We Departed From Surunga On The 9th Of October, And During Our Journey
Towards Miaco We Had For The Most Part Much Rain, By Which The Rivers
Were Greatly Swelled, And We Were Forced To Stop By The Way, So That It
Was The 16th Of October Before We Got There.
Miaco is the largest city
in Japan, depending mostly upon trade, and having the chief Fotoqui
or temple of
The whole empire, which is all built of freestone, and is
as long as the western end of St Paul's in London from the choir; being
also as high, arched in the roof and borne upon pillars as that is. Many
bonzes are here in attendance for their maintenance, as priests are
among the papists. They have here an altar, on which the votaries offer
rice and small money, called cundrijus, twenty of which are equal to
an English shilling, which offerings are applied to the use of the
bonzes. Near this altar is an idol, called Mannada, much resembling
that of Dabis formerly mentioned, and like it made of copper, but much
higher, as it reaches up to the arched roof. This Fotoqui was begun to
be built by Taicosama, and has since been finished by his son, having
been ended only while we were there. According to report, there were
buried within its enclosure the ears and noses of 3000 Coreans, who were
massacred at one time; and upon their grave a mount is raised, having a
pyramid on its summit, the mount being grown over with grass, and very
neatly kept. The horse that Taicosama last rode upon is kept near this
Fotoqui, having never been ridden since, and his hoofs have grown
extraordinarily long by age.
This Fotoqui stands on the top of a high hill, and on either side, as
you ascend the hill, there are fifty pillars of freestone, at ten paces
each from the other, having a lantern on the top of each, which are all
lighted up with oil every night. There are many other Fotoquis in this
city. In Miaco the Portuguese jesuits have a very stately college, in
which there are several native Japanese jesuits, who preach, and have
the New Testament printed in the Japanese language. Many of the native
children are bred up in this college, where they are instructed in the
Christian religion, according to the doctrines of the Romish church; and
there are not less than five or six thousand natives professing
Christianity in this city. The tradesmen and artificers of all kinds in
this city are all distributed by themselves, every trade and occupation
having its own particular streets, and not mingled together as with us.
We remained some time in Miaco, waiting for the emperor's present, which
was at length delivered, being ten beobs, or large pictures, for being
hung up in a chamber.
The 20th of October we departed from Miaco, and came that night to
Fushimi.[25] We arrived about noon of the next day at Osaka, where the
common people behaved very rudely to us, some calling after us Tosin!
Tosin!
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