48 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



arouse a nightmare 

 o f superstition i n 

 many untlltore (1 

 minds. Yet Nature's 

 glory outshines her 

 temporary gloom. 

 The pomp of a luxu- 

 rious vegetation, the 

 splendor of the land- 

 scape, the clearness 

 of the air, and the 

 variety of the climate 

 serve both to soothe 

 and to enliven the 

 spirits of man. 



The majority of the 

 inhabitants rarely see 

 ice over an inch thick 

 or snow more than 24 

 hours old. The sur- 

 rounding ocean and 

 the variable winds 

 temper the climate in 

 summer ; the Kuro 

 S h i w o, the "Gulf 

 Stream" of the Pa- 

 cific, modifies the cold 

 of winter. 



JAPANESE CHARAC- 

 TER MOLDED BY 

 ENVIRONMENT 



These, then, 

 among the 



Photograph from Walter Weston 

 A SNOW CREVASSE IN THE NORTH JAPANESE ALPS 



Alps" corresponds in latitude and eleva- 

 tion with the Sierra Nevada of Spain. 



AN AMAZING VARIETY OP SCENERY 



The aspects of Nature in Japan, as in 

 most volcanic countries, comprise an 

 amazing variety of savage grandeur, ap- 

 palling destructiveness, and almost 

 heavenly beauty. From the mountains 

 burst forth volcanic eruptions ; from the 

 land come tremblings ; from the ocean 

 sweeps in the dreaded tidal wave; over 

 it rages the typhoon. Floods of rain in 

 summer and autumn give rise to land- 

 slides and inundations. Along the coast 

 the winds and currents are very variable. 

 Sunken and emerging rocks line the shore. 



All these make the dark side of Nature 

 to cloud the imagination of man, and to 



are 

 mam in- 

 fluences of Nature in 

 modifying and form- 

 ing the physique and 

 character of the peo- 

 ple who inhabit Japan. 



Add to the varied and violent contrasts 

 the fact that the majority of the people 

 dwell in houses mainly built of wood and 

 paper, and therefore subject to sudden 

 and complete destruction by fire, and we 

 shall not be surprised to find them lively, 

 impressionable, and artistic ; but also, 

 from the constant and imperative need 

 of repairing the ravages wrought by 

 these agencies, stoical, persevering, and 

 withal, somewhat fatalistic. 



The geographical features of Japan 

 have much in common with those of 

 ancient Hellas. In both there is the same 

 combination of mountain, valley, and 

 plain, a deeply indented coast-line, with 

 its bays, peninsulas, and islands off the 

 coast. Few places inland are far removed 



