61 



., 



J A P A N. 



&c. 



Division 

 into pro- 

 vinces, &c. 



Aspect of 



Crops. 



Mode of 

 cultivating 

 the bills. 



Oitz sends forth two rivers, and is said to be 50 Jnpa- 

 v -""~. """*' nese leagues in length, but of inconsiderable breadth. 

 Mountains, Among the mountains are volcanoes, and in the pro- 

 vince of Figo one constantly emits flame. The princi- 

 pal mountain is Fusi, which is covered with snow the 

 greatest part of the year. But the courses of the dif- 

 ferent ranges have not been traced. Near the lake of 

 Oitz is the sacred mountain of Jesan, said to be deco- 

 rated with 3000 temples ! 



The Japanese islands are divided into provinces and 

 districts, like other civilized countries. The face of 

 t jj e county o f J a p an is agreeably diversified by moun- 

 tains, hills, and vallies, and is well watered with 

 the country. r ; vers and lakes, the general aspect presenting a soil 

 cultivated with industry and freedom. Even moun- 

 tains and hills form no 1 obstacle to cultivation. Agri- 

 Agriculture, culture being in high estimation in Japan, it meets 

 with the greatest encouragement from the govern- 

 ment,* The chief produce is rice, barley and wheat 

 being little used. A kind of potatoe is common, and 

 several sorts of beans and peas, turnips and cabbage, 

 abound. The rice is sown in April, and gathered in No- 

 vember. The sides of the hills present a singular spectacle 

 to the stranger, from the mode of cultivation which is 

 adopted. Stone walls support level platforms sown with 

 rice or roots ; and thousands of these are scattered over 

 the mountains, affording a favourable picture of the in- 

 genuity and industry of the inhabitants.^ Though the 

 space should not exceed two square feet, a stone wall 

 is raised at the bottom, the inclosure filled with earth, 

 and carefully sown with rice, or planted with esculent 

 roots. As may be easily supposed from this state of 

 general cultivation, few forests are suffered to grow : 

 these are confined to the sides of such mountains, pro- 

 bably, as can be subdued by neither agricultural labour 

 nor skill. 



There are no fences used in dividing the cultivated 

 grounds in this country ; and the fields often resemble 

 kitchen gardens divided into narrow beds, which are sepa- 

 rated from each other by a deep trench, nearly as broad 

 as the divisions which are under crop. After a certain 

 interval the trenches are filled up with earth, so as to be 

 converted in their turn into beds, and give the soil a rest 

 from constant bearing. In these beds the corn is sown 

 sometimes lengthwise, but more commonly across ; 

 and after the crop is cut down, another kind of grain 

 is sown in the same season, between the stubble of the 

 old crop, so as to make the same field produce twice in 

 one year. The greatest care is bestowed upon manur- 

 ing and cleaning the ground. Every kind of substance 

 which can be converted into manure is carefully col- 

 lected ; and, together with urine and foul water from 

 the kitchen, is mixed up in a liquid state. It is then 

 carried in large pails to the fields, and, by means of a 

 ladle, it is poured upon the plant after it is about six inches 

 in height. Irrigation also is much practised, wherever 

 water can be procured in the vicinity of the fields. The 

 weeds are so completely cleared away, that " the most 

 quick-sighted botanist," says Thunberg, " would scarce- 

 ly be able to discover a single plant of another species 

 among the corn." The grain is frequently separated 

 from the straw merely by beating the sheaves against 

 a post or barrel ; but is commonly threshed on straw 

 mats in the open air by means of flails with three swin- 

 gles. There are no pasture grounds among the cultiva- 



ted tracts ; and the few cattle used in the country are all Japan. 

 fed in the farm-yards. Thunberg affirms, that the soil 1 *^"iT" / 

 throughout Japan is naturally barren, and has been ren- 

 dered so remarkably productive only by the labour and 

 skill of tin; husbandman. 



Japan abounds in rare and beautiful plants ; and as Vegetable 

 there is a great similarity in the vegetable productions of prouuuu..,i. 

 China and this kingdom, no doubt from the vicinity of 

 the two countries, they are mutually indebted to each 

 other for an interchange of useful vegetables. The 

 ginger, soy bean, black pepper, sugar, the cotton and 

 indigo plant, though not indigenous, are cultivated with 

 success, and in abundance, in Japan. Two sorts of 

 mulberry grow ; one which feeds the silk worm, and 

 the other is manufactured into paper. It is said that 

 the beautiful black varnish is produced from a gum which 

 exude* from the bark of the rhus vernix. The citrus 

 japonica, a species of orange peculiar to this country, 

 is found in a wild state. But as the botany of Japan 

 has been treated at length by Ksempfer and Thunberg, 

 our botanical readers are referred to them for particulars 

 on this subject. 



Gold, silver, and especially copper, are found in Mines. 

 abundance in Japan, large quantities of which have 

 been exported at various times by the Portuguese and 

 Dutch. No mine can be opened without the permis- 

 sion of the emperor, who claims two thirds of the pro- 

 duce, leaving only one third to the proprietor for his 

 expences. Iron is scarcer than other metals, and the 

 Japanese will not allow it to be exported. 



Sulphur is found in sufficient abundance, particular* 

 ly in a certain island near Satsuma ; and pit-coal is not 

 uncommon in the northern provinces. Red agate, as- 

 bestos, porcelain clay, flesh-coloured steatite, pumice 

 atone and white marble are also found in Japan ; and 

 there are several warm mineral waters, especially at 

 Obamma and the mountain of Omfen, which are used 

 by the natives in the cure of various diseases. 



It is singular that neither sheep nor goats are propa- Animals, 

 gated in the Japanese dominions. The latter, and 

 swine, are deemed destructive of cultivation. Horses 

 are rare, and cattle still more so, these last being re- 

 served solely for agricultural purposes. Buffaloes with 

 a bunch on their backs are sometimes seen employed in 

 drawing carts. The cows are very small in size, and 

 are used rather for draught than for their milk or their 

 flesh. Dogs are common in the domestic state, and 

 are said to be kept from superstitious motives. Cats of 

 various colours are to be seen in every house, and are 

 said to be the general favourites of the ladies. The 

 wolf is found in the northern parts, and foxes in dif- 

 ferent districts, but are regarded with peculiar detes- 

 tation, as demons incarnate. Hares of a grey colour, 

 and rats as in other countries, have been seen by tra- 

 vellers in Japan; and, in the least inhabited tracts, 

 bears, monkeys, deer, c. are reported to be found. 

 The common kinds of poultry are reared in considerable 

 abundance ; and great numbers of wild geese frequent 

 the waters between the islands, and other places at a 

 distance from the towns or villages. Herons are seen 

 following the ploughman in the fields ; and the Chinese 

 teal, the quail, the crow, pigeon, and bulfinch, were 

 all observed by Thunberg. Serpents are said by the 

 natives to be occasionally seen ; but few of the amphi- 

 bia are met with in the country. Fish, which are an 



The farmer pays a considerable part of the produce as rent to his feudal chief, and is restricted only to one condition, viz. to have 

 all his land in cultivation. Should he leare any part of his fields untilled, he forfeits the possession of that portion, which is occu- 

 pied by another husbandman. 



