H. Takeda. 
38 
increased in August, 1910 by the annexation of Corea, so that it has 
now much the same area 1 as that of Austria-Hungary, and the 
population 3 is nearly equal to that of Germany. A warm current 
called “ Kuroshio”, similar to the Gulf stream of northern Europe, 
originating between Luzon and Formosa, flowing past the eastern 
side of the latter and along the southern Loochoos, reaches the 
southern extremity of Kyushu, where it divides into two branches. 
Whilst the main stream bends northward and flows along the south¬ 
east coast of Kyflshu, Shikoku, and Honto, the smaller branch 
washes the west of Kyushu and the Goto group and runs up to the 
Sea of Japan through Tsushima or Krusenstern Strait. This 
so-called Tsushima Stream flows over the eastern half of the Sea 
of Japan from the south-west to the north-east and passes partly 
through Tsugaru Strait, hut mainly through Lapdrouse Strait, 
and soon dimishes when it reaches the southern part of the 
Sea of Okhotsk. The main division of the “ Kuroshio ” bends out 
into the Pacific Ocean about the 39th degree of latitude and takes 
a course towards the south of the Aleutian Islands and the coast of 
North America. 
The cold currents in the northern Pacific Ocean, which affect 
the climate of Japan, originate partly in the Sea of Okhotsk and 
partly in the Behring Sea. The Kurile Stream, the most important 
of these, starts in the Penshina and Gishiga Bays and flows south¬ 
wards along Kamtschatka, and then taking up a weaker current 
from the eastern side of this large Siberian peninsula, turns towards 
the Kuriles and washes the whole length of the chain of islands. The 
current then runs chiefly along the east-coast of Yezo, down to the 
39th degree of latitude, 2 where the above-mentioned main stream of 
the warm current bends away into the Pacific Ocean. The water of 
this current is very cold and even in the summer its temperature 
does not rise above 5 n C. 
These warm and cold currents exercise great influence over the 
distribution of seaweeds. This is clearly seen on the east coast of 
Japan, the 39th degree of latitude being the separating point of two 
different algal floras. On the west coast, however, the course of 
the currents is more complicated, so that the elements of different 
floras appear somewhat intermixed, as will be seen from the 
following examples. 
The strand-flora is similarly affected, the northern elements 
1 256,033 square miles. 3 63,037,518. (Estimated in August, 1912). 
3 Occasionally it comes down as far south as the 38th degree. 
