FIRST VIEW OF JAPAN. 
Chap. I. 
Kingdom of the Origin of the Sun.” When I 
came on deck in the morning the far-famed shores 
of Zipangu lay spread before my wondering eyes 
for the first time. Having heard and read so 
many stories of this strange land — of its stormy 
coasts, on which many a goodly vessel had been 
wrecked ; of its fearful earthquakes, which were 
said to have thrown up, in a single night, moun- 
tains many thousands of feet above the level of 
the sea ; of its luxuriant vegetation, full of strange 
and beautiful forms; of its curious inhabitants; 
and last, but not least, of its salamanders ! — I had 
long looked upon Japan much in the same light 
as the Komans regarded our own isles in the days 
of the ancient Britons. 
My first view of these shores, however, did a 
good deal towards dispelling this delusion. It 
was a lovely morning. The sun rose from be- 
hind the eastern mountains without a cloud to 
obscure his rays. The Grotto islands and Cape Gotto 
were passed to the north of us, and with a fair 
wind and smooth sea we were rapidly approach- 
ing the large island of Kiu-siu, on which the 
town of Nagasaki is situated. The land is hilly 
and mountainous, and in many instances it rises 
perpendicularly from the sea. These perpendi- 
cular rocky cliffs have a very curious appearance 
as one sails along. There are also a number of 
queer-looking detached little islands dotted about ; 
and one almost wonders how they got there, as 
they seem to have no connexion with any other 
