On Smelting Copper in Japan. 345 



weigh about ten taels (i. e. nearly a pound av.) each. The cop- 

 per is all poured off in about ten times, and the crucible is fused 

 ten times in a day. In this manner are made the copper bars 

 which are brought to Nagasaki and Kwashi.* 



"The above are all the rules for smelting pure copper; there 

 are others for taking the re-smelted copper, fusing and casting it 

 into square, or round, or other shaped molds, as will be presently- 

 explained, and these are, in the main, similar to those for making 

 copper bars. 



"Copper was first brought to this country by eastern people. 

 According to the Memoir on Copper, the year was between the 

 reigns of Genki and Tenshei. For about a thousand years, the 

 metal from every district was chiefly of the third quality, as they 

 had not learned how to extract the silver ; so that they could be 

 called deficient in manipulation. For this is known from the 

 fact, that if broken copper utensils, made in the reign of Ten- 

 shei and before him, be smelted, silver can always be extracted 

 from them. The silver used in those days was all obtained from 

 mines. At the end of Tenshei's reign, certain foreign merchants 

 came to Sakai in the country of Shen, and taught the mode of 

 extracting silver to Sumitomo Zhiyusai ; this was in the year 

 15 9l. In the reign of Tsungching of the [Chinese] Ming dy- 

 nasty, from that which was produced at Soii-you-shei, the furna- 

 ces of Tenkoii and Kaimutsu became skillful in extracting the 

 silver, though the mode of operation was different. Teenching 

 reigned the fortieth year after this, in 1(531. From Sumitomo 

 Zhiyusai and after, the family has followed the occupation of 

 fining and smelting copper; the fourth in succession was called 

 Sumitomo Tomoyoo, and he discovered a copper mine in the de- 

 partment of Yo (or Yo shin), while Genroku reigned, which lie 

 ^sired leave to open ; it has yielded not less than 7,000,000 

 catties of copper annually, while it has been constantly worked 

 U P to the present time, more than a hundred years. For seven gen- 

 erations past this family has superintended the Raukwa foundry; 

 a nd because the designation of the foreign merchants was Shiro- 

 ttidzu they have joined the two characters to form Shen their 

 Present mark. He who first in this country extracted silver from 

 C0 Pper was undoubtedly Sumitomo Zhiyusai, but people gen- 

 ially did not know this fact, and therefore this explanation has 

 been introduced. 



. Sec VILI. Of at/m/hi? copper and lead — " When silver and 

 z mc are combined with the copper, lead is added and placed on 

 t0 P of the furnace, and the whole mass fused. When the earthy 



Thunbi.T«r sayg the "cooper after being roasted mil smelter] at the malting 

 ^se is refined. | maimfuctw i at Miyako, where also all the coin is struck. 

 I? 1 ni, page 141. The foundry of Raukwa. mentioned m this account, may he at 

 'yako, but we have do menus of ascertaining. 



i 



