Japan (Wo)

The country of Wo is northeast of Canton. It is currently called Ji-pon, meaning a country near where the sun rises.

Some people say that they changed the old name because they disliked it.

The country extends for several thousand li in all directions. In the south and west you come to the sea, in the north and east the country bounded by big hills. Beyond the hills is the country of the Hairy men.

The country is divided into 5 ki and 7 tau, 3 islands, 3772 communes, and 414 posting-stations. Its population is 883,000 male adults.

It is full of hills and forests without good arable lands, and therefore the Japanese like seafood.

Many tattoo their bodies and call themselves Tai Po. Since ancient times, they have sent envoys, called “Tafu” to China.

In the olden times in China, the descendants of Shau-kang of the Hia dynasty cut their hair and tattooed their bodies to ward off the harmful attacks of dragon-monsters.

• Similarly, the Japanese tattoo their bodies to drive away the beasts of the sea when they dive underwater to fish.

Japan is east of Kiu-ki. Their climate resembles that of China.

The king’s surname is Wang. This has continued for at least 70 generations. Civil and military officers are hereditary.

Men dress in strips of cloth worn crosswise, tied, not sewn, together.

Women’s dresses are like bed sheets, with an opening to run the head through. A whole consists of 2-3 pieces of cloth.

Both sexes wear their hair unbraided and go barefoot.

They have the Chinese standard works, such as the Five Classics and the Collection of poetry by Pai-Lotien, all of which are obtained from China.

Japan has all kinds of cereals, but little wheat.

They use copper cash with the inscription Kien-yuan-ta-pau.

They have:

• water-buffalo
• donkeys
• sheep

But they have no:

• rhinoceros
• elephants.

They have gold and silver, fine silks and fancy cotton cloth.

They produce cryptomeria and lo trees, reaching over 14-15 chang, 4 feet in diameter.

The natives split them into planks which they transport in large junks to our port of Canton for sale.

The Cantonese rarely go to Japan.

They use Chinese and Korean musical notes.

They have swords, shields, bows, and arrows which have iron points. But they cannot shoot far with their bows, because the Japanese are not used to fighting.

Their houses have separate bedrooms used by father, mother, and by the different brothers.

When taking their meals, they use dish-stands and dishes.

When contracting marriage, they do not make presents of money.

For the dead, they have coffins but no coffin-cases. Their tombs consist of simple earthen tumuli.

At the beginning of their time of mourning, they lament, wail, and eat no meat.

But when the burial is over, the whole family takes a bath to wash away the bad luck from their bodies.

Whenever important affairs are entered upon, they scorch bones in order to foretell whether they will be lucky or not.

They do not know the division of the year with its 4 seasons. Instead, they reckon the year from harvest to harvest.

The people live long, frequently to about 80-90 years.

Women are neither licentious nor jealous.

There is no litigation. But when someone is found guilty of a crime, serious cases are punished by the extirpation of the culprit’s family. Light offenses are punished by the enslaving of his wife and children.

Gold and silver are used in paying taxes to the government. These metals are found in Yue-chou in Eastern Japan in another island.

Japan has had relations with China since the later Han dynasty (25-221).

In 984, a Japanese bonze named Tiaujan went to China with 5 or 6 of his disciples and offered presents of more than 10 pieces of copper (bronze) ware of most delicate workmanship.

The Emperor Tai-tsung ordered that he should:

• have an audience and
• be lodged at the Tai-p’ing-hing-kuo temple.

He bestowed on him a purple priest’s robe and treated him with great kindness.

Tiaujan said that Japan:

• had an an uninterrupted line of rulers, all of the same family name
• had hereditary high offices

The Emperor sighed and said to his ministers, Sung Ki and Li Fang:

Thus, the barbarians of a single island caused the Emperor Taitsung to sigh. The Tai-Po used the the spirit of survival embodied in the doctrines of China to change barbarians. Were these doctrines inherited by the Japanese?