At this moment the emperor’s thoughts seemed a good deal withdrawn from domestic affairs, being engrossed by a war, which he had determined to commence by invading Corea, a dependency of the Chinese empire, and the part of the continent of Asia nearest to Japan. For this purpose he was constructing a fleet at a port of Shimo, on the strait of Corea. Not long after Valignani’s arrival at Nagasaki, leave was obtained for him to visit the emperor’s court at Miyako; but his friends there advised that, instead of ecclesiastics, his retinue should be composed as much as possible of Portuguese merchants. The merchants at Nagasaki entered zealously into the affair, and not less than twenty-seven of them accompanied Valignani, in the style of great lords, sparing no expense to give magnificence to the ambassador’s train. He took with him also four priests, some young Japanese Jesuits not yet ordained, and the four returned youthful ambassadors. These ambassadors had learned to sing in the European style, and chanted church music tolerably well. They also had with them a great show of maps, globes, clocks, watches, and other European curiosities, which attracted much attention. Their description of what they had seen and heard made a deep impression upon the princes and nobles, who flocked from all quarters to see them. And there was ample leisure for this, as the approach of the ambassador to Miyako was delayed for more than two months by the death of the emperor’s only son. In this interval Valignani had the pleasure of a visit from the disgraced Ukondono, whose face he was rejoiced to see lighted up with an air of content rarely seen among those on whom the favors of fortune are most prodigally showered. He protested that the happiest day in his life was that on which he had lost everything for Jesus Christ. He communicated to Father Valignani a design he had formed of quitting the world altogether, and consecrating himself entirety to the service of God; but besides that he had a wife and a numerous family, whom his retreat would have left without resource, the father considered that he was much younger than the emperor; that if reëstablished in his offices and his possessions, he might render much greater services to the church by remaining in the world than by quitting it, and on that ground he advised Ukondono not to withdraw from that station in life in which Providence had placed him.