese loom limited the usefulness of the latter. 66. The only other nation allowed to trade with Japan during the period of ‘the Closed Country’, Sakoku, from 1639 to 1854, was China. 67. In common with other Europeans at the time Willman was only dimly aware of the existence of the real Emperor, whom he referred to as ‘Dairo or their Archbishop’, vide infra, notes 96 and 197. The so-called ‘new Emperor’ was in fact the fourth Tokugawa Shōgun, i.e. the de facto political ruler, Ietsuna (1641–1680, regnavit 1651–1680), who had succeeded his father, Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604–1651, regnavit 1623–1651). Christianity had been proscribed since the 1620s, and the Japanese who still adhered to this faith had long since gone under- ground, but the authorities continued to be vigilant, and suspects were interned and interrogated, while those who confessed were executed. 68. ‘Citsebee’ can be identified as Nishi Kichibē, who was one of the interpreters on the court journey, Hofreis, in 1649, when the German barber-surgeon Caspar Schamberger (1623–1706) accompanied the Opperhoofd Anthonio van Brouckhorst as VOC surgeon. Schamberger in fact became the originator of a school of Japanese medicine, known as Kasuparu-ryū, ‘the style/school of Caspar’. Vide Michel, Wolfgang, op. cit., note 33, supra. ‘The bones of a catholic monk’ found in the house of Nishi Kichibē’s brother would have been relics from one of the two great martyrdoms which had taken place in Nagasaki. In 1597, the Twenty-Six Saints of Japan were crucified there, and in the so-called Great Martyrdom in Nagasaki, 1622, twenty-three Christians, among whom were several missionaries, were burned at the stake,

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while twenty-two Japanese laymen, including women and children, who had sheltered them, were beheaded. It is well documented that limbs of the Twenty-Six Saints, whose corpses were left exposed on their crosses, were removed by the faithful, and it is not unlikely that bones of those burned in 1622 would also have been collected surrep- titiously. Disposing of a martyr’s corpse or venerating a martyr’s relics were crimes which commonly incurred the death penalty. 69. The VOC made certain that those who were to represent it at the shōgunal court would be properly dressed, and the suit of ‘fine broad- cloth’ must have been reserved for this occasion, and for going about Edo. The ‘slippers’ were probably zori, straw sandals, in which tabi, cotton socks covering all the toes but divided for the big toe to allow the thong of the sandal to pass between this and the other toes, were worn. The tabi mentioned by Willman seem to have been reinforced with a thin leather sole. The ‘leather baskets’ must have been some kind of saddle bags for carrying luggage. The Japanese custom of removing one’s shoes when entering a private house and walking about in one’s stockinged feet was strange enough to elicit comment by all European visitors to the country. Japanese umbrellas and raincoats were made of oiled paper. Peasants commonly wore raincoats made of straw. 70. The resident Nagasaki Bugyō, Baba Toshishige Saburōzaemon, had been appointed to his office in 1650. 71. ‘The Southern Land’, i.e. South Africa. 72. November 1651 to November 1652 was Adriaen van der Burgh’s only period as Opperhoofd at Deshima. Joan Boucheljon was to hold this office three times, 1655–1656, 1657–1658 and 1659–1660. Johannes Wunsch returned to Deshima in 1654–1655, and possibly also ten years later, 1665–1666. 73. I have used Wolfgang Michel’s identification of the Deshima interpreters. Cremation is the customary Buddhist form of burial ceremony. 74. The Kujukushima, or Ninety-nine Islets, in fact consists of more than 170 small islands grouped closely together in the sea between Hirado Island and the Kyūshū coast. 75. The famous ‘Anno Domini Affair’ of 1640, when the newly built VOC factory at Hirado had to be demolished on the grounds that the year of its construction, according to the Christian reckoning, had been prominently displayed on the building, was handled with great aplomb by François Caron. Accounts of this event must have

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circulated among the VOC employees in Batavia as well as at Deshima, and Willman devoted a great deal of space to the exploits of Caron in his History of Japan, q.v. infra. 76. Yobuko is, and was, a fishing port, and Willman’s wonderment at what he saw there must have been due to the fact that any Japanese edifice appeared strange and wonderful to him. The word ‘playhouse’ could refer to any place of amusement, and it would seem likely that here it referred to tea houses and/or brothels, i.e. the kind of establishment one might expect to find in a port town. 77. Kokura Castle, near the present-day city of Kitakyūshū, was indeed situated near the northernmost tip of Kyūshū. When Willman saw it the castle was barely fifty years old, having been constructed in 1602 for the daimyō Hosokawa Tadaoki. It was an impressive edifice, with a donjon, 148 towers and 48 gates, circled by a stone wall which was 18 metres high. The buildings were destroyed in 1866, and partially rebuilt in the 1950s. Willman’s rather strange description is probably an attempt at giving his Swedish readers, completely unfamiliar with this type of architecture, some idea of the steep, sloping roofs tower- ing one above the other. 78. The islands mentioned by Willman I have been unable to identify among the many thousands in the Inland Sea. The town of Mihara, in the former fief of Bingo, developed as a castle town, jōkamachi, around Mihara Castle, built in 1582 by Kobayakawa Takakage, hence Willman’s misnomer of ‘the Castle Binga’. 79. Marugame, on the northern coast of Shikoku, developed as a jōkamachi around the castle, which was built in 1597. It is possible that the ‘Castle Samnick’ refers to the tomb of the deposed and exiled Emperor Sutoku (1119–1164), situated on the summit of Mount Shiramine, near the town of Sakaide, also on Shikoku. 80. The castle of Akashi was built in 1619. Hyōgō, an important port in the Tokugawa period, is now part of the port city of Kobe. Osaka, across the bay from Hyōgō, had developed into Japan’s most important commercial city during the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–1598; de facto military ruler 1582–1598). ‘Our Host’ refers to the innkeeper in whose establishment the travellers were to stay while in Osaka. It was customary for innkeepers to meet distinguished guests and accompany them on the last stage of their journey. 81. This was a typical light meal of sake, rice wine, and sakana, fish, probably salted or dried. The ‘gilded, fried birds’ may have been served for the benefit of the foreign visitors, and are difficult to identify, unless

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they were copper pheasants, yamadori, with some of their plumage left for decorative purposes. 82. Large wild birds such as geese, herons and cranes were only hunted for sport by the daimyō and other notables. In Osaka the party from Nagasaki customarily stayed in lodgings kept for that purpose, and hence known as the Nagasaki-ya. 83. Osaka Castle was built in 1586 for Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and is famous for the cyclopean dimensions of the blocks of granite which were used for the walls. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had a heightened sense of grandeur, requisitioned the building material from his generals, and Kato Kiyomasa (1562–1611) is said to have contributed the largest block, 14.5 metres long by 5.9 metres in height. In the Battle of Osaka Castle in 1615, Hideyoshi’s son and heir Toyotomi Hideyori (1592– 1615) was defeated by the troops of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616) who had been appointed Shōgun in 1603. The castle was almost totally destroyed, but later rebuilt by the Tokugawas, only to be fired by the defeated Tokugawa troops in 1868 at the time of the Meiji Restoration. The present building is a reconstruction in concrete dating from 1931. 84. ‘The Master’ refers to the Opperhoofd, Adriaen van der Burgh. Norimono, conveyance, is a collective term used for the different kinds of sedan chairs or palanquins used by the daimyō and the Shōgunal court. 85. By ‘bed’ Willman obviously means a mattress, or bedding. 86. Judging by Willman’s somewhat erroneous explanation, obtained via the interpreters who would have been loath to elaborate, those executed had been involved in the so-called Rōnin Conspiracy, which had been foiled in September 1651. This was one of the only two or three serious coup attempts against the Tokugawa Bakufu during its two and a half centuries in power. The instigators were mainly rōnin, masterless samurai, of whom there had been some 50.000 after the Battle of Osaka Castle alone. The main body of the conspirators, led by Yui Shōsetsu and Marubashi Chūya, was concentrated in Edo, where they planned to blow up the Bakufu’s gunpowder magazine and start fires all over the city, while other groups were ready to strike simultaneously in Kyoto and Osaka. Gibbetted heads and crucified corpses of criminals were customarily furnished with wooden notice boards giving details of the crime. 87. The many grave mounds at Old Upsala, on the outskirts of the modern city, date from the sixth century a.d. Three of these are particularly impressive, being some sixty metres in circumference and more

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than ten metres tall. This sudden mention of Upsala may probably be ascribed to Willman’s lingering feelings of pride in his former seat of learning, as well as to a wish to remind the reader that he had been a student at the oldest university in Scandinavia. 88. I have not been able to identify the ‘small castle’ of Fagats (Hagatsu?). The word ‘Cassieren’ would appear to be a rendering of the Japanese kashira, meaning ‘head’, ‘chief’, ‘superior’. 89. Willman’s description of Japanese food and the utensils with which to eat it is accurate, although singularly lacking in enthusiasm. It is interesting to note that the foreigners were treated to fowl and meat on occasion. The ‘black-cock’ was in all likelihood a pheasant, a bird not yet introduced in Sweden in Willman’s time. It is worth noting that Willman never mentions tea, referring instead to ‘hot water’. Hot water was in fact a common thirst-quencher in Japan, although it seems highly likely that the Europeans were however served tea, at least occasionally, while in Japan. One of the earliest accounts of tea being drunk by Europeans in Asia dates from the year 1650, when Johann von der Beer, a German in VOC service, tasted it for the first time in Batavia, describing it enthusiastically as ‘the deli- cious Tea-Drink, which is drunk warm, (…) is good when the stom ach is overladen with food and drink, strengthens the memory and sharpens the intellect.’ Von der Beer, Johann, Reise nach Java, Vorder- Indien, Persien und Ceylon, 1641–1650, originally published in 1668. Reisebeschreibungen von Deutschen Beamten und Kriegsleuten im Dienst der Niederländischen West- und Ost-Indischen Kompagnien 1602–1797, herausgegeben von S.P. L’Honoré Naber, Haag, Martinus Nijhoff, 1930, Band IV, pp. 129–130. Tea was in fact first imported and sold at the trade auctions in Amsterdam in 1651 and 1652. We may note that in his History of Japan Willman mentioned ‘tea pots’, obviously assuming that his readers would be familiar with the beverage. 90. The gold coin called koban was indeed elliptical in shape and quite thin. 91. The ‘young Japanese’ who poured the sake was in fact a woman, hence the appellation nesan, ‘older sister’, ‘girl’, which in Willman’s time was the usual manner of addressing the female staff at a Japanese inn. The task of serving sake to the foreigners may have been performed by a very junior waitress, otherwise it is difficult to understand why Willman should have mistaken her for a boy. 92. By ‘mecanical apples’ Willman refers to mikan, the Japanese variety of Mandarin oranges. ‘Orange’ is ‘apelsin’ in Swedish, i.e. ‘apple from

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China’, and sweet oranges were still a rare luxury in northern Europe in Willman’s day. 93. Willman seems to draw the reader’s attention to the fact that stone walls in Japan were usually composed of blocks of different sizes. Caspar Schamberger, who had travelled along the same road two years previously, also commented on the well constructed fortress at Yodo. Vide Michel, Wolfgang, op. cit., p. 26. 94. The temple referred to would have been the Kyō-o-gokokuji, better known as the Tōji, ‘Eastern Temple’, which has a five-story pagoda considered to be the tallest in Japan at 56 metres. The pagoda was rebuilt in 1644 by the third Tokugawa Shōgun, Iemitsu, who had died just after Willman’s arrival in Japan the previous year. Buddhist pago- das are usually crowned by a construction like a steeple or spire, with an arrangement of a number of metal rings. The ten rings here sym- bolized the ten Buddhist heavens. The two ‘terrifying idols’ were the Niō-ō (Sanskr. Deva Raja), Indra and Brahma, who usually flank the outermost entrance gate of a Buddhist temple and whose terrifying aspect with bulging eyes and wrathful expressions serves to frighten off enemies of the faith. 95. Vide supra, note 76. 96. Present-day Kyoto, which had been founded in 784 as Heian-kyō, was known as Miyako during the seven centuries of samurai rule, from the founding of the Kamakura Bakufu in 1192 to the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The term Dairi, literally ‘Imperial Palace’, was customarily used when referring to the Emperor. Having lost his political power to the Bakufu, the military government led by the Shōgun or generalissimo, the Emperor remained the formal ruler of Japan. He lived in semi-seclusion in the old imperial capital, while the de facto ruler, i.e. the Shōgun, had his seat in Edo, present-day Tokyo. The Europeans visiting Japan in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were only dimly aware of this state of affairs, and commonly referred to the Shōgun as ‘Emperor’. The real Emperor, being descended from the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu Ō-Mikami, had, and still has, many ceremonial tasks connected with the indigenous religion, Shinto, and the cycle of the agricultural year. From the reverential way in which the Japanese referred to him it is perhaps understandable that the Europeans regarded him as a supreme ecclesiastical figure, i.e. an archbishop or Pope. 97. I have not been able to identify the castle, unless Willman was in fact referring to the Ukimido or ‘Floating Pavilion’ at Katata, also known

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as the Mangetsuji Temple, on the western shore of Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan. Its length from north to south would be about 70 kilometres, and since the old Swedish mile was 10,688 metres we may conclude that this impressive expanse of water led Willman to exaggerate its size quite considerably. The party travelled along the Tōkaidō, ‘Eastern Sea Route’, which connected Miyako and Edo. 98. This bridge would have been the Karahashi of Seta, in fact two bridges connecting an island in the Seta River with the river banks at the southern end of Lake Biwa. 99. Rattan (L. Calamus Rotang), Japanese hachiku. The bark, in thin strips, was worked into seats for chairs in Europe, and the knobbly canes became fashionable as walking-sticks. It is notable that all the European travel accounts from the Hofreis contain descriptions of local products, and one may assume that the Japanese hosts were keen to show off local manufacture and crafts, particularly as they seem to have arranged demonstrations for the benefit of the foreign travellers. 100. These ‘pretty women’ would have been prostitutes, possibly brought in to entertain the Japanese members of the party. 101. Willman appears to have muddled the place-names here. Seki was one of the 53 stages of the Tōkaidō Road. Suzukasaka is a famous mountain pass on the route, and Willman may have confused these names with Sakanoshita, another stage, which the party would also have passed before arriving at Sekinojizō. 102. The castle at Kameyama towered high above the village, and can be glimpsed in Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige’s (1797–1858) woodcut print, one of the famous series depicting the 53 stages of the Tōkaidō, published in 1831–1833. 103. Kuwana, another of the 53 stages, is a port city at the northern end of Ise Bay. The fortress belonged to the Matsudaira clan. Several rivers flow into the bay at this point, making the passage difficult and dangerous, and it was customary to make the crossing by boat instead of overland. Miya, in present-day Nagoya, is famous for the Atsuta Shrine, the second most important Shinto shrine in Japan after Ise Jingū, which is hallowed to the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu Ō-Mikami. Atsuta Shrine houses one of the three Imperial regalia of Japan, supposed to be the Kusanagi no Tsurugi or ‘Grass-mowing Sword’, originally found in one of the eight tails of a dragon slain by Amaterasu’s brother, the Storm God Susanoo no Mikoto. This magic sword was later thought to have been in the possession of the mythical culture

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hero Yamato Takeru, who gave it to one of his paramours, Princess Miyazu, according to the Kojiki, ‘Records of Ancient Matters’, a mythology cum historical chronicle compiled in 712 a.d. 104. The castle town of Okazaki was the birthplace of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616), the first Tokugawa Shōgun. It was one of the 53 stages of the Tōkaidō, and the impressive wooden structure of the Yahagi Bridge was also depicted by Hiroshige. 105. Akasaka, the 36th stage on the Tōkaidō, was picturesquely known as ‘the storehouse of whores’, which explains Willman’s sightings of women wearing make-up. High-class entertainers such as geisha, who were not common prostitutes, but whose various services were available at an elevated price, made up their faces with what may best be described as white paint, and coloured their lips a dark red. Tooth-blackening, in Heian times a distinctive privilege of both sexes of the court nobility, kuge, later became the outward sign of a woman’s married status and spread to all classes in society. In Tokugawa times ō-hagurō, ‘honourable tooth-black’, in fact became a sign that a girl had reached puberty, and hence marriageable age, and the custom was taken up by prostitutes also. For a discussion of tooth-blackening, vide Blomberg, Catharina, “‘A Strange White Smile”, A Survey of Tooth-Blackening and Other Dental Practices in Japan’, Japan Forum, Vol.2, No.2, October, 1990. During the Tokugawa period Japanese women arranged their hair, which was long and stiffened with camellia oil, in sometimes very elaborate styles. Willman appears to have muddled the order of the stages on the Tōkaidō here, an understandable mistake since they would have been passed by the party on the Hofreis going up to Edo as well as on the return journey to Nagasaki. Yoshida, Futakawa and Shirasuka are in fact situated beyond Akasaka in the direction towards Edo, and were all of them stages on the Tōkaidō. The bridge of Yoshida, similar to the one at Okazaki, offered a splendid view of the Castle, as can be seen in Hiroshige’s xylograph. 106. Shirasuka is mentioned in its proper place here. ‘The Sons of Jamaboos’ refers to Yamabushi, members of the syncretistic Shugendō school of mountain ascetics, which contains elements of Buddhism as well as Shinto. Yamabushi used to travel about the country on foot, performing exorcisms and ceremonies of divina tion and healing. The Buddhist priest’s staff, however, is not one of the ritual attributes of the Yamabushi, who were authorized to carry swords, and on this occasion they may have joined a party of

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pilgrims led by one or several Buddhist priests. The group of people seen by Willman at Shirasuka consisted of members of a so-called Nosatsu Kai, a society for pasting nosatsu or o-fuda, slips of paper with the owner’s name written on them, in temples along routes of pilgrimage. The practice goes back to the Emperor Kazan (regnavit 985–987 a.d.), who took the tonsure after his abdication, and it remained popular until modern times. The name written or printed on the slip of paper was known as daimei, hence Willman’s ‘taine maine’, and the act of pasting the o-fuda was considered to bring luck and prosperity to the owner. Repetition of the word ‘daimei’ was regarded as beneficial in itself, and those who could not afford to go on an extended tour of pilgrimage, such as one of the many famous circuits of thirty-three, sixty-six or eighty-eight places sacred to Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Mercy (Sanskr. Avalokiteśvara), could improve their fortunes merely by chanting the word aloud. Vide Starr, Frederick, ‘The Nosatsu Kai’, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, Vol.XLV, Part I, Tokyo, 1917, pp. 1–23. We may note that in their exorcisms the Yamabushi used Buddhist sutras as well as spells and incantations consisting of meaningless combinations of sylla- bles. In Swedish usage ‘student’ meant ‘university student/under- graduate’ in Willman’s day, and by and large still does so. Willman probably had the European parallel of Latin as a language of the learned in mind. 107. Arai and Maisaka are situated on each side of the Imagire inlet, which connects the Hamana Lagoon with the Pacific Ocean. In the Tokugawa period these two stages on the Tōkaidō were linked by means of a regular ferry service. Hamamatsu was an important castle town and the intersection of two main trunk roads, the Tōkaidō and the Shinano. Willman’s reference to it as ‘barely fortified’ seems rather puzzling, since the castle, as depicted by Hiroshige, looks like a regular stronghold. 108. The river Tenryū. 109. The early Tokugawa Shōguns, resident in Edo since 1603, used to visit Kyoto and the Emperor with some regularity, but these journeys, involving enormous numbers of men, horses and palanquins, became less frequent as the years passed and eventually ceased. 110. The ‘two Idols’ would have been the Niō-ō, guardians of the Buddhist faith, flanking the entrance gate of a Buddhist temple. Vide supra, note 94. Willman’s mention of a school in this connection is inter esting, as many Buddhist temples had schools, so-called tera-koya,

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attached to them, and in fact provided education for the common people. The prevalence of such temple schools explains the high level of literacy in Tokugawa Japan. 111. Kakegawa was yet another stage on the Tōkaidō, and like Fukuroi and the mountain pass of Nissaka it was depicted by Hiroshige. 112. The crossing of the Oi River between Kanaya and Shimada was one of the most difficult and dangerous spots on the Tōkaidō, as the ford was often rendered impassable by floods and torrents. High-ranking travellers were carried across in a sedan chair on the shoulders of the watermen attached to these two Tōkaidō stages. 113. The ‘small girls’ were most probably mendicant Buddhist nuns, Kumano bikuni, who wandered about the country in pairs or groups, begging for alms from travellers on the highways or entertaining women and children in the villages with romantic tales from the thirteenth-century Gunki monogatari, ‘Tales of Warfare’, relating epi- sodes mainly from the Genpei War (1180–1185). 114. Okabe, another stage on the Tōkaidō depicted by Hiroshige, is a mountain village near a pass on Uzu no yama (Mount Uzu). The young landlord of the inn seems to have greeted his luncheon guests with traditional politeness. It is quite amusing to note the great store Willman set by outward manifestations of courtesy. 115. This town, present-day Shizuoka, was the castle-town of Sunpu, Tokugawa Ieyasu’s favourite residence where he spent more than a third of his life, including his years of retirement. Only ruins remain of his famous castle. 116. Yaizu is a fishing port, where, incidentally, Lafcadio Hearn (1850– 1904), the author and Japanophile, used to spend his summers. Going up to Edo, Willman and his party would have passed it before they arrived at Sunpu, and he seems to have got the places muddled in this instance. The unfortunate individual lying dead in the road had apparently succumbed to what is technically known as a kesa cut (ironically named after the mantle-like garment worn by Buddhist monks and priests), cleaving the torso from the left shoulder diago- nally towards the waist. He may in fact have been a victim of the legally prohibited but not infrequent practice of tsuji-giri, ‘crossroads cutting’, when a samurai cut down a passer-by in order to test his sword. Any contact with a corpse was considered polluting, and the laws of the Tokugawa Bakufu were such that anyone who even reported finding a dead body was liable to be accused of being responsible for the person’s death. The sight of executed criminals on

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display by the roadside was not uncommon in Europe in Willman’s time. What caught his attention in this particular case must have been the unusually gruesome manner of the man’s death, and the fact that he had been the victim of a violent attack. We may compare this case with Willman’s observations on seeing the crucified corpses and gibbeted heads of some two hundred participants in the Rōnin Conspiracy (Vide supra, note 86), where only the large number of those executed seems to have impressed him. 117. The mountain village of Kanbara, another of the Tōkaidō stages, provided a splendid view of Mount Fuji as can be seen in the print by Hiroshige. In comparing Mount Fuji with Pico de Teyde in Tenerife Willman was not far wrong, as the former has an altitude of 3,776 metres. Vide supra, note 11. 118. Mount Fuji is one of the sacred places of the Shugendō school, which combines esoteric elements from both Buddhism and Shinto, and a popular goal for pilgrimages. Like other sacred spots in Japan it has of old attracted those intent on committing suicide, hence Willman’s cryptic reference to human sacrifice. This was probably due to a misunderstanding of some of the things told by the interpreters, which he so annoyingly considered superfluous information. Vide supra, note 106. 119. The Hakone mountains in the foothills of Mount Fuji, are situated in the crater of an extinct volcano. The dramatic landscape is depicted in a woodcut print by Hiroshige showing the tenth stage of the Tōkaidō. 120. This was the site of the Hakone Barrier, one of the most important post stations on the Tōkaidō, on the south-eastern shore of Lake Ashi. The Hakone Barrier had been established in 1618 by the Tokugawa Bakufu in order to control travellers between Edo and Kyoto, who were obliged to present their documents and state the reason for their journey there. Of old the different districts of Japan were separated by barriers, and the only individuals who could travel relatively unhindered were pilgrims, Yamabushi and Komusō. The latter were members of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism, who travelled around the country wearing a distinctive bee-hive-shaped sedge hat which completely obscured the wearer’s features and playing the shakuha- chi, a bamboo flute resembling a clarinet in shape. The Komusō were widely rumoured to be spies in the employ of the Tokugawa Bakufu, and the fact that the Fuke school was immediately proscribed after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 seems to corroborate this.

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121. Lake Ashi, 42 metres in depth at its deepest point, is still popular among anglers for its abundance of trout and black bass. The large stones, as well as the wooden votive plaques, would have been connected with the cult of Jizō Bosatsu (in Sanskrit the Bodhisattva Kśitigarbha) for which Hakone was known. According to Buddhist beliefs dead infants are condemned to spend their time in a kind of limbo, collecting stones by Sai no kawara, the river of the nether world. Jizō is their protector, and wayfarers customarily heap stones on or near statues of Jizō in order to help him alleviate the torments of his protégés. Jizō has also been identified with the Shinto deity known as Sae-no-kami, ‘Guardian of the Road’, who assists travellers in this world as well as in the next. This votive plaque, incidentally, was the only object which Willman actually mentioned buying during his entire East Indian travels. 122. The Hayakawa, a river which flows between Lake Ashi and Sagami Bay at Odawara. 123. The Banyū River was customarily negotiated in flat-bottomed barges. The captive Christian, confined in a closed cabin, who was being taken to Edo for interrogation, must have been an important person, probably a priest and perhaps a foreigner, since Japanese Christian laymen were dealt with locally. The fact that the barge was indeed transporting a Christian prisoner must either have been announced publicly as a deterrent, or talked about by the interpreters, as Willman could hardly have known about it otherwise. According to the Kirishito-ki, a confidential memorandum on dealing with Christians drawn up in 1658 by the chief of the Bakufu’s secret intelligence, Inoue Chikugo no Kami Masashige for his successor, two or three European missionaries were executed in Edo between 1643 and 1658. Vide infra, note 126. 124. Whether this individual was in fact ‘our Host Seroimon’ who had arrived in a covered barge to receive the party before their arrival in Osaka is unclear, but some official must have come to greet them as they were approaching Edo. 125. Shinagawa was the first stage on the Tōkaidō after its starting-point at Nihonbashi, the large bridge in the centre of Edo, constructed in 1603, from which all distances in the realm were measured. The temple mentioned by Willman would have been the Kaianji, a Soto Zen temple founded in the thirteenth century by Hōjō Tokiyori, the fifth Kamakura Shikken, or Regent. 126. The suffix ‘donne’ was Willman’s rendering of the honorific ‘tono’ or ‘dono’, i.e. ‘his lordship’. This personage, whose full name was

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Inoue Chikugo no Kami Masashige (1585–1661), held the office of Ōmetsuke,‘Grand Inspector’, a title which could also be translated as ‘Grand Chief of Intelligence’, for more than a quarter of a century, and was one of the key officials in the Bakufu. His particular mandate was that known as ‘Religious Rectification’, Shūmon aratameyaku, at this time chiefly the extermination of Christianity. There are indica- tions that Inoue had himself at one time been a Christian, and he collaborated closely with the famous former Jesuit Vice-Provincial Christovão Ferreira (1580–1654?) who had apostatized after six hours of ana-tsurushi, ‘hanging in the pit’ torture in 1633, and taken the Japanese name Sawano Chūan. Vide infra, note 140. Inoue was also a personal friend of two Shōguns, Iemitsu and Ietsuna (vide supra, note 67), and acted as a liaison officer between the Bakufu and the VOC. The fact that he was an enthusiastic and ruthless persecutor of Christians did not prevent him from taking a great deal of interest in European matters, notably warfare and weaponry. ‘… their Month Siwas’, Shiwasu, the last month of the Japanese lunar calendar year. 127. ‘India’, i.e. the East Indies. 128. The ‘stock’ or gun which could be fired at both ends would seem to have been some type of musket, but may have been a wooden mortar, according to Wolfgang Michel, op. cit., p. 58. The air-gun, using compressed air as a means of propulsion, was first invented in the 1430s in Nuremberg. The Japanese kept asking the VOC for novel types of firearms, and the Dutch endeavoured to surprise them with inventions which were new to them. The European firearms in use in Japan at this time of strictly enforced peace were chiefly the matchlock guns carried by the shōgunal guard, more for display than for actual use. Among the dignitaries present on this occasion there may well have been some members of the Rōjū or Senior Council, the closest political advisers of the Shōgun. 129. Edo Castle was first constructed as a fortress in 1456 by Ōta Saemon no Taiyu Mochisuke, better known as Ōta Dōkan, in order to protect what was then a fishing village in the Bay of Edo as well as a conflu- ence of rivers suitable for transport of goods and people and a strate- gic point to ward off attacks from the east. A settlement, jōkamachi or ‘city below the castle’, grew up around it, and after various vicis- situdes the castle was taken by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590 and handed over by him to his general Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Tokugawa dynasty made Edo their headquarters, and the castle enclosure was substantially rebuilt and enlarged by successive Shōguns, beginning with Ieyasu, who excavated the moats and faced the embankments

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with large blocks of stone. Daimyō residences surrounded the castle, the more important ones closer to the Honmaru, chief enclosure or keep, where the Shōgun resided, and the many gates, with bridges leading to them, were often constructed by daimyō families. The most extensive European description of Edo Castle is that made by Engelbert Kämpfer, a German in VOC service, who visited Edo in 1691. There had been a devastating fire in 1657, however, which means that the castle seen by François Caron and later by Willman was rather different. Ando Ukyōnoshin Shigenaga (? -1668), daimyō of Kozuke, was Jisha bugyō, ‘Magistrate of Temples and Shrines’, at this time. I am most grateful to Professor Timon Screech, who cleared up this particular mystery for me. 130. In Kämpfer’s time the floor of the great audience chamber was said to consist of one thousand straw mats, tatami, the standard size of which is 180 by 90 centimetres. 131. The ‘old councillor’ who acted as the young Shōgun’s spokesman on this occasion may have been Matsudaira Izu no Kami Nobutsuna, who is known to have been a shōgunal deputy in 1652. The Bakufu was well aware of the fact that Holland had concluded a ten year truce with Portugal in 1644, and viewed any relations with this country with deep suspicion, as we have already seen from Pieter Blockhuys’ special mission in 1649. 132. Cf. note 70, supra. 133. The ‘parents’, i.e. fathers, of Abe and Hotta were, respectively, Abe Tsushima no Kami Shigetsugu, daimyō of Iwatsuki, and Hotta Kaga no Kami Masamori, daimyō of Sakura, both of them intimate friends and indeed paramours of the late Shōgun. Etiquette forbade those in mourning to receive gifts. During the reign of Iemitsu the practice of junshi, a vassal following his lord in death, was not yet legally prohibited, as shown by the fact that the younger Abe and Hotta were allowed to retain their fathers’ positions as members of the Rōjū, Senior Council. In Ietsuna’s promulgation of the Tokugawa legal code for the bushi, the Buke Sho-Hatto or ‘Laws for the Military Houses’, of 1663, however, junshi was strictly prohibited, and the son or successor of the deceased to be held responsible for not having prevented his father from committing it. Daiyūin was the posthumous title given to Iemitsu. His mausoleum at Nikko, the Daiyūinbyō, is situated near the Tōshōgū Shrine where his grandfather Ieyasu is venerated. 134. Kurokawa had succeeded Baba as Nagasaki bugyō. Women of the bushi class spent their lives in a state of semi-purdah, and did not

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receive men other than their close relatives. It is highly probable that Kurokawa’s wife did however observe the foreigners secretly through some chink in a screen or peephole in a sliding door. 135. Wealthy daimyō, ‘kings’ in Willman’s parlance, erected gates, mon, outside Edo Castle to commemorate special favours such as shōgunal visits to their residences. The traditional Japanese gate, with single or double columns on each side and an impressive superstructure of one or two stories where guards could be posted, does indeed bear some resemblance to a classical triumphal arch. 136. This temple would have been the Zōjōji, belonging to the Jōdo School of Buddhism and founded in 1393. Tokugawa Ieyasu made it his own ancestral temple in 1590, and the main gate, Sammon, was erected in 1605. The ‘large idols’ were the Niō-ō, guardians of the faith. Vide supra, note 94. 137. The Japanese New Year was computed according to the lunar calendar. Similar decorations, kado-matsu, consisting of pine boughs, branches of plum trees and bamboo poles, can still be seen outside shops as well as private houses, customarily decorated with fern leaves, oranges, and a lobster, all symbols of good fortune, longevity and prosperity. ‘Micanical Apples’, mikan. Vide supra, note 92. 138. Hulled, dried chestnuts, kachiguri, and dried seaweed, kombu, signi- fying success and happiness are still customary New Year gifts. The ‘sea-cat’ was a variety of cuttle-fish or squid, ika, dried or smoked and still a popular snack. 139. Austerities such as standing under a waterfall in mid-winter, or pouring buckets of cold water over oneself, were part of the Shinto idea of purification of the mind and body as well as a general strengthening of one’s resolve. ‘Bonsios’ is Willman’s rendering of a term used by the Portuguese and Dutch to denote the Japanese guards, Banshū, who were attached to the Deshima Factory as well as the Nagasaki-ya, the official guest house in Edo. The spelling of this word varied greatly, e.g. ‘Bongeois’, ‘Bonjois’, and in English it generally came to be written ‘Banjos’. Cf. Michel, Wolfgang, (1992), p. 20; (1999), p. 80. 140. The ‘globe and map’ are yet another example of the Japanese interest in the West, and the systematic gathering of information from various independent sources. The ‘small vocabulary’ was a rarity indeed, namely the Dictionarium Latino Lusitanicum ac Iaponicum, the first ever printed dictionary of the Japanese language. Based on the Latin dictionary compiled by the Augustine friar Ambrogio Calepino (c. 1440–1510) it was printed by the Jesuit Mission Press established

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in Amakusa in 1588. Almost the entire edition was later destroyed. Inoue was a zealous persecutor of Christians, who had made a name for himself already in 1637, when the Shimabara rebellion was quelled in blood, and this particular volume may originally have belonged to his collaborator, the former Jesuit Vice-Provincial Christovão Ferreira, renamed Sawano Chūan after his apostacy. Vide supra, note 126. ‘Pro captu lectoris habent sua fata libelli’, ‘According to the nature of the reader books also have their fates’, to quote the famous dictum of Terentianus Maurus… 141. From Willman’s description the guard appear to have marched in single file. The matchlock guns, being valuable as well as susceptible to humidity, were apparently carried in their leather cases. The morning star is a European fighting club, consisting of a spearhead on top of a spiked ball mounted on a shaft. 142. The fact that Willman had been a soldier in the Swedish army as well as in the Dutch garrison at Batavia, and was better informed about military techniques and weaponry than the VOC merchants, had obviously not escaped the Bakufu’s Chief of Intelligence, and as was the case with Juriaen Schedel (vide supra, note 33) an opportunity of interviewing someone with practical knowledge was never missed. Willman would probably have been in his late twenties at the time, and this may have been the occasion when Inoue, who had a reputa- tion for appreciating a pretty youth, appears to have propositioned him. At any rate a subject was broached which was banned from polite conversation in Europe, where homosexual practices were in fact a capital crime. In the second part of Willman’s work, dealing with the history of Japan, a veiled reference to such an occurrence appears in the middle of a diatribe against the prevalence in Japan of ‘the sins of Sodom’. Willman’s retort, referring to the fate of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, seems to have given Inoue a great deal of food for thought. Vide infra, note 244. 143. Renewal of the trade agreement was something of an annual formal- ity, but since a new Shōgun had succeeded to the office it was apparently deemed expedient to renew the injunctions against any dealings between Holland and Portugal. The garments described by Willman as frock coats or ‘silk shirts’ were kosode, wadded silk kimono for use in cold weather. Silk garments were among the standard gifts in court and buke circles at the time. 144. The ‘silk jackets’ would have been haori, knee-length coats commonly worn as outer garments over the ordinary kimono. These were

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return gifts for the customary presents to the Genrō, Tairō and Rōjū, which had been distributed the day after the shōgunal audience. (The Tairō presided over the three or four members of the Rōjū, Senior Council, but was outranked by the Genrō, who was considered his senior.) The garments presented to the VOC Opperhoofd were usually of figured silk brocade, and may occasionally be seen in seventeenth century Flemish portraits. 145. The Tōshōgū, Tokugawa Ieyasu’s sumptuous mausoleum complex at Nikko, some 150 kilometres north of Edo, had been completed in 1636, twenty years after his death. Work had probably already begun on the adjacent Daiyūinbyō, a mausoleum in a somewhat more restrained style for his grandson Iemitsu, who had died the previous year. High Bakufu officials customarily paid their respects at the funerary shrine of the first Tokugawa Shōgun in the New Year. In the innermost chamber of the Honden, or Main Hall, the spirit of Tokugawa Ieyasu is enshrined as Tōshō Dai Gongen, ‘Great Manifestation Illuminating the East’, together with the spirits of Minamoto Yoritomo (1147–1199) founder of the first Bakufu in 1192, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–1598). This arrangement for assuring divine protection of the realm as well as the Tokugawa clan was also a means of pacifying the potentially vengeful spirit of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, whose son and heir Hideyori had been deposed by his guardian Ieyasu. 146. The mace (maes, maas or maz, etc.) was a Chinese money of account equivalent to one tenth of a silver tael, or ten conderines. The Dutch traders valued the tael at 2 Florins (Guilders) and 17 Stuivers around 1640. 147. Boucheljon’s comment, in conjunction with Willman’s signature on the wall and his estimate of the distance between Japan and Sweden, shows that his ‘exceptional Longing and Desire to view foreign Places by means of Travel’, declared in the opening paragraphs of his travel diary, was well known to his travelling companions, who may have teased him about it. The old Swedish mile was 36,000 feet, or 10,688 metres. 148. The Zōjōji was the family temple of the Tokugawa clan, and the burial place of the second Shōgun, Hidetada (1579–1632, regnavit 1605–1622). The ‘box’ surrounding the five statues seems to have been some kind of lathe-work or latticed enclosure. The main hall of the Zōjōji was destroyed in the Second World War II and has been rebuilt in concrete. Vide supra, note 136.

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149. Kawasaki is the second stage on the Tōkaidō, and Totsuka the fifth. Both were depicted by Hiroshige. 150. The party were retracing their route across the Banyū River past Ōiso and Odawara along the coast. These stages (number seven, eight and nine) were all depicted by Hiroshige. Odawara was the stronghold of the Hōjō clan and an important castle town. 151. Many mediaeval country churches in Sweden were built without a tower, but with a wooden belfry next to them, including the church at Willman’s birthplace Västervåla. Japanese temple bells are indeed barrel-shaped, lacking the flaring mouths of European bells. 152. Match-cord was commonly used for telling the time, in such a way that the amount of time it took the cord to burn from one knot to the next was standardized. It is possible that this was a local product manufactured at Sekinojizō. 153. Because of the presence of the Imperial court as well as many wealthy patrons among the court nobility, kuge, Kyoto was famous from Heian times for the skill of its many craftsmen, including lacquer workers and silk weavers and dyers. 154. This was the Mimizuka or ‘Ear Mound’, situated outside the east ern gate of the Hōkōji, a temple constructed in 1586 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. During his injudicious and ill-fated Korean campaigns, 1592 and 1597–1599, the purpose of which was in fact the conquest of China, the custom of taking the heads of fallen enemies and present- ing them to the commander-in-chief for inspection proved difficult to uphold, and the practically minded Hideyoshi ordered that the ears only be brought back to Japan, preserved in sake. They were then buried under this mound, which used to be quite an attraction for foreign tourists in the late nineteenth century, but which has since disappeared from the guide books. 155. Again the traditional pair of Niō-ō, one on each side of the main gate. 156. Toyotomi Hideyoshi had constructed the Hōkōji in order to house a Buddha image which at 19 metres was larger than the famous eighth century Daibutsu, Great Buddha, in the Tōdaiji at Nara. The hall, as well as the original Buddha statue, which was made of wood, were destroyed in an earthquake in 1596, but in 1612 a bronze Buddha had been cast and a new hall constructed by Toyotomi Hideyori (1592–1615). Both this Buddha, which remained only until 1662, and a later one made in 1843, were destroyed by fires, and nothing remains today of the Daibutsuden, or Great Buddha Hall. This makes Willman’s detailed description of the temple all the more interesting.

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An approximation of the dimensions of this structure would make it some 40 metres by 25, and in order to accommodate the Daibutsu, which was a representation of Amida Buddha, it must have been at least as tall as it was wide. One fathom equals six feet, or 1.78 metre. 157. This would have been the Hōkoku or Toyokuni Shrine, erected in 1599 through the bona officia of the Emperor Go Yōzei and dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, whose tomb is situated nearby on the Amidagamine hill. After the annihilation of the house of Toyotomi in 1615 the shrine fell into disrepair and became a ruin, which was only reconstructed after the Meiji Restoration. It was obviously in a state of advanced decay already when seen by Willman. Its Karamon, a gate in the Chinese style, which had once formed part of Hideyoshi’s palace at Fushimi, may have reminded him of an organ screen when seen from a distance, although this is pure conjecture. 158. This was the fateful bronze bell, donated to the Hōkōji by Toyotomi Hideyori, which bore the inscription ‘Kokka anko’, ‘Peace in the realm’. The characters for ‘ka’ and ‘ko’ were the same as the ones used to write the name, Ieyasu, of the first Tokugawa Shōgun. Although there is evidence that it was Ieyasu himself who suggested this inscription he used the fact that the characters of his name were not only separated, but at the very spot where the bell was struck when rung, as a pretext for attacking Hideyori, claiming that this was an attempt at inflicting a curse upon him. This bell was thus the indi- rect cause of the fall of the house of Toyotomi in the Battle of Osaka Castle in 1615. One span equals 9 inches, or 22.5 centimetres. The bell is 4.4 metres high and 2.8 metres in diameter. 159. The Rengeōin temple, popularly called Sanjūsangendō after the thirty-three, sanjū-san, spaces between its columns, was originally founded by the Emperor Go-Shirakawa in 1164. The present building dates from 1266. Willman’s description of the impressive arrangement of statues, with a gilt wooden figure of Kannon (Sanskr. Avalokiteśvara), the Bodhisattva of Mercy, in the centre, flanked by twenty-eight attendants and more than one thousand smaller Kannon figures standing in serried ranks, is quite accurate. The central figure, nearly three and a half metres tall, is a seated statue of a Thousand-handed Kannon, attributed to the famous thirteenth century sculptor Tankei. The figure of 3333 is arrived at by multiply- ing the number of arms on all the Kannon figures. Even Willman’s fanciful excursion into the realm of Roman mythology, which was clearly an effort to show off his classical education, contains a grain

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of truth, however. The Sanjūsangendō possesses very fine sculptures of Fujin and Raijin, i.e. the Wind God with a bulging sack, and the Thunder God with a clattering set of drums raised above their respective heads, both of them attributed to the famous sculptor Unkei and his son Tankei, who are also considered the masters of the Kannon figures. One pace equals approx. 30 inches, or about 75 centimetres. The building is 68 metres in length, so Willman was fairly accurate in his approximation. The Thousand-handed Kannon is shown holding a variety of implements in its hands, hence Willman’s remark about this deity being the originator of the arts. 160. The word ‘arrived’, or a synonym, appears to be missing in the text. 161. Fushimi, on the southern outskirts of Kyoto, had been the site of a splendid castle constructed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1580s. Probably the finest example of the decorative arts of the brief period in the history of Japanese art known as Momoyama (1575–1600), Fushimi Castle was demolished on the orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu after the death there in 1598 of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Several architec- tural elements, e.g. the black lacquered gates with inlays of semi- precious stones known as Karamon, ‘Gate in the Chinese Style’, were transferred to Buddhist temples in Kyoto. The Nishi Honganji temple in particular houses several complete rooms brought there from Fushimi Castle, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s council chamber, Noh stage and tea room decorated by the foremost painters of the Kano school. 162. Willman appears to have misremembered or misunderstood Kurokawa’s name. 163. The circumstances of how Willman came to witness the procession as well as the actual execution of these Christians are unclear, but we may perhaps assume that he had been sent into Nagasaki on some errand, and in the company of one or more interpreters, when he happened upon this gloomy spectacle. Public executions were common in Europe in his day, but from the detailed description it seems clear that this event was something he never forgot. Judging by the fact that they were put to the sword, and that they were brought to the place of execution on horseback, the victims were members of the samurai class. The authorities may have hoped for an apostacy from the two men who were hung up by their feet, or it may simply have been a way of prolonging the agony. The persecution of Christians, which began in the late sixteenth century, culminated in the early decades of the seventeenth century, and after the quelling

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of the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637–1638 the majority of the Christian population in Kyūshū concealed their faith and became so-called Kakure-kirishitan, or ‘hidden Christians’. Whereas the daimyō and bushi families who had been converted early on tended to apostatize once the new religion was proscribed, it was among the fishermen and peasants of Kyūshū that Christianity retained its strongest foot- hold. An execution of several members of the samurai class was a rare occurrence in the 1650s, and the Nagasaki authorities seem to have made the most of the event as a deterrent. It may be noted, as a linguistic curiosity, that Willman used the word ‘pojke’, translated here as ‘lad’, as well as the then standard word ‘gosse’, i.e. ‘boy’, about the youngest victim. The word ‘poikka’, which became ‘pojke’ in Swedish, is one of very few Finnish loan-words in the Swedish language, and until the mid-twentieth century it was used colloqui- ally only. 164. The pecul, or picol, containing 100 catties, was used as a standard weight by the VOC throughout Asia for accounting purposes. One pecul equalled 133⅓ lbs., or roughly 60 kilos. 165. Fredrik Coyet, as the name is usually spelled in Swedish, was Opperhoofd in 1647–1648, and again 1652–1653. The grandson of a goldsmith from Brabant, who had settled in Sweden in 1569 and become court jeweller to King Johan III, Coyet (1620–1689) entered VOC service in 1643. His rapid promotion, which may have had something to do with the fact that he was François Caron’s brother- in-law, ended ignominiously with his governorship of Formosa (1656–1662). Coyet was forced to cede the island to the infamous Sino-Japanese pirate Cheng Ch’eng-kung (1624–1662), known to the Europeans as Coxinga, after a siege of nine months. This debâcle was unfairly blamed on Coyet alone, and cost him his position and career. His death sentence was commuted to banishment to the tiny island of Ay in Banda, where he remained until his pardon by the Prince of Orange in 1675, when he was allowed to return to Holland. His son had predeceased him, but the descendants of his older brother, the diplomat Peter Julius Coyet (1618–1667) still live in Sweden, where the two brothers had been ennobled in 1649. Peter Julius Coyet was renowned for his diplomatic skills in the service of King Carl X Gustaf, and the fact that he was awarded the very rare distinction of the Order of the Garter by Cromwell during his embassy in England in 1655–1656 seems proof enough of his talents. For a biography of Coxinga vide Keene, Donald, The Battles of Coxinga, Chikamatsu’s

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Puppet Play, Its Background and Importance, London, 1951, pp. 44–75. For Tayowan, vide supra, note 39. 166. Willman makes a distinction between the VOC ships and the smaller Chinese vessels. 167. ‘Baboxina’, probably the Bay of Wenchow. ‘For Tayowan’, i.e. bound for Formosa. 168. The 107th Psalm contains several verses which are particularly apposite for seafarers, e.g. verse 23, ff.: ‘They that go down to the sea in ships: and occupy their business in great waters.’ Vide supra, note 15. 169. In Japan the quality of sword blades was customarily tested, usually on the corpses of executed criminals. The result, if satisfactory, would be recorded on the blade, and there were instances of as many as four or five corpses, piled on top of each other, which had been cut through with one blow. There was also the illegal, but not infrequent, practice of tsujigiri, ‘crossroads cutting’, when the owner of a new blade lay in wait at a crossroads and cut down the first commoner passer-by to come along. It is not absolutely clear from Willman’s text whether the executioner did in fact behead two persons simultaneously with one stroke. 170. The official whom Willman referred to as a ‘fiscal’ would have been a water fiscaals like the one in Batavia, who checked the contents of ships leaving port. Vide supra, note 47. 171. Once again Willman had managed to get a berth on the so-called admiral, i.e. the ship in which the senior officer travelled, in this case The Elephant. 172. For Andries Frisius, vide supra, note 32. ‘The previous fleet’ refers to the main part of the return fleet, which had already departed on Christmas Eve 1652, according to the German barber-surgeon Johann Jacob Merklein, who was returning to Europe after more than ten years in the East Indies. The fleet consisted of five ships, The Perel (Pearl), The Hof van Zeeland (Court of Zealand), The Princess Royal, in which Merklein sailed, The Malacca and The Wael-visch (Whale). Five more ships were to follow: The Elephant, where Willman sailed, The Enckhuysen, The Oranien, The Delft and The Westfriesland. Of these The Delft was lost with all hands off Taiwan, and The Westfriesland had been lost already on the outward journey from The Netherlands. Willman’s ‘Provincia’ would be an abbreviation of The Province of Orange. 173. The VOC had ordered Jan van Riebeek to begin work on a fortress in what was later to become Cape Town.

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174. There is clearly a mistake or misprint in the text, and 20 April would seem a more likely date. 175. This appears to be yet another mistake in the text, and 6 May seems the likely date. Willman’s quotations from Psalm 104, verses 25 and 26: ‘So is the great and wide sea also: wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships, and there is that Leviathan: whom thou hast made to take his pastime therein,’ and Psalm 107, verses 23 and 24: ‘They that go down to the sea in ships: and occupy their business in great waters; These men see the works of the Lord: and his wonders in the deep’ illustrate the thrill he felt when seeing such remarkable sights for himself. 176. This war, 1652–1654, originated in the Navigation Act passed by the Rump Parliament in order to protect English trade by forbidding the import of goods which were not carried in English ships or in those of the country of origin. It was ended by Cromwell, who hoped to establish an alliance between the republics of England and Holland which would form the basis of a Protestant League against the Catholic powers in Europe. 177. The Azores, where Corvo and Flores are to be found, belonged to Portugal. At this time they were commonly referred to as the ‘Flemish Islands’, at least by the Dutch, whose claim to have been their first inhabitants lacked foundation. 178. ‘The New Netherlands’ refers to the Dutch colony around New Amsterdam, i.e. present-day New York. ‘Nova Francia’ was the French colony around Quebec, founded in 1608. 179. Since the two nations were at war the cargo of the English ship was regarded as legitimate spoils. When an English pepper ship had been taken in 1649, and the cargo confiscated, the official complaint received the following reply from the Governor General at Batavia: ‘that the English were traitors and had no king, and he would do them all the injury in his power’. Day, Clive, The Dutch in Java, Oxford University Press, 1966, p. 54, note 2. 180. ‘Citherides’, or ‘the islands on this side’, i.e. on the European side of the Atlantic, from the Latin cis as opposed to trans. 181. Stadlandet is a prominent isthmus on the west coast of Norway, South of Ålesund. The current running north is the Gulf Stream. 182. Willman’s word ‘Apinier’ seems to be a misprint for ‘Actinier’, the Swedish plural form of the Latin Actinia, i.e. barnacles, of which there must have been an abundance on the hull of the ship.

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183. Willman’s original text has ‘6. hwijta Rundstycken’, i.e. six Öre silver coin in Swedish currency. The Guilder was divided into twenty Stuivers, each of which was worth 16 Penningen. 184. There was a considerable risk of encountering English vessels in Norwegian waters. 185. The five ships of the return fleet from Batavia, which had set sail five weeks before the group of ships with which Willman sailed, had put in at a harbour just south of Kristiansand on the southern coast of Norway and thus had a considerably shorter run to Copenhagen. The Governor of Bergenhus (Bergen fortress) was in fact called Ove Bielke (1611–1674). From 1660 he was Chancellor of Norway, at this time part of the Kingdom of Denmark. 186. The Hanseatic city of Rostock was under Swedish control from 1631 to 1714. 187. Älvsnabben, in the archipelago south of Stockholm, was the chief naval port of Sweden. 188. François Caron’s original, entitled Beschrijvinghe Van het Machtigh Coninckrijcke Japan (Description of the Mighty Kingdom of Japan), was published in Amsterdam in 1648. For a brief biography of Caron, vide supra, note 43. Willman’s unacknowledged borrowings consist of summaries as well as extensive portions of the text quoted verbatim. I have used the English translation by Captain Roger Manley in Boxer, C.R., Introduction, Notes and Appendices, A True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Siam, by François Caron and Joost Schouten, Reprinted from the English edition of 1663, The Argonaut Press, London, 1935. My chief interest here is the use Willman made of Caron’s work, and primarily his own comments and additions to the text. 189. The opening passage is an abbreviated rendering of Caron’s text. ‘Yezo’ is an older name for Hokkaido, and the ‘furry’ people who inhabit it are the Ainu, a Caucasoid people with considerably more body hair than the Japanese. Traditionally they wore their brown wavy hair long, and sported luxuriant full beards and moustaches. Japan was reported as consisting of three islands by the Jesuit Petrus Maffeius already in 1571, and the most accurate printed map of Japan was that by Luis Teixeira, S.J., entitled Iaponiae Insulae Descriptio (Description of the Islands of Japan), which was published in 1595 in Abraham Ortelius’ famous collection of maps covering the known world, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. It is noteworthy that Hokkaido is missing also in later editions, such as Jan Janszon’s

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Iaponiae Nova Descriptio (A New Description of Japan), of 1647. Vide Cortazzi, Hugh, Isles of Gold, Antique Maps of Japan, Weatherhill, Tokyo, 1983. 190. ‘The eastern passage to Tartary’ would be the La Pérouse Sound between Hokkaido and Sakhalin. ‘The province Cathay’ : Cathay was the old European name for China. ‘The river Polisange’ would seem to refer to the Amur River. The ‘commercial cities’ are hard to identify, although Cambaluc was the name given by Marco Polo to Peking. The Anian Strait was the old name, to be found in seventeenth century maps, of the Bering Strait, so renamed after its redis- covery in 1728 by the Danish navigator Vitus Bering. 191. The account of the Japanese ‘Isles of Gold’ first appeared in Marco Polo’s Travels. Although the Japanese gold, and silver, mines were nearly exhausted when the Europeans first arrived in the country, the idea of islands where there might be more of the precious metal continued to loom large in European minds. The ‘unknown country’ was probably Okinawa. ‘Japan’ here refers to the main island of Honshū, where Edo (‘Indo’) was situated. 192. The ‘kingdom of Massame’ refers to the large and wealthy fief of Mutsu, in north-eastern Honshū, which had flourished under its powerful daimyō Date Masamune (1566–1636), whose castle town was Sendai. Nambu was the family name of the daimyō of the castle town of Morioka as well as the surrounding district. 193. For a discussion of Dutch and Japanese explorations of northern Honshū and Hokkaido vide Boxer, A True Description, note 7. Willman’s account of the Dutch expedition of 1643 is his own addition and not mentioned in Caron’s text. Caron, however, has an extensive list of the provinces of Japan and their daimyō, where ‘Sendaino Thiunangon (Sendai no Chūnagon), King of Massamne and Ochio (Ōshū)’ figures as the daimyō with the fourth largest income. Ōshū was an old name for the province of Mutsu, and ‘Massamne’ is one step closer to Masamune than Willman’s rendering. 194. Saikoku, i.e. ‘the western provinces’, here stands for Kyūshū, although the term actually referred to Kyūshū and Shikoku together. The ‘account’ mentioned by Willman is in fact an entire chapter in Caron, containing a detailed list of all the daimyō and their respective revenues. It is likely, as Boxer suggested, that Caron had obtained this information from the Edo Kagami, ‘Mirror of Edo’, which was published twice annually by the Tokugawa Bakufu. Vide Boxer, op. cit., note 11, for a detailed discussion of this list.

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195. For ‘ton’ vide supra, note 62. Willman clearly anticipated criticism concerning the seemingly exaggerated sum, which he quoted from Caron. For the Riksdaler, vide supra, note 36. One Daler silver coin equalled two Daler copper coin. 196. For a discussion of the misconceptions common among early European observers concerning the respective status of Shōgun and Emperor, vide supra, note 96. 197. Dairi , ‘Imperial Palace’, was the polite term used when referring to the Emperor. None but the court nobles, kuge, had direct access to the Emperor, who very rarely left the Palace grounds, in fact not once during the first two centuries of Tokugawa rule. There were no such restrictions on his person or habits as those described by Caron, and by many other European commentators on Japan beginning with the Jesuit missionaries from 1549 onwards. For a discussion of the curious folklore which inevitably developed around a revered and remote sacred personage, vide Blacker, Carmen, ‘Forgotten Practices of the Past: Kaempfer’s Strange Description of the Japanese Emperor’, in Massarella, Derek, and Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey, eds., The Furthest Goal, Engelbert Kaempfer’s Encounter With Tokugawa Japan, Japan Library, 1995, pp. 59–70. 198. Willman’s text in this passage follows Caron’s rather confused account of the events in the late Heian period which led to the Genpei War (1180–1185) between the two leading clans of the warrior nobility, buke, the Minamoto (Genji) and Taira (Heike). 199. Willman has again followed Caron’s text in what is a garbled account of the establishment of the Kamakura Bakufu (1192–1333) under the first permanent Shōgun, Minamoto Yoritomo (1147–1199), and the power-struggles which led to the establishment of the Ashikaga Bakufu (1336–1573) as well as the period of civil unrest known as the Sengoku jidai, ‘Period of the Country at War’ (1477-ca. 1580). 200. ‘This man’ would seem to refer to Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582), the first of the three unifiers of Japan. In this paragraph Willman has further abbreviated Caron’s sketchy and confused account of the events of the Sengoku jidai. 201. The ‘hero’ was Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598), one of Oda Nobunaga’s generals, who successfully continued the task of subdu- ing the different warring factions. In 1585 Hideyoshi, who was not eligible for the office of Shōgun because of his peasant origins, was awarded the title of Kampaku, ‘Regent’, by the Emperor. It was the first time since the Heian period (784–1185) that this title, denoting a

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regent for an adult Emperor, had been used. Hideyoshi’s genealogy had already been overhauled, in order to provide him with bushi status as well as a family name. For the rest of his life he was known as Taikō sama, ‘His Highness’, a title he personally preferred. We may note that Willman’s chronology was inaccurate by half a century. 202. Caron’s original text, again followed nearly verbatim by Willman, has the figure 60.000 men for Hideyoshi’s Korean campaign, in fact the preliminary stage of an ambitious plan to conquer China. The campaign lasted from 1592 to 1598, the remainder of the invading force returning to Japan in 1599, after Hideyoshi’s death. 203. Persistent, although false, rumours that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had been poisoned by Korean emissaries were current in Tokugawa Japan, where Caron would have heard them. The circumstances of Hideyoshi’s death are in fact well documented, as Boxer points out, not least by an independent eye witness, the famous Jesuit father João Rodrigues, who visited him repeatedly during his last illness. 204. Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s son and heir Hideyori (1592–1615) was made the ward of Tokugawa Ieyasu upon the death of his father. Ieyasu was appointed Shōgun in 1603, and retired in 1605, when his son Hidetada became the second Tokugawa Shōgun. From then on until his death in 1616 Ieyasu was known as Ō-Gosho sama, literally ‘His Highness Great Honourable Place’ (in an analogy with Dairi) in reference to his castle at Sunpu, present-day Shizuoka. A keppan, or ‘blood-seal’, a fingerprint in the signatory’s own blood under his signature, constituted a particularly binding oath of allegiance among the bushi. 205. Vide supra, note 158, for one example of the accusations levied against Hideyori. 206. Suruga is the province where Sunpu Castle was situated. 207. Willman’s account of how Tokugawa Ieyasu seized the political power in Japan follows Caron’s text closely, reporting fairly accurately on the Osaka campaign of 1614–1615. Where Willman incor- rectly states that Ieyasu died in 1609 Caron gives the year of his death as ‘the following year’, i.e. 1616. The first Dutch ship to arrive in Japan was De Liefde (Christian Charity) in 1600. In 1609 the VOC sent two vessels with letters from Prince Maurits of Nassau to Tokugawa Ieyasu, requesting permission to trade in Japan, and in the same year a VOC factory was established at Hirado in north-western Kyūshū. 208. The honorific title of Kubō, originally used exclusively for the Emperor, began to be applied to the Shōgun during the Ashikaga

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Bakufu. The parenthesis is Willman’s own addition to the text. Persecutions of Christians had in fact taken place from time to time since the 1590s, but after the expulsion of all foreign missionaries in the 1620s the persecution of Japanese converts increased. Vide supra, note 68. 209. Tokugawa Hidetada (1579–1632) ruled as Shōgun from 1605 until his nominal abdication in 1623. 210. Willman, who appears to have had little appreciation of Japanese objets d’art except their monetary value, has drastically reduced Caron’s detailed list of the major items in Hidetada’s will. The ‘scimitars’ included several examples of the work of one of Japan’s most famous swordsmiths, Masamune (b. 1264), as well as a sword worn by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the two most decisive battles of his career, Sekigahara in 1600 and Osaka in 1615. The ‘teapots’ were in fact the famous tea caddy, cha-ire, known as Narashiba, once owned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and an equally famous tea-jar, chatsubo, for leaf tea, known as Sutego. Particularly famous tea utensils could fetch fabulous sums, so there was no exaggeration on the part of Caron here. One of the ‘portraits of lesser value’ was a painting repre- senting the legendary founder of Zen Buddhism, Bodhidharma, known in Japanese as Daruma, by the eccentric priest Ikkyū (1394– 1481) who was reputed to have been the son of the Emperor Go-Komatsu. Vide Boxer, op. cit., note 19. Willman seems to have misread Caron, as the bequest of 300 tons of gold to friends and relatives was the sum total rather than the amount for each individual. 211. Willman has misunderstood Caron here. The personage behind the title Chūnagon, ‘Middle Imperial Councillor’, is in fact the third Shōgun, Iemitsu (1604–1651, regnavit 1623–1651), q.v. infra, who was the reigning Shōgun when Caron wrote his account, and who had been awarded the considerably more elevated Court rank of Dainagon already in 1620. Ruling Shōguns and their heirs apparent were given Imperial Court rank as a matter of course. As we have just seen it was his father and predecessor, Hidetada, who died in 1632. 212. After his death Tokugawa Iemitsu was known as Daiyūin (sama) and enshrined in a funerary shrine, the Daiyūinbyō, near that of his grandfather Ieyasu at Nikko. The Japanese annals contain many anecdotes about Iemitsu’s less than exemplary lifestyle, some of which were mentioned by Caron. Willman seems to have found the persecution of Christians and the Shōgun’s homosexual tenden- cies particularly worthy of mention. The liberation of prisoners in

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celebration of the accession of the new Shōgun was indeed witnessed by Willman. Vide supra, note 67. 213. Ietsuna (1641–1680, regnavit 1651–1680) was the fourth Tokugawa Shōgun. ‘Nogumsamma’ may in fact be a corruption of Naidaijin (sama), i.e. the Court rank of Great Minister of the Centre, which he was awarded in 1653. I am very grateful to Professor Timon Screech for this suggestion, as well as many other items of information concerning names, titles and rank, communicated privately. For Willman’s obscure reference to ‘Dairo and his sons’, vide supra, note 198. Homosexual practices per se carried no stigma in Japan. The criticism levelled against Iemitsu concerned the damaging effects of his favouritism and the dissolute company he kept—there were stories that he and his friends used to roam the streets of Edo after dark engaged in tsuji-giri, ‘cross-roads cutting’, i.e. cutting down a passer- by for sport in order to test the quality of one’s sword. The entire paragraph is an addendum by Willman. 214. Willman’s text contains a mistake, or misprint, as Caron has one thousand taels to each chest. The tael was used solely as money of account, and in the time of Caron and Willman, from 1637 to 1666, the tael was worth 2 Guilders and 17 Stuivers, one Guilder being divided into 20 Stuivers. 215. This description of Edo Castle is by and large Willman’s own, not least the measurements, which do not appear in Caron’s text. One pace equals approx. 30 inches, i.e. 75 centimetres. The Swedish aln used here was 60 centimetres, whereas the English ell was 1¼ yd., i.e. 1 metre and 14 centimetres. Here, as in the following, Willman has ‘Indo’ instead of ‘Jedo’ for Edo. 216. Willman seems to have confounded the bugyō, governors, of for example Nagasaki, with the daimyō, feudal lords. There were indeed two Nagasaki bugyō, of whom one resided in Edo and the other in Nagasaki. Vide supra, note 59. The daimyō ruled their fiefs alone, but were subject to the system of Sankin kōtai, or ‘alternate attendance’, developed in the 1630s under Iemitsu. This meant that the daimyō were required to spend every other year in Edo, and that their wives and heirs, especially the latter, had to remain in Edo while they visited their domains. Caron’s text also states that the journeys to and from Edo took place every six months. 217. These annual journeys were a great drain on the coffers of the daimyō, who were required to travel with as large a retinue as their economy would allow.

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218. The lord of Hirado, i.e. the daimyō of Hizen. 219. The tael was divided into 10 mas or 100 candereen, so there seems to be some miscalculation here. The cost per person would seem to refer to the daimyō, and the calculation is again Willman’s own. 220. Willman has summarized Caron’s text, adding the remark that he had actually seen two such gates. 221. The persons referred to by Willman as secretaries or chancellors (as Caron put it) were the metsuke, intelligence officers employed by the Bakufu in order to keep the affairs of the daimyō under scrutiny and surveillance so as to prevent any attempts at sedition. For the keppan, or blood-seal, vide supra, note 204. 222. The advice of trusted retainers was traditionally held in great esteem in Japan, although on occasion these had to go to extreme lengths to make their masters take heed, like Oda Nobunaga’s teacher who committed seppuku in order to convince his pupil to curb his violent temper. The advisers referred to here would have been Confucian scholars, jusha, who in Tokugawa times were customarily employed by the daimyō to teach their sons the Confucian classics. 223. The members of the Rōjū, Council of State, were in fact five, known as Toshiyori, ‘Elders’. They were chosen among the Fudai daimyō, i.e. those who had supported Tokugawa Ieyasu even before Sekigahara. The position of Ō-doshiyori, ‘Great Elder’, was held in turn, and the other four were required to be present daily for consultation. 224. Marriages between daimyō houses were strictly controlled by the Bakufu in order to prevent potentially dangerous alliances which might challenge the Tokugawa hegemony. The distribution of fiefs was entirely at the discretion of the Bakufu. 225. ‘The King of Mito’ was Tokugawa Yorifusa (1603–1661), the ninth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Lord of Mito. Three of Ieyasu’s younger sons were given the fiefs of Mito, Kii and Owari respectively, and came to be known as the Gosanke, ‘Three Related Houses’. Should the main line lack a male heir one of the Gosanke could provide the next Shōgun. Willman retold Caron’s anecdote verbatim, thus unwittingly providing a better approximation of Yorifusa’s age at the time. 226. Women of the buke class did indeed spend their lives in a state of seclusion. Willman has abbreviated Caron’s considerably more elaborate account to a bare minimum. 227. Junshi, ‘following the lord in death’, the ultimate demonstration of loyalty towards the feudal lord, was seen by the cautious Tokugawa Bakufu to contain certain elements of sedition. Those vassals of a

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disgraced daimyō who committed junshi upon his death, for instance, might by their exemplary devotion incite others among his retainers to rebel against the Bakufu’s verdict. For a discussion of a famous and at the time hotly debated instance of how loyalty to the feudal lord could be construed as being contrary to the laws of the Bakufu I refer to Part II of my doctoral thesis. Vide Blomberg, Catharina, Samurai Religion II. The Akō Affair, a Practical Example of Bushidō, Upsala, 1977, Chapter III, ‘The Legal Implications of the Akō Affair and the Conflicting Opinions of the Confucianists and Other Famous Thinkers and Statesmen.’ The custom of junshi was legally prohibited under the fourth Shōgun, Ietsuna, in 1663. Vide supra, note 133. A bushi’s allegiance to his lord was commonly regarded as lasting for the duration of three lives, Shūjū sanze no katame, meaning his past existence, the present one, and the next life, in accordance with the Buddhist ideas of reincarnation. No formal contract existed between lord and vassal, nor was there any sworn oath of allegiance except in moments of crisis, but it became customary for the parties to exchange ceremonial toasts in sake in confirmation of the bond. The life of a vassal was not his own, but belonged entirely to his lord, and it was the duty of a bushi to consider this at all times. 228. This form of building sacrifice is known as hito-bashira, ‘human pillar’. When the hole had been dug for one of the supporting pillars or the corner-stone of the lord’s residence or castle, the bushi about to become a hito-bashira would climb down into it and commit seppuku before the foundation stones were laid, in order to become a guardian spirit of the edifice. Other kinds of building sacrifice also existed in Japan, for example at the construction of a bridge in a particularly difficult spot, when it was customary to seize upon a lone wayfarer who chanced to pass through the village. 229. Seppuku , the unique form of suicide practised by the bushi, was carried out by cutting open the abdomen, usually with a crosswise cut, first from left to right and then upwards towards the navel. No vital organs were damaged by this method, and the victim might have to wait for hours before death occurred. For a discussion of the practices of seppuku, junshi and hito-bashira, vide Blomberg, Catharina, The Heart of the Warrior, Origins and Religious Background of the Samurai System in Feudal Japan, Japan Library/Curzon Press, 1994, Chapter 3, Part II, ‘Seppuku, Junshi and the Taking of Heads’. The grounds of a Buddhist temple were not uncommon as a venue for committing seppuku. Willman follows Caron’s text very closely,

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although he is mistaken when stating that the victim cut his own throat. In fact Caron states, not completely accurately, that those who carried out the bravest form of seppuku continued the length- wise cut all the way to their throats. In the Tokugawa period a second usually cut off the head of the person committing seppuku once the first incision had been made. Only women used to sever the jugular vein, as it would have been unseemly to bare the abdomen. 230. These shōgunal courtesy visits to the Emperor became less frequent as time wore on and eventually ceased altogether, no doubt largely due to the prohibitive cost involved. 231. Willman has followed Caron in stating that the Emperor had twelve wives. In fact there were at most two legal consorts, although the number of imperial concubines was ad libitum. 232. Caron claimed to have heard this anecdote first-hand. 233. It was a privilege for a bushi who had been condemned to death to be allowed to carry out the execution himself by committing seppuku. Only those who were convicted of a serious crime were ignominiously beheaded by the public executioner. Commoners were crucified. 234. On the strictly regulated social scale of Tokugawa Japan the top position was held by the bushi, and under them came farmers, artisans and merchants in that order. 235. This is another of Willman’s own anecdotes. ‘Toosin’, in Japanese tōjin, literally means ‘Chinaman’, ‘Chinese’, while baibai means ‘trade’. On his journey in 1613 Captain John Saris of the short-lived English East India Company reported hearing people along the way shouting ‘Tosin, Tosin’ at himself and his party while also throwing stones at them. The Chinese trade with Japan continued even after the closing of the country in the late 1630s. 236. The Swedish Daler was divided into 32 Öre. 237. There was no slavery in the proper sense in Japan, but servants were not at liberty to leave their service and seek new employment at will, so the question of bondage here is one of degrees. 238. By ‘church’ Willman, and originally Caron, referred to Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines indiscriminately. 239. These events appear to have occurred during Caron’s stay in Japan, since he mentions that the Osaka merchant whose son-in-law was one of the victims was well known to the VOC. Willman’s account follows that of Caron virtually verbatim. The ‘King of Kinocumi’ refers to Kii-no-Kami, i.e. the daimyō of Kii. Vide supra, note 225.

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The ‘King of Massame’ was in fact the daimyō of Mutsu, north of Edo. Vide supra, note 192. Old maps of Japan tended to show the country in a horizontal position, which would place Mutsu in the east. The ‘Month of Fatsinguat’, i.e. Hachigatsu, literally ‘the eighth month’. The final sentence is Willman’s own musings on the fate of the wives and children of the others. 240. Vide supra, note 233. 241. Willman abbreviated Caron’s account quite considerably. The island of Hachijō, southernmost of the Izu Islands, is by no means as inac- cessible as Caron made out, nor was it used as a prison for banished daimyō, except in one isolated instance in 1603. Vide Boxer, C.R., op. cit., note §, p. 40. 242. There were strict regulations concerning necessary repairs carried out on the remaining castles once the Tokugawa Bakufu had been established, and no new fortifications could be constructed. From daimyō residences, yashiki, to merchants’ houses all buildings were made of wood. The prohibition against leaving Japan was in force until the opening of the country in the 1850s. Stowaways who attempted to return were executed, but in some exceptional cases shipwrecked fishermen were granted permission to re-enter the country. 243. Fires were a constant worry, particularly in the cities. The really devastating fire in Edo in the seventeenth century was the so-called Meireki fire of 1657. These paragraphs are not found in Caron’s text. One chest appears to have contained the equivalent of 2000 Swedish Daler in silver. 244. This passage contains Willman’s own observations. The people he claimed to have seen worshipping the moon were in fact indulging in the somewhat precious pastime of tsuki-mi, ‘moon-viewing’, comparable to the even more popular diversion of admiring the cherry blossoms while drinking sake under the trees. For ‘Sickingadonne’, i.e. Inoue Chikugo no Kami Masashige, vide supra, notes 126, 140 and 142. Inoue appears to have been notorious as a homosexual roué, who was rumoured to have been on intimate terms with the third Shōgun, Iemitsu. At least once, probably on the occasion when Willman was invited to sit next to his host and drink a toast in sake with him, Inoue may have propositioned him, or at any rate broached the subject of homosexual practices. This was not a topic for polite conversation in European circles, and it seems clear that Willman mentioned it as an illustration of Japanese manners. The fact that

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his stern retort had the effect of rendering Inoue temporarily speechless was obviously regarded as a triumph by Willman, who at the same time was rather flattered by the attention his military knowledge had received. Sodomy was a capital crime in Europe, and the recent and quite spectacular conviction and execution of a high VOC official must have been much talked about in Batavia. This was the case of Joost Schouten, Opperhoofd of the VOC factory at Ayuthia in Siam from 1633 to 1637/8, trusted envoy to various local potentates, including the Queen of Aceh, and council member, Raad van Indië, in Batavia, who had been convicted of sodomy and executed in 1644. The wording of Schouten’s death sentence was in fact remarkably similar to Willman’s riposte, i.e. ‘… how abominable this filthy and vile sodomitish sin is in the eyes of God and man, so that for this reason the Lord God has destroyed Lands and Cities with fire from Heaven, as an example and warning to the whole world’. Vide Boxer, C.R., op. cit., p. 142. In 1652 another such case occurred in Ceylon, where a Danish merchant, Hans Stein from Copenhagen, was convicted of the crime of sodomy and executed. He was burned at the stake, while his partners in crime, five native youths, were drowned, the usual form of execution for this crime. Joost Schouten, who had also been burned at the stake, had been killed by strangulation beforehand, in a special act of mercy. Vide Saar, Johann Jacob, Reise nach Java, Banda, Ceylon und Persien, 1644–1660 (Journey to Java, Banda, Ceylon and Persia, 1644–1660), Reisebeschreibungen von Deutschen Beamten und Kriegsleuten im Dienst der Niederländischen West- und Ost- Indischen Kompagnien 1602–1797 (Travel Accounts by German Officials and Soldiers in the Service of the Dutch West and East India Companies 1602–1797), ed. by S.P. L’Honoré Naber, The Hague, 1930, Vol. VI, pp. 121–122. Willman, as we know, was the son of a clergyman, and appears to have viewed the prevalence in Japan of homosexual practices as yet another manifestation of Japanese religion, which he referred to as ‘idolatry’ throughout his writings, and this would further explain his abhorrence as a form of odium theologicum. Vide also Screech, Timon, ‘The Shogun’s lover’s would-be Swedish boyfriend: Inoue Masashige, Tokugawa Iemitsu and Olof Eriksson Willman’, in Reyes, Raquel A.G. and William G. Clarence-Smith, eds., Sexual Diversity in Asia, c.600–1950, London: Routledge, 2012.

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245. Love matches have only come into fashion in Japan after the Second World War, and are by no means the rule, even today. 246. Willman has taken this anecdote almost verbatim out of Caron’s book. Caron, however, stated clearly that the women were dining in a separate room, and that the rival’s genitalia were put into a lacquer box, decorated with a motif of flowers, while Willman misunderstood or mistranslated this. The rose is not actually indigenous to Japan, and was brought in by the Europeans. A motif of roses on a panel decorating a gate in the Tōshōgū at Nikko is said to be the earliest depiction of this flower in Japan. C.R. Boxer, incidentally, states in a note on p. 39 of A True Description… that he has been unable to ‘trace the original of this amazing tale, though it apparently happened in Caron’s time’. 247. This paragraph is Willman’s own addition. 248. The anecdote was again taken from Caron virtually verbatim. Boxer, op. cit., note 35, states that he had been unable to trace its origin. It was not unusual for bushi women to follow their husband in death by committing suicide, often by severing the jugular vein with the dag- ger which they always carried about their person for this purpose. 249. The ‘King of Kokura’ refers to Hosokawa Tadaoki, daimyō of Tango in 1600, when these events took place, and later of Buzen, where he constructed Kokura Castle in 1602. Vide supra, note 77. This account, which Willman borrowed verbatim from Caron, concerns the death of Doña Gracia Hosokawa, one of the most famous Christian converts in Japanese history. As Boxer points out, op cit., note 56, she did not in fact commit suicide, which for a Roman Catholic would have been a mortal sin, but allowed herself to be put to death at her husband’s orders, having arranged for the building to be set on fire. The campaign of 1600, ending in the battle of Sekigahara, was Tokugawa Ieyasu’s bid to wrest formal as well as actual power from his ward, Toyotomi Hideyori, then eight years old, and his support- ers. The ‘melancholy verses’ composed by Doña Gracia as she prepared for her death was in fact her jisei no ku, the poem customarily written by a bushi on his deathbed or before committing seppuku, as an epitome of his life. 250. This anecdote was also borrowed from Caron, who however stated in his original edition of 1648 that the mother was still alive. In Willman’s last sentence the meaning is not clear, since the posses- sive pronoun ‘sin’ in Swedish could mean ‘his’ or ‘her’ death.

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251. Boxer points out in a note on p. 34 of A True Description… that this anecdote appeared for the first time in the 1661 edition of Caron’s work. Japanese women are expected to refrain from making any loud noise or drawing attention to themselves, and breaking wind in the presence of one’s master would certainly be regarded as an aggravat- ing circumstance. Willman, who should have known better, having been served by Japanese women on the journey to Edo, erroneously states that she was sitting with her legs crossed. Traditionally women always kneel on the floor, sitting down on their lower legs with their feet tucked in behind them, and this is the formal position for men also, although they may sit cross-legged on informal occasions, especially in their own house. 252. Here Willman has misread Caron’s text, which clearly states that eleven out of the twelve Buddhist schools had a prohibition against eating meat. According to Caron the twelfth was the Ikkō, ‘single- minded’ school, a militant movement which arose during the period of civil war, and which counted bushi among its members. Buddhist priests and monks were indeed celibate, although homosexual rela- tionships between an older monk and a boy acolyte were common. Torture by means of a bamboo saw existed in China as well as in Japan. 253. ‘Namanda’, i.e. Namu Amida Butsu, ‘Homage to Amida Buddha’, is a popular prayer invoking Amida (Sanskr. Amitabha), the Buddha of the Western Paradise. Members of the Jōdo, ‘Pure Land’, school of Buddhism believed that the uttering of this prayer alone was suffi- cient to be reborn in the Western Paradise, and the school had a great appeal for the masses, who lacked the time and education to study the Buddhist texts. The observation that this prayer is often on people’s lips in moments of crisis, such as during an earthquake, is Willman’s own, and clearly the result of personal experience. 254. Willman has followed Caron’s brief description closely, only adding the word ‘law’, meaning the Buddhist sutras. 255. Again Willman has added his own observations to Caron’s description, including the term yamabushi, ‘those who lie in the mountains’, referred to by Caron as ‘hermits’. For a brief description of these members of the ascetic Shugendō school, vide supra, note 106. The incantations of this syncretistic school, which included elements from esoteric Buddhism as well as esoteric Shinto, consisted of read- ings from the Lotus Sutra as well as magical formulae uttered by the yamabushi while in a state of trance. For a masterful analysis of the

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Shugendō school vide Blacker, Carmen, The Catalpa Bow, A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan, Allen and Unwin, London, 1975. Willman’s picturesque description of the yamabushi as being in league with the devil appears to be yet another expression of his dis- taste for heathen manners and customs. 256. Buddhist priests had shaven heads, but were not necessarily always dressed in black, while Confucian scholars, jusha, wore their hair in the traditional bushi style, with shaven forehead and a topknot. On formal occasions a short black haori was worn over their dark blue or grey kimono. 257. Here Willman follows Caron’s somewhat confused text closely. The higher language referred to is Chinese, used by the bureaucrats as far afield as the Indochinese principalities of Tonkin and Kwangnam, and also the language of many religious texts, since few of the Buddhist sutras had been translated into anything but Chinese. 258. Willman has misread Caron’s text, which states that there are many books and libraries in Japan, and then goes on to say that it is the Emperor who writes the annals of the country. 259. Willman has abbreviated Caron’s text slightly in this quite accurate description of the Emperor and court nobility, kuge, who led remote lives in strict seclusion from the common people, and who were indeed revered as demi-gods. Court titles were conferred on senior members of the warrior nobility, buke, but not even the Shōgun could aspire to the highest rank, and despite their at times abject poverty the Emperor and kuge continued to look down on the buke as upstarts. 260. Willman’s list of medicinal waters follows that of Caron, which however includes a description of various hot springs that he had himself visited. 261. The first Christian missionaries, led by the Spanish Jesuit St. Francisco Xavier (1506–1552), arrived in Japan in 1549. They made many converts among the peasants and fishermen in Kyūshū, but the statement that more than one third of the Japanese population was Christian is a gross exaggeration. Among the converts were a few influential daimyō, whose support made it possible for the Jesuits to build churches as well as seminars. The trade with Portugal developed later, and was never as important as the seventeenth century trade with Holland. 262. For the dictionary, vide supra, note 140. For Saikoku, ‘the Western Provinces’, vide supra, note 194.

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263. The entire paragraph concerning the introduction of Christianity in Japan is Willman’s own. As we have seen above there had been several instances of the persecution of Christians, foreign and native, since the 1590s. In 1622 the so-called Great Martyrdom took place in Nagasaki, vide supra, note 68, but the notion that ‘the Jesuits’ wanted to take power in Japan goes back to the so-called San Felipe Affair of 1596. This is a complex matter, involving machinations and animos- ity between the Spanish and the Portuguese as well as between different Catholic orders, in this case Spanish Franciscans and Portuguese Jesuits, but the affair hinges on a stranded Spanish galleon of that name. While the local authorities were investi gating, the Spanish captain is supposed to have boasted, while in his cups, that the Spanish conquistadores had subjugated Central and South America by first sending in missionaries and then troops. Whether this incident actually took place, or was fabricated, is not entirely clear, but the upshot was that Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered all foreign Christians to leave Japan, and that there were persecutions in 1597. 264. To quote one ‘old Japan hand’: ‘The description of the tortures to which the Christians were subjected reads like a page of Dante’s Inferno’. Gubbins, John H., ‘Review of the Introduction of Christianity into China and Japan’, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, Vol.VI, Pt.I, Yokohama, 1877, p. 35. That the atrocities mentioned actually took place is corroborated by contemporary sources, both Japanese and foreign. As C.R. Boxer points out, it is particularly interesting that Caron, as a Protestant, reported on the persecution of Catholics in such detail and with such obvious revulsion, and the same can be said about Willman, who followed Caron’s text closely. 265. This paragraph is from an appendix to Caron’s text, by Reyer Gysbertszoon, whose account, entitled De Tyrannije ende Wreedtheden der Jappanen (The Tyranny and Cruelties of the Japanese), was first printed in Amsterdam in 1637 and subsequently included in all editions of Caron’s Description. Jigoku is the collective term for all the Buddhist hells, of which there are ten hot and ten cold ones. 266. In Caron’s text the eyes of the parents were not blindfolded, but put out. 267. This paragraph is again culled from Gysbertszoon’s long and detailed account, which Willman apparently thought it best to abbreviate rather drastically.

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268. Gysbertszoon’s text mentions neighbours ‘on all four sides’, arriving at the same end result, i.e. five households in all. 269. ‘Pieces of Silver’, in the original Swedish ‘plåtar silver’ refers to the large, square copper coins, stamped in the four corners with their value in silver, which were in use in Sweden in Willman’s time. Japanese silver was valued according to weight, one momme being 3.75 grammes, and for trade purposes it was used in small pieces, Kotsubugin and Chōgin. Silver coins only began to be used in the eighteenth century. The statement concerning the reward for denouncing a Christian being on display appears to be Willman’s own. The rewards which were publicly offered for the denunciation of Christians varied somewhat over time, so that the sum paid for a Father, Bateren, was between 200 and 500 pieces of silver, that for a Brother, Iruman, between 100 and 300, and for an acolyte, Dojuku, between 50 and 100 pieces. Vide C.R. Boxer, The Christian Century in Japan, 1549–1650, Cambridge University Press, 1951, p. 336. 270. The accounts of children accompanying their parents in their martyrdom, as well as the lepers deported to the Philippines are both taken from Caron. 271. This particular form of torture, known as ana-tsurushi, ‘hanging in the pit’, where the victim was suspended by the feet into a latrine pit, is supposed to have been invented by Inoue Chikugo no Kami Masashige in person. The veins on the victims’ temples were cut open, in order to prevent them from losing consciousness. The claim to have spoken to those who had undergone the torture and apostatized is Willman’s own, and may refer to the interpreter Nishi Kichibē and his brother, who was released in the amnesty marking the beginning of Tokugawa Ietsuna’s reign in 1651. Willman stated in his Journey that the interpreter’s brother had been imprisoned for the crime of having kept Christian relics in his house. To have done so he would have had to be a Christian, and since he got off with a prison sentence he must have apostatized. Vide supra, note 68. 272. The account of the banishment of the Portuguese, which actually took place in 1639, and the subsequent attempts by Portugal to reopen trade relations with Japan, is not included in Caron’s text. Caron was Opperhoofd at Deshima between 1639 and 1640, and left Japan in the spring of 1641, never to return. It is not clear where Willman found the background material for his account of the expulsion of the Portuguese, but the events he described were of such a spectacular nature that they would have been discussed

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repeatedly and at length by the VOC employees in Batavia and at Deshima. In 1636 the Bakufu forbade the Portuguese merchants to stay in Nagasaki, and forced them to move to the artificial island of Deshima in the harbour. In August 1639 they were expelled from Japan, and Portuguese vessels were forbidden to enter Japanese ports. By ‘galliot’ in this connection Willman was probably refer ring to ‘galleon’, the high-built sailing-ship used by the Spanish and Portuguese. A galliot is a Dutch cargo vessel, low, flat and one- decked, usually propelled by oars. Vide infra, note 291. 273. The Bakufu official, apparently accompanied by a retainer, who arrived in Nagasaki on 1 August 1640 was Kagazume Tadazumi Minbu no Shōzuke (ca. 1580–1641), one of the three simultaneous holders of the office of Ō-metsuke, ‘Chief of Intelligence’. His associa- tion with the Tokugawa family had begun already at Sekigahara, where he fought with Ieyasu, and he had served with distinction under Hidetada and later Iemitsu. The title of Minbu no Shōzuke, i.e. ‘Lesser Assistant Minister in the Office of Personal Affairs’, was an honorary Court rank and sinecure, awarded as a result of his partici- pation in the Battle of Osaka Castle in 1615. Kagazume was sent to Nagasaki as sole representative of the Shōgun. The name of his retainer is not recorded, but may have been Nonoi, hence the honorific sama. ‘Sumbedonne’ probably refers to Tsuge Heiemon, the resident Nagasaki bugyō. Willman mistakenly assumed that the names he must have heard or read referred to one person. I am most grateful to Professor Timon Screech, who managed to solve the mystery of Kagazume’s identity after a feat of advanced investigation in Japanese archives, and who nobly claims to have enjoyed the task. He also tentatively suggested the name of Nonoi for Kagazume’s retainer. The unfortunate Portuguese, under the command of Luis Pais Pacheco, appear to have worn plumed hats with their finery, if we are to believe Willman. 274. There is no feast day celebrating the full moon in Japan. If a religious feast was indeed the reason for the slight delay, it may have been the Tanabata Matsuri, a Shinto festival celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month, or Ō-Bon, the Buddhist feast celebrating the annual visit of the spirits of the dead, both of which would have occurred in August according to the Western way of reckoning. 275. These ‘Indian’ soldiers would have been natives of the Portuguese colony of Goa.

notes to the text 129

276. At this time the Japanese authorities still allowed foreigners to be buried in Japanese soil. This practice was forbidden from 1641, and the dead had to be taken out to sea for burial. In the late 1650s earth burials again became allowed in specially designated locations, but the Japanese authorities continued to waver over this matter. 277. Willman’s text is incomplete, lacking the verb. 278. ‘They’ referring to the Japanese. 279. There had been another attempt to renew the trade with Japan, in 1644/1645, under the command of Gonçalo De Siqueira De Sousa, who had been appointed Ambassador to Japan by the King of Portugal, João IV, in 1643. Siqueira De Sousa died at Goa soon after his return from Japan. The 1647 embassy from Macao to Japan was headed by Antonio Fialho Ferreira. 280. Portugal was indeed independent since 1640, when João IV had been crowned King. 281. One last attempt was made in 1685, when the crew of a Japanese fishing vessel stranded off Macao was brought back to Japan on a Portuguese ship. The rescuers were thanked, but politely shown the door. 282. The very first contact between The Netherlands and Japan took place in 1600, when the Dutch ship De Liefde (Christian Charity), with the Englishman Will Adams as pilot, arrived on the coast of Bungo. Vide supra, note 207. There were two Dutch ships in fact, the third ship being the richly laden Portuguese vessel Madre de Deus, which arrived in Hirado at the same time and which the Dutch had been hoping to capture en route for Japan. As has been mentioned above, a profit of two hundred percent was by no means unheard of. 283. The events discussed here by Willman refer to the so-called Shimabara Rebellion of 1637–1638, when the castles of Shimabara, Tomioka and Hara were stormed by a force of some 25,000 disgrun- tled peasants and rōnin. This was mainly a peasant revolt due to a combination of crop failure, abuse of power and famine, although with a strong Christian element, as the appointed leader was a char- ismatic youth who went into battle under a Christian banner. The VOC officials, who seized every opportunity to further their trade with Japan, responded to a request from the Bakufu by sending a ship under the command of the Opperhoofd, Nicolaes Couckebacker, which bombarded Shimabara Castle with mortar fire. Although this seems to have had little effect on the castle or its defenders, the VOC incurred severe criticism in Europe, and in 1647 they carefully

130 part two

avoided any involvement in the affair of the Portuguese ships block- aded in Nagasaki harbour. 284. In 1639 the Bakufu forbade marriages and other liaisons between Japanese women and Dutch men, and all Japanese women who had children by English or Dutch men were ordered to leave for Batavia. Caron was himself married to a Japanese woman, by whom he had five children. On his return to Batavia in 1641, however, he married a Dutch woman. The injunction against keeping Japanese mistresses was impossible to enforce in the long run, and many of the VOC officials at Deshima used to engage a Japanese prostitute ‘to prepare hot water for tea in the evening’ as it was euphemistically phrased. Such contracts could run from one night to several months or a year. 285. For a brief account of François Caron’s life and career, vide supra, note 43. 286. Willman’s account of the construction of the warehouse at Hirado and the ensuing debâcle seems to be founded on hearsay, which explains the gross exaggerations. Caron’s stone building may have been a solid piece of architecture, but to liken it to a fortified castle is preposterous. Nor can there have been any foundation for the statement that the VOC intended to keep an armed garrison there, and the smuggling into Japan of not only arms but over one thousand men would quite simply have been impossible. 287. The sentence is somewhat garbled in the original Swedish, although the meaning is clear. 288. Hirado and Nagasaki were both situated in the domain of the daimyō of Hizen. 289. The Bakufu’s edict of 1640, prohibiting all outward manifestations of the Christian faith, as well as the slaughter of animals, which was regarded as an affront against Buddhist precepts, was eventually slightly modified, and after the move to Deshima in 1641 the VOC staff were allowed to keep cattle for their own consumption. 290. Caron remained as Opperhoofd until 13 February 1641, when he was succeeded by Maximiliaen Le Maire, who held the office until 30 October the same year. 291. A galliot is a small Dutch cargo-boat usually propelled by oars. In this case Willman seems to have meant a galley, the large row-boat belonging to a warship. 292. A new edict was presented to the VOC on 30 July 1651 upon the death of Tokugawa Iemitsu and the accession of the new Shōgun, Ietsuna, just before Willman’s arrival in Japan. The renewed injunctions

notes to the text 131

forbidding the foreigners to celebrate Sundays or holidays by showing even the slightest change in clothing, or indeed any outward display of something out of the ordinary, must have been repeated to all VOC staff at Deshima. These injunctions also included a categori- cal prohibition against bringing any Christian literature into Japan, and as we have already seen Willman stated that every scrap of paper on which anything was written was removed from his personal effects upon his arrival in the country and placed under lock and key. Strict precautions had to be taken to prevent Portuguese priests from entering the country disguised as sailors on the Dutch ships. No quarrels with the Japanese were allowed, let alone physical violence, and the VOC employees were ordered to abide by these rules and regulations under the new Shōgun as they had done under his predecessors.

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INDEX

Abe Tsushima no kami Tadaaaki 43, Breskens, The 54, 55 102(n133) Brouckhorst, Anthonio 84(n33), 85(n41), Abrolhos 25, 82 89(n68) Aceh 27, 122(n244) Burgers, Johannes 27, 50 Actinia (barnacles) 52, 111(n182) Burgh, Adriaen van der 30, 35, 87(n45), Akasaka 39, 46, 96(n105) 88(n60), 90(n72), 92(n84) Akashi 36, 91(n80) Ambon 27 Cambodia 32, 48, 70, 87(n52) Amakusa 44, 70, 104 Canary Islands 23, 24 Amsterdam 21, 22, 112 Cape of Good Hope 26, 50, 110(n173) Ando Ukyōnoshin Shigenaga 42, 102(n129) Cape Verde 24, 82(n12) Annam 32, 87(54) Caron, François 30, 35, 76–77, 86(n43), Aracan 30, 85(n38) 90–91(n75), 102(n129), 109(n165), Arai 40, 97(n167) 112(n188, 189), 113(n193, 194)114(n195), Arrack 29, 85(n35) 115(n202, 203, 207), 116(n210, 211), Ascension 51 117(n214, 215), 118(n221, 225, 226), Azores, the 50, 51, 111(n177) 119(n229), 120(n231, 232, 238, 239), 121(n241, 243), 123(n246, 248, 250), Baba Toshishige Saburōzaemon 35, 43, 45, 124(n251, 252, 254, 255), 125(n257, 258, 47, 90(n70), 102–103(n134) 259, 260), 126(n264, 265, 266), 130(n284, Baboshina 49, 110(n167) 285, 286, 289, 290) Bamboo 29 Castle Friesland 27, 29 Banda 27, 82, 109(n165) Castricum, The 54, 55 Bangka 31 Cathay 55, 113(n190) Banjos 44, 103(n139) Ceulenburgh 29 Bantam 27, 31, 86(n43), 87(n49) Chiryū 39, 46 Banyū 45, 100(n123), 106(n150) Christians 34, 41, 47, 48, 54, 70–72, 75, Barber-surgeon 30, 86–87(n44) 89(n67, 68), 100(n123), 104(n140)108– Barbuda 51 109(n163), 116(n208, 212), 123(n249), Barentszoon, Arent 29 125(n261), 126(n263, 264), 127(n269), Batavia 26, 27, 30, 49, 55, 76, 83(n30), 129(n283), 130(n289), 131(n292) 85(n40), 86(n42, 43), 87(n46, 47, 48), Cloves 27, 83(n24), 89(n65) 91(n75), 93(n89), 104(n142), 110(n170), Cochinchina 30, 87 111(n179), 112(n185), 122(n244), 128(n272), Cock, Pieter 30 130(n284) Copper 34, 38, 48, 89(n65) Berg, Adriaen van den 27 Councillors of State (Rōjū) 34, 42, 43, 44, Berg, Johan Olofsson 28, 83(n30) 61, 62, 101(n128), 102(n131, 133), 105(n144), Bergen 53, 112(n185) 118(n223) Bielke, Ove 53, 112(n185) Coyet, Fredrik 48, 49, 109(n165) Bingo 36, 91(n78) Crowned Lion, The 48 Bintan 31 Blokhuys, Pieter 28, 30, 83–84(n32), Daijūinsama (Tokugawa Iemitsu) 43, 59, 85(n41), 102(n131) 102(n133), 116(n212) Bon 33, 88(n61), 128(n274) Dairi 38, 40, 56, 57, 58, 63, 69, 70, 89(n67), Borneo 31 94(n96), 114(n197), 115(n201, 204, 208) Boucheljon, Joan 35, 42, 45, 90(n72), 117(n213), 120(n230, 231), 125(n258) 105(n147) Demer, Jacob 53 Brahe, Tycho 32, 87–88(n56) Demmer, Gerort 27

138 index

Deshima 33, 34, 49, 77, 78, 85(n41), Hotta Kaga no kami Masanobu 43, 87(n48), 88(n59), 90(n72, 73), 91(n75), 102(n133) 127–128(n272), 130 (n289), 131(n292) Hyōgo 36, 91(n80) Duiff, The 30 Iceland 51 Earthquakes 29, 34, 42, 69 Inoue Chikugo no kami Masashige Edo 34, 35, 40–42, 55, 59, 60, 64, 66, 73, (“Sickingadonne”) 42, 44, 45, 66, 94(n96), 96(n105), 97(n109), 98(n116), 100(n123), 101(n126), 104(n142), 99(n120), 100(n124, 125), 103(n139), 121–122(n244), 127(n271) 113(n191), 117(n216), 121(n239, 243), Ishibe 38 124(n253) Ishiyakushi 39, 46 Edo Castle 42–43, 44, 59, 60, 61, 101– 102(n129), 103(n135), 117(n215) Jamba 31, 87(n49) Elephant, The 22, 50, 110(n171, 172) Japara 28, 83(n27) Emperor, i.e. Shōgun 28, 34, 35, 40, 41, 42, Java 26, 54, 55, 76, 87(n49) 43, 44, 45, 54, 56, 59, 61, 62, 63, 70, 72, 73, Javanese 27, 28 75, 77, 89(n67), 94(n96), 104(n143), Johore 31 114(n196), 115(n208), 120(n230), Junshi/Seppuku 62, 63, 64, 118–120(n222, 125(n259), 128(n273), 131(n292) 227, 233), 123(n249) Enkhuysen 21 Jusha 61, 118(n222), 125(n256) Enkhyusen, The 50, 110(n172) Equator, the 31 Kakegawa 40, 98(n111) Kamagari 36 Faeroe Islands 52 Kameyama 39, 95(n102) Falcon, The 33, 34, 48, 49 Kaminoseki 36 Fialho, Anthonio 74 Kampen, The 33, 34 Formosa 30, 32, 33, 34, 49, 65, 85(n39), Kanagawa 42 86(n43), 109(n165), 110(n167) Kanaya 40, 46, 98(n112) Friesius, Andries 28, 50, 84(n32), Kanbara 41, 45, 99(n117) 110(n172) Kawasaki 42, 45, 106(n149) Fuji, Mt. 41, 99(n117, 118, 119) Kelung 49 Fujieda 40 Kibatsu 35 Fujikawa 39, 41 Kii 65, 120(n239) Fujisawa 41 Kimotsuki Hakuzaemon 35 Fukuroi 40, 46, 98(n111) King of Poland, The 33, 34, 48, 49, 78 Fushimi 47, 107(n157), 108(n161) Koban 38, 93(n90) Futakawa 39, 46, 96(n105) Kokura 36, 67, 68, 91(n77), 123(n249) Korea 46, 57, 69, 115(n202) Genoa 27, 83(n26) Krakatoa 26 Golden Chersonese, The 31 Kronborg (Helsingør) 21, 53 Kubō sama /Chūnagon (Tokugawa Hachijōshima 65, 121(n241) Hidetada) 58, 70 Hakone 41, 45, 99–100(n119, 120, 121) Kurokawa Yōhei Masanao 43, 45, 48, Hamamatsu 40, 46, 97(n107) 102–103(n134), 108(n162) Hartman, Aegidius 31 Kusatsu 38, 46 Hellevoetsluis 23, 26 Kuwana 95(n103) Higo 64, 67, 77 Hirado 35, 60, 76–77, 78, 86(n43), Lacquer 46, 106(n153) 90(n75), 115(n207), 118(n218), Le Maire, Maximiliaen 77, 78, 130(n290) 129(n282), 130(n286, 288) Lijn, Cornelius van der 30, 82(n23), Hirakata 37 85–86(n42, 43) Hispaniola (Haiti) 51 Locksmiths 39 Hitobashira 63, 119(n228) Hōkōji Daibutsu 46, 106–107(n156) Maisaka 40, 97(n107) Holmstedhe, The 30 Malacca 31

index 139

Malacca, The 27, 110(n172) Paracel Islands 30 Marriage 62, 66, 118(n224) Pelican, The 33, 34, 48 Marugame 36, 91(n79) Pepper 31, 87(n49), 89(n65) Match-cord 46, 106(n152) Pernambuco 24, 25, 82(n14) Meashima 32, 49 Pescadores 32, 49 Michelsson, Michel 28 Portuguese 43, 45, 54, 55, 70, 72–75, 76, 77, Mihara 36, 91(n78) 85, 127–129(n272, 279), 131(n292) Mikan 38, 43, 93(n92), 103(n137) Potvisch, The 30 Minakuchi 38, 46 Provincia, The 50 Mishima 41, 45 Pulo Condor 31, 87(n52) Mitsuke 40 Miya 39, 46, 95(n103) Quinam 32, 48, 69, 87(n54) Miyako 38, 40, 42, 46, 47, 63, 94(n96) Morning Star, The 48 Raad van Indië 30, 83(n25), 86(n42), Muro 36 122(n244) Mutsu 65, 121(n239) Rattan 38, 95(n99) Reijnierszoon, Karel 30, 86(n42) Nagasaki 32, 33, 35, 43, 44, 47, 49, 70, 72, 73, Rhinoceros The 27 74, 76, 77, 78, 88(n59), 89(n68), 92(n82), Rōnin Conspiracy 92(n86), 99(n116) 96(n105), 109(n163), 117(n216), 126(n263), Rostock 53, 112(186) 128(n273), 130(n283, 288) Rubijn, The 28 Naidaijin sama (Tokugawa Ietsuna) 59 Nambu 55 Sake 36, 38, 91(n81), 93(n91) Narumi 39 Sakoku 89(66) Newfoundland 51, 52 Salines 39, 41, 45 New Netherlands 51, 111(n178) Sanjūsangendō 47, 107–108(n159) Nielsen, Anders 29 São João Baptista, The 28, 83(n27) Nikko 45, 102(n133), 105(n145), 116(n212), Sargasso Sea 51 123(n246) Satsuma 64 Nishi Kichibē 34, 89(n68), 127(n271) Scaliger, Joseph Justus 24, 82(n11) Niō-ō 38, 40, 43, 45, 46, 94(n94), 97(n110), Schamberger, Caspar 89(n68), 94(n93) 103(n136), 106(n155) Schedel, Juriaen 29, 84(n33), 104(n142) Nissaka 40, 98(n111) Schiedam, The 23 Norimono 37, 42, 92(n84) Scotland/Shetland 51 Norway 52, 111(n181), 112(n184, 185) Scurvy 26, 52 Nosatsu Kai 97(n106) Seki 39, 95(n101) Nova Francia 51, 111(n178) Sekinojizō 39, 46, 95(n101) Numazu 41 Seroimon 36 Nutmeg 27, 83(n24), 89(n65) Shimada 40, 98(n112) Shimonoseki 36 Odawara 41, 45, 100(n122), 106(n150) Shinagawa 42, 100(n125) Ō-Gosho (Tokugawa Ieyasu) 57, 58, 67, 68, Shirasuka 39, 46 115(n204) Shizuki Magobē 35, 44 Ohira 39 Shōgun 28, 34, 35, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 54, Ōigawa 40, 46, 98(n112) 56, 59, 61, 62, 63, 70, 72, 73, 75, 77, Ōiso 41, 45, 106(n150) 89(n67), 94(n96), 104(n143), 114(n196), Okabe 40, 46, 98(n114) 115(n208), 120(n230), 125(n259), Okazaki 39, 96(n114) 131(n292) Ōkunchi 88(n64) Shōno 39 Oranien, The 30, 110(n172) Siam 29, 33, 85(n37), 122(n244) Osaka 36, 37, 41, 47, 58, 59, 64, 67, 91(n80), Sickingadonne, vide Inoue Chikugo no 92(n82, 83, 86), 100(n124), 107(n158), kami Masashige 115(n207), 116(n210), 128(n273) Silver 34, 113(n191) Ostrich, The 22 Singapore 31 Ōtsu 38 Smient, The 30, 48

140 index

Stahl, Superintendent of Narva 30, Toyotomi Hideyori 57, 58, 67, 68, 92(n83), 85(n40) 101(n129), 105(n144), 106(n156), St. Helena 50 107(n158), 115(n204, 205), 123(n249) St. Paul and Amsterdam 26, 82(n17) Toyotomi Hideyoshi 57, 58, 91(n80), Sterthemius, Pieter 30, 33, 34, 85(n41), 92(n83), 101(n129), 105(n144), 106(n154, 88(n60) 156), 107(n157), 108(n161), 114(n201), Stockholm 21, 31, 45, 48, 53 115(n202, 203, 204), 116(n210) Straits of Formosa 32 Tranquebar 29, 84–85(n34) Sumatra 31, 87(n49) Tristan da Cunha 25 Sunda Straits 26, 50, 87(n49) Troon, The 49 Suruga 40, 46, 57, 98(n115), 115(n206) Tropic of Cancer, The 24, 32, 49, 50, Suzukasaka 39, 95(n101) 88(n56) Tropic of Capricorn The 25, 51 Tabi 35, 90(n69) Tadanoumi 36 Verburg, Nicolaas 49 Taikō (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) 57, 58, Vries, Marten Gerritszoon 55 115(n201) Tamsui 49 Water Fiscaals 31, 49, 87(n48), 110(n170) Tayowan 30, 34, 48, 49, 110(n167) Weaponry 44, 48, 49, 58, 101(n128), Tayowan, The 31, 34, 48, 49, 85(n39) 102–103(n134), 104(n141), 110(n169) Tea 93(n89) Wittmansit, Jan 28 Temple bells 46, 47, 106(151), 107(n158) Women 39, 95(n100), 96(n105), 118(n226), Ternate 27, 29, 55 123(n248), 124(n251) Texel 22, 26, 30, 52 Wunsch, Johannes 35, 90(n72) Thousand Islands, The 28, 83(n29) Tokugawa Hidetada 58, 70, 105(n148), Yaizu 40, 46, 98(n116) 115(n204), 116(n209, 210, 211), Yamabushi 39, 69, 96–97(n106), 99(n120), 128(n273) 124–125(n255) Tokugawa Iemitsu 43, 59, 89(n67), Yezo (Hokkaido) 54 94(n94), 101(n126), 102(133), 105(n145), Yobuko 36, 91(n76) 116(n211, 212), 117(n213), 121(n244), Yodo 38, 47, 94(n93) 128(n273), 130(n292) Yodogawa 37 Tokugawa Ietsuna 59, 89(n67), Yokoshima 36 101(n126), 117(n213), 127(n271), Yoshida 39, 96(n105) 130(n292) Young Prince, The 30 Tokugawa Ieyasu 57, 58, 67, 68, 92(n83), 96(n104), 101(n129), 103(n136), 105(n145), Zeelandia, Castle 49 107(n158), 108(n161), 115(n204, 207), Zeelandia, The 23 116(n210), 118(n223, 225), 123(n249), Zeze 38 128(n273) Tonkin 32, 33, 48, 69, 87(n54), Älvsnabben 53, 112(n187) 125(n125) Totsuka 41, 45, 106(149) Öresund 53