APPENDIX. 265 



mPEESSIONS OF JAPAN. 



Nagasaki, September 18, 1876. 



Coming here from our Pacific Coast during the month of 

 August, when everything there, owing to the long absence of 

 rain, is dry and brown, one is agreeably impressed with the con- 

 trast which the green hill-sides and valleys of Japan present, and 

 this contrast between the verdure and foliage of the two countries 

 is no greater than that between the respective people, their manners 

 and customs. As we sailed through the entrance to the Bay of 

 Yokohama, our attention was first attracted to the fleets of quaint 

 fishing-boats, manned by nearly naked copper-colored crews, and, 

 as soon as our steamer cast anchor in the harbor, it was surrounded 

 by a throng of queer-looking boats called " sampans." In appear- 

 ance they are a little like a Venetian gondola, but are unpainted, 

 and, instead of being rowed, are sculled with a long double- jointed 

 oar, which, although it looks clumsy, is very effective in native 

 hands. I shall never forget my first trip to the shore in a " sam- 

 pan," propelled by three or four of these half-naked boatmen, 

 their lithe bodies bending in time witli a weird chant, with which 

 they accompanied their efforts. On landing, another surprise 

 presented itself in the shape of a ^^ jinriksha," which is the ordi- 

 nary mode of conveyance on land here. The '^jinriksha " is a 

 sort of exaggerated baby-carriage on two wheels, and is drawn by 

 either one or two men, usually by one, at a rate of speed which, 

 perhaps, is not as fast as a London cab, but is certainly faster 

 than the average rate of our hacks and omnibuses in America. 

 At first they were only used in the smooth streets. of the cities, 

 which are here macadamized and usually very level, but they 

 proved so effective and popular, that they are now used in all the 

 principal towns and cities of the empire, and long trips through 

 the country are made with them. It is no uncommon thing for a 

 '■'■ jinrihsha " drawn by two men, to accomplish forty or even fifty 

 miles per day, across the country, where the roads are by no 

 means perfect or level. The first one was invented by a Japanese 

 about nine years ago, and it is estimated now that there are up- 

 ward of a hundred thousand in the country, and the number is 

 increasing very rapidly. Some four or five thousand have recently 



