Rizal in Hong Kong and Macao (1888)
Varanda
 Rizal was forced to leave his country for
a second time in February 1888 because
he was hounded by powerful enemies
 27 years of age, a practicing physician,
and a recognized man-of-letters
 21-youthful student in search of wisdom
in the Old World, a romantic idealist with
beautiful dreams of emancipating his people
from bondage by the magic power of his
pen
 27-embitted victim of human iniquities, a
disillusioned dreamer, and a frustrated
reformer
Trip to Hong Kong (February 3, 1888)
 Rizal left Calamba after just six months, on
board the Zafiro.
 Was sick and sad during the crossing of
the choppy China Sea
 He did not get off his ship when it made
a brief stopover at Amoy on February 7 for
three reasons:
1. He was not feeling well
2. It was raining hard
3. He heard that the city was dirty
February 8, 1888
 Rizal arrived in Hong Kong, a British colony
February 16, 1888
 Rizal wrote a letter to Blumentritt expressing
his bitterness
 They forced Rizal to leave the country half
sick
 Lieutenant Taviel de Andrade helped him,
as well as Governor-General Terrero
 Dominicans saw Rizal hold secret
meetings with men and women on top of a
hill, but they were just enjoying the breeze
 Countrymen gave Rizal money so that he
could leave
In Hong Kong
 Rizal stayed at Victoria Hotel
 He was welcomed by some Filipino
residents including Jose Maria Basa,
Balbino Mauricio, and Manuel Yriarte (son
of Francisco Yriarte, alcalde mayor of
Laguna)
 Spaniard Jose Sainz de Varanda, former
secretary of Governor-General Terrero
shadowed Rizal’s every move.
was believed to be a spy for the Spanish
authorities
 According to Rizal: Hong Kong was small
but clean
 There were many Portuguese, Hindus,
English, Chinese, and Jews
 Some Filipinos were exiled to Marianas
Islands
o They were poor, gentle, and timid;
formerly rich mechanics,
industrialists, and financiers
During 2-week visit to Hong Kong
 Rizal studied Chinese life, language,
drama, and customs
 Experiences:
1. Noisy celebration of Chinese New
Year (February 11-13)
 Continuous explosions of
firecrackers
 The richer the Chinese, the
more firecrackers exploded
 Rizal fired many firecrackers at
the window of his hotel
2. Boisterous Chinese theatre with
noisy audience and noisier music
 Chinese dramatic art, Rizal
observed the following:
a) A man astride means a stick
means a man riding on a
horseback
b) An actor raising his leg
means he is entering a house
c) A red dress indicates a
wedding
d) A girl about to be married
coyly covers her face with a
fan even in the presence of
her fiancé
e) A man raising a whip
signifies he is about to ride a
horse
3. The marathon lauriat party, wherein
the guests were served numerous
dishes such as: dried fruits, geese,
shrimps, century eggs, shark fins,
bird nests, white ducks, chicken with
vinegar, fish heads, roasted pigs, tea,
etc.
 The “longest meal in the world”
 4. The Dominican Order was the Departure from Hong Kong (February 22, 1888)
richest religious order in Hong  Rizal left Hong Kong on board the Oceanic,
Kong an American steamer
 It engaged actively in business
 His next destination was Japan
 Owned more than 700 houses
 While on board:
for rent and many shares in
o Rizal did not like any meals
foreign banks
o He liked the cleanliness and the
 It had millions of dollars
efficiency of the ship
deposited in the banks which
o Cabinmate was a British Protestant
earned fabulous interest
missionary who had lived in China
5. Of the Hong Kong cemeteries belonging to for 27 years and knew the Chinese;
Protestants, Catholics, and Muslims: Rizal called him “a good man”
 Other passengers on board:
Protestant Catholic Muslim o Two Portuguese, two Chinese,
cemetery cemetery cemetery several British, and an American
most most simplest, woman Protestant missionary
beautiful pompous, containing
because of with its ornate only a little
Romantic Interlude in Japan
its well- and mosque
groomed expensive and  February 28 to April 13, 1888 (45 days)
plants and mausoleums tombstones  One of Rizal’s happiest interludes was his
clean and with Arabic sojourn in the Land of the Cherry Blossoms
pathways extravagantly inscriptions
for one month and a half
carved
sepulchers  Rizal was enchanted by the natural beauty
The Trip to Macau of Japan, the charming manners of the
Japanese people, and the picturesque
● Macau is a Portuguese colony, that is near shrines
Hong Kong.  Moreover, Rizal fell in love with a
Japanese girl, whose loveliness infused joy
and
● According to Rizal, the city of Macao is happiness in his sorrowing heart
small, low, and gloomy. o Her name was Seiko Usui, but Rizal
● According to him, it looks sad and almost affectionately called her O-Sei-
dead. San, however, fate cut his happy
● February 18, 1888
days short in Japan because he had
○ Rizal, accompanied by Basa,
to sacrifice his own happiness to
boarded the ferry steamer, Kiu-
Kiang for Macau. carry on his work for the
● Rizal and Basa stayed at the home of Don redemption of his oppressed
Juan Francisco Lecaros, a Filipino people
gentleman married to a Portuguese lady
while in Macau. Rizal arrives in Yokohama (February 28, 1888)
● Rizal visited the theatre, casino, cathedral  Rizal registers at the Grand Hotel
and churches, pagodas, botanical  Next day Rizal booked a room at Tokyo
garden and bazaars during his two-day Hotel (March 2 to 7)
sojourn (temporary stay) in Macau. o He was impressed by the city of Tokyo
● Rizal also saw the famous Grotto of o Wrote to Blumentritt:
Camoens, Portugal’s national poet. 1. Tokyo is more expensive than
● February 19, 1888
Paris, the walls are built in
○ Rizal witnessed a Catholic
cyclopean manner and the streets
procession in which the devotees
were wearing blue and candlelights are large and wide
 Rizal was visited by Spanish Legation
secretary, Juan Perez Caballero who
invited to live in the Spanish Legation
 o Rizal realized that the Spanish diplomatic
authorities were monitoring him, and
accepted the invitation for two
 March 7, 1888
o Rizal checked out of Tokyo Hotel and
lived at the Spanish Legation
1. He became good friends with
Caballero
2. Described him to Blumentritt as a
“young, fine, and excellent
writer”, and “an enabled diplomat
who traveled much”
 1st day in Tokyo
o Rizal was embarrassed because he did
not know the Japanese language
o He looked Japanese, but he could not
talk Japanese
o He had a hard time shopping because he
could not be understood, even children
laughed at him
 Rizal decided to study Japanese, being a
linguist, he was able to learn it in just a few
days
 Rizal also studied Japanese drama
(kabuki), arts, music, and judo (Japanese
art of self- defense)
 Rizal browsed museums, libraries, art
galleries, and shrines
 He visited Meguro, Nikko, Hakone,
Miyanoshita, and the charming villages of
Japan
 Rizal and Tokyo Musicians
o One cool afternoon on March of 1888,
Rizal was promenading in a street of
Tokyo near a park where he heard the
classical work of Strauss
o He was impressed by the performance
and thought how the Japanese played
Western compositions so well
o These musicians were speaking in
Tagalog
 Rizal’s Impression of Japan
o Rizal was impressed, and was a keen
observer, taking notes on the lives,
customs, and culture of the people
o Some of the things that impressed him the
most were:
1. The beauty of the country – its
flowers, mountains, streams, and
scenic panoramas
2. The cleanliness, politeness, and
the industry of the Japanese
Rizal Leaves Japan and O-Sei-San
people
 On April 13, 1888, Rizal boarded the
3. The picturesque dress and the
simple charm of the Japanese
women
4. There were very few thieves in
Japan so that the houses remained
open day and night, and in the hotel
room one could safely leave money
on the table
5. Beggars were rarely seen in the
city streets, unlike in Manila and
other cities
o However, one thing in Japan that Rizal did
not like was the popular mode of
transportation:
1. Rickshaws were being driven by
men; Rizal was disgraced upon
seeing humans being employed
like a horse
 Romance with O-Sei-San
o When Rizal moved to the Spanish
Legation in the Azabu district of Tokyo,
Rizal saw a pretty Japanese girl
walking past the legation gate
 Rizal was immediately attracted
by her regal loveliness and charm
o O-Sei-San was Rizal’s tour guide in
Japan, they went to the Imperial Art
Gallery, the Imperial Garden, the
universities, the Shokubutsu-en
(Botanical Garden), the city parks
(Hibiya Park), and the picturesque
shrines
o Rizal saw the qualities of his ideal
womanhood in O-Sei-San:
 Beauty, charm, modesty and
intelligence
o O-Sei-San helped Rizal in many ways:
 She was his guide, interpreter,
tutor, and even lent Rizal some
money
 She improved Rizal’s
knowledge of Nippongo and
Japanese history
 She would interpret the Kabuki
plays and the customs and
mores of the Japanese people
o O-Sei-San tempted Rizal to settle down
in Japan, because he was also offered a
good job by the Spanish Legation;
however, he never forgot his mission
and pact with Paciano
Belgic, an English streamer, at
 Yokohama, bound for the United States barbers, and the like, describing
 He left Japan with a heavy heart for he them as “people who, as in many
knew he would never see this beautiful
other places, lived on travelers.”
“Land od the Cherry Blossoms” and his
■ However, Rizal was still
beloved O-Sei-San
amazed by the city, calling it
Rizal goes to the United States great and stating that
everything in New York was
● The ship that Rizal rode, together with the
new compared to Europe’s
Chinese and Japanese passengers was
antique cities.
ordered to be quarantined upon their
● Rizal, upon seeing the Missouri River,
arrival in San Francisco.
compared it to the Pasig River which he
● The passengers were not allowed to land
described as twice as wide as the Pasig
and were under observation because:
River in its widest part, and marshy.
○ Of the cholera epidemic from the
● When Rizal reached New York, it marked
Far East
the end of his trip across the American
■ This surprised Rizal because he
continent.
knew that such a thing does not
○ During his three-day stay in the City,
exist.
he managed to visit scenic and
■ Later on, he realized that the
historic places there.
situation was political:
○ Among those places, the memorial
● The Chinese were
of George Washington awed and
displacing white laborers
inspired him which he referred to as
thus resulting in the
“A great man who has no equal in
Western dismay against
this country”.
Asians.
● When Rizal was arriving in Canada, he
● This situation reflected the
looked forward to seeing the Niagara Falls.
issue of racial prejudice
○ As stated in his diary, when they
and discrimination against
stopped to see the beautiful points,
Asians and Negroes in
they went to the side below the falls.
America.
○ He considered the falls as the
● Rizal’s tour across the American continent
greatest cascade he ever saw.
resulted in many observations:
■ However, being a
○ One of which is its pretentious
nationalistic person in
society.
nature, he stated that it was
■ He realized that the
“not so pretty or
principles of democracy
mysteriously beautiful as
and freedom that the
the waterfalls in Los
Americans value and talk so
Baños” (Pagsanjan), but it
much was just a facade of
was just much bigger and
reality.
no comparison is possible.
● During his internal monologues in the
■ Clearly, despite being far
train ride to Dieppe:
from home and seeing the
○ Rizal notes his negative feelings
wonderful sights in a foreign
towards his visit to New York.
land, Rizal still did not
○ He mentions having troubles in
forget to think of and love
U.S. customs and immigration,
the parts of the country
and his disdain towards the culture
where he came from.
of obligatory tips towards drivers,
● When Rizal was in Colorado, he noticed that the wrote his major
American porter of the Pullman Car, is political works
“somewhat of a thief”. away from his
○ According to Ambeth Ocampo, Rizal, being homeland while
stingy, was possibly irritated by the hungry Suehiro wielded his
porters and bellboys. pen and tongue at
○ This implies that Rizal being thrifty home.
in a foreign country, made sure that
his expenses are strictly not for Therefore, Suehiro
gratuity. was more deeply
● When Rizal left New York for Liverpool on involved in national
board the City of Rome on May 16, 1888. politics while Rizal
Rizal described the streamer as the could only view
"second largest in the world", the largest political
being the Great Eastern. developments in
○ He saw the Statue of Liberty in all his country and
of its greatest on Bedloe Island as comment about
his ship steamed out of New York them from a
Harbor. distance in Europe.
● Rizal's impression of America was that Rizal and Both Uncle Ho It was mentioned
there was a high standard of living and Ho Chi and Jose Rizal that compared to
that there were many opportunities for a Minh had their Rizal, who was
better life in America for those who are poor. knowledge able to travel in
(Uncle Ho
refrained by first-class, Uncle
● In Jose Rizal’s letter to Mariano Ponce, Vietnam) - their colonizers. Ho was a
Rizal gave his impressions to America in the A. Ocampo stowaway.
letter Though the
○ he said that America is a great difference was Both faced
country, but still has many that for Rizal, it hardships in
defects because there is no real was the different
civil liberty Spaniards, and countries.
for Uncle Ho, it
was the French
SIMILARITES DIFFERENCES
Rizal and Both Techto and Techto only knew Rizal and Uncle Uncle Ho died due
Tetcho Rizal were one language (his Ho, believed in to heart failure
(Japan) - kindred spirits, native tongue, the racial origins of while Rizal was
G. Zaide patriots and Japanese nationalism. sentenced to death
dislike tyranny language) while by firing squad
and injustice. Rizal knew many They both asked
foreign languages for reforms and Rizal was battling
They both prefer (including they exposed the Spaniards,
peace over Japanese). the abuses of while Ho was
violence, they colonial officials. battling the French
prefer using Though both Rizal who treated them
pens as a and Suehiro as second class
Both of these
weapon to fight actively articulated citizens in their
foreigners were home country.
for their people’s their opinions
abusive to the
welfare. about their
natives.
societies in their
writings, Rizal
Rizal and Both Rizal and Their deaths woke
Ninoy Ninoy lived the Filipinos
(Philippine dedicated their differently- Rizal’s
lives for woke the Filipino
s) - J.
freedom. There spirit against the
Fadul are revolutions Spaniards and
after their Ninoy’s against
deaths. Rizal’s the Marcos
empowered the Regime.
1896
Revolution, and Ninoy had an
Ninoy’s equally iconic wife,
propelled the Corazon Aquino
1985 EDSA who “continued his
People Power
Revolution legacy”. Rizal’s
Josephine
Both men had Bracken, however,
supportive elder was not directly
brothers, involved in his
Paciano and causes.
Butz
respectively

Both have died

for the country
while fighting for
freedom
Rizal and Ninoy
believed in the
peaceful means
for reforms.

Both have
studied at
Ateneo and
have been to
the United
States.