AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES, 173 



bamboo-cane (Take), willows^ (Yanagi), and rattan (To). The 

 first two of these are yielded by the land itself, but rattan, from 

 which the finest wicker-ware is made, and which even plays its 

 part in artistic handiwork, has to be brought from the south, the 

 tropical monsoon region. Of course, like bamboo-cane, it must 

 first be split and cut into smooth strips of a greater or less thick- 

 ness, before being thus used. To-mushiro (rattan-mats) are made 

 and used much less in Japan than in China. On the other hand, 

 To, Yanagi, and Take, serve in the construction of a number of 

 -other wicker wares, — among which we may only note Kori or 

 basket-boxes, which are useful in many ways. For example, the 

 Yanagi-gori {i.e., willow-bandbox) is an excellent substitute for a 

 trunk, especially in travelling, — like our willow baskets with lids. 

 The sides of its lid overlap and reach to the ground outside of the 

 lower part of the basket, which is smaller. Great numbers of 

 smaller Kori are made of rattan. They possess the advantage 

 over our wooden trunks of being more elastic, adaptable, and 

 durable. Those stiff broad-brimmed hats, called Kasa, which pro- 

 tect the head from sunshine and rain, but are far from being com- 

 fortable, are sometimes woven of peeled willow-wands and some- 

 times of rattan or bamboo. And finally there are whole hosts of 

 variously shaped baskets constructed of these two last-named 

 materials. Baskets from the province of Tajima are especially 

 beautiful. They are sent to the baths at Arima, and further still 

 to Kobe, and also exported. 



(e) Dye-plants and Tannic-acids^ and their Application. 



Japan has not remained unaffected by the great advance in the 

 chemical production of organic dyes. Since the introduction of 

 artificial madder and aniline-dyes, some of the native dye-plants 

 formerly held in great estimation, both cultivated and wild, have 

 lost much of their importance. But their interest for science is 

 not therefore lost. We wish still to know their manner of growth 

 and how they were utilized. The information that follows here, 

 though by no means exhaustive, is designed to supply this want 

 and perhaps furnish something new. 



I. Polygonum tinctorium, Lour., Jap. Ai, the dyer's knotweed. 

 This plant is cultivated in Eastern Asia. It was first described in 

 1790, by Loureiro, in his "Flora Cochinchinensis." It has since 

 early times furnished indigo to a vast region in Eastern Asia, 

 comprising especially China, Corea, and Japan, and belongs to the 

 genus Persicaria, like our commonest kinds of knotweed. From a 

 stout fibre-root, it puts forth many round, leafy stalks, 30 to 50 cm. 

 high, at whose joints or nodes the oval, pointed leaves, and after- 



1 Besides Salix japonica, Thunb., there are several other species included 

 under this head, which have not yet been thoroughly investigated. 



