nPosted on August 25, 2020
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nOn this date in 1543, at least two Portuguese men landed on the island of Tanagashima. The trader and explorer António Mota and Francisco Zeimoto are considered the first Europeans known to have set foot on Japanese soil.
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Mota and Zeimoto had been traveling in a Chinese junk (ship), along with about 100 East Asians, when they were swept off course in a bad storm.
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Mota and Zeimoto had been traveling in a Chinese junk (ship), along with about 100 East Asians, when they were swept off course in a bad storm.n
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nWe know very little about Mota’s and Zeimoto’s interaction with the land or people of Japan; all we do know tis hat the Portuguese men introduced handheld guns to Japanese people – and history shows us that Japan saw mass production of firearms in the following decades!
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nThe Chinese junk was soon repaired, and Mota and Zeimoto sailed off to the rest of their lives. We don’t know a thing about “the rest of their lives,” either.
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Here is the recording of Mota’s demonstration of a gun, by an unknown Japanese artist:
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nAlso on this date:
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Anniversary of the beginning of the Belgian Revolution
Anniversary of the beginning of the Belgian Revolution
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Anniversary of the liberation of Paris
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nAnniversary of the Great Moon Hoax
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nComposer Leonard Bernstein’s birthday
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nConstitution Day in Paraguay
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nFree Entrance Days at National Parks
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nNational Second-hand Wardrobe Day
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nDia de Soldado in Brazil
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nIndependence Day in Uruguay
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nAnniversary of the first human-made object to enter interstellar space
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Plan ahead:
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Check out my Pinterest boards for:
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
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nAugust holidays
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nAugust birthdays
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nHistorical anniversaries in August
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nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:
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nSeptember holidays
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nSeptember birthdays
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nHistorical anniversaries in September
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