The First European Description of Japan, 1585 by Richard Danford Luis Frois SJ Daniel T. Reff Page A

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    British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
    A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
    Fróis, Luís, -1597.
    [Tratado em que se contêm muito susinta- e abreviadamente algumas contradições e diferenças de custumes entre a gente de Europa e esta provincía de Japão. English]
    The first European description of Japan, 1585: a critical English-language edition of striking contrasts in the customs of Europe and Japan by Luis Frois, S.J. / translated from the Portuguese original and edited and annotated by Richard K. Danford, Robin D. Gill, and Daniel T. Reff; with a critical introduction by Daniel T. Reff.
    pages cm. —(Japan anthropology workshop series; 25)
    Includes bibliographical references and index.
    1. Japan—Civilization—1568–1600—Early works to 1800. 2. Japan—Social life and customs—1185–1600—Early works to 1800. 3. Japan—Description and travel—Early works to 1800. 4. Europe—Civilization—16th century—Early works to 1800. 5. Europe—Social life and customs—16th century—Early works to 1800. I. Danford, Richard K., 1964-, editor, translator. II. Gill, Robin, 1951-, editor, translator. III. Reff, Daniel T., 1949-, editor, translator. IV. Title.
    DS822.2.F6613 2014
    952’.024—dc23
    2013034113
    ISBN: 978-0-415-72757-0 (hbk)
    ISBN: 978-1-315-85214-0 (ebk)
    Typeset in Times New Roman PS
    by diacriTech, Chennai

Preface
    Joy Hendry
    I am delighted to introduce this new book to our series. It is quite unlike anything we have done before, and has many exciting features. It does start out as a translation, and we had one before, but this one is from Portuguese to English, rather than from Japanese to English. As it happens, we are quite late in the game for it has already been a popular book in its Japanese language translation, and has appeared in German, Chinese, French, Spanish, and modern Portuguese as well. It is, as the title would suggest, an early account of Japan, penned in a comparative fashion by a Jesuit missionary from Portugal, but this book is not just a translation of the original text; it comes with a great deal of value added by its three highly qualified editors, and makes a special contribution to the Japan Anthropology Workshop series for several reasons.
    First, the original text represents a kind of early forerunner to the anthropological studies that we usually publish in the series. Written in couplets comparing Japan and Europe, the style may be very different, but the observations are based on first-hand experience gathered during a long stay, in this case of more than twenty years, and with a deep knowledge of the language, and the ways of thinking and behaviour of the people. It thus builds on a root understanding common with the anthropology of today. It also has an amazingly anachronistic ability to consider the Japanese as equally “civilized”, if not more so, than Europeans, and thus achieves an even approach still being sought by some anthropologists.
    Secondly, the couplets themselves are presented with an immediate historical context, explaining both the reasons why certain aspects of the comparisons were chosen from a sixteenth-century European perspective, as well as how Japanese customs have changed since that time. Our editors comprise a team of scholars with different skills: Danford to translate from Portuguese into English; Gill, who like Frois, lived in Japan for some twenty-odd years, adding a contemporary commentary based on a similarly deep experience, though separated by more