EMPIRE OF JAPAN. 



969 



AVfs and manners of the Chinese. The name China is unknown to the natives, who call thein« 

 selves Men of the Central Empire, or Men of the Central Flower. 



Floioer-seller. Chinese Woman. 



CHAPTER CLIII. EMPIRE OF JAPAN. 



1. Extent. This empire consists of several islands in the Pacific Ocefin, lying between lat. 

 29° and 47° N., and long. 128° and 150° E., and separated from the continent by the Sea of 

 Japan and the channel of Tartary. It has an area of 240,000 square miles, and a population 

 of 26,000,000 souls. The principal islands of the group are Niphon, Sikoko, Kiusiu, and 

 Yesso or Matsmai ; the southern part of Seghalien belongs to Japan, and the northern to Chi- 

 na ; some of the Kurile islands also belong to the former. The lofty mountains which inter- 

 sect the principal islands, and the exposure to the sea-breezes render the climate cool. Earth- 

 quakes are common. 



2. Productions. Rice, hemp, and silk, and the various tropical fruits are produced in abun- 

 dance in the southern parts. The milky juice of the varnish trees supplies the beautiful lacker 

 or japan ; the tea-tree and bamboo are indigenous. Agriculture is carried to great perfection, 

 and as there are few cattle or sheep, there are no meadows, and fences are not necessary. The 

 corn fields, cotton plantations, rice grounds, and mulberry orchards are often very extensive. 



3. Towns. Fedo, the capital, upon the Island of Niphon, is one of the largest and most 

 populous cities in the world, having a circuit of 53 miles, and a population of 1,300,000 souLs. 

 The port is shallow, and accessible only to small vessels. The houses are constructed of bam- 

 boo, covered with mortar, and are but two stories high. Paper suppHes the place of glass, 

 and the floors are covered with malting. The palace of the emperor is nearly 15 miles in cir- 

 cumference and is strongly fortified ; the citadel or inner fort is inhabited by the imperial family, 

 and the outer fortress by the nobility. 'J'he ball of a hundred mats is 600 feet long and 300 

 wide, with the doors and cornices finely lackered, and the locks and hinges richly gilt. 



Kio or Meaco was for a long time the capital, and contains the most remarkable edifices. It 

 is also the residence of the dairi or descendant of the ancient emperors, who is the spiritual 

 head of the empire. The dairi's palace is, in itself, a town surrounded with walls and ditches ; 

 the imperial palace is also a large building. The temple of Fokosi, paved with squares of 

 white marble, and adorned with 96 columns of cedar, is about 1 ,000 feet in length, and con- 

 tains a colossal statue of Buddha, 83 feet in height. The temple of Kwanwon is httle inferior 

 to the preceding ; in the midst sits the goddess, with 33 hands, surrounded by crowds of sub- 

 ordinate deities ; and innumerable statues of all sizRs, and richly gilt, are placed around on 



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