458 



JAPAN. 



utilized for raising wheat for export. At pres- 

 ent the rice-trade is in the hands of the Chi- 

 nese, but metals are controlled by Europeans. 

 Of the 2,298 foreigners resident in Japan, 1,065 

 are British, 447 Americans, 269 Germans, 201 

 French, and the remainder of eleven different 

 nationalities. The foreign firms number 210. 

 There are 3,876 Chinese, with 139 firms, with a 

 line of steamers from China. Since 1876 the 

 loss of Europeans in numbers has been 375, 

 and the increase of Chinese 1,769. Foreigners 

 employed in Government service in Tokio are 

 now fewer, by 200, than in 1876. 



German influence as shown in increased 

 trade, the appointments to Government em- 

 ployment of teachers, architects, military and 

 scientific men from Berlin, and the establish- 

 ment of a monthly service to Yokohama of the 

 North German Lloyd steamers is increasing. 

 The import of German flannels, which in 1880 

 was $15,000, increased in 1885 to $220,000. 



Health and Climate. Cholera broke out in the 

 early part of the year in the southwestern 

 ports, and, aided by polluted water and con- 

 genial weather, despite stringent hygienic 

 measures, spread all over the empire, raging 

 during the summer and autumn. For the 

 week ending September 2, 4,279 deaths were 

 reported, only six of which were of white 

 foreigners, of whom three were of intemper- 

 ate habits. To Dec. 6, 1886, out of 153,930 

 persons sick with cholera, 100,492 died. Bur- 

 ial is still the most common form of dispos- 

 ing of the dead, though cremation is largely 

 practiced, about 10,000 corpses being annually 

 incinerated at the four great and several small- 

 er crematories near Tokio. During the coldest 

 month of the year, January, the mean tempera- 

 ture was 30-4 Fahr., and during August, the 

 warmest month, it was 77'3 Fahr., the mean 

 of the year being 55-4 Fahr. The rainfall 

 was 1 inch in February, in June and October 

 each 11 inches, and during the entire year 

 60 - 5 inches. Kagoshima, the warmest place, 

 had a mean temperature of 61-2 Fahr.; Ne- 

 inuro, the coldest, 37'9 Fahr. At Kanazawa, 

 on the west coast, 130 inches of rain fell, and at 

 Sapporo, 39 inches. In addition to weather ob- 

 servations, the phenomena of earthquakes are 

 now systematically recorded. 



Nayy. The first order given by the Govern- 

 ment for a modern ship of war was in Novem- 

 ber, 1853. The national flag of a red sun on a 

 white field was adopted Oct. 29, 1854. Japan 

 now possesses a fine iron-clad navy, more than 

 half of her war-ships being of the latest modern 

 type. The two new vessels built in England, 

 the "Takechibo Kan," and the "Naniwa 

 Kan," arrived at Yokohama during the summer 

 of 1886. At the finely equipped navy-yard of 

 Yokoska (on Goldsborough Inlet, and near the 

 grave of William Adams, the English pilot who 

 built ships for lyeyasu) was launched March 

 30, the " Musashi Kan." This corvette of 1,100 

 tons, pierced for nine guns, with four machine- 

 guns on platforms, and her sister-ship, the 



"Katsuragi Kan," were designed by Mr. Sa- 

 chiu Sasow, of Tokio, who was ed'ucated in 

 England. These vessels draw fifteen feet of 

 water, steam thirteen knots an hour, have com- 

 posite planking of teak and keyaki wood, and 

 cost $380,000 each. Their engines were made 

 at Yokoska. An arsenal and yard for the 

 manufacture of torpedo-gear, and a school of 

 instruction in submarine practice, are in opera- 

 tion, the Japanese being already expert at this 

 species of warfare. Count Saigo and a suite 

 of seven officers, during the past summer, after 

 visiting the United States, and inspecting all 

 the naval stations, continued their observations 

 in Europe, with the object of keeping naval 

 science in Japan abreast of that in the West. 



Commercial Marine. In 1 609 lyeyasu passed a 

 law compelling the daimios to collect all ves- 

 sels of over 500 hoku (2,700 bushels) capacity, 

 and burn them. This law was in force until 

 Oct. 18, 1853, when seaworthy vessels were al- 

 lowed to be built. Signs of the increasing ac- 

 tivity of the merchant marine have been of 

 late noticeable. To encourage the creation of 

 fleets of trading- vessels able to cope with any 

 in the world, and to win a large share of the 

 commerce of Asia, the Government has for- 

 bidden the building of junks of less than 500 

 tons. Besides establishing marine schools, 

 and equipping the coast with a superb light- 

 house system, scientific attention is being paid 

 to the location on charts of the strata of mag- 

 netic rocks along the shore. It is believed 

 that these, by deflecting the needle, have been 

 the cause of numerous shipwrecks. Safety of 

 life is now made an important point. In the 

 case of the British ship " Normanton," wrecked 

 Oct. 24, 1886, off Oshima, when all the for- 

 eign passengers were saved, but twenty-five 

 Japanese lives lost, the Japanese Government 

 prosecuted the captain for manslaughter, and 

 the accused was sentenced to three months' 

 imprisonment. The annually published list of 

 lighthouses shows that there are now 56 lights, 

 17 buoys, and 7 beacons maintained in admira- 

 ble condition. Of the lights, 12 are of the 

 first, 6 of the second, 5 of the third, 9 of the 

 fourth, 9 of the fifth, and 4 of the sixth order. 

 Statistics of the Marine Bureau show the total 

 number of foreign-built ships belonging to 

 Japanese in 1884 to be 1,642 (824 steamers 

 and 878 sailing-vessels), and of junks 16,427. 

 Of the steamers, 329 had a tonnage below 100, 

 38 between 100 and 300, 20 between 300 

 and 500, 13 between 500 and 1,000, 12 above 

 1,000 tons, while 412 were small ferry or 

 river steamers. Of the sailing-ships, 30 were 

 below 100 tons, 66 between 100 and 300, 44 

 between 300 and 500, and 1 was above 1,000 

 tons burden. During the same year, 507 

 junks of 112,292 koku (588,890 bushels') ca- 

 pacity, and 33 foreign-built vessels of 4,650 

 tons burden were lost, a decrease of 188 junks 

 and 21 foreign-built ships as compared with 

 1883. Eapidity of steam transit across the 

 Pacific is being increased, the run of the 



