The temple and tomb of Taikō-Sama, raised since his death to the rank of the gods, is thus described by Rodrigo, who deplores the dedication of such an edifice to one whose “soul is in hell for all eternity.” The entrance was by an avenue paved with jasper four hundred feet by three hundred. On each side, at equal distances, were posts of jasper, on which were placed lamps lighted at night. At the end of this passage was the peristyle of the temple, ascended by several steps, and having on the right a monastery of priests. The principal gate was encrusted with jasper and overlaid with gold and silver ornaments skilfully wrought. The nave of the temple was supported by lofty columns. There was a choir, as in European cathedrals, with seats and a grating all round. Male and female choristers chanted the prayers, much as in Catholic churches, and the surplices put Rodrigo in mind of the prebends of Toledo. The church was filled with silent devotees. Four of the priests accosted him, and seem to have put him to great uneasiness by conducting him to the altar of their “infamous relics,” surrounded with an infinite number of lamps. After raising five or six curtains, covering as many gratings, first of iron, then of silver, and the last one of gold, a kind of chest was exposed, in which were contained the ashes of Taikō-Sama. Within this enclosure none but the chief priests could enter. All the Japanese prostrated themselves. Hastening to quit “this accursed spot,” Rodrigo was accompanied by the priests to their gardens, exceeding, he says, those of Aranjuez. Of the religion of Japan he makes the following observation: “The Japanese, like us, use holy, or rather unholy, water, and chaplets consecrated to their false gods, Shaka [Buddha] and Nido [Amida], which are not the only ones that they worship, for there are no less than thirty-five different sects or religions in Japan. Some deny the immortality of the soul, others adore divers gods, and others yet the elements. All are tolerated. The bonzes of all the sects having concurred in a request to the emperor that he would expel our monks, the prince, troubled with their importunities, inquired how many different religions there were in Japan. ‘Thirty-five,’was the reply. ‘Well,’said he, ‘where thirty-five sects can be tolerated, we can easily bear with thirty-six;—leave the strangers in peace.’” He estimates the Christians at three hundred thousand,—a much more probable number than the eighteen hundred thousand at which they were reckoned by the missionaries,[77] whose reckoning was the same now that it had been ten years before.