﻿JAPAN. 



JAPAW. 



8M 



Ther* are fozea aod white b«u«. Water-fowl ars numeroua, ((po- 

 diill; burgomiiaten,fulmmn, puffliu, guillvmota, little auk*, kittywakea, 

 and tanuL Otaoeoua animali abound. Tba TageUtion ia very aoanty, 

 and limited to a faw apedat aoattarad widely about among the roloanio 

 minerala. Iron haa beao obaarrad at aaveral plaoea. 



Tha ialaad waa diroovarad in ISU by a Dutob narigator called Jan 

 Mayeo, and waa mnoh riaitad up to about 1640 on aooount of the 

 great number of wbalea, which howarer afUrwarda ratraated to other 

 paita of the Aretio Sea. In 16$S-ld34 aeren Dutch aeaman wintered 

 here, probably for the purpoae of establiihing a permanent colony, 

 and they kept a re^lar journal ; but on the arrival of the Duteh 

 fleet in the following June all were found dead in their huta from 

 ■ cur f j . Their journal terminated on the Slat of ApriL 



(Sooreaby, Account of Ike Arctic Region*.) 



JAPAN ia an empire in Aaia, which oonaiate of an unknown 

 namber of ialanda of different dimenaiona. Theae islanda may be 

 wmaidered aa conatituting the waatem boundary of the Pacific, between 

 SI* and 45* N. lat ; but the Japaneae aettlemente on the ialand 

 Tahoka, or Tarakai, better known by the name of Sakhalia, aeem to 

 extend aa far north aa 47° or 48° N. lat. Between theae ialanda and 

 the continent of Aaia ia a cloaed aaa, called the Sea of Japan, which 

 at iU aouthem extremity is united to the Tong-Hai, or Baatom Sea 

 of the Chiue«e, by the Strait of Corea, and at ite northern with the 

 Sea of Okhotak, or Tarakai, by the strait which dividea the ialand 

 of Tarakai from Jfanchuria. The Sea of Japan is united to the 

 Pacific by icTeral atraita, which divide the Japanese Islands from one 

 another. The most remailsble is the Strait of Sangar between the 

 large islands of Kipon and Yeao. Japin is situated between 129° 

 and 160° E. long. It is divided into Japan proper and the dependent 

 {■landa. 



Japan proper consists of three large islands, Kiooaioo, Sitkokf, and 

 Kipon, or Nifon, which are surrounded by a great number of smaller 

 islands. Kiootioo, the most weatem, may be about 200 miles long, 

 with an average breadth of 80 milea, which would give it a surface of 

 16,000 miles. On ite weatem ooaat are two deep baya, that of 

 Bimabara, in the middle, which is by far the largest, and that of 

 Omoora, north of it : at its southern extremity is the Bay of ICango- 

 ■ima. Kioosioo is separated from Sitkokf by the Boongo Channel, 

 and fVom Nipon by the Suwo Sound and the Strait of Simonoseki 

 Silh>kfmtij be 150 milea long, with an average breadth of 70 miles ; 

 it probably contains more than 10,000 square miles. The long strait 

 which divides it from Kipon on the north is in some piacea hardly 

 morb than a mile wide ; but about the middle a large bay enters 

 deeply into the ialand of Sitkokf. The eastern extremity of this 

 island is separated from Nipon by the Kino Channel and the Bay of 

 Oaaooa, which contains the island of AvasL Nipon, the lai^est and 

 the principal of the Japanese Islands, has a curved form. Ite length, 

 meaanred along the middle of the island, exceeds 900 miles, and ite 

 arerage width may be eatimated at more than 100 miles; ite surface 

 may uierefore oover an area of about 100,000 square miles. Ite largest 

 bays are along the southern coast, aa Osaooa Bay, Mia Bay, and 

 Tedo Bay. 



The dependent countries are the large island of Yeso, with some 

 of the Kurile Inlands and the southern districte of Tarakai. Ye$o has 

 a rery irregular form. Ite length, from south-west to north-east, is 

 about 800 miles, and ite average width does not fall short of 100 

 milea. This givea a aurface of 30,000 square miles. Only the two 

 southernmost of the larger Kurile Islands, Kunashir and Uturup, are 

 occupied by the Japanese : the othen belong to the Russian empire. 

 The ialand of Tarakai, whose southern portion is culled Tshuka, is 

 diridad ttom Teao by the Strait of Perouse. It is certain that the 

 Japaneae have formed some settlemente here, but it is not known 

 how far they extend northward. According to this rough estimate, 

 and excluding the settlemente on the island of Tarakai, the Japanese 

 empire contains about 160,000 square miles. According to some 

 atetemente however the area of the Japanese empire is carried much 

 higher, so as to make a total of above 260,000 square miles. Nor of 

 the population is there any certain knowledge, some estimating it 

 •t about 25 milliona, and others carrying it to double that amount. 



All these islands are very imperfectly known : not even the coaste 

 are laid down with any degree of correotneaa. This arises partly 

 from natural and partly from political causes. Nearly all the ooaate 

 are rery difficult of aooesa, being surrounded by numerous rocks and 

 I sland a, and by a very shallow sea. This latter circumstance aceounte 

 fgrtbaamalloeaaof all Japaneae vessela, and their unfitness to keep the 

 opM ••• in a gale. They can only be employed iu the coasting trade. 

 The sea, heaidaa containing numpruus rocks, haa some very dangerous 

 whirlpools, two of which especially have been noticed by navigators, 

 one near the island of Amakoosa, at the entrance of the Bay of 

 Slmabara, and the other near the southern extremity of Nipon, 

 between the baya of Oaaooa and of Mia. To this must be added, that 

 no part of tha oeaaa ia subject to heavier galos than the sea which 

 surrounds Japan : they frequently blow with ilio fury of hurri- 

 eanea. The government also and the laws of the Japaneae are less 

 favoorable to intercourse with foreigners than those of any other 

 country on the globe. If foreigners who arrive at the porta, after a 

 delay of many riavs and even weeks, are at Inst permitlcd to set foot 

 on shore, a small spot of ground is auigned to them, which has 



previously been Inclosed with strong paliaadoea. The Duteh alone are 

 permitted to trade in the harbour of Nagasaki, and are obliged to 

 aend annually an embassy to Yedo, which gives them an opportunity 

 of examining, though vuty imperfectly, the southern ooaat of Nipon 

 between Simonoseki and Yedo. But by the treatiea recently con- 

 cluded by the emperor of Japan with Rnssia and the United States 

 of America, aeveral porta are to Im opened to foreign traders in tha 

 course of three yean. Heanwhila all our Icnowledge of the country 

 is derived from the aooounta of the Dutoh. 



Some of theae traTsIlers assert that the whole surface of the islands 

 ia only a suooearfon of mountains, hills, and valleya ; but Kitmpfer 

 ezpresaly says that he passed through several plains of considerabls 

 extent, aa that which runs from the town of Osacca to Meaoo, a 

 distance of about twenty miles, and a similar plain west of Yedo, and 

 extending to that town. A Inrge plain occurs alao along the norUiem 

 shores of the Bay of Mia, and numerous smaller plains are noticed 

 by K&mpfer. But generally the hills run down close to the sea, or 

 leave only a narrow atrip of level ground between them and tha 

 sea-ahore. Though Japan ia doubtless a very hilly country, it can 

 hardly be said to be mountainous, aa by far the greatest number of 

 the eminences are cultivated to the very top, and those few which are 

 not cultivated are left in their natural state on account of the sterility 

 of the soil. The Duteh have observed only one single peak of great 

 elevation, the Fudsi Jamma, not far from the Bay of Tomina, west of 

 the Bay of Yedo. They compare it in shape with the Peak of Tene- 

 riffe, and observe that Uie snow seldom mclte on ite top. According 

 to tlie aoooimte of navigators however, it would seem that the northern 

 part of Nipon is traversed by a continuous chain of mountains with 

 several peaks. Volcanoes, some active, some extinct, are numerons; 

 to the latter class the Fndsi Jamma seems to belong. Some active 

 volcanoes occur on the islands scattered in the Strait of Corea, aa the 

 Sulphur Island, noticed by Captain B. Hall. 



From the peculiar form of these islands it may be presumed that 

 they hare no large rivers; and the rapidity with which they run 

 down shows that the country in the interior rises to a considerable 

 height. Many of them ore so rapid that no bridges can be built over 

 them, and they are not paused without danger. Several others are 

 less rapid, and though they caimot bo navigated, timber and wood 

 are floated down them. A considerable number however seem to be 

 navigable for small river-boata to a distance of some miles from the 

 sea. The most considerable and important of those which are known 

 is the river Yedogawa, in Nipon, which rises in the lake of Oita, a 

 sheet of water 60 miles in length, but of inconsiderable width. After 

 leaving this lake it traverses the fine plain which extends from ite 

 nhores to the harbour of Osacca, and in all this course it is navigated 

 by river barges. 



The southern part of the empire about NagaMki (the only part of 

 which we have a meteorological account) seems to resemble in many 

 pointe the climate of England. In winter it does not freeze and 

 snow every year, though this is generally the case : the froat and 

 snow, when there is any, last only a few days. In January t^e 

 thermometer descends at Nagasaki in mild winters to 35° Fahr. ; in 

 August it rises to 98°. The heat would consequently be great but 

 fur the refreshing breeze which blows during the day from tha 

 south, and during the night from the east. The weather is extremely 

 changeable, and rains are abundant all the year round ; but they are 

 more heavy and frequent during the ' satkasi,' or rainy season, which 

 occurs in June and July. Storms and hurricanes seem to occur fre- 

 quently. Thunder-storms and earthqnakea are also common. It is 

 observed that water-spouto are [nowhere of such frequent occurrence 

 as in the seas inclosing Japan. 



In no part of the world is agriculture carried to a higher degree of 

 perfection than in Japan. All the declivities of the hills to the top, 

 except those which are too steep, are formed into terraces or beds of 

 different width, according to the slope, and these terraces are culti- 

 vated with the utmost care. Here, as in China, the greatest attention 

 is paid to the collection of manure. The raising of rice is the principal 

 object, but wheat, barley, and rye are also cultivated. Aa the 

 Ja|>aneae use no butter nor tallow, they cultivate numerons oleaginous 

 plante, from which they obtain oil for dressing victuals and for their 

 lamps. The seeds of panic, millet, aod dog's-tau grass (Cynotuiiu Caret- 

 eanut) are much used aa food for man and beast. Of esculent roote 

 ohieBy batataa and potatoes are raised. Other vegetables are turnips, 

 cabbages, carrots, radishes, lettuces, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, 

 and gourda. Different kinds of beans and peaa are raised in aitonidt- 

 ing abundance, and several provinces have obtained a name from 

 producing them in superior quality. Among the beans are the daidsu 

 beans (Dolichot Soja), from which the Japanese make the liquid 

 which is known in England under the name of Soy. The plantations 

 of the tea shinib are extensive in some districts, but their produce is 

 inferior to that of China, and does not constitute an article fur exporta- 

 tion. Ginger is cultivated, and the pepper shrub is |ilnnted for the 

 consumption of the country. The orcoards are Blocked with the 

 fruit-trees of southern Europe, aa onngea, lemons, m''dlars, figs, grapea, 

 pomegranates ; and they produce also cliostouta, walnuts, peon, 

 peaches, and cherries. The raising of cotton and silk are nbjpcte of 

 groat importance, and the paper mulberry is planted extensively, ita 

 bark being used for making doth and paper. Hemp is alxo much 



