Japanese
Not long after the coronation, in 1612 the Ayutthaya Palace was sacked by Japanese samurai who took the king away as a captive. Certain Siamese noblemen had cheated the Japanese merchants in trade agreements and their master Ok Krom Nai Wai (a title for Japanese mercenary commander) had been executed by the king in 1610. King Songtham was attending a Buddhist audience when the Japanese stormed the palace. They called for the life of Siamese mandarins responsible for their vengeance. Songtham managed to calm the attackers down and sent them off the Menam valley but the Japanese rebels captured Phetchaburi so Songtham sent an army to pursue and suppress them.
Read more about this topic: Songtham
Famous quotes containing the word japanese:
“The Japanese are, to the highest degree, both aggressive and unaggressive, both militaristic and aesthetic, both insolent and polite, rigid and adaptable, submissive and resentful of being pushed around, loyal and treacherous, brave and timid, conservative and hospitable to new ways.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“In fact, the whole of Japan is a pure invention. There is no such country, there are no such people.... The Japanese people are ... simply a mode of style, an exquisite fancy of art.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“The Japanese have perfected good manners and made them indistinguishable from rudeness.”
—Paul Theroux (b. 1941)