CHAP. XVIII.] THE SHORES OF THE INLAND SEA. 
387 
sand unfavourable for vegetation. The splendid wild granite 
cliffs of the north accordingly are absent here. All the hill-tops 
are evenly rounded, and everywhere, except where there has 
been a sand-slip, covered with a rich vegetation, which in 
consequence of the evenness of height of the trees gives little 
variety to the landscape, which otherwise is among the most 
beautiful on the globe. 
We landed at two places, on the first occasion at Hirosami. 
Here some fishermens’ cabins and some peasants’ houses formed 
a little village at the foot of a high, much-weathered granite 
ridge. The burying-place was situated near one of the houses, 
close to the shore. On an area of some hundred square yards 
there were numerous gravestones, some upright, some fallen. 
Some were ornamented with fresh flowers, at one was a Shinto 
shrine of wooden pins, at another stood a bowl with rice and a 
small sahi bottle. Our zoologists here made a pretty rich 
collection of littoral animals, among which may be mentioned a 
cuttle-fish which had crept down amongst the wet sand, an 
animal that is industriously searched for and eaten by the 
natives. Among the cultivated plants we saw here, as many 
times before in the high-lying parts of the country, an old 
acquaintance from home, namely buckwheat. 
The second time the Vega anchored at a peasant village right, 
opposite Shimonoseki. When we landed there came an official 
on board, courteously declaring that we had no right to land at 
that place. But he was immediately satisfied and made no 
more difficulties when he was informed that we had the 
permission of the Governor, and that instead of the usual pass¬ 
port an official from Kobe accompanied the vessel. Shimonoseki 
has a melancholy reputation in European-Japanese history from 
the deeds of violence done here by a united English, French, 
])utch, and American fleet of seventeen vessels on the 4th 
and 5th September, 1864, in order to compel the Japanese to 
open the sound to foreigners, and the unreasonably heavy 
c c 2 
