This Country Of Japan Is A Great Island, Reaching In Its Northern Part
To The Latitude Of Forty-Eight Degrees,[60] And Its Most Southerly Part
Is In Thirty-Five Degrees, Both North.
Its length from east by north to
west by south, for such is its direction, is 220 English leagues.
The
breadth from south to north is thirteen degrees, twenty leagues to the
degree, or 260 leagues, so that it is almost square. The inhabitants of
Japan are good-natured, courteous above measure, and valiant in war.
Justice is executed with much severity, and is distributed impartially,
without respect of persons, upon all transgressors of the law. They are
governed in great civility, and I think that no part of the world has
better civil policy. The people are very superstitious in their
religion, and entertain various opinions or beliefs. There are many
jesuits and franciscan friars in the country, and who have many churches
in the land.
[Footnote 60: The island of Japan Proper reaches only to lat. 40 deg. 37' N.
and the southern coast of Tacuxima, its most southerly detached isle, is
in lat. 32 deg. 28'. The most southerly point of the largest island of Niphon
being in 33 deg. 3' N. The extreme length of Niphon, in a slight curve from
N.E. to S.W. is about 815 English miles; or, continuing the measure to
the S.W. extremity of Kiusiu at Cape Nomo, about 1020 miles. The breadth
is very irregular, but cannot exceed 100 miles on the average. - E.]
Thus shortly am I constrained to write, hoping that by one means or
other I may hear of my wife and children in process of time, and so with
patience I wait the good will and pleasure of Almighty God; earnestly
desiring all those to whom this letter may come, to use means to
acquaint my good friends before named of its contents; that so my wife
and children may hear of me, and I may have hope to hear of them before
I die. Which God grant, to his glory and my comfort. Amen.
Dated in Japan, the 22d of October, 1611, by your unworthy friend and
servant, to command in what I can,
WILLIAM ADAMS.
Sec.3. Letter of William Adams to his Wife.[61]
Loving wife, you shall hereby understand how all things have passed with
me since I left you. We sailed from the Texel with five ships, on the
24th June, 1598, and took our departure from the coast of England the
5th July. The 21st August we came to St Jago, one of the Cape Verd
Islands, where we remained twenty-four days. In this time many of our
men fell sick, through the unwholesomeness of the air, and our general
among the rest. We abode so long among these islands, because one of the
captains of our fleet made our general believe that we should find
plenty of refreshments there, as goats and other things, which was not
the case.
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