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river bottoms. Not only their aspect, soil and other require- 

 ments seem very favourable to them, but the climatic suitability 

 has rendered these regions without parallel for their cultivation. 

 The province of Kai belongs to Central Japan, and Kawachi is 

 under the influence oi" the Indand Sea. Both regions have 

 relatively poor precipitations throughout the j'ear. That is, 

 favoured by the early rise of temperature in the spring the bud 

 starts its growth, favoured by the rains usual in this period, the 

 new shoots undergo rapid and steady growth. Afterwards, 

 though its flowering season falls in our rainy period, in the 

 middle of June the injury is not so great as in Omote-Nippon. 

 On the contrary, after the fiuits have set frequent rain would 

 rather favor the growth of the vines and fruits. Dry summer 

 and intense insolation would check more or less the action of 

 insects and fungi. After the rain season, which continues for 

 about one month, our summer, becomes hot and dry until late 

 August; then comes frequently the large amount of precipita- 

 tions accompanied by storm, and succeeded by the autumn 

 drought ; thus favouring their ripening and vintage. The 

 weather of the late autumn differs in Omote-Nippon and Ura- 

 Nippon, as repeatedly shown in the preceding chapter. In the 

 villages of Katsunuma and Iwai, the famous growing centers 

 in Kai, the vines are cultivated on horizontal bamboo trellis 

 called " Tana " in Japanese. These vine-yards have an 

 elevation of some 450 meters above sea-level. The relatively 

 cool, dry, cloudless summer produces grapes famed for their 

 excellent qualities. 



Finally, I can introduce to you an indigenous vine, the 

 so-called " Juraku ' (or " Murasaki ") of Kyoto. The name 

 is derived from a village in the suburbs of Kyoto, where the 

 variety has been cultivated for a long period. The grapes 

 differ from "Koshu" only in color. In this village, vines 

 are peculiarly trained over cottage roofs upon high bamboo 

 trellis, 10 feet or more in height. The "Tanas" are not 

 repaired by the holders or cottagers themselves, but com- 



