THE

LAND OF THE MORNING.

CHAPTER I.

THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Situation and Extent of Japan-Mountains-Plains-Rivers-Lakes -Harbours-Soil-Extent of Agriculture-Great Forest AreaPainstaking Tillage-Various Agricultural Products - Mineral Resources-Luxuriant Flora-Fauna - Variety of ClimateBlack Stream-Severe Winter-Moist Heat-Charming Autumn —Rainfall — Typhoons - Earthquakes-Population - Physical Aspect of the People-Their Origin-Their Language.

IN looking at a map of Asia, one cannot but notice a somewhat crescent-shaped1 group of islands lying off the eastern coast, its southern extremity coming comparatively near the mainland at the promontory of Korea, and its northern almost linked to Siberia by the long ridge of Saghalîn on the north, and the stepping-stones of the Kurile islands on the northeast. This is Nihon or Nippon (ie. 'Land of the Rising Sun"), or Dai (i.e. 'Great') Nihon or Nippon,

1 One name of Japan is Seiteishiu ('Dragon-fly Land'), from a supposed resemblance in its form to that insect.

A

or, as we call it, Japan. This main group consists of four large islands, viz., Honshiu (often incorrectly named Nippon), Kiushiu, Shikoku, and Yezo, and several thousand smaller ones, and extends from 31° to 45° 30' N. lat. Of the four principal islands, Honshiu is much the largest, and, being regarded as the mainland, is seldom designated by the Japanese with any special name. It is in shape an irregular crescent convex towards the south-west. From its western point, Kiushiu (Nine Provinces') runs south, being separated from it by the straits of Shimonoseki, barely a mile broad; and within the angle thus formed by Kiushiu and the western horn of Honshiu, lies the still smaller island of Shikoku (Four Provinces'). Between Kiushiu and Shikoku on the south, and Honshiu on the north, is the Seto Uchi, the famous Inland Sea of Japan. The northern point of Honshiu comes within ten miles of the handle of Yezo, to adopt the simile which likens the form of that island to a gridiron. Yezo's northern shore terminates in a western and an eastern point; the former of which almost touches the island of Saghalîn, and the latter the first link of the Kurile chain.

These are the limits of Japan proper; but the empire of Japan includes, in addition, the Kurile

The word Japan would seem to be a corruption of the name given to the country by the Chinese.

Extent of the Empire.

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isles, ceded by Russia a few years ago in return for Saghalin, the Riu Kiu or Liu Kiu ('Loo Choo') islands, the most remote of which are 500 miles south of Kiushiu, and the more slender island chain which runs south-east from Yedo bay, and terminates in the Bonin islands, 500 miles distant. It extends, therefore, from 24° to 50° 40′ N. lat., and from 124° to 156° 38′ E. long. On the north it almost touches the Asiatic continent at Kamtchatka, and on the south it comes very near Chinese territory at Formosa, while the island of Tsushima, about 55 miles off the north-west corner of Kiushiu, is within 25 miles of Korea. From Nagasaki in Kiushiu to Shanghai in China, is by steam a two days' voyage, and the 5000 miles of ocean between Yokohama and San Francisco have been accomplished in less than fourteen days. The total area is estimated at 148,700 square miles, or at fully onefifth larger than that of the United Kingdom.

Japan is one of the most mountainous countries in the world. Its plains and valleys, with their foliage surpassing in richness that of any other extra-tropical region, its Arcadian hill-slopes and forest-clad heights, its alpine peaks towering in weird grandeur above torrent-dinned ravines, its lines of foam-fringed headlands, with a thousand other charms, give it a claim to be considered one of the fairest portions of the earth. Beginning at

the north, we find in Yezo two mountain chains, one coming from Saghalîn and passing down the west coast, and the other coming from Kamtchatka and the Kuriles and meeting the first. These contain no fewer than eight active volcanoes. The chain from Saghalin is continued down the centre of northern Honshiu, where its principal peaks are Iwate-san or Ganju-san (7000 feet), Chôkai-san (6800), and Guwassan (6100). Further south, the Nikkô range rises in Shirane-yama to a height of 8500 feet, and in Nantai-zan to 8195. South-west of this are the active volcano of Asama-yama (8260), and the long ridge of Yatsu-ga-dake (9000), while about 45 miles south of the latter the mountain systems of the empire culminate in the matchless cone of Fuji-san, rising 12,365 feet from the shore of the Pacific. Westward of Asama-yama, there is another chain running parallel with the Sea of Japan; this culminates in the extinct, or dormant, volcanoes. of Tate-yama (9500) and Haku-san (8600). Near Tate-yama, a still loftier chain branches off from this southward into the heart of the empire, dividing the province of Hida from that of Shinano, as the other divides Hida from Yetchiu and Kaga. The principal peaks of this chain are Yari-ga-take (10,300), Norikura (9800), and Ontake-san (10,000). It is in and around the province of Hida that the perfection of Japanese alpine scenery is to be found. The Tate

Mountain Chains.

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yama and Haku-san range continues, though at much less elevation, through the western arm of Honshiu to the straits of Shimonoseki. The range on the eastern frontier of Hida also loses in height as it continues southward, but rises into impressive peaks in the south of Honshiu and in Shikoku. Kiushiu likewise abounds in mountains, several of which are active volcanoes; the highest are Asotake and Kirishima-yama (5000).

We may think of Japan, therefore, as a land in which mountain-top answers to mountain-top, and hill-top to hill-top, throughout its length and breadth. There are, however, many considerable plains. Perhaps the largest of these is that of Musashi, the province in which Tôkiyô is situated. This stretches from the capital in at least one direction for quite 70 miles without any considerable elevation. It is not so vast, however, but that on an ordinarily clear day its gentle undulations appear bordered by a wall of blue mountains. Many of the plains are extremely flat, looking like green lakes closed in by hills. Their surface does not, as in our own country, rise in gradually increasing undulations to the bordering uplands, but remains level up to the very bases of the foot-hills. This configuration is perhaps exaggerated by the levelling of the ground for riceculture, an operation which also shows itself in the extensive terracing of the hillsides and valleys. Tier