Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/602

574 JAPAN [GEOGRAPHY. cold is not, as a rule, so intense, while in the summer months the heat is far greater. Near Yokohama and Tokio the summer commences in May, but the heat only becomes oppressive in July and August, when the thermometer has been known to register 104 F. At the break-up of the summer there are heavy rains, which render the interior of the houses exceedingly damp and uncomfortable. After the winter there also occurs a short rainy season. The best months for making excursions into the interior are April and October, as the weather is then generally of a mean temperature. Southerly winds blow from the middle of May, and often even from April, until the end of August. On the Sea of Japan south-west winds (known as the south-west monsoon) prevail, while in Yokohama and all parts of the country adjacent to the Pacific Ocean southerly winds pre dominate. The south-west monsoon sets in in April and prevails until the middle or end of September ; but the regularity with which the monsoons set in and blow on the Chinese coasts is unknown in Japan. On calm days land and sea breezes alternate on the Japanese coast in the same manner as elsewhere. Mention should here be made of the violent revolving storms, known as typhoons, which are closely related to the West Indian hurricanes and to the cyclones of the Indian seas. These generally occur in the months of July, August, or September; they invariably occasion great damage, not only to shipping, but also to property on land. Large trees are often snapped asunder like mere twigs, while the roofs and chimneys of foreign-built edifices suffer severely. As a rule, one of these storms is experienced every year. Earth- Destructive earthquakes have often taken place, while quakes, slight shocks are of frequent occurrence, several having been felt lately within the space of a few days. Japanese histories furnish numerous records of these phenomena. The ancient legend of the great earthquake in 286 B.C., when Mount Fuji rose and the Biwa Lake was formed, has already been noticed; but it is not possible to procure re liable information for several centuries later than the date mentioned in that fanciful tale. The earliest authentic instance is perhaps that which is said to have occurred in 416 A.D., when the imperial palace at Kioto was thrown to the ground. Again, in 599, the buildings throughout the province of Yamato were all destroyed, and special prayers were ordered to be offered up to the deity of earth quakes. In 679 a tremendous shock caused many fissures or chasms to open in the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo, in Kiushiu ; the largest of these fissures was over 4 miles in length and about 20 feet in width. In 829 the northern province of Dewa was visited in similar manner ; the castle of Akita was overthrown, deep rifts were formed in the ground in every direction, and the Akita river was dried up. To descend to more recent instances, in 1702 the lofty walls of the outside and inside moats of the castle of Yedo were destroyed, tidal waves broke along the coast in the vicinity, and the road leading through the famous pass of Hakond (in the hills to the east of Fuji-san) was closed up by the alteration in the surface of the earth. Of late years these disastrous earthquakes have fortunately been of more rare occurrence, and the last really severe shocks were those felt in 1854 and 1855. In the former year the provinces of Suruga, Mikawa, Totomi, Ise", Iga, Setsu, and Harima, and also the large island of Shikokn, were severely shaken. It was this earthquake which destroyed the town of Shimoda, in the province of Idzu, which had been opened as a foreign port in Japan, while a Russian frigate, the " Diana," lying in the harbour at the time was so severely damaged by the waves caused by the shock that she had to be abandoned. The earthquake of 1855 was felt most severely at Yedo, though its de structive power extended for some distance to the west, along the line of the Tokaido. It is stated that on this occasion there were in all 14,241 dwelling-houses and 1649 fire-proof storehouses overturned in the city, and a destructive fire which raged at the same time further increased the loss of life and property. Meteorological observations have for some time back been carefully taken at the college in Tokio, and efforts are now (1881) being made to start a seismological society in the capital. Japan is peculiarly a country where a learned society of this nature could gather most interest ing and useful information from actual observation. General Aspect of the Country. The physical structure of the islands alternates between mountain ranges, rugged upland regions, wide plains, and lands consisting of an endless succession of dale and down, level fields and small ridges. Yezo has not yet become thoroughly known to foreigners; but it possesses both hills and plains, the latter being in some cases very sandy. The northern portion of the main island of Japan is exceedingly mountainous, though large moors and uncultivated steppes are to be observed on all sides. To the south-east lies the wide plain of Yedo, remarkably fertile, and closed in by lofty ranges. From this away to the west the country is hilly in the centre, with lower ground to the north and south ; while in the large islands of Kiushiu and Shikoku the high ground is far in excess of the plain. Vegetable Products. The greater part of the cultivated Ei land consists of rice-fields, commonly termed " paddy-fields." These are to be seen in every valley or even dell where farming is practicable ; they are divided off into plots of square, oblong, or triangular shape by small grass-grown ridges a few inches in height, and on an average a foot in breadth, the rice being planted in the soft mud thus enclosed. Narrow pathways intersect these rice-valleys at intervals, and rivulets (generally flowing between low banks covered with clumps of bamboo) feed the ditches cut for purposes of irrigation. The fields are generally kept under water to a depth of a few inches while the crops are young, but are drained immediately before harvesting. They are then dug up, and again flooded before the second crop is planted out. The rising grounds which skirt the rice-land are tilled by the hoe, and produce Indian corn, millet, and edible roots of all kinds. The well- wooded slopes supply the peasants with timber and firewood. The rice-fields yield two crops yearly. The seed is sown in small beds, and the seedlings are planted out in the fields after attaining the height of about 4 inches. The finest rice is produced in the fertile plains watered by the Tone"gawa in the province of Shimosa, but the grain of Kaga and of the two central provinces of Setsu and Harima is also very good. Prior to the revolution of 1868-9 the fiefs of the various daimio or territorial nobles were assessed at the estimated total yield of rice. Until very recently there existed a Government prohibition against the export of the grain. Rice not only forms the chief food of the natives, but the national beverage, called Sa! sake, is brewed from it. In colour the best sake resembles very pale sherry ; the taste is rather acid. None but the very best grain is used in its manufacture, and the prin cipal breweries are at Itarni, Nada, and Hiogo, all in the province of Setsu. Of sale there are many varieties, from the best quality down to shiro-zake, or " white sake" and the turbid sort, drunk only in the poorer districts, known as niyori-zake ; there is also a sweet sort, called mirin. The whole country is clothed with most luxuriant vege- Fo: tation, except in some of the very hilly regions. The principal forests consist of Cryptomeria (Japanese cedar) and pine ; the ilex, maple, mulberry, and giant camellia also abound. Some of the timber is remarkably fine, and the long avenues following the line of the different high roads