i62 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



that are never kept. Here there is a beauty in the landscape and a 

 spirit of liveliness in the people that invites one to stay, and an invi- 

 tation in the bay and boats to go adventuring southward to the little- 

 known Liu Kill Islands and Formosa, from relations with which this 

 most charming of Japanese cities acquires much of its character. And 

 here one is in the heart of the old province of Satsuma, famed for its 

 porcelain of centuries, and its heroes, and its influence on the history 

 of the empire from the earliest day to the very present. 



During most of our stay a warm rain was flooding down over the 

 city, interfering with the manufacture of " ancient " Satsuma ware, 

 and hindering the departure of all steamers, which seldom go when it 

 rains and thus give their crews and passengers the enjoyment of fur- 

 loughs much of the time. It was entertaining to sit in kimono on the 

 balcony outside of the paper windows and look down on the scene in 

 the streets, at the constant flow of people walking with bare feet and 

 bare legs along the muddy ways under brown oil-paper umbrellas; at 

 the shoulder-borne baskets heaped with yellow " biwa," or loquats, with 

 chrysanthemums and lilies; at the wide bamboo rain hats from under 

 which rang out the musical cries and songs of men and women, basket 

 carriers, venders of fish just out of the water, turnips just out of the 

 ground, young bamboo sprouts that have grown over night and will 

 be eaten for dinner, fruits, cakes and flowers to decorate the shrines. 



A few days more brought out the sun and the full plant life of the 

 height of spring, and all the clearness of outline and symmetry of the 

 island-volcano Sakura-jima, which springs from a bay rivaling that 

 of Naples in the loveliness of its water and surroundings. And it was 

 rather to my disappointment that, with the coming of good weather, 

 the little boat which we had been waiting to take to the islands farther 

 south finally made up its mind to leave for Tanegashima. 



This island lies south of Japan in latitude 30° 30', and is sepa- 

 rated from Kiushiu by the Van Diemen Strait. It is long and low 

 and narrow, trending northeast, its length being thirty-six miles and 

 greatest width seven. It is composed of highly tilted strata of Ter- 

 tiary age. Its people are Japanese, and as far as known it has always 

 belonged to Japan, being in every way more closely related to that 

 country than to the more southern or Liu Kiu islands that form a long 

 curving chain down to Formosa. 



Tanegashima was the first portion of Japan to be discovered by 

 Europeans centuries ago, and it was here that the Japanese first became 

 acquainted with members of that other race. With the foreigners 

 came a knowledge of firearms, which spread from this island to the rest 

 of the empire. For this reason Tanegashima was the name formerly 

 applied to all firearms, and to the present day some pistols are still 

 so called. 



