Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/599

GEOGRAPHY.] JAPAN 571 through the straits by the batteries erected by the lord of Choshiu (in which province Shimonoseki is situated) is a matter of historical note. The current in these straits is so swift that vessels have difficulty in stemming it unless under steam. It will suffice to name a few of the almost countless pro montories and capes along the coast. On the extreme north of the main island we have Riuhi-zaki and Fujishi- zaki in the Tsugaru Straits. Inuboye" no saki lies on the east coast just below the mouth of the Tonegawa. Su-saki in Awa and Miura no misaki (called by foreigners Cape Sagami) mark the entrance to the Bay of Yedo. Cape Idzu is in the province of that name, and at the southern extremity of the province of Ivishiu are Idzumo-zaki and Shiwo no misaki. Muroto-zaki and Ashizuri no misaki are the chief promontories on the south coast of the island of Shikoku, both being situated in the province of Tosa. Tsutsui-zaki in Hiuga, and Sata no misaki (better known to Europeans as Cape Chichakoff) in Osumi are the ex treme southern points of the island of Kiushiu. In the^ island of Yezo there are several noticeable promontories. The number of harbours and trading-ports called by the natives 6-minato (" large harbours ") is stated to be fifty-six, but many of these would no doubt be inaccessible to foreign vessels of heavy tonnage. They are, however, admirably adapted for the accommodation of coasting junks and fishing craft, and these vessels have no lack of places of refuge in heavy weather. In many instances the entrances are blocked by one or more small islands or rocks, which render the anchorage within even more secure. In Yezo the port of Matsumae is the one best known. The Bay of Yedo abounds with harbours, some being situated within the mouths of the rivers. In Idzu, Shimoda is one that deserves special mention ; the water is there very deep, and it is a common occurrence for vessels beating up towards the entrance of Yedo Bay to seek shelter in it. Shimidzu in Suruga is also a well-known place ; a long sandy promontory covered with fir trees defends the port from the sea on the south. In the province of Shima are Toba and Matoya, both magnificent harbours. The " Inland Sea " is, of course, especially rich in this respect, the harbour of Mitarai, between two islands near the province of Aki, being a favourite place of call. In Shikoku, Takamatsu in Sanuki is the best known. Kiushiu is abundantly supplied, Kagoshima in Satsuma being one of the largest and best. The harbours on the north-west coast of the main island are also numerous, and each of the islands Tsushima, Iki, and Sado possesses one. The ports thrown open to foreign trade since the year 1859 are Yokohama, Hiogo (Kobe), and Niigata on the main island, Nagasaki in Kiushiu, and Hakodate in Yezo. Mountains. Japan, as might reasonably be expected in a country where volcanoes are so numerous, is very hilly ; and in some districts there are many mountains of considerable height. The most extensive plains are those of the Kuanto and Echigo, and the north of Oshiu. The provinces of Mikawa, Mino, and Owari are also very flat. Half-way between Tokio (Yedo) and Kioto lies the great watershed of the east of Japan, the table-land of Shinano, elevated some 2500 feet above the level of the sea. The ridges around or forming part of it are very lofty, particularly those of the province of Hida. The plain of Yedo lies to the east of this table-land, about 1800 feet below, while to the north the hills gradually slope away to the province of Echigo. Another range of considerable height runs due north from Aidzu to Tsugaru, thus dividing the old pro vinces of Oshiu and Dewa. The province of Kai is almost entirely surrounded by mountains, and the hill scenery in Kishiu and near Kioto is exceedingly fine. Shikoku possesses some large ridges, and the south of Kiushiu, especially in the provinces of Higo and Hiuga, is also by no means deficient. Even in the wide rice-plains through out the country there may often be seen minor elevations or hills, rising abruptly, in some cases to a considerable height. The mountain best known to foreigners is Fuji- san, commonly, but most erroneously, termed Fusiyama or Fusi-no-yama in geographical works. It rises more than 12,000 feet above high-water level, and is in shape like a cone; the crater is 500 feet deep. It stands on the boundary line of the three provinces of Kai, Suruga, and Sagami, and is visible at a considerable distance seaward. It is regarded by the natives as a sacred mountain, and large numbers of pilgrims make the ascent to the summit at the commencement of summer. The apex is shaped somewhat like an eight-petaled lotus flower, and offers from three to five peaks to the view from different directions; it is visible from no less than thirteen different provinces. Though now apparently extinct, it was in former times an active volcano, and Japanese histories mention several very disastrous eruptions. The last of these occurred in 1707, when the whole summit burst forth into flames, the rocks were shattered and split by the heat, and ashes fell even in Yedo (about GO miles distant in a direct line) to a depth of several inches. 1 After Fuji-san may be mentioned Gassan in the province of Uzen, Mitake" in Shinano, the Nikko range in Shimotsuke , Online" in Yamato, Hakusan in Kaga, Tateyama in Etchiu, Kirish- ima-yama in Hiuga, Asosan in Higo, Tsukuba-san in Hitachi, Onsen-ga-take" in Hizen, Asama-yama in Shinano, 1 Chokaizan in Ugo, and Iwaki in Michinoku. There are several active volcanoes in the country, that best known to foreigners being Asama-yama. This mountain is 8500 feet in height. The earliest eruption of which records now exist seems to have taken place in 1G50; after that the volcano was only feebly active for one hundred and thirty-three years, when there occurred a very severe eruption in 1783. Even so lately as 1870 there was a considerable emission of volcanic matter, at which time, also, violent shocks of earthquake were felt at the treaty port of Yokohama. The crater is very deep, with irregular rocky Avails of a sulphury character, from apertures in which sulphurous fumes are constantly sent forth. At present very little is known in regard to the heights of the mountains, but the subject is one that has at tracted the attention of foreign residents in Japan for several years past. The following is an approximate esti mate : 1 According to Japanese tradition, it was upheaved in a single niglit from the bottom of the sea, about twenty-one and a half centuries ago, and its history has been carefully recorded. From July to September the wants of the pilgrims are supplied by temporary restaurants dis tributed along the principal routes of ascent, one of which is from the east by Subashiri, another from the north by Yoshida, and a third from the south by Murayama. The white vestments usually worn by the pilgrims are stamped by the priests at the top with various seals and images. Sir Rutherford Alcock and a party of Englishmen ascended the mountain in 1860, and since then it has frequently been visited by Europeans. The height as then estimated by Lieutenant Robinson was 14,177 feet ; but a mean of several subsequent measure ments gives only 12,200. In the great crater there are neither sul phuric exhalations nor steam. According to Dr von Drasche this is a circular bowl about 700 or 800 feet deep. The lavas are mainly dolomitic ; those forming the walls of the crater are composed of anamesite, in which here and there grains of felspar are visible. The Japanese poets never weary in celebrating the praises of Fuji-san, and its conical form is one of the most familiar objects in Japanese paint ing and decorative art. See the notice of Sir R. Alcock s ascent in Journal R. G. Soc., 1861 ; of A. Jeffrey s ascent in August 1872, in Proc. of 11. Soc., 1873 ; and of Dr von Drasche s in his " Bemerkungen iiber die japanischen Vulkanen Asa-yama .... und Fusiyama," in Jahrbucfi If. K. Geol. Reichsanstalt, 1877 ; also^ J. Rein s "Der Fuji-no-yama und seine Besteigung," in Petermanu s Mittheilunyen, 1879.