PREFACE
In the preparation of the following Work the Author has to acknowledge the assistance which he has received from a Japanese gentleman in Yokohama, whose name, for obvious reasons, it is prudent not to mention.
With his knowledge of the history and institutions of his country, the Author was able to fill up the blanks in short notices of history contained in elementary Japanese books. He was further enabled to go over the red-books of the empire, which enter into the details of the pedigrees of illustrious families, and into the minutiæ of Government offices.
The supposed unalterable character of these institutions induces those who have any pretensions to learning in China and Japan to master and retain by memory the names and duties of the different offices in the various departments of Government; and they are frequently found to be good authorities upon questions upon which there is no published information.
In the history of the intercourse of the Jesuits with Japan, the letters of the fathers have been almost the only authorities relied upon; while in the more recent events contemporary publications have been used.
In taking notes from the conversation of a Japanese who could speak but little English, in too many cases they were written down in what is known in China as “pigeon English”; and the Author has to acknowledge and regret that in many cases the cramped nature of the notes has not been entirely removed, and for such instances he craves the indulgence of the reader.