The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-05-12


The Japanese anA the Lest Tribes Of Israel.
From the day when the Japanese Embassy
arrived 1t San Francisco. to that ON which 1t
left, the California papers were occupied with
little else than the matters appertaining TO
the pssso..a Of the distinguished gentlemen
who composed It. Their appearance, their
habits. their language, their individual histo.
rtes, formed the topic Of endless description,
rossfp and discussion. Since their arrival II,
New York the papers there have taken up the
song, and, We presume, they will only relin.
quish 1t when the Washington press shall
have caught the echo and repeated the chorus.
OF Japan, we really know but very little of
these japanese Ambassadors, we certainly
know . great deal. Every body can tell how
they eat, sleep. dress, and'walk. All America
is aware that they consume but little food at
sitting, although they eat very often; that
the chief Ambassador is Prince OF Bujen and
Chamberlain to the Tycoon; that they All
dress in a variety Of coiors, blue being the IA
voYite; that they shave the front part OF the
head, and comb and tie their long glossy
black hair over the part shaved; that they
have several physicians along who shave the
head all over; that the object OF the Embassy
is TO procure an exact copy, i'll English, OF the
treaty with the United States, that which
they had having been destroyed by fire that :,
copy Of the treaty in Japanese, is carried along
in what is called the treatyb box, by four men
with poles after the fashion Of a Sedan chair
that they have somebody with his eyes Away
fixed upon this box, and that it has never
been out of sight Of its guardians, save on
one occasion, and then only for about fifteen
minutes that they bring with tn EN- Ss00NJ
to make purchases in this country, all in
Mexican half-doliars, &c. We say everybody
knows these facts, but everybody does not
know oxv theory about the origin of the Ia
panese. Why should not we have theory,
as well rs every body else, especially since we
never had one before, but have been following
other people all our lives, as tamely as flock
of sheep follow the bel-wether of the tribe
Some of the theorists think the Japanese were
the progeni,ors Of the American Indians. and
they inter thus much from the supposed re-
semblaIce of many words in their languages
This theory was suggested to the japanese Am
bassadors themselves, and they pronounced it a
very good theory indeed People, when the idea
was once started, found abundant evidence to
support it, as, for instance, that japanese
junks have been found wrecked among the
South Sea Islands, and on the coast Of Rus
sian America, proving incOntestibly that the
japanese have occasionally wandered much
farther from home than the Tycoon or Zio-
COON, or what ever he is called, at Jeddo,
might be willing to believe. Why may not,
then, a whole feet of junks have been wrecked,
some two or three thousand years ago, on the
desert coast of America, and why may not
the escaped mariners and passengers have
continued in the country and laid the founda-
ton of the Indian tribes =! Indeed, the theo-
rists Of the newspapers have already settled
this matter to their own entire satisfac ton,
and surely, il they are satisfied nobody else
has any right to complain. They do not, how
ever, find it easy to account for the origin of
the japanese themselves, and therefore they
content themselves with saying that their fore
fathers must have gotten there from the cradle
Of the human race, in Mesopotamia, long time
since, and that the primitive Kingdom Of ia
pan was established 9, 100 years ago. We do
not know the authority for this statement, but
we take it for granted, because it materially
assists us in establishing our theory, which is
As follows
Let all the world pay attention ; for we are
about to make a remark we do not recollect to
have heard any other person make in the
whole course of our lives Nineyeh was in
MesOpotamia, and the japanese are the lost
tribes Of Ierael. II proof is wanted here it is :
Major NOAH, many years ago, proved that the
language Of many OF the Indian tribes and
the ancient Hebrew, bore a strict analogy to
each other in point OF construction, and be.
sides, contained, severally, numberless words
that were strictly Identical 1t appears that
the same resemblance exists between the Ian
guage Of the Indians and that OF the japanese
Now, if it be good mathematics to say that
things which are equal to the same thing are
equal to one another, surely it is good logic to
say that things which are like the same thing
are like one another. We hold, therefore, that
the japanese language is like the Hebrew Ian
guage, although We do not understan a word
of either. Now, nobody doubted at the time
Major NOAH was broaching this theory,
that he was a most accurate reasoner, and
therefore nobody has any right to entertain
doubts with respect to our own deductions,
seeing we are but initiating Mr. VAN buren,,
and following in the footsteps of our Illus
trious predecessor" We hope, by the way
it is allowable to pray for little better sue.
cess than the last-named gentleman was able
TO command) Having established his pre-
misses, the Major came at once to the cOnclu-
sion, that the Indians were the genuine repre-
sentauves Of the Lost Tribes, and he died in
the belief that he had cleared up great his
torical mystery, extending over twenty-five
centuries Of the worlds progress. Let it be
remembered that we admit the postulate that
the primeval Kingdom Of Japan was estab-
lished 2,40O years ago-that is about $40 years
before the birth OF Christ. We know not the
authority for this statement, but, as we have
already observed, We admit it without exami-
nation, because it assists our theory.
1t known to everybody who ever read the
Bible that during the reign of REHoBOAM
the kingdom was divided into two parts,
called respectively the kingdom OF Israel
and the Kingdom Of Judah and that about
seven hundred and twenty years before
CHRIST, the King of Assyria conquered
Israel mot JUDAH and carried all the inhabi
tants captive to Assyria. These inhabitan
were the ten tribes afterwards lest, for the
captives of Judah who were carried by NEBU-
CHADNEzzAR to Babylon 1888 b. c. can be
accounted for. But nothing was ever known
Of these ten tribes Of Israel, until Major Noah
told the world where u part Of them, at least, |
were to be found. Now, we hold that they |
emigrated TO japan, and set up their IA ber-
nacies there, and that this emigration took
place between the time when the King.
dom Of Israel was overthrowr. and that /
when the "primitive empire Of japan y
was establishsd-that is to saw. bstween
~ and $40 years before CHRIST. The
distance, in q strait line. il considerable
ABOUT ave thousand miles-as emirrants
wo"io probably move 1t is perhaps double,
'aeoHst VINO allows ten or twelve thou
.Nau .nlAes 70 stand between him and the es
t.oiisnment OF his Axed idea, is destitute oil
l0tY@ni0itV L.