51 



below some 600,000 or 700,000 yen per year. In ancient times 

 they were chiefly used as materials for different finished articles 

 by the Japanese but recently they are exported to China to a 

 certain extent as finished articles but generally they are exported to 

 Europe and to Italy in particular as raw material, we observe that 

 the demand for coral is annually increasing. There are about 80 

 species of which peach, red, and white colored corals are sold 

 in the market as commercial products. The Japanese species are 

 large in size and superior in quality, in which respect they excel 

 the products from the Mediterranean Sea. The peach colored 

 ■coral is regarded as most precious. 



(5) Pearls and their works Exhibited by Tatsushiro 



Koga, Yasutaro Tamaki, Keitaro Ikeda. Otojiro Fuji- 

 moto, Riichi Watanabe, Fishery Experiment Station 

 of Nagasaki Prefecture and Kokichi Mikimoto. 

 The pearl producing districts are in Miye, Ishikawa, Naga- 

 saki and Okinawa prefectures. Pearls are of two kinds, natural 

 and artificial but since pearls perfectly round in shape are highly 

 prized as commercial products, natural pearls command a high 

 price. The consideration of their lustre divides pearls into two 

 kinds " Gindama ^^ and " Kindama '' (silvery and golden) the 

 former is far superior to the latter both in quality and price. 

 Kokiclii Mikimoto who is one of the exhibitors of pearls is the 

 best known abroad among the producers of pearls in Japan. 



(6) Black Corals, Axis of Seapens and their Works 



Exhibited by Matsuye Black Coral Traders' Association. 



Both black corals and axis of sea-pens are plentifully grown 

 along the sea coast of Japan, particularly in the prefectures of 

 Tottori and Shimane. Most of these are made into pipes, canes, 

 and chop-sticks after they are worked and finished. 



