Pilgrimage, Book 5 · Chapter 15
CHAP. XV.
A Continuation of the former Discourse touching the Religions of Iapon.
MEaco their chiefe Citie is chiefe also in superstitions, hauing had (if report lye not) on the hill neere to it seuen thousand Cloisters or Abbies: one of which is so famous, that the Kings in their Warres will vow great summes of Gold, and after victory pay the same there: the people also in distresse make it their sanctuarie, where the Diuell by visions deludeth them. In August they celebrate the Feast of Gibon with Pageants: fifteene or sixteene Chariots, couered with silke goe before, in them are children with Minstralsie. EueryEvery Chariot is drawne with thirtie or fortie men, and followed by their peculiar companies or trades: and after them Chariots of men armed, which all passe by the Temple in the morning. In the Euening, two litters come forth, carried by men; the one of the God, the other of his Lemman: then followeth the third: of his Wife, with which the men runne vp and downe in such a confused manner, as may signifie her iealousie. Here the people weepe and pray to their Goddesse, whom yet with a contrarie deuotion they comfort: and lastly (as if by the peoples mediation) the Litters are ioined together, and carried into the Temple. In the same monethmonth they hauehave their Feast of All soules, in which they light many Lampes, at their doores, and all night walke vp and downe the Citie: and many suppose at a certaine place they meete with the walking Ghosts of their decta…ed friends, and after welcoming ceremonies, they set vittailes aBaites in the iourney to Paradise.before them, at least in that place, where hauing a while attended they inuite them to their houses. The reason of this refreshing they alleadge the long iourney to Paradise, which in lesse then three yeares space cannot bee passed, and therefore they hauehave neede of heartning. Two dales this Feast lasteth, in which they clense their graues and giuegive presents to the Bonzii, In March they hauehave festiuall playes, in which many meere in the afternoone painted with the Images of their Gods on their shoulders: and parting themselues into two rankes, the boyes begin with stones, the men continue the fray with arrowes, poles, and swords, alwaies with the death of some, and impunitie of the doers.
At Sacai in Iuly they keepe the Feast of Daimaogin, to whom many Temples are dedicated: in which the Idoll is carried with much pompe on horsebacke, followed first by the Bonzij, then the Nobilitie, after them certaine Witches, whom armed troupes of souldiours follow. Then commeth the Litter of the God, all gilded, carried by twenty men, answering each other in certaine hymnes; the people worshipping.
Some of their Bonzii professe a militarie discipline, as the Knights of Malta. The profession called Neugori was instituted by Cacuban (who is therefore deified) in which some intend their prayers, whiles other fight, and others performe their taske of making fiue arrowes a day. Their gouernment is an Anarchy; eueryevery one obeying and commanding, the meanest person amongst them hauing a Negatiue in all their consultations: And nothing is agreed on till all be agreed. In the night they often kill one another without remorse, and yet (such is their religion) this Sect holdeth it a sinne to kill a flye or any liuing thing.
They beleeue diuers Paradises, into each of which their peculiar Gods carrie their owne worshippers: And some make ouer-hastie iourneyes thither on this sort. He watcheth certaine daies, and then out of a Pulpit preacheth of the contempt of the world. Others betake them to bee his companions, while some giuegive their almes. On the last day hee maketh an Oration to his fellowes, who all drinking Wine goe into their Ship, carrying a sithe to cut vp all the brambles in their way; and putting on their clothes, stufte their sleeues with stones, and hanging a great stone about their neckes to helpe them the sooner to their Paradise, hurle themselues into the Sea. And great honour is done to them being thus dead. I saw one (saith Vilela) that had seuen of these companions, which with their great alacritie, and my great amazement, did this. But they which worship Amida, obserue another rite. Being weary of liuing, they put themselues in a strait hole of the earth receiuing breath only by a Reede, and so continue fasting and praying till death. Some of them in honour of a certaine Idoll doe cast themselues downe from a high Tower, where this Idoll is placed, and after their death are reputed Saints.
Others bPet Alca…saile to their Paradise (as before) but, when they hauehave launched into the deep, make holes in the ships keele for death to enter, and the sea to swallow both it and them Iosephus Acosta cIos. … His…or. India l.5.c.2.5.tells of a strange Confession which is obserued in this order. There are (saith he) in Ocaca very high and steepe Rockes, which hauehave pikes or points on them aboue two hundred fadome high. One of which, higher and more terrible then the rest, daunteth and terrifieth the Xa…abusis (which be Pilgrims) to looke vp vntounto it: vponupon the top of the point there is a great rodde of Iron of three fadome long, placed there by a strange deuise: at the end of this rod is a ballance tied, whereof the scales are so bigge, as a man may sit in one of them. And the Goquis (which bee Diuels in humane shape) command those pilgrims to enter therein, one after another, not leauing one of them. dAll this is represented to the eye in pictures by Theodor… de Bry.America part ….Then with an Engine or Instrument, which moueth by meanes of a wheele, they make this rod of Iron to hang in the aire; one of the Xamabusis beeing set in one of the scales, which (because there is no counterpoise in the other scale) presently hangeth downe, and the empty one riseth to touch the rod aforesaid, whereupon the ballance hangeth. Then the Goquis telleth the poore Pilgrim that hee must confesse all the sins that he can remember with a lowde voice, that all may heare: Which he presently doth, some of the hearers laughing, some sighing. At eueryevery sinne mentioned, the other scale falles a little, till that hauing told all, it remaines equall with the other, wherein the sorrowfull penitent sits. Then the Goquis turnes the wheele, and drawes the rod and ballance vntounto him, and the Pilgrim comes forth, and another enters till all hauehave passed. If any concealed any sinne, the empty scale yeelded not, and if when hee was vrged to confesse, he grew obstinate, the Goquis cast him down from the top, where in an instant he is broken into a thousand peeces. A Iaponian who had seuen times made triall hereof, being conuerted to Christianitie reported this. But the terror was such (said he) that few would conceale any thing. The place hereof is called Sangenotocoro, that is, the place of confession. Thus, much Acosta, whom as I thanke for the Story, so I would a little trouble (for hee would more partiently heare and beare, then some of his hotter brethren) with a question concerning confession. And if the question come too late, yet the Societie liueth (and will longer then a better thing:) into a Colledge of whom Iapon hath brought vsus, as their names here testifie. The question is, whether eueryevery residence of the Iesuites be not a Sangenotocoro of Ocaca, that is a place of confession (so doth Sangenotocoro signifie) of which we may exclaime foreign and if you will foreign the one for the cruell terrour where with it filleth the Conscience, and the later for the fleshly filthines wherein Ocaca is not blamed, but their eOur Chaucer in the Friers prologue. Cor. Agrippa de vanit.c.64. and many of the Papists themselues confesse thus much of their confessionists Aluar. Pelag. Ouand. Iacob. de Graf.&c. See Whites way to the Church. pag. 229.Churches hauehave beene Stewes, and Confession, the Baude. But to let this passe, and consider the former. What Racke or Rocke can Ocaca yeeld like to this, which the fconcil. Trid. Sess.14.ca.5. can 6.7.Councell of Trent hath framed, that full Confession of all mortall sins (loe here the Racke) euen the very thoughts against the two last commandements, with the circumstances of the sinnes, is necessarie by diuine ordinance vntounto all which hauehave sinned after Baptisme; &(loe here the Rocke) Anathema to the gaine-sayers. Tush, your coine is not currant, although you yeeld it profitable, & comfortable, and satisfactorie to the offended Church, except you yeeld all necessary, all diuine. Diuines shal I call you, or Goquis, Diuels in the flesh, that make a hell in the spirits of men? that with your debita praemeditatione, & with your omnia & singula peccata, etiam occulta, tiam circumstantias, gEtiam circumstantiatum minutias. Bellar.circumuent poore Christians, and put them in an Ocacan ballance ouer hellmouth, there to fall, without such fauour as to be broken in peeces; Goe Cardinall, and write hBellar.to.3.….lib.de poenitentia, totus.whole volumes for the proofe hereof, yet would I rather chuse to enter the Sangenotocoro-scale; then your Confession-schoole. Easie it may be indeede to seared Iesuiticall Consciences that account Treason Religion, yea pleasant and delightfull to such Statists to hauehave Kings vponupon the knees of their bodies, to poure out before them the secrets of their soules, and (they are wiser then Salomon iProuerb. 25.3…which esteemed it vnpossible) to search out the Kings heart. But to such as hauehave busines enough to know and rule themselues, and doe indeede make Conscience of eueryevery dutie, what intollerable anguish is here prepared? when my heart, besides that it is wicked and deceitfull aboue all, who can search it? is like an vntamed heifer, who can rule it? Had I not neede alway to hauehave a Priest at mine elbow, to whom to shriue mee? kI…r.17.9.Who knoweth the errours of his life? and who knoweth when he hath made his due premeditation to examine them? This made Bellarmine vse the difficultie of Confession lBel.de poenit….3.c.12.as an argument of the diuine Institution thereof. It is so difficult (saith he) that no power of man or the Church could hauehave imposed it, and therefore it was diuine. I vvill not say, who instituted the ballance of Ocaca, and yet it was a hard thing, and neuer the like heard of; I say, that the Gospell imposeth not such hard things (this were to bring vsus backe to the Lawe) but prescribeth an mMat. 11.30.easie yoke and a light burthen: easie to such as louelove not their ease, light to such as like and delight in it. But this, euen to those that dote vponupon it, and deuote themselues to it, is not onelyonly hard, but altogether impossible: Witnesse Bellarmine himselfe, Quid enim mosestius, quid onerosius, quàm vt cogantur etiam viri principes, Reges que potentissimi, sacerdotibus qui & ipsi homines sunt, peccata sua omnia detegere, quamuis arcana, quamuis turpia, &c. Witnesse experience in such nSheldons Motiues in the Preface.as hauehave tried it more neerely then Bellarmines Controuersies would giuegive him leisure, yet liuing in continuall disquietnes, and torment of their Consciences, in the vse of their sacrament of Confession, receiuing no rest day nor night, as seruing Gods, who can not giuegive it them. These are the words of Sheldon (happily brought out of that darknesse, wherein, and whereof he was a Priest and Minister, to a clearer light) who out of his owne knowledge addeth; That it is not imaginable what inconsolable liues, some, that are frequent in the vse of Confession (as necessary to saluation) do leade: there is no stonie heart which would not pitty them, knowing their torments.
But lest any man thinke, that some Goquis hath hurled me out of the seate of my historie, to fall and split my selfe vponupon these Iesuiticall rockes, I will returne to our narration of the Iaponites. Diuers of them before their Images in desperate distresse disembowell themselues in that bloudy manner before mentioned.
To tell oL. Almeida.of their Idoll Casunga, of whom they begge riches, Tamondea, Besomondes, Homocondis and Zoiolis: to which foure, their superstitious opinion committeth so many heauens in custody, Canon and Xixi the sonnes of Xaca, Maristenes, Tirigis, and others, would be too tedious to report. Organtinus pOrgantinus.telleth that whiles on a time the feast of this last was solemnizing, a showre of stones rained with such violence, that the company to the number of twenty thousand, betooke them to their heeles. But Amida is most worne in their lippes; beggers asking and blessing in his name; chapmen in buying and selling sounding and singing it: the Bonzij promising saluation to all that inuoke it. Admirable are the Temples qL. Frois.for matter and workmanship erected to him; one neare Meaco is a hundred and forty elles in length, with a huge Image of Amida, hauing thirtie Images about it of souldiers, besides Ethiopians and Deuills, yea windes and thunders figured, and a thousand Images of Canon (on each side of the Temple fiue hundred) all in like, but monstrous shape, with thirty armes, two onelyonly holding proportion to his body, the breast adorned with seuen faces; all the Images and other furniture so glittering with golde, that it dazeleth the beholders eyes. One Temple is dedicated iust by to a Lizard, (which they make Author and Patron of learning) without Altar or Image in it. Hee that readeth of the huge works of Taicosama, holding sometime a hundred thousand workemen in labour at once, may present to his imagination the incredible buildings which those tyrants, by so many slauish hands, can raise.
They are very curious and ambitious in setting forth their funeralls; a matter of no small consequence to the couetous Bonzij, who follow the corpse, if the party were rich, sometime two hundred in a company singing the praises of that GOD which the deceased had most worshipped, beating a basen instead of a Bell, till they come to the fire, where so many rites are performed. I should doe you wrong rIn L. Frois his Epistle Englished Hack. to 2. of voiages you may reade them.to relate them, hauing beene redious in the rest. OnelyOnly after so much wickednesse of men, let vsus adde somewhat of the admirable workes of GOD in Iapon.
On the two and twenty day of Iuly in the yeare 1596. it rained ashes round about Meaco, couering the ground as if it had beene snow. Soone after it rained both there and in other places, as it had beene womens haire. And not long after followed an Earthquake that hurled downe Temples and Pallaces, which with their ruines destroied thousands: six hundred gilded images in the temple of Ianzusangue were cast down, and broken in peeces, as many remaining whole. It brought vp the Sea a great way vponupon the maine land, which is carried backe with it into the Sea, not leauing mention that there had beene land. So was the Citie Ochinofama swallowed, Famaoqui, Ecuro, Fingo, Cascicanaro, the neighbour-townes, attended her in this new voyage, and became Sea. The shippes in the hauen found no more securitie, but were also deuoured. The like happened in the yeare of our LORD 1586. to Nagafama, a place frequented with merchants, which the Sea before had enriched, then with an Earthquake deuoured, the earth in many places opening such wide mouthes, that a ealliuer-shot could scarce reach from the one side to the other, bleching out of that yawning passage such a …in…e, as none were able to pa…e …y. … onelyonly shook with seare, but bellowed out such roaring cries vnderunder that blow of their Creators hands, as did make the accident more dreadfull. Yet was all … forgotten, and Taicosama fell to building of new Pallaces.
He that listeth further to be acquainted with Iaponian affaires, may resort to the Epistles of the Iesuites, which, besides these I hauehave named, are many: and of that societie are not many lesle then two hundred in this Iland fGab.Matasus.1603.Eman.A…os…a., which also is now become an Episcopall Sea. The first of them was Xauier, one of Ignatius first companions, and like to hauehave beene canonized before him too. But the first finding of this Iland is by Galvanus ascribed to Anthony Mota and his fellowes 1542. But before these M. Polo writeth of this Iland, which hee calleth Zepangu tM.Pol.li.3.whither Cubla… the great Tartarian Can in the yeare 1264. sent two Captaines to conquer the Iland. The winds (as angry with the Tartarians, and taking part with the Ilanders) raised so stormie a Sea, that (when there were now thirtie thousand of their company landed in a little Iland) they were forced to put off to Sea, and scattered with tempests. The Ilanders set forth a nauy to take those Tartarians, which so confusedly ordered that enterprise, that the Tartarians found meanes to make themselues maisters of their enemies nauie, and therewith to saile away. Marcus Paulus reporteth like things of their idolatrous Religion, as you hauehave heard: of Idoles with heads of Oxen, Hogs, and Dogs, and other deformed shapes: and some with many hands, as a testimony of their great power. The enemies which they tooke in warre, not able to redeeme themselues, he saith they did eate in solemne Feasts: He addeth, that in the Iaponian language Mangi was called Cin: as now it is Cina or China.
I hauehave presumed to adde a peece of a Letter of Quabacondonus to the Viceroy of India, which after other things hath these words. Iapon is the kingdome of Chamis, whom we esteeme to be the same with Scin, which is the beginning of all things. This Scin is the substance and very being of all things: and all things are one and the same with Scin, and into Scin are resolued, which in Scina is called Iutto; and in Tescincu, Buppo. In the obseruation of the Lawes of this Chamis, consisteth all the politique gouernement of Iapon, both inward and outward, &c.
The king uHen.Cuyckiusof Bungo, Arima, and Omur sent their Ambassadours to the Pope (then Gregorie the thirteenth) with Letters of their deuotion to his Holinesse, and had audience in the Consistorie the three and twentieth day of March Anne 1585. This was the Iesuites policie (saith xLinsc.li.i.c.26Linschoten) to make the Iaponites to know the magnificence of Europe, & by that meanes principally to enrich themselues with gifts and priuiledges. But for a farewell to these Iaponian Iesuites, I like their being there so well, that I could wish all of that society in Europe were preaching in that Iland.
Touching the kingdome of Iapan, we can not set downe the number and order of their Kings in auncient times. It seemeth, that these last eight hundred yeres they hauehave beene much disquieted with ciuile warres; eueryevery one getting as many shires or kingdomes, which in Iapan are three score and six, as he could. Nabunanga was a great Prince; and Quabacondonus a greater: both great tyrants. This last caused his Nephew to be made Quabacondono, contenting himselfe with the title of Taicosama; but soone after, iealous of his greatnesse, hee forced him (after the Iaponian maner) with his companions, to kill himselfe. He hauing no children but one infant, when he was sicke and neare to death, sent for Gieiaso the chiefe of the Iaponian Nobles, Lord of eight kingdomes, and made him administrator of the kingdome till his sonne should be of age; and further to binde him hereunto, he made a marriage betwixt Gieiasoes ne…ce, two years old, and this infant of his about the same age, causing the same presently to be consummated. He took an othe of him, & the other nobles for their fealty to his sonne. But after his death there arose yArth.Dantis.bist. Ind.Orient.cap.28.great contentions, which Gieiaso (now calling himselfe Darsusama) appeased, and after some battells against his aduersaries, inuested … the Empire, Anno 1601. This hee did then in yong Taicosamas name… … hath seized the Empire fully to himselfe. And calling himselfe Cub… … (as the later Epistles testifie) hath entituled his own sonne to the Iapon …. And for that cause fortifieth himselfe in Qua…to, one of his auncient … and in Gieudo a towne thereof, at the charge of his subiects, of which zEpist.Iapon.1606. & 1607he hath had at once there working continually, from Februarie to September, three hundred thousand: hee hath raised strong fortifications, and ruleth with great policie, none daring to molest him.