KOKEA. 251 



tianity was found at present in Japan was not of their 

 planting, but from the teaching of their great prede- 

 cessor, who spent nearly two years in the country — I 

 suppose about the years 1550-51. I could see no differ- 

 ence in the habits of these people from their fellow- 

 countrymen who were followers of Buddha or Shinto, 

 but my own Japanese seemed to think they did differ 

 very considerably. I never, however, got him to explain 

 why, except that " they only had one wife." This, in 

 his opinion, evidently constituted a very remarkable 

 trait in their character. The Japanese who work in the 

 coal-mine at Takashima, just off Nagasaki, are also 

 Christians. At Ojika there appeared a mixture of the 

 two races — Korean and Japanese ; the natives being 

 taller and coarse, and unpleasing in featiires and 

 expression, which at once reminded me of Korea. 

 Their cattle, also, were generally red, whereas the 

 Japanese animal is almost always black. 



The following tradition of them was related to me 

 by one of the chief inhabitants : — Many years ago these 

 islands were as much Korean as Japanese, both nations 

 meeting and mixing. Five hundred years since, an 

 island existed far out at sea, but during a terrible earth- 

 quake it had sunk below the surface of the water, and 

 now there was a shoal at this spot, where the fishermen 



