24 INTRODUCTION. 



strangers were so well pleased with each other that, hy an arrangement with the viceroy or 

 prince of Bungo, (the rulers of the principalities were then probably more independent of the 

 Emperor than they are now,) a Portuguese ship was to be sent annually to the island of Kiu-siu 

 laden with woollen cloths, furs, manufactured silks, taffetas, and other commodities needed by 

 the Japanese. This ship was to be dispatched probably from Macao, or, it may be, from Goa. 

 The returns were to be made in gold, silver, and copper, of the last of which there is undoubted 

 abundance in Japan, and probably no small quantity of the first. 



But with this introduction of commercial relations^ the Portuguese soon introduced also priests 

 of the religion they professed. In 1549, seven years only after the discovery, Hansiro, a young 

 Japanese of some rank, had found it necessary to fly from his country, on account of a homicide, 

 and had gone to the Portuguese settlement of Goa, on the Malabar coast. Here he encountered 

 ecclesiastics of the church of Kome, by whom he was converted to the Christian faith and baptized. 

 He was enterprising and shrewd, and soon convinced the Portuguese merchants of Goa that 

 they might establish a profitable trade with Japan, and assured the Jesuits that they also might 

 find a rich harvest of souls in the Empire. 



The Portuguese hastened to act on both his suggestions ; a ship was loaded with goods and 

 presents and sent to establish a permanent trade with Japan ; while, for the accomplishment of the 

 second object, some of the Jesuit priests were ready enough to embark. Among them was that 

 remarkable man, Francis Xavier, who possessed in an eminent degree many of the most 

 important qualifications of the Christian missionary. To talents of a very high order he added a 

 zeal and enthusiasm rarely equalled, and a courage never surpassed. The thought of the perils 

 attending the mission, so far from disheartening him, served only to strengthen his resolve to 

 undertake It. On board the ship returned the young Japanese convert who had suggested the 

 undertaking. •On arriving at the province of Bimgo all were received with open arms, and not 

 the slightest opposition was made to the Introduction of either trade or religion. No system of 

 exclusion then existed, and such was the spirit of toleration that the government made no 

 objection to the preaching of Christianity. Indeed the Portuguese were freely permitted to go 

 where they pleased In the Emijlre, and to travel, by land or sea, from one end of it to the other. 

 The people bought the goods of the merchants and listened to the teachings of the missionaries. 

 The labors of the last were very successful, for it Is but justice to Xavier and the first missionaries 

 to say that they were most exemplary men — humble, virtuous, disinterested^ and very benevolent. 

 Possessed of some medical skill, they used it kindly and gratuitously among the sick, and 

 were deservedly viewed by the people as friendly and superior men, whose lives were devoted to 

 doing good. They meddled with no public affairs ; unmolested by the government, they troubled 

 not themselves about Its administration ; and imitating the example of the devoted Xavier, they 

 modestly and unceasingly pursued the appropriate duties of their holy calling only. In fact, 

 they loved the Japanese. With one voice the early missionaries speak In terms of strong 

 affection when they describe the docile and good disposition of the Japanese. Xavier says : "I 

 know not when to cease in speaking of the Japanese. They are truly the delight of my heart." 



This eminent man went from Japan to China In 1551, and in 1552 died at Shan Shan, on the 

 Canton river, not far from Macao. He left behind him, however, among his beloved Islanders, 

 some very able and excellent men, and churches were built and converts made by thousands. 



Nor were the commercial relations of the new comers less prosperous. They could readily 

 obtain the commodities they wished for the Japanese market from their establishments at Macao 



