JAP 
is ufed for the mint, gilding, and embroidery; but it is 
not carried out of the country. Silver muft formerly have 
been found in much'greater plenty than at prefent, as a 
large quantity of it was then exported.- The japanefe 
now consider it as being more rare than gold, although 
the-latter metal is dearer. It is faid to be found in the 
province of Bingo; and in tiie more northerly parts to¬ 
wards Kattami, very rich filver-mines are to be met with. 
Independently of tliefe places, the two iflands which are 
called the Gold and Silver Illes,- ( Ginfima, Kxnfima ,) are 
faid to contain a great quantity of both of thefe precious 
metals. Silver is ufed for coiningnnd for plating.. Cop¬ 
per is quite common in every part of the empire,, and is 
richly impregnated with gold, conftituting the main lource 
of the wealth of many provinces. It was not only for¬ 
merly exported in amazing quantities, but ft.il! continues 
to be exported both by the Dutch and Chinefe merchants. 
The finelt and molt malleable is dug in Suruga, Atfingo, 
ICyno, and Kuni. The laffc fort is elteemed to be the moft 
malleable of any ; whilft that from Suruga contains the 
greatelf quantity of gold. Of this metal are made fmall 
pieces of money for change; it is ufed likewife for pla¬ 
ting, and for making utenfils, fuch as pots, kettles, &c. 
Iron feems to be fcarcer than any other metal in this 
country ; this they are neither fond of importing, nor yet 
of exporting it for lale ; of it they manufacture lcymitars, 
arms, fciffars, knives, and various other implements of 
which they ftand in need. 
The vaft quantity of fulphur with which moft of the 
Japan iflands abound, makes them fubjeft to frequent and 
dreadful earthquakes. The inhabitants are fo accuftomed 
to them, that they are fcarcely alarmed at any, unlefs 
they chance to be very terrible indeed, and lay whole 
towns in ruins, which very often proves the cafe. On 
thefe occaftons, they h'ave recourfe to extraordinary fa~ 
crifices, and afts of worfhip to their deities or demons, 
according to the different notions of each fefft, and fome- 
times even proceed to offer human victims ; but in this 
cafe they only take fome of the vileft and moft abandoned 
fellows they can meet’with, becaufe. they are only facri- 
ficed to the malevolent deities.— Thanberg's Travels , and 
Qibfo'n's Geography . 
JAPAN', adj. Japanned; belonging to Japan; brought 
from Japan. 
JAPAN 7 , /. Varnifhed work, work raifed in colours af¬ 
ter the manner of the Japanefe. 
To JAPAN', v. a . To varnifh, and embellifti with gold 
and raifed figures : 
For not the defk with filyer nails,. 
Nor bureau of expence, 
Nor ftandifh ,v.'t\\ japann'cl, avails 
The writing of good fenfe. Swift, 
»po black and glofs fhces. A low pkrafe: 
The god of fire 
Among thefe gen’rous prefents joins his part, 
And aids with foot the new 'japanning art. Gay. 
JAPANE 7 SE,yi The natives of Japan, a native of Ja¬ 
pan. 
JAPANE'SE, adj. Belonging to Japan, produced in 
Japan. 
JAPAN'NER,/! One fkilled-.in Japan work. A flioe- 
blacker ; fo called becaufe he makes the-fhoes fhine : 
The poor have theTame itch ; 
They change their weekly barber, weekly news. 
Prefer a nsvj japanner to their fhoes. Tope, 
JAPAN'NING, f. The art of varnifhing and drawing 
figures on wood, in the fame manner as is done by the 
natives of Japan in the Eaft Indies. 
The fubftances which admit of being japanned are al- 
moft every kind that are dry and. rigid, or not too fLexi- 
■bie ; as wood, metals, leather, and paper prepared...' 
Wood and metals do.not require any other preparation, 
JAP Ag.5 
but to-have their furface perfeflly even ahef clean; bui 
leather fhould be fecurely ftrained either on frames or on 
boards; as its bending or forming folds would othenvjfe 
crack and force off the coats of varnifh ; and paper fhould 
be treated in the fame manner, and have a previous ftrong 
coat of fome kind of fize ; but it is rarely made the-fub- 
je£l of japanning till it is converted into papier macke, or 
wrought by other means into fuch form, that its original- 
ftate, particularly with refpeeft to flexibility, is loft. 
One principal variation from the method formerly ufed 
in japanning is, the ufmg or omitting any priming or un¬ 
der-coat on the work to be japanned. In the older prac¬ 
tice, fuch priming was . always ufed ; and is at prefent re¬ 
tained in the French manner of-japanning coaches and 
fnUff-boxes of the papier mac he ; but in the Birmingham 
manufacture here, it has been always rejected. The ad¬ 
vantage of ufing fuch priming or under-coat is, that it 
makes a faving in the quantity of varnifh ufed; becauf® 
the matter of which the priming is compofed fills up the 
inequalities of the body to be varnifhed ;• and makes it 
eaiy by means of rubbing and water-polilhing to gain an 
even furface for the Varnifh ; and this was therefore Inch 
a convenience in the cafe of wood,-as-the giving a hard- 
nefs and firmnefs to the ground was alfo in the cafe of 
leather, that it became an eftabljlhed method ; and is 
therefore retained even in the inftance of the papier machl 
by the French, who applied the received method of ja¬ 
panning to that kind of work on its introduction. There 
is neverthelefs this inconvenience always attending the 
ufe of an under-coat of fize, that the japan coats of var¬ 
nifh and colour will .be conftantly liable to be cracked 
and peeled off by any violence, and will not endure near 
folong a-- the bodies japanned in the fame manner, but 
without: any fuch priming, as may be eafily obferved in 
comparing the wear of the Paris and Birmingham fnuff- 
boxes; which latter, when good of their kind, never peel - 
or crack, or fuffer any damage, unlefs by great violence, 
and fuch a continued rubbing as- rtaftes away the fub- 
ftance of the varnifh; while the Japan coats of the Pari- 
fian crack and fly off in flakes whenever any knock or fall, 
particularly near the edges, expofes themto.be injured. 
But the Birmingham manufacturers, whooriginally prac- 
tifed the japanning only 011-metals, to which the’reafon 
above givenfor the ufe of priming did not extend, and who 
took, up this art of themfeives as an invention, of courfe 
omitted at firft the ufe of any fuch under-coat; and, not 
finding it more neceffary in the inftance of papier macks 
than on metals,, continue frill to reject it. On which ac¬ 
count, the boxes of their manufaflure are, with regard to 
the wear, greatly better than the French. 
The laying on the colours in gum-water, infteatf of 
varnifh, is alfo another variation from the method of ja¬ 
panning formerly praftifed ; but the much greater ftrenptfy 
of the-work, where they are laid on in varnifh or oil, has- 
occafioned this way to be exploded with the greateft Yea- 
fon in all regular manufactures; however, they who may 
praCtife japanning on cabinets, or other fuch pieces as are 
not expofed to much wear and violence, for their amufe- 
ment only, and confequently may not find it worth their 
while to encumber themfeives with the preparations ne- 
ceffary for the other methods, may paint with water¬ 
colours on the under-coat laid on the wood or other fub- 
ftance' of which the piece to be japanned is formed ; and 
theta finifh with the proper coats of varhifhj according to 
.the methods below taught; and if the colours are tem¬ 
pered with' the ftrongeft iiinglafs fize and honey, inftead 
of guru-water, and laid on very flat and even, the work 
wilL not be much inferior in appearance to that done by 1 
the other method, and will laft as long as the old japan. 
Of Grounds. —The proper grounds are either fuch as 
are formed by the varnifh and colour, where the whole is 
to remain of one Ample colour; or by the- varnifh either 
coloured or without colour, on which fome painting or 
other-decoration is afterwards to be- laid. It is neceffary 3 
however* before we proceed to fpeak of’ she particular 
grounds} 
