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and widest is probably the Toné gawa. The Shinano gawa and Kiso gawa, both of which take their rise in Shinano, come next. In addition to these may be mentioned the Ôi gawa, Fuji gawa and Tenriu gawa on the south, the Sakata gawa in Uzen, the Abukuma gawa in Ôshiu and the Ishikari in Yezo, or as we ought now to say, in the Hokkaidô. Almost every one of these rivers takes its name either from a province, a department, or a place on its course. Many Japanese rivers change their name several times between the source and the mouth. The Baniu gawa, which flows into the sea between Fujisawa and Odawara, is called the Kadzura gawa from its source in the Yamanaka lake at the buse of Fuji down to the town of Atsugi. The Yodo gawa, at the mouth of which is situated the city of Ôzaka, is called the Seta gawa at the point where it leaves the lake of Ômi, and the Uji gawa between the towns of Uji and Fushimi. Above Hashimoto it receives the waters of the Kidzu gawa, absorbing its name as well, which re-appears below the city of Ôzaka. The Yodo gawa disappears at Ôzaka, and the other mouths are called Nakatsu gawn, Aji kawa and Shirinashi gawa. The Sumita gawa which flows through Yedo is called the Ara kawa near its source, and the Toda gawa at the point where it intersects the Nakasendô. What foreigners have been accustomed to call the Logo or Logos ever since the opening of Japan, is the Tama gawa, and that part only which runs by Kawasaki is called Rokugô, which word we have corrupted into Logo. Not even those rivers whose reputation is most widely spread, such as the Toné gawa and Kiso gawa, retain the same name throughout.
The Toné gawa rises on Monjiuzan behind Fujiwara in the department of Toné in the province of Kôdzuké. From its source to Chôshi point, where it falls into the Pacific Ocean, it measures more than 70 ri, or 17112 miles. It is nicknamed Bandô Tarô, which may be rendered ‘the eldest son of the region west of the pass.’ The first town of any importance on its banks is Numata, formerly the seat of a small daimiô. A little way below this town the Adzuma gawa flows into it on the right. Just above the
