Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction; Preface to the reader; Book I: A general description of Asia and the islands of this oriental sea; Description, position, and various names ot the islands of Japan in general; The antiquity of Japan, and the nation to which the Japanese may belong; Whether Europeans knew abouth these islands in ancient times, and when they were first discovered by the Portuguese; A specific description of some of the principal islands of Japan, and their division into regions; The division of Japan into provinces, kingdoms, or states, and some of the more notable mountains, rivers, and lakes therein; The quality and climate of Japan, and the fruits that the land produces; The measurement of roads, and the method of measuring lands in respect to rent, and the varoius kinds of measurements of the kingdom; Japanese linear measurements; The features, talents, and dispositions of the Japanese; There is no contradiction, although there may appear to be, in the many things written abouth the customs, government, nobility, and wealth of Japan, and the reasons thereof; The method of Japanese building; The City of Miyako in particular; The ancient Royal Palace called Taidairi; The customs and manners of the Japanese in general; The dress and garments of the Japanese; The Japanese manner of paying visits, and the regular times and occasions for this; The ceremonies and entertainment provided for guests who visit the Master of the House at New Year; The other festivals held during the year when they also pay visits; Other occasions on which they are accustomed to visiting certain persons; The gifts that are given, and the manner in which they are offered and received; The courtesies, bows, and obeisances in use among the Chinese, from which the Japanese have taken most of their etiquette; The courtesies and ceremonies of the Japanese in general; The courtesies paid by the Japanese when they meet on the road; The manner of receiving a guest in the house, and the hospitality and banquet given him until he departs; The manner of entertaining the guest with wine and sakana, which is the first and principal courtesy paid to a guest on these visits; The manner of giving and taking sakana for noble, common, and lowly people; The warm and cold wine served on these visits, and how the Japanese make it; The banquets held by the Japanese, and how they entertain their guests at them; The banquets of the Japanese, and firstly the different kinds of banquets; Their manner of inviting guests to banquets; Their manner of entertaining with the drink of cha, and a description of cha and of this ceremony so highly esteemed by the Japanese; The general way in which the Japanese entertain with cha; How guests are especially entertained with cha in the suki house; The aim to which they aspire in suki, and the benefits resulting therefrom; Book 2: The liberal and mechanical arts of Japan in general and their division; Some mechanical arts of Japan, and firstly their pictures; Their other mechanical arts; The liberal arts of Japan, and firstly the art of letters; Another sort of letters, like the European alphabet of separate letters, which the Japanese use for certain purposes; The paper, ink, and other instruments used in writing; Their manner of printing; The mathematical arts of Japan and also of China, whence the Japanese received them; Chinese and Japanese astrology in particular; Heaven in particular, and the degrees into which they divide it; The degrees and signs into which they divide the sky, and the equinox; The eclipses of the sun and the moon; The stars and their constellations, the number of stars, and the order in which they distribute them on their celestial sphere; Earth and water, their shape, and the degrees of elevation in which they are said to be; The Japanese and Chinese divisions of time; The practical judicial astronomy of these nations, and the various superstitions contained therein; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author

Michael Cooper