Table Of ContentWORKS ISSUED BY
THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY
JOAO RODRIGUES'S ACCOUNT OF
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY JAPAN
THIRD SERIES
NO. 7
THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY
Council and Officers 2001-2002
PRESIDENT
Mrs Sarah Tyacke CB
VICE PRESIDENTS
Professor R. C. Bridges Professor John B. Hattendorf
Lt Cdr A. C. F. David Professor D. B. Quinn HON.FBA
tProfessor P. E. H. Hair Sir Harold Smedley KCMG MBE
Professor Glyndwr Williams
COUNCIL (with date of election)
W. L. Banks CBE (1999) Carlos Novi (1999)
Dr Michael Brennan (2000) Anthony Payne (1999)
Tony Campbell (1999) Michael J. Pollock (2001)
Dr Margaret Deacon (1999) Paul Quarrie (1999)
Stephen Easton (co-opted) Royal Geographical Society
R. K. Headland (1998) (Dr J. H. Hemming CMC)
Jeffrey Kerr (1998) A. N. Ryan (1998)
Professor Bruce P. Lenman (2001) Mrs Ann Shirley (1999)
Professor R J. Marshall (2000) Dr John Smedley (co-opted)
Rear-Admiral J. A. L. Myres CB (2000) Dr Suzanne Schwarz (2001)
TRUSTEES
Sir Geoffrey Ellerton CMC MBE G. H. Webb CMC QBE
Dr J. H. Hemming CMC Professor Glyndwr Williams
HONORARY TREASURER
David Darbyshire FCA
HONORARY SECRETARY
Dr Andrew S. Cook
The British Library, Oriental and India Office Collections,
96 Euston Road, London NWl 2DB
HONORARY SERIES EDITORS
Professor W. F. Ryan FBA
Warburg Institute, University of London, Woburn Square, London \\'ClH OAB
Professor Robin Law FBA
Department of History, University of Stirling, Stirling FK.9 4LA
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Mrs Fiona Easton
(to whom queries and application for membership may be made]
Telephone: 01986 788359 Fax: 01986 78818! E-mail: ofhce^hakluyt.com
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The Hakluyt Society, c/o Map Library, The British Library, 96 Euston Road,
London NWI 2DB
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INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES OF THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY
Australia: Ms Maura O'Connor, Curator of Maps, National Library of Australia, Canberra, ACT
2601
Canada: Dr Joyce Lorimer, Department of History, Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo,
Ontario, N2L 3C5
Germany: Thomas Tack, Ziegelbergstr. 21, D-63739 Aschaffenburg
Japan: Dr Derek Massarella, Faculty of Economics, Chuo University, Higashinakano 742 1,
Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-03
New Zealand: }. E. Traue, Department of Librarianship, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box
600, Wellington
Portugal: Dr Manuel Ramos, Av. Elias Garcia 187, 3Dt, 1050 Lisbon
Russia: Professor Alexei V. Postnikov, Institute of the History of Science and Technology,
Russian Academy of Sciences, 1/5 Staropanskii per., Moscow 103 012
South Africa: Vacant
USA: Dr Norman Fiering, The John Carter Brown Library, Box 1894, Providence, Rhode
Island 02912 and Professor Norman Thrower, Department of Geography, UCLA, 405
Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90024-1698
?>A LI NGOA 1> E 1A-
PAM COMPOSTAPELLO
Vadre loa) Rilriguez^Portugitcs
nhia de IE S V diuidida emtres
LI y ROS.
COMLICENCADOORDL
NARIO, E SrpERIORES EM
Nangafaqui no CoIIegb de lapao da
f<mkia de I E S F
Anno.
Plate I: Title page of Joao Rodrigues, SJ, Ant de lingoa de lapam, Nagasaki, I 604. Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.
JOAO RODRIGUES'S ACCOUNT
OF
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY JAPAN
Edited by
MICHAEL COOPER
THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY
EONDON
2001
Published by The Hakluyt Society
c/o Map Library
British Library, 96 Euston Road,
London NWI 2DB
SERIES EDITORS
W. F. RYAN
ROBIN LAW
© The Hakluyt Society 2001
ISBN 0904180 73 5
ISSN 0072 9396
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
Typeset by Waveney Typesetters, Wymondham, Norfolk
Printed in Great Britain at
The Bath Press, Bath
To Toyoko U. McGovern
and in memory of
Melvin R McGovern
I9I2-I992
This page has been left blank intentionally
CONTENTS
This table of contents does not appear in the original Portuguese text, and has been compiled
by the translator.
Introduction xiii
Preface to the Reader I
Book I
I A general description of Asia and the islands of this oriental sea 9
[2] Description, position, and various names of the islands of Japan in general 42
3 The antiquity of Japan, and the nation to which the Japanese may belong 47
4 Whether Europeans knew about these islands in ancient times, and when they
were first discovered by the Portuguese 58
5 A specific description of some of the principal islands of Japan, and their
division into regions 67
6 The division of Japan into provinces, kingdoms, or states, and some of the
more notable mountains, rivers, and lakes therein 76
7 The quality and climate of Japan, and the fruits that the land produces 102
8 The measurement of roads, and the method of measuring lands in respect to
rent, and the various kinds of measurements of the kingdom 114
[9] Japanese linear measurements 117
10 The features, talents, and dispositions of the Japanese 120
11 There is no contradiction, although there may appear to be, in the many
things written about the customs, government, nobility, and wealth of Japan,
and the reasons thereof 128
12 The method of Japanese building 137
13 The city of Miyako in particular 159
14 The ancient royal palace called Taidairi 173
15 The customs and manners of the Japanese in general 174
16 The dress and garments of the Japanese 178
17 The Japanese manner of paying visits, and the regular times and occasions
for this 189
18 The ceremonies and entertainment provided for guests who visit the master
of the house at New Year 194
19 The other festivals held during the year when they also pay visits 197