Since these revolutions, the king of Meaco took the title of Cubo Sama, and he who had been deprived of it still retained the name of Dairy; and, excepting only the power, there was still left him all the privilege of royalty, in consideration of the blood of the Camis. His descendants have had always the same title, and enjoyed the same advantages. This, in general, was the face of the government, in the time of St Francis Xavier. For some years afterwards, Nabunanga, one of the neighbour kings to him of Meaco, defeated the Cubo Sama in a pitched battle, and followed his blow with so much success, that, having destroyed all those petty princes, he re-united the whole empire of Japan under his sole obedience. As to what concerns religion, all the Japonians, excepting some few who make profession of atheism, and believe the soul mortal, are idolaters, and hold the transmigration of souls, after the doctrine of Pythagoras. Some of them pay divine worship to the sun and moon; others to the Camis, those ancient kings of whom we have made mention; and to the Potoques, the gods of China. There are divers of them who adore some kinds of beasts, and many who adore the devil under dreadful figures. Besides these, they have a certain mysterious deity, whom they call Amida; and say, this god has built a paradise of such distance from the earth, that the souls cannot reach it under a voyage of three years. But the god Xaca is he of whom they report the greatest wonders, who seems to be a counterfeit of the true Messiah, set up by the devil himself, or by his ministers. For if one would give credit to them, Xaca being born of a queen, who never had the carnal knowledge of man, retired into the deserts of Siam, and there underwent severe penances, to expiate the sins of men: that coming out of his wilderness, he assembled some disciples, and preached an heavenly doctrine in divers countries. It is incredible how many temples have been built to the honour of Amida and Xaca; all the cities are full of them, and their magnificence is equal to their number. Nor is it easy to imagine how far their superstition carries the worshippers of these two deities. They throw themselves headlong down from rocks, or bury themselves alive in caves; and it is ordinary to see barques, full of men and women, with stones hanging at their necks, and singing the praises of their gods, after which they cast themselves into the sea.