It Is Reported Of These Islanders, That They Eat
Such Of Their Enemies As They Take Prisoners; Esteeming Human Flesh A
Peculiar Dainty.
The sea in which Zipangu lies is called the sea of Chi
or Chin, or the sea over against Mangi, which is called Chan or
Chint, in the language of that island.
This sea is so large, that
mariners who have frequented it, say it contains seven thousand four
hundred and forty islands, most of them inhabited; and that in ail those
islands there is no tree which is not odoriferous, or does not bear fruit,
or is not useful in some other respects. In them likewise there are great
abundance of spices of various kinds, especially black arid white pepper,
and lignum aloes[6]. The ships of Zaitum are a whole year on their voyage
to and from Zipangu, going there during the winter, and returning again in
summer, as there are two particular winds which regularly prevail in these
seasons. Zipangu is far distant from India. But I will now leave Zipangu,
because I never was there, as it is not subject to the khan, and shall now
return to Zaitum and the voyage from thence to India.
[1] In this passage, in the edition of Harris, the sense seems obscurely to
insinuate that this had been occasioned by the sea having broken down
or overwhelmed certain lands or islands, producing numbers of smaller
islands and extensive shoals. - E.
[2] Zipangu, Zipangri, or Cimpagu, is Japan without any doubt.
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