p. 4 | ITEMS ABOUT JAPAN by S. N. H.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, Cal. · Jul 7, 1890

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 16, No. 26.

ITEMS ABOUT JAPAN.

By S. N. H.

It is less than fifty years since the attention of the world was called to the Japanese kingdom. In fact, to the western world, Japan was a sealed book till 1862, when at the International Exhibition at London, the products of the country were exhibited.

The true name of Japan is Dai Nippon (sun's origin). It is situated between latitude 24 and 51 north, and longitude 124 and 157 east of Greenwich. It is a peculiarly-shaped kingdom, and it is estimated to contain 149,000 square miles. Its population, according to the latest report, of 1886, is 38,151,217. It has 12,000 towns or cities and 59,000 villages. It is said to contain over three thousand islands, including the uninhabited rocks. It is very mountainous, with several active volcanoes. The highest mountain is Fugi, which is about twelve thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea. The longest river is Tonegawa, 170 miles. There are two large and principal plains,—Kwanto and Echigo.

The coast line is very irregular and teems with bays, some of which are of considerable size. The bays of Tokio, Sendai, and Osaka are among the largest. The Japanese, strange to say, have no names for their bays or straits, and those found and marked on maps and charts have been given by European navigators. The Yeddo Bay is the best known to foreigners, but Sendai Bay, and those running up to the north of the island of Awaji, and that one commonly called Osaka, are also famous. Good anchorage can be found in the small bays and harbors on the entire coast. The ports open for free trade are Yokohama, Kobe, Nagasaki, Hakodate, and Niigato; but Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki are the ones that are continually in use by vessels calling.

The country is frequently visited by shocks of earthquake, but it is seldom that they are severe. The earthquake of 1855 was felt most severely at Yeddo. It is estimated that on this occasion there were 14,241 dwelling-houses and 1,649 fire-proof store-houses overturned in the city. In September, strong winds pass over the empire, causing a great deal of destruction.

The climate is very healthful and salubrious, but varies according to the locality. In the southern portion, lying close to the tropics, it enjoys a perpetual summer, whilst in the far north of the empire it shares the Arctic temperature of Kamchatka. The climate on the whole is said to be favorable to foreigners, although its frequent changes often prove trying to European residents. All the mountain ranges are wrapped deep in snow during the winter months, and from many peaks the snow never disappears. In the northern provinces it has been known to fall to a depth of no less than eight feet. After the winter months, there is a short rainy season. The best months for excursions into the interior are April and October. Winds blow from the south from about the middle of May till the end of August. There are certain seasons of the year when violent revolving storms known as typhoon, resembling the West Indian cyclone and the cyclone of the Indian seas, are liable to come up at any moment. These months are July, August, and September. Large trees are often snapped asunder like mere twigs, while roofs and chimneys also suffer severely. These storms occur every year.

The mode of conveyance for passengers is one that originated in this country, but has since been adopted in the island of Ceylon and Hongkong, China. It is by what is called a jin-riki-sha. There are those of sufficient size to carry two persons, although they are usually made to convey only one. They are a two-wheeled carriage, shaped something like a miniature gig. They are generally drawn by a single coolie, although for rapid travel two men are usually employed. In the city of Tokio alone, there are existing over ten thousand of these jin-riki-shas. They are of various styles and shapes, and were introduced twenty years ago. They travel at the rate of six miles an hour, or would compete with a common horse.

For the transportation of luggage or heavy goods, a large two-wheeled cart is used. These are drawn by four or six coolies. The palanquin is also employed for travel, and is suspended by poles resting on the shoulders of coolies. In the country districts where the roads are stony and narrow, pack-horses are used, and also bullocks and oxen. These animals are shod with straw sandals to protect the frog of the hoof, and their burden is attached by ropes to a rough pack-saddle, without girths. But a rope goes around their necks in front of a crouper so that it cannot slip back or forward. These animals will go up stone steps and very steep hills, with their straw sandals. Burdens of moderate weight are usually carried by coolies. The package is fastened at each end of a pole worn across the shoulders, Chinese fashion.

The farm buildings of the humblest are frequently situated in the midst of a rice-field, or on a higher slope at some little distance from the road. Men, women, and children go out to till the ground from early morning till late in the evening. Their labor sometimes is varied by felling trees and cutting brushwood on the hills. The plow is exceedingly small, with but one handle, and is easily pulled through the soft mud of the rice-fields by a single pony or a couple of coolies. Instead of threshing to separate the heads of grain from the stalks, the latter are pulled by hand, through a long row of iron teeth projecting from a short rack of timber. The sickle with which they reap the grain is merely a straight iron plate some four inches in length and sharpened on one side, which projects from a short wooden handle some four inches long. Rice is the staple article.

The Japanese race appears to be an amalgamation of different races, the Mongolian predominating. There are two types of Japanese,—one of slender build and often with a fine form of Roman nose; the other, the lower type, thick set, broad and muscular, and flat-nosed. But they have the same complexion, most of them being of a light yellow color. They are a small people, the average height of the male being about the same as that of an adult European female, rising five feet.

The religious beliefs of the Japanese people may be defined under the heads of the Shinto and the Buddhist. By the former is meant the religious beliefs of the natives prior to the introduction of Buddhism and the Confucian philosophy. They are not a nation of idol-worshipers, but there seems to be mixed up in the Shinto, a system of hero-worship. Many renowned warriors and other personages of ancient days are exalted into what we would term demi-gods. This inculcates a reverential feeling toward the dead.

In their large villages, the buildings and machine shops, the cleanliness of the streets, their form of arrangement, the industry and taste of the people as manifested in their painting and in-laid work, all indicate a superior intelligence. And yet, in all of these countries they have a taste peculiar to themselves. The whole nation speaks the one language, but different dialects are spoken in various parts of the empire.

They are an exclusive and an independent people. Their exclusiveness is seen in their former history,—shut up to themselves, avoiding treaties with other nations till quite recently. The same spirit is in all their society. Although there is no caste here, society is divided up into clans, each one looking down upon the other. But they are respectful and polite. It is not their custom to shake hands, but to bow from one to three times, and sometimes till the forehead touches the ground. They appreciate kindness, but if their politeness is not reciprocated, instead of being discouraged they stand back on their own dignity. The better class possess honor where confidence is imposed in them, and in matters of deal they are far more honorable than the African, East Indian, or the Chinese.

They will reason on almost any point and yield to sound argument. But like all of the heathen nations they reason from an entirely different standpoint from those who for generations have been moulded by Christian civilization. This point is appreciated by experienced missionaries among them. Those principles which we inherit and which become the basis of reason generally received by us, to them would be perfectly ridiculous, and vice versa. To as far as possible place ourselves in their position and realize the difficulty under which they labor, is the principle manifested by Christ in taking upon himself our nature; but to ignore this principle is to labor without Christ. The present generation of the heathen are not responsible for what they inherit, any more than we. Neither are they responsible for what they do not receive. This may be a reason why God in his infinite merciful providence is causing the rays of gospel light to dispel the mist that has so completely enveloped millions of the human race, in the closing scenes of the world's history. How many of these will take the crowns lost by those who have had great light and have refused to walk therein, the judgment alone will reveal.