That this change should sooner or later have come is not to be wondered at. That it should have shown itself so suddenly is in accordance with Japanese ideas of policy and the character of the Japanese mind. The empire had been for years, almost ages, torn by internal divisions among small chiefs. The object of Nobu nanga had been to bring them all into one under himself. His lieutenant, Taikosama, totally illiterate, though perhaps not more so than those around him, had been imbued with his master’s views. The Buddhist monasteries had been hotbeds of sedition and foci of disturbance, being at the same time large political and military powers of perhaps the second rank, and they had made themselves obnoxious on different occasions by marked insolence to the generals, and even to Nobu nanga himself. They had not even the justification of having preserved (as monasteries did of old in Europe) the literature of the country, not one priest being able to read, or teach the rising generation the rudiments of the written character. When the Jesuits appeared with meek and lowly appearance, Nobu nanga was charmed with the prospect of establishing them as a counterpoise to the haughty and insolent Buddhists. He nourished them, showering favors upon them, and in every way encouraging them, more especially borne, as they were, on the wings of wealth and trade. They found Japan, so far as religions went, a free country, where all religions were tolerated so long as they did not become aggressive. But they did not come from a free country. Their ideas were not those of religious tolerance. By a decree of Gregory XIII., January 28, 1585, all priests and religious whatever except Jesuits were prohibited from going to preach in Japan. This was confirmed by Clement VIII., March 14, 1597; and Philip II. of Spain wrote soon after to his viceroy in the Indies to see the order punctually obeyed. This monarch was wielding the power as King of Portugal. No priest could come to Japan without his sanction. He had the power of putting his veto on the appointments made by the Pope. The fires of the Inquisition were blazing. The wish of the Jesuits was, that those who differed from them in religious views should be burned as heretics, to be damned; their hope was that they themselves, holding the true faith, might be burned as martyrs, to be beatified. Doubtless the archives of Simancas could unfold many a letter breathing such thoughts written from Japan, possibly noted by Philip’s own hand.