Chau Ju-Kua - University of Oregon Libraries

170 JAPAN. 1,45
45.
JAPAN.
Wo m.
The country of Wo is to the north-east of Ts'uan-(ch6u). It is at pre-
sent called Ji-pon (Q 2|S), which name has arisen from the fact that this 5
country is situated near the place 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 is
bounded by big hills; beyond the hills is the country of the Hairy men (^ ^) *. lo
The country is divided into five Ki (^), seven Tau (^j,
three islands
{^), 3772 communes (|||5), and 414 postmg-stations (,^), and its population
amounts to fully 883,000 male adults ("J')^
Since the country is full of hills and forests and without good arable
lands, the inhabitants have a liking for the various kinds of sea food *, i5
Many of them tattoo their bodies, and they call themselves descendants
of T'ai Po (^ 'f^)^-
It is also said^ that from remote antiquity they have
sent envoys to China who styled themselves Ta-fu (-f^ ^), and, just as in
olden times when the descendants of Shau-k'ang of the Hia dynasty were
invested with the rule of Kui-ki ("^ ^) they cut their hair and tattooed 20
their bodies in order to ward off the harmful attacks of dragon-monsters, so
the present people of Wo tattoo their bodies, in order to drive away the
beasts of the sea when they dive under water for fishing purposes.
From a calculation of the way thither, (Wo) lies due east from Kui-ki.
The climate resembles that of China ''.
The king's surname (^) is Wang (^), and this has been so without
change for the last seventy generations at least. Civil and military offices are
hereditary *.
Men's dresses consist of strips of cloth worn crosswise, tied, not sewn,
together. Women's dresses are like bed sheets, with an opening to run the 30
head through, a whole suit consisting as a rule of two or three pieces of
cloth. Both sexes wear their hair unbraided and go barefooted'.
They have the Chinese standard works, such as the Five Classics and
the Collection of poetry by Pal Lo-t'ien (^ i^ ^ ^ ^),
are obtained from China ^°.
all of which
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