During former years, your Lordship requested
permission for six vessels, and last year for four, and I
always granted your request. But, what angers me greatly is
that among the four vessels that your Lordship requested was
that one called "Antonio," which made the voyage without my
orders. This was a very lawless act, and in contempt of me. Can
it be, perhaps, that your Lordship would send to Japon without
my permission any vessel that you wished? Besides this, your
Lordship and others have often negotiated about the sects
of Japon, and requested many things in regard to them. This
likewise I cannot concede; for this region is called Xincoco
[Shinkoku], or "dedicated to the idols." These have been
honored with the highest adoration from the time of our
ancestors until now, and their acts I alone cannot undo or
destroy. Consequently, it is not at all advisable that your
religion be promulgated or preached in Japon; and if your
Lordship wish to preserve friendship with these kingdoms
of Japon and with me, do what I wish, and never do what is
displeasing to me.
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