62 



sliipwreckj upsetting and drifting out to sea, etc : in one storm a few 

 weeks ago 130 boats with crews of about 800 were lost. In 1900 there 

 were only 17,682 boats above 'iO feet in length: in 1904 there were 

 22,399 and some of these latter are real improvements. Such are the 

 new liners of Oita district said to be tbe most sea-worthy in Japan ; 

 broad, full-decked with water-tight hatches, accommodation below for 

 crew, and so forth : the men liave a special mode of preparing against 

 storm and are said to be able to stand the heaviest gales. The bonito 

 boats have to go out sometimes a hundred miles from shore and follow 

 the shoals ; these are open boats with large crews of from 12 to 30 

 men and a live well for carrying live bait : they are being improved 

 by half-decking, but as the wind in summer is light and the fish get 

 tainted on the long row home, fishermen are now contemplating the 

 addition of motors ; this was being tried in a boat which was building 

 for one Experimental Station that I visited. So also the tunny boats, 

 which have to fish in the stoiray winter, are now being improved by 

 decking, adding a centre-board, and strengthening with frames which 

 are not ordinarily used in Japanese boats. In the improvement of 

 boats the Experimental Stations are leading the way ; that at Shinojima 

 which I visited, is building a new boat each year, each successive boat 

 designed being an improvement; Mr. S. Kato of the Fisheries 

 Bureau has an excellent boat for the Oita District Experimental 

 Station similar to a Thames trawling boat, ketch rigged, full decked, 

 live well amidships, fish and net room forward of the well, and accom- 

 modation for the crew aft. 



As in Malabar canoes, the crews of Japanese boats seem dispro- 

 portionately large, eight men being common in quite a small boat and 

 from 12 to '60 in larger ones. 



134. Nets. — Here again, except in the matter of fixed nets and 

 bamboo '■ weirs " there is not much to learn from original Japanese 

 nets ; the lesson to be learned is the readiness with which the Japa- 

 nese adopt or adapt nets new to them, whether it be districts adopt- 

 ing useful or improved nets from other districts, or the country in 

 general adopting foreign nets. Formerly when communication was 

 difficult and most localities were isolated from general intercourse, 

 each fishing locality knew only of its only methods and implements ; 

 as communications became easy, the knowledge and use of new nets 

 spread from district to district, whether by the enquiries and intel- 

 ligence of the people themselves or by the diligence of the Experi- 

 mental Stations, which not only busied themselves with bringing nets 

 and expert fishermen as teachers from one district to another, but 

 introduced new nets from other countries, especially the purse seine 

 from America which at once commended itself to the Japanese folk. 

 In several districts I found that nets had been newly introduced from 

 other localities, and one use of the schools is in showing that there are 



