^248 JAPAN. 



iirc the moft celebrated, as having been the feat oT European 

 facftories, and dillin^quiflied in hiftory. 

 Visited p-y xhe Japanefe illands were certainly vifited, in the thirteenth 



Marco Polo. u j j 



century, by the famous Marco Polo. He defcribes the riches of 

 the country in high terms, and fays that the emperor's palace 

 v/as covered with plates of gold, and that the feas abounded with 

 fine pearls of a red caft. He adds, that the inhabitants were 

 idolaters, and worfliipped monftrous images with the heads of 

 beafts, and with many hands; and that if they took any foreigner 

 who was able to ranfom himfelf, they let him go ; otherwife 

 they killed him, and with their friends made a feafk on his- 

 body. 



Marco P-olo * gives a long account of the imprudent invafion 

 of this ifland by the great Tartarian emperor Kiiblai Khan (the 

 S'lu Xfu of the Chinefe\) about the year 1281, whofent there his 

 general, ^r^^ J", with a moft numerous army and vaft fleet. The 

 greater part of iiis fliips periihed in a tempeft, and all the men 

 who efcaped to fliore were maflacred by the Japanefe^ fo that 

 very few returned to give any account of the misfortune. The 

 Clfmefe never more attempted the empire of Japan. 

 DiscnvEREn That country cannot properly he faid to have been difcovered 



TUGUESE. by the Europeans tdl the year 1547., by three Portuguefe, named 



de Mota^Zebnoto-,':^x\^\ Peixo'o', thefe, as I have before mentioned, 

 in common with the reft of their countrymen, inftigated by 

 avarice, had failed from Malacca m fearch of an imaginary fpot, 

 called the ij7and of pyld. Driven by a hurricane, they were 

 \yrecked on the fliores of Japan : The lord of the diftricl re- 



• Travels, p. 125, 126. t Du Halde, i. 214. 



ceived 



