Oh, the West is the West
East is East
and they will not leave their places.
Until Heaven and Earth appear
to the Last Judgment of the Lord.
But there is no East, and there is no West, what -
tribe, homeland, clan, If strong with strong face to face
Does it rise at the end of the earth?
Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936). Translated by E. Polonskaya.
Until now, TOPWAR has been talking about samurai who were born and raised on Japanese soil. However, history was pleased to make it so that one of the samurai was … an Englishman named William Adams! Moreover, he gained confidence in the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, and for many years was his closest adviser, and not only directly influenced the foreign policy of the Japanese state, but also became a valuable source of information for the Japanese. It was thanks to him that they learned much needed scientific and practical knowledge in the field of geography, mathematics, navigation and shipbuilding. In this sense, he did more for them than any of his Portuguese or Spanish predecessors who came to Japan long before him!
Of course, Will Adams did not look like that, but Richard Chamberlain perfectly played him as Blackthorne's navigator in the TV series Shogun, which was based on the novel of the same name by American writer James Clivell.
Amazingly, the Japanese still keep the memory of William Adams. Not far from Tokyo there is a small hill called Andjintsuka - "Navigator's Hill". It got its name in honor of Will Adams. Among the Japanese, he was known as Miura Andzin - "Navigator from Miura". In this place there was a manor, presented as a gift to Tokugawa Ieyasu. In the small cozy town of Ito, located on the Izu Peninsula, on the shores of Sagami Bay, there is a monument to Adams. It was here, in this place, in 1605-1610, that Adams was the first in Japan to start building keel boats. In memory of this, the inhabitants erected this monument. And in Tokyo, one of the city blocks, where among the great number of houses stood the house of Adams, was named Andzin-te - "Navigator's Quarter".
At one time, a compatriot of Adams wrote about the compatibility of East and West: "West is West, East is East, and they will not leave their places …". Adams tried to unite these two polarized civilizations in their culture.
Events developed at the junction of the distant XVI-XVII centuries. At that time, Japan began to actively enter the foreign market, sixteen states were already on the list of the country's trading partners. Note that trade was only one of the sides of the huge multifaceted relationship between Japan and other countries. The Land of the Rising Sun was extremely active in expanding its sphere of interests to neighboring countries. Moreover, this was not always done in a peaceful way, since respectable neighbors should act. The external expansion of Japan, at times aggressive, was very diverse - from the aggressive campaigns of Hideyoshi to Korea to the attempts to seize neighboring lands by Japanese pirates. The purpose of the seizures was to create permanent settlements. Countries far removed from Japan were also subjected to seizures. Lands were settled in the Philippines and Siam, as well as on the eastern coast of the Indochina Peninsula. The islands of Indonesia and the coast of Malaya were also not ignored by the ubiquitous Japanese. The countries of Indochina were under the complete control of the Japanese, since the management of foreign relations was in their hands.
As you can see, the Japanese overactiveness was explained by their territorial interests. And the reasons were the most common, similar to the goals of overseas merchants and seafarers who climbed farther and farther from their native shores: the rapid growth of trade ties, the establishment of more and more economic relations.
At that time, the first acquaintance of the Japanese with the Europeans took place. The result of such meetings was the receipt of permission to import firearms into Japan. Six years later, the Portuguese Jesuit Francisco Xavier arrived in Japan with a missionary task: Christianity as a religious direction was to find its followers in this country too. The emperor was alarmed by the active spread of Christianity: Japan was threatened by the influence of foreign states, and, consequently, the loss of its sovereignty. Meanwhile, the situation became more and more tense. The consequence of this was a decree signed by the emperor in 1597, categorically prohibiting the practice of Christianity. The punishment for disobedience was severe: the death penalty. All preachers of the new faith were immediately expelled from the state, and a wave of executions swept across the country. Dozens of people lost their lives and churches were destroyed. Hideyoshi dies at this time. A logical continuation of these mournful events for the country is the turmoil that ended in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. At the same time, William Adams arrives in Japan on the ship "Lifde", the only survivor of the whole squadron.
Nobody knows when William Adams was born. One thing is certain: little William was christened on September 24, 1564, which was recorded in the parish register of the city of Gillingham. When the boy was twelve years old, he left his father's house and went to Limehouse - a port city on the banks of the Thames. There he was accepted as an apprentice to the master of shipbuilding Nicholas Diggins. The craft training took a long time. But then the study came to an end. The coming year 1588 becomes a landmark for William: he was taken as a skipper on the ship "Richard Duffield". Small in displacement (120 tons), it was serviced by a team of 25 people. This was the first independent voyage of a twenty-four-year-old promising young man. Excellent recommendations from a mentor, hard work, dedication - all this taken together and became a happy ticket to the adult life of a very promising skipper. "Richard Duffield" at that time was involved in the delivery of ammunition and food to British ships that fought with the Spanish "Great Armada", so he was fortunate enough to take part in this important historical event.
A year later, William was married to a girl named Mary Heen. The sacrament of the marriage took place at St. Dunston's Church in Stepney. Quiet family happiness was short-lived. The sea was and remains for William the greatest love, the most important thing in his life. 1598 was for Adams a year of participation in a risky business, the goal of which is to reach the shores of the Far East through the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is not known how the negotiations on the subject of the campaign were going on, and who was the first to offer his services - William himself or the Dutch merchants. As a result, Adams again became a navigator on one of the ships equipped for this expedition. If Adams knew what bizarre turns in life fate had in store for him … The decision, made finally and irrevocably, became the starting point for a new life, perhaps more interesting, but, alas, without a homeland. William will never see England again. The impending departure was difficult not only for William, but also for his young wife, who recently gave birth to a lovely daughter named Deliverance. And although for sailors setting off on a long and very dangerous journey, parting with loved ones was always a matter of course, Adams left his wife and daughter with a heavy heart.
Setting off on a long journey to the shores of the Far East, the sailors were ready for any, the most difficult situations. The situation was extremely difficult, because the members of the expedition were Protestants, and their path lay through the ports of the South Seas, where Spanish Catholics predominated. The difference in religion was the main obstacle in the relationship between potential companions.
God only knows what the sailors were destined to endure on this voyage. A single, miraculously survived ship called "Lifde" reached the shores of Japan. How difficult it was, and what the sailors of the "Lifde" went through, is evidenced by the following fact. When in April 1600, after a long and incredibly dangerous voyage, the Lifde approached Japan, only seven people, including Adams, were able to go ashore on their own. The rest could hardly walk on the deck of the ship, and some could not do this either. The team's misfortunes did not end there. A few days later, three crew members died, and later three more. Curses and insults rained down on Adams's head, it was especially hard for him in the last, most terrible weeks of the campaign, since he was the only one who wanted to bring the expedition to the end.
Ships of the Adams squadron.
Having disembarked, the sailors went to the nearest temple and placed there his bow figure, taken from the ship. Many years later, sailors came to the temple to this statue, begging her for patronage and protection in their difficult business. Later, the statue was moved from this temple to the Imperial Museum in Tokyo "for permanent residence."
But William Adams could not even imagine that he would be in the very center of events unfolding off the coast of Japan. Civil war was raging in the country at that time. It was when the Lifde was entering the waters of Japan that one of the great Japanese daimyo, Tokugawa Ieyasu, arrived with a courtesy visit to the young Hideyori at Osaka Castle. But the daimyo's plans were to quickly get rid of the heir to the great Hideyoshi, Ieyasu did not need competitors. William Adams was introduced to them. Ieyasu was interested in the cargo on the ship. And there was something to profit from there: wick muskets, cannonballs, chain balls, five thousand pounds of gunpowder, as well as three hundred and fifty incendiary shells.
The contents of the holds inspired Ieyasu. Still would! So much ammunition that came in handy! In 1542, the Portuguese brought firearms to Japan by sea, and they also taught the Japanese to use them. Ieyasu seized weapons and ammunition, then quarreled with all members of the regency council and "with peace of mind" declared war. During the great battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu used cannons from Will Adams' ship (although historians deny this fact). The outcome of the battle was decided on October 21, 1600.
Then Ieyasu won this battle and became the autocratic ruler of Japan. After three years, the Japanese emperor publicly recognized the authority of Ieyasu and honored him with the title of shogun. Having thus secured the future for his son, Ieyasu set about strengthening the power of Japan. Being a shrewd and extremely intelligent person, he understood that developed trade would not only strengthen the country economically, but would also increase the personal wealth, and hence the power of the clan. Therefore, the establishment of trade and business relations between the countries was a priority for Ieyasu. For this, he closed his eyes to the presence in the country of missionaries from Spain and Portugal, and even put up with the Jesuits, with whose help, by the way, the Europeans learned about Japan and the Japanese.
Francisco Xavier wrote about the Japanese as an amazing nation with qualities that every nation should have in an amicable way. And although he called the Japanese pagans, there was no nation equal to them, perhaps in any country. Xavier noted honesty and gentleness in the Japanese. He called them people of honor, for whom she is above all, that is why they do not gamble, considering it dishonorable. Most of them are in poverty, they are not ashamed of it, and commoners and nobles are treated with the same respect, which is not the case for Christians.
Of course, the Catholics from Portugal did not want to see competitors next to them either among the Dutch or among the British. The Jesuits, according to Adams' testimony, did everything to present the crew of the "Lifde" as pirate, and, therefore, very unreliable, moreover, dangerous. Allegedly, this team arrived in Japan not to trade, but to rob and kill. Having learned about the substantial arsenal in the Lifde's holds, the Jesuits with triple force began to slander the ship's crew, arguing that a ship that arrives at the port for peaceful purposes would not carry so many weapons on board. And therefore, these are not harmless merchants, but (oh, horror!) Real pirates.
Tokugawa Ieyasu was a man with his own judgment. Not yielding to persuasion to destroy the foreigners, he decides first to find out what these alien people are, so unlike the Portuguese, and what danger to expect from them. To this end, he gives the order to deliver the captain of the ship to him. The Dutchman Jacob Quakernack, captain of the Lifde, was still too weak after a long and extremely difficult voyage. Therefore, he was not suitable for an audience with Ieyasu. Adams, on the other hand, was one of the few team members who felt pretty well for the rest of the journey, and he was then sent ashore to the shogun. And the most important criterion that decided the fate of Adams was his excellent knowledge of the Portuguese language, the chosen language for communication between Japanese and Europeans.
Obeying the will of the team, Adams went ashore. And "Lifde" along with the remaining members of the ship's crew during the absence of the captain was sent to the port of Osaka. That was the order of Ieyasu. At the beginning of his speech, Adams introduced himself and explained that he was English. Then he spoke a little about his homeland - England, where this country is located, about the desire of the British to establish trade relations with the Far East. At the same time, he stressed that such trade relations would be extremely useful and beneficial for both parties.
After listening to Adams' passionate speech with great attention, Ieyasu understood the essence of the conversation, but deep down he still doubted the veracity of the words. Ieyasu had a vague sense that trade was not the main goal of arriving in Japan. It is possible that the Japanese suspicions are not unfounded. After all, the very fact of the presence of weapons on board the ship called into question the most convincing arguments of Adams. Therefore, Ieyasu asked Adams a question about England's participation in the wars. The Briton replied immediately:
- Yes, England is at war, but not with all countries, but only with the Spaniards and the Portuguese. The British live in peace with the rest of the peoples.
Ieyasu was satisfied with this answer, and the conversation smoothly turned into another plane. The topics of the questions were very diverse, sometimes very different in topics from one another: this concerned both religion and the route of the ship's journey from England to Japan. Bringing maps and sailing directions with him in advance, Adams showed the ship's route from the shores of Holland through the Atlantic Ocean, the Strait of Magellan and the Pacific Ocean to Japan. The shogun, who knew little about geography, found this story extremely interesting and informative. In this vein, the conversation continued until midnight.
There was one more question that tormented Ieyasu so much, and to which I wanted to get a truthful and comprehensive answer: the availability of goods on the ship and its purpose. The prudent Adams honestly read the entire list of merchandise. And already at the end of a long conversation, Adams dared to ask the highest permission to trade with the Japanese, as the Spanish and Portuguese did. The Shogun's answer was suspiciously quick and incomprehensible. And then Adams, without explaining anything, was taken away from Ieyasu and put in a prison cell, where he remained, awaiting the decision of his fate and the fate of his comrades.
The favorable impression made on Ieyasu played a positive role. The picture was spoiled only by the fact that there was an arsenal on board. Two days later, Adams was again called in for an interview. The conversation was long and detailed. The topic was the same: military actions in which Britain took part, as well as the reasons for Britain's enmity with Portugal and Spain. Having received exhaustive answers to his questions, the shogun ended the conversation and ordered the prisoner to be taken to the cell.
Monument to Will Adams in the Japanese city of Ito.
Although the conditions of Adams' confinement in the cell became milder, being in the dark was unbearable. A month and a half passed in the complete absence of information. Adams did not know what was happening outside: what the Jesuits were up to, and which side Ieyasu would take. Every day passed in anticipation of the death sentence. But the greater fear was the torture that death row prisoners are subjected to in Japan.
Fortunately for Adams, his six weeks in the cell ended and he was called back for questioning. During the last conversation, Adams managed to dispel the shogun's last doubts, after which William was released in peace to the ship.
Seeing Adams alive and well, there was no limit to the jubilation of the team. Many cried because they no longer hoped to see William alive. Adams was shocked by this display of affection. According to the stories of friends, they learned that Adams was allegedly killed on the orders of Ieyasu, and no one hoped to see him alive.
After a stormy meeting with the team and a retelling of all the news, Adams learns that the personal belongings left on the ship have disappeared in an incomprehensible way. Among the missing items, in addition to clothing, were especially valuable: naval instruments and books. Of the maps, only those that William took with him to Ieyasu, and the clothes that were on him, have survived. All team members lost their belongings. The crew of "Lifde" was forced to file a complaint with Ieyasu, and he ordered the immediate return of the stolen sailors to the sailors. Alas, fearing the inevitable punishment, the lovers of easy money hid the loot even further, and the victims of the looting received only a small part of the missing. Compensation in monetary terms amounted to 50 thousand Spanish doubloons for all. However, almost all of them went to cover debt for food and housing. While Adams was in prison, the team survived as best they could. The compassionate Japanese gave food and shelter on credit.
The house in Hirado where Will Adams died.
Soon, the Japanese officially announced that none of the team members had the right to leave their country. The Dutch began to riot, and three or four of the most determined put forward demands that all remaining money be divided equally among the team members. And although Adams and Captain Jacob Quakernack resisted this demand, they still had to make a concession, since they were in the minority. No sooner said than done. The remaining doubloons were divided between the sailors, after which they, saying goodbye to each other, dispersed across the country. It is noteworthy that since then nothing is known about any of them, except for Adams, Quakernack and another sailor.
(To be continued)
