Chapter XXV: Appendix: Provinces and Prefectures (1)

The following list gives in detail the divisions of Japan into Provinces (_Kuni_), according to “Circuits”:—

_Go-Kinai_ (Five Home Provinces). Yamashiro, Yamato, Kawachi, Izumi (or Senshiu), Settsu (or Sesshiu).

_Tōkaidō_ (Eastern Sea Road). Iga, Ise, Shima, Owari, Mikawa, Tōtōmi, Suruga, Kai, Izu, Sagami, Musashi, Awa (or Bōshiu), Kazusa, Shimōsa, Hitachi.

_Tōsandō_ (Eastern Mountain Road). Ōmi, Mino, Hida, Shinano (or Shinshiu), Kōzuke (or Jōshiu), Shimozuke, Iwaki, Iwashiro, Rikuzen, Rikuchū, Mutsu, Uzen, Ugo.

_Hokurikudō_ (North Land Road). Wakasa, Echizen, Kaga, Noto, Etchū, Echigo, Sado Island.

_Sanindō_ (Mountain Shade Road). Tamba, Tango, Tajima, Inaba, Hōki, Izumo, Iwami, Oki Islands.

_Sanyōdō_ (Mountain Sunlight Road). Harima (or Banshiu), Mimasaka, Bizen, Bitchū, Bingo, Aki, Suwō, Nagata (or Chōshiu).

_Nankaidō_ (Southern Sea Road). Kii (or Kishiu), Awaji Island, Awa, Sanuki, Iyo, Tosa (or Toshiu), of which the last four are in the island of Shikoku.

_Saikaidō_ (Western Sea Road). Chikuzen, Chikugo, Buzen, Bungo, Hizen, Higo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, Satsuma (or Sasshiu), Iki Island, Tsushima Island, of which all except the last two are on the island of Kyūshiu.

METEOROLOGICAL TABLE OF JAPAN[197]

(25 YEARS) CENTRAL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY (1876-1900)

35° 41´ N. Lat., 139° 46´ E. Long.
Height, 70 feet.
Inches and Fahrenheit degrees.

=====================================+=========+=========+========+=========
| JAN. | FEB. | MAR. | APRIL.
-------------------------------------+---------+---------+--------+---------
Mean temperature | 36.9 | 38.4 | 44.2 | 54.3
Mean max. temperature | 46.8 | 47.5 | 53.4 | 62.9
Mean min. temperature | 28.6 | 30.4 | 35.3 | 45.6
Absolute max. temp. | 97.9 (July 14, 1891) |
Absolute min. temp. | 15.4 (Jan. 13, 1876) |
Mean rainfall | 2.14 | 3.03 | 4.32 | 5.04
No. rainy days | 7.2 | 9.1 | 12.4 | 14.8
Days with snow | 4.0 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 0.1
Mean barometer (reduced freez. point)| 29.96 | 29.97 | 29.95 | 29.94
Mean direction of wind | N.22°W. | N.16°W. | N.8°W. | N.51°E.
=====================================+=========+=========+========+=========

=====================================+=========+=========+=========+=========
| MAY. | JUNE. | JULY. | AUG.
-------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------
Mean temperature | 61.9 | 68.8 | 75.8 | 78.2
Mean max. temperature | 70.2 | 76.1 | 83.0 | 86.0
Mean min. temperature | 53.5 | 62.2 | 69.6 | 71.8
Absolute max. temp. | | | |
Absolute min. temp. | | | |
Mean rainfall | 5.91 | 6.52 | 5.01 | 4.37
No. rainy days | 13.3 | 14.4 | 14.1 | 11.8
Days with snow | ... | ... | ... | ...
Mean barometer (reduced freez. point)| 29.84 | 29.77 | 29.77 | 29.79
Mean direction of wind | S.44°E. | S.39°E. | S.20°E. | S.21°E.
=====================================+=========+=========+=========+=========

=====================================+=========+========+=========+=========
| SEPT. | OCT. | NOV. | DEC.
-------------------------------------+---------+--------+---------+---------
Mean temperature | 71.6 | 60.3 | 50.1 | 41.3
Mean max. temperature | 78.9 | 68.9 | 60.1 | 52.0
Mean min. temperature | 65.5 | 53.1 | 41.7 | 32.4
Absolute max. temp. | | | |
Absolute min. temp. | | | |
Mean rainfall | 8.12 | 7.07 | 4.35 | 2.02
No. rainy days | 16.2 | 13.1 | 9.0 | 6.3
Days with snow | ... | ... | 0.2 | 1.2
Mean barometer (reduced freez. point)| 29.87 | 29.98 | 29.99 | 29.95
Mean direction of wind | N.47°E. | N.4°W. | N.14°W. | N.25°W.
=====================================+=========+========+=========+=========

======================================+========
| YEAR.
--------------------------------------+--------
Mean temperature | 56.8
Mean max. temperature | 65.5
Mean min. temperature | 49.1
Absolute max. temp. |
Absolute min. temp. |
Mean rainfall | 57.90
No. rainy days | 141.6
Days with snow | 12.8
Mean barometer (reduced freez. point) | 29.90
Mean direction of wind | N.1°W.
======================================+========

_Hokkaidō_ (Northern Sea Road). Oshima, Shiribeshi, Iburi, Ishikari, Hitaka, Tokachi, Teshiwo, Kushiro, Nemuro, Kitami (all on the island of Yezo), and Chishima, or the Kurile Islands.

_Ryūkyū_ (Loo Choo) Islands. This group constituted one, the 85th, _Kuni_.

The following is the list of Japanese Prefectures (_Ken_ and _Fu_):—

The _Fu_ number three: Tōkyō, Kyōto, and Ōsaka.

The _Ken_ number forty-three: Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gumma, Nagano, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Miye, Gifu, Shiga, Fukui, Ishikawa, Toyama, Niigata, Fukushima, Miyagi, Yamagata, Akita, Iwate, Aomori, Nara, Wakayama, Hyōgo, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane, Tottori, Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, Kōchi, Nagasaki, Saga, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Ōita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Okinawa (Ryūkyū Islands).

Hokkaidō and Formosa are at present administered as “territories” by the Imperial Government, although the former has recently been granted a small measure of local self-government.

TABLES OF JAPANESE MONEY, WEIGHT, AND MEASURE[198]

_Length (Sashi). Japanese Weights and Measures._

As the use of the Japanese weights and measures is becoming more and more frequent in reports and books from the Far East, the following tables will be found useful to all persons who wish to ascertain the equivalents of the Japanese terms in similar terms in use in the United States and in England:—

LONG MEASURE (_SASHI_)

1 _Mō_ (0.0001 _Shaku_) 0.000099 foot.
1 _Rin_ (10 _Mō_) 0.00099 foot.
1 _Bu_ (10 _Rin_) 1.4317 lines.
1 _Sun_ (10 _Bu_) 1.1931 inches.
1 _Shaku_ (10 _Sun_) 11.9305 inches.
1 _Ken_ (6 _Shaku_) 1.9884 yards.
1 _Jō_ (10 _Shaku_) 3.3140 yards.
1 _Chō_ (60 _Ken_) 5.4229 chains (1.15 m.).
1 _Ri_ (36 _Chō_) 2.4403 miles (2-1/2 m.).
1 _Kai-Ri_ (Marine _Ri_) 1.1507 miles.

DRY GOODS MEASURE (_KUJIRA-JAKU_)

1 _Sun_ (0.1 _Shaku_) 1.4913 inches.
1 _Shaku_ (10 _Sun_) 14.9130 inches.
1 _Tan_ (about) 11 yards.
1 _Hiki_ (about) 22 yards.

WEIGHT (_HAKARI_)

1 _Mō_ 0.000008 pound (avoirdupois).
1 _Rin_ (10 _Mō_) 0.000083 pound „
1 _Fun_ (10 _Rin_) 5.7972 grains „
1 _Momme_ (10 _Fun_) 2.12 drams „
1 _Kin_ (160 _Momme_) 1.3251 pounds „
1 _Kwan_ (1,000 _Momme_) 8.2817 pounds „

CAPACITY (_MASU_)

1 _Shaku_ (10 _Sai_) 0.00397 gallon.
1 _Gō_ (10 _Shaku_) 1.2706 gills; 0.0199 peck.
1 _Shō_ (10 _Gō_) 1.5881 quarts; 0.1985 peck.
1 _To_ (10 _Shō_) 3.9703 gallons; 1.9851 pecks.
1 _Koku_ (10 _To_) 39.7033 gallons; 4.9629 bushels.

SUPERFICIAL MEASURE (TANBETSU)

1 Square _Shaku_ about 1 square foot.
1 _Tsubo_ (36 Square _Shaku_) 3.9538 square yards.
1 _Se_ (30 _Tsubo_) about 119 square yards.
1 _Tan_ (10 _Se_) 0.2451 acre.
1 _Chō_ (10 _Tan_) 2.4507 acres.
1 Square _Ki_ 5.9552 square miles.

MONEY

1 _yen_ $0.4935
1 _sen_ one-half cent.

_Money, Weight, and Measure of Various Countries in Terms of those of Japanese_

MONEY

English pound (20 shillings) 9.763 _yen_.
Shilling (12 pennies) 0.4881 „
Penny (4 farthings) 0.0407 „
Hong Kong dollar 0.949 „
American dollar (100 cents) 2.006 „
Cent 0.02 „
German mark 0.478 „
French franc 0.387 „
Chinese tael 1.298 „
Manila dollar 0.985 „
Mexican dollar 0.965 „

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LENGTH

Mile (1,760 yards) 14 _chō_ and 49 _ken_.
Yard (3 feet) 3 _shaku_.
Foot (12 inches) 1 _shaku_.
Inch 8 _bu_ and 4 _rin_.

GERMAN, FRENCH, AUSTRIAN, AND ITALIAN LENGTH

Metre 3 _shaku_ and 3 _sun_.
Centimetre (1-100 metre) 3 _bu_ and 3 _rin_.
Millimetre (1-1000 metre) 3 _rin_ and 3 _mō_.

ENGLISH CAPACITY

Gallon (liquid) 2 _shō_, 5 _gō_, and 2 _shaku_.
Bushel (wheat) 2 _to_ and 1 _gō_.

AMERICAN CAPACITY

Gallon (liquid) 2_shō_ and 1 _gō_.
Bushel (wheat) 1 _to_, 9 _shō_, and 5 _gō_.

_Weight_

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN (HEAVYWEIGHTS)

Ton (20 hundredweight, or 2,240 pounds) about 270 _kwan_ and 946 _momme_.
Short ton (2,000 pounds) 241 _kwan_ and 916 _momme_.
Hundredweight (112 pounds) 13 _kwan_ and 547 _momme_.
Pound (16 ounces) 121 _momme_.
Ounce about 8 _momme_.

LIGHT WEIGHT

Pound 99 _momme_ and 5 _bu_.
Ounce 8 _momme_ and 3 _bu_.
Grain 1 _rin_ and 7 _mō_.

_Area_

AMERICAN AND ENGLISH

Acre 4 _tan_ and 24 _ho_.

ARABLE LAND IN JAPAN[199]

The “Nichi Nichi Shimbun” argues that the real question for the Japanese to consider is development of agriculture, not a paltry lightening of the fiscal burden now imposed on agriculturists. When the area of cultivated land in the various countries of the world is compared with the total areas of those countries, startling figures result.

_Ratio of Area of Cultivated Land to Total Area of Country_

Belgium 53.9
Prussia 50.3
France 50.2
Germany 43.4
Denmark 42.5
Italy 39.9
Hungary 37.7
Austria 36.7
Spain 35.7
Holland 27.3
England 27.9
Portugal 24.9
European Russia 16.4
Japan 13.8

Japanese habitually plead that their extraordinarily low place on this list is the result, not of want of industry, but of natural obstacles, much of the surface of their islands consisting of mountains and hills which cannot be made arable. The “Nichi Nichi” alleges that such an excuse is merely partial, and that a little energy and resolution would soon change the situation. At any rate, the opposition offered by politicians to the present land tax is not in the genuine interests of agriculture, but in the interests of political popularity.

* * * * *

Mr. Megata, an official of the Finance Department and an expert statistician, has figured out that in 1901 more than 15,000,000 acres were in cultivation.

* * * * *

The actual yield of rice for ten years (1900-1909) is indicated in the following table:—

KOKU.
1900 41,466,422
1901 46,914,434
1902 36,932,266
1903 46,473,298
1904 51,430,321
1905 38,172,560
1906 46,302,530
1907 49,052,065
1908 51,932,893
1909 52,437,662
Average 46,114,451

FRUIT-GROWING IN JAPAN[200]

Fruits originally cultivated, and probably native in Japan, include the orange, pear, peach, sour plum, almond, grape, persimmon, loquat, pomegranate, ginko or salisburia, and fig. The mikan, or Japanese sweet orange, is smaller, sweeter, and less juicy than the oranges raised in America, and the thin membrane separating the sections of the fruit is tougher; it has a very pleasant flavor, and is much used for food by both natives and foreigners. It is cultivated all through the warmer regions of Japan, and is the most plentiful of the fruits raised there, being found in the markets from early autumn until late the following spring. The persimmon comes next to the orange in the number produced, and is a favorite with the natives, but its season is comparatively short. It closely resembles the persimmon of America’s Southern States. The sour plum is extensively cultivated and yields a good crop, but the other fruits named above, though more or less widely grown, are produced in much smaller quantities—the fig being most abundant and most valued of the less important fruits. The government has introduced peaches, pears, and grapes from Europe and America, and has found the soil and climate well adapted to their production, so that these are now cultivated in addition to the native varieties of the same fruits. Of the fruits wholly unknown in Japan until introduced from abroad, the apple has proved most successful, and it has become a chief product of some districts in the Hokkaidō, or northern island. The apples are of fine appearance and excellent flavor, and the trees yield a profit very encouraging to the cultivator, so that the area of their production is being increased. The natives eat fruit chiefly fresh, and its use as a table diet is not general, although increasing. The processes of drying and canning fruits are beginning to come into use, but only as a means of preserving the fruit for home consumption, not for export.

FACTORIES IN JAPAN[201]

======+============+==============+======================
| NO. OF | AGGREGATE | NO. OF FACTORIES
| FACTORIES. | HORSE POWER. | WITHOUT MOTOR POWER.
------+------------+--------------+----------------------
1895 | 2,758 | 61,252 | 4,396
1896 | 3,037 | 64,429 | 4,603
1897 | 2,910 | 63,434 | 4,377
1898 | 2,964 | 79,016 | 4,131
1899 | 2,305 | 76,885 | 4,394
1900 | 2,388 | 95,392 | 4,896
1909 | 6,723 | 554,571 | 8,703
======+============+==============+======================

_Factories with Motor Power_

==========================+============+========+=============
| NO. OF | HORSE | NO. OF
| FACTORIES. | POWER. | OPERATIVES.
--------------------------+------------+--------+-------------
Silk reeling | { 1,046 | 9,362 | 112,887[202]
| { 1,722 | 6,631 | 102,071
| | |
Cotton and silk spinning | { 117 | 12,523 | 56,417
| { 112 | 20,463 | 80,107
| | |
Ships, machines, etc. | { 155 | 2,577 | 16,654
| { 198 | 4,190 | 18,131
| | |
Weaving | { 25 | 3,005 | 7,924
| { 56 | 2,596 | 9,588
| | |
Cement | { 251 | 1,099 | 2,712
| { 37 | 1,825 | 3,554
| | |
Printing | { 30 | 246 | 3,233
| { 15 | 531 | 5,224
| | |
Paper-mills | { 11 | 3,097 | 1,761
| { 18 | 3,398 | 2,909
==========================+============+========+=============

_Factories without Motor Power_

==========================+===================+====================
| NO. OF FACTORIES. | NO. OF OPERATIVES.
--------------------------+-------------------+--------------------
Silk reeling | { 636 | 17,614
| { 496 | 14,077
| |
Cotton and silk spinning | { 2 | 38
| { 21 | 542
| |
Ships, machines, etc. | { 188 | 4,512
| { 99 | 3,195
| |
Weaving | {1,025 | 28,900
| {1,245 | 34,965
| |
Cement | { 136 | 5,099
| { 119 | 2,870
| |
Printing | { 103 | 2,784
| { 95 | 2,617
==========================+===================+====================

CLEARING-HOUSES OF JAPAN

The following table shows the development of the clearing-house business in the two largest centres:—

==================+=================+=================
| TOTAL OF CHECKS AND BILLS CLEARED.
FIRST HALF-YEAR +-----------------+-----------------
OF | TŌKYŌ | ŌSAKA.
| _Yen._ | _Yen._
------------------+-----------------+-----------------
1895 | 131,600,000 | 34,500,000
1896 | 184,800,000 | 65,700,000
1897 | 250,300,000 | 72,200,000
1898 | 383,400,000 | 97,300,000
1899 | 433,800,000 | 161,600,000
1900 | 675,400,000 | 255,500,000
1901 | 565,000,000 | 263,700,000
1902 | 614,700,000 | 298,700,000
1903 | 756,100,000 | 395,900,000
1908 (whole year) | 2,962,973,000 | 1,418,941,000
1910 (whole year) | 3,841,380,000 | 2,028,605,000
==================+=================+=================

SHIP-BUILDING IN JAPAN[203]

Recent orders which have been placed in the hands of the Nagasaki Dockyard and Engine Works and the Kawasaki Dockyard Company, Limited, by the Nippon Yūsen Kaisha and the Ōsaka Shōsen Kaisha, serve to remind the resident of the rapid development of the ship-building industry in this country, while at the same time affording evidence of the growth of the country’s mercantile marine. The order placed with the first-named yard is for four large steamers of 6,000, 5,400, 2,500, and 1,900 tons, respectively, the largest vessels being intended for the Japan Mail Steamship Company’s European and Australian lines. Nor is the Ōsaka Shōsen Kaisha in a different position. This enterprising company also has found it necessary to order new vessels, and has found it economical to order them in Japan instead of from abroad. The fact is worthy of note, for it is the first time in the history of the country that orders for eight ocean-going steamers have been in hand at one time. This may, we trust, be held to indicate that the shipping and ship-building industries are in a healthy and prosperous state.

The contrast between the condition of the local ship-building trade now and that of a few years back is a striking one. Perhaps the first real impetus given to private ship-building here was due to the enterprise of the late Mr. E. C. Kirby, at whose yard at Onohama—the plant of which was subsequently removed to Kure—one large cruiser and several smaller gunboats and steamers were successfully launched. Since then, the yards at Kawasaki, Ōsaka, Ishikawajima, Uraga, and Nagasaki have taken up the work vigorously, and demonstrated beyond possibility of cavil their ability to turn out ocean-going craft, and large river steamers of the highest standard. With the productions of Ōsaka and Kōbe ship-building establishments trading regularly on the Yangtze, and 6,000-ton liners from the Nagasaki Shipbuilding Engine Works, making record voyages between Seattle and the Orient, and others running regularly between home ports and London, there is no longer room for surprise in viewing Japan-built steamers. There is no doubt that with the opening up of additional lines in the China and Japan seas, sufficient work for local ship-builders will be forthcoming for some years to come, and it is therefore unlikely that they will enter into serious competition in the near future with ship-building yards in Shanghai, Hongkong, and Singapore. The home demand seems likely to engage their activities for some years yet, though the presence of a 700-ton steamer for the Shanghai customs on the stocks at Kawasaki may be held to belie the prediction.... Although Japanese ship-builders may have quite enough to do in the near future to meet the home demand, a young rival has entered the lists against the great ship-building concerns of the West; and this in itself is no small credit to the nation, which is already able to plume itself upon having accomplished more in a generation than any other people in Asia or in the South Seas, and as much, relatively, as the American and English peoples whose homes are on the Pacific slope.

THE ŌSAKA EXHIBITION[204]

Considering that as recently as 1873 Japan had no such institution as a factory, and knew nothing whatever of iron foundries or machine shops, the Japanese-made machinery display at the exhibition at Ōsaka was astonishing. There we found silk-weaving and mat-making machines, electrical motors and generators, gas and oil engines, locomotives, electrical fittings, tools, beltings, match-making machine, lemonade-making machine, distilling machine, fire-brigade appliances, rice-cleaning machines, huge steam navvy, oil tanks, soap-making machines, printing machines, massive hoisting engine, tea-refining machinery, heavy mining machinery, and many other smaller machines, all of Japanese manufacture, admirably made and efficient.

In general manufactures the empire made a good showing. Straw braid; _shibori_, a beautiful stuff, making pretty dress material; woollen serges and woven silks, particularly a delicate fabric of mixed silk and cotton (the output of this fabric exceeding $1,500,000 per annum); cheap and good cotton blankets, Japanese towels, artistic designs in tiles and roofing materials, drainpipes, fireproof bricks. In drinkables, also of home manufacture, there was beer by the carload; _sake_, the famous native drink, enough to quench the thirst of an army.

One of the best exhibits was in clocks; some of them very handsome and very cheap, made by one or other of the twelve Japanese clock companies. The porcelain exhibition was good, consisting of beautiful vases, artistic porcelain trays, basins, teacups, etc. The exhibit of Japanese-made shoes was quite creditable. Other native manufactures exhibited were bamboo furniture, whatnots, over-mantels, fire screens, shell buttons, paper lanterns, fine silken rugs, shawls, paper, camphor, oils, soap, all kinds of sauces and relishes, silks of every hue and description, silk lace, gold and silver thread, linen, duck, tent cloths, ivory work, bronzes, lacquer and silver work, surgical instruments, pianos, organs, and other musical instruments, bicycles, gymnastic and athletic goods, microscopes, cameras, barometers, and almost every kind of educational apparatus.

The natural products of the country were exhibited to good advantage. Rice, tobacco (manufactured and un-manufactured), silkworms, various varieties of silk cocoons, tea, huge oranges, sugar, furs, woods, pearls, coral, fish (dried and salted). Mushrooms were a special exhibit of one prefecture, tea of another, and so on. The whole section of the agricultural experiment station was complete and admirable in every way.

In the foreign section we found weaving-machines (only introduced October, 1902, and already largely sold), German shoe-making and cigarette-making machines, and searchlights from Nuremberg, match and matchbox-making machines, rifles, wire samples, chemicals, perfumes, British-made electrical appliances, timber, paints, varnishes, gas and oil engines, steam-engines (British), a turbo-alternator (electric) from Newcastle-on-Tyne, rubber and steel goods from England, Maxim’s famous guns, fountain pens, typewriters, Indian cotton, American bone goods, American motor cars and bicycles, meat extracts, American provisions, American lighting and heating apparatus for railway carriages and street cars, refrigerator cars, Boston pile-sinking outfits, New York pumps, marine gasolene engine, and sewing-machines.

Canada also made a good exhibit of the cereals and food products of the Dominion, with the Canadian system of cold storage, and of pulp woods, furniture, and iron work.

COST OF LIVING IN JAPAN

_How Laborers Live_

The following tables are from “The Labor World” for July 1, 1898. The editor sent a form to be filled out by the laborers themselves, to get accurate statistics of their lives and work. A few samples throw light upon the inner life of Japanese laborers:—

No. 1.—House, two rooms; a family,—man (30), wife (23), mother (53), two sisters (14 and 11); occupation, blacksmith.

Working days in a month 26
Working hours in a day 12
Daily wages $0.52
Monthly income 13.83
Monthly expenses 13.65
House rent, one month 0.96
Rice 5.76
Fuel and light 1.08
Vegetables. 0.87
Fish 0.96
_Sake_ (rice beer) 0.24
_Soy_ (Japanese sauce) 0.73
Tobacco 0.20
Hair cutting and dressing 0.83
Bath 0.88
Pin money 0.25
Sundries 0.89

No. 55.—House, two rooms, with kitchen; a family,—man (27), wife (25), boy (6), girl (2); business, iron worker.

Daily wages $0.25
Overtime income for one month 1.50
Monthly income 8.28
Monthly income 8.28
Monthly expense 9.44
House rent 0.75
Rice 3.25
Fuel and light 0.41
Vegetables 0.60
Fish 0.60
_Soy_ and _miso_ 0.23
Tobacco 0.25
Hair cutting and dressing 0.18
Bath 0.20
Pin money 0.60
Sundries, including interest on debt 2.37

_Increase in Living Expense_

The following interesting comparison between the cost of living in 1889 and 1899 is from “The Miyako”:

(Calculated monthly expenditure of a family of six members—a married couple, a parent, two children, and one servant—living with strict economy.)

1889. 1899.
_yen._ _yen._

House rent (a house containing the
furnished rooms of 6, 4-1/2, and
2 _mats_, respectively 2.50 5.00

Cleaned rice (at the rate of
2 _shō_ per day) 4.50 7.00
1 _to_ 3 _shō_ (8 _shō_ 5 _gō_
per _yen_.) per _yen_.)

_Soy_ 0.45 0.75
Salt and _miso_ (including 1-1/2
_gō_ of salt and some _miso_) 0.40 0.70
Oils (3 _shō_ of kerosene and 5
_gō_ of vegetable oil) 0.45 0.69
Sugar 0.60 0.90
Milk (1 _gō_ per day) 0.90 1.10
Newspaper (only 1) 0.25 0.35
School expenses (for 2 children) 0.80 0.90
Stationery expenditure
(for the children) 0.60 0.90
Hair dressing 0.34 0.69
Price of bath (every other day for
the family) 0.90 1.50
Vegetables 0.90 1.50
Fish food (9 messes for the family) 1.08 1.80
Beef (6 messes for the family,
about 2/3 of 1 pound) 0.60 1.20
Tsukudani and other auxiliary foods
(6 messes) 0.24 0.42
Tea 0.40 0.50
Fuel 1.00 1.80
----- -----
Total 17.21 28.20
Security money for rent 7.00 15.00

These include necessaries, but if other petty expenses are taken into calculation, a family of 6 members as mentioned above will require a monthly income of at least 35 _yen_ on which to maintain themselves decently.

_Wages of Japanese Workmen_

Following is a table of the average wages:—

1902. 1911.
_Yen._ _Yen._
Carpenter per day .775 1.063
Plasterer „ .863 1.150
Painter „ .860 1.238
Tile Roofer „ .613 1.225
Roofer „ .913 1.213
Bricklayer „ .900 1.250
Furniture Maker „ .800 .988
Stone Mason „ .925 1.250
Gardener „ .600 .838
Paper Hanger „ .825 1.025
Matting Setter „ .900 1.175
Sawyer „ .863 1.088
Compositor „ .575 .750
Printer „ .400 .650
Wooden Clog Maker „ .638 .625
Cooper „ .700 .528
Fireman „ .550 .813
Coolie „ .450 .575
Jeweller „ .650 .650
Tailor, Jap. clothes „ .688 .738
[205]Cabinet Maker „ .550 .888
[205]Lacquerer „ .513 .600
[205]Shoemaker „ .750 1.038
[205]Harness Maker „ .675 1.038
[205]Cart Maker „ .550 .588
[205]Founder „ .813 .700
[205]Blacksmith „ .813 1.075
[205]Rice Pounder „ .375 .483
[205]Dyer per month 8.875 8.375
[205]Washerman „ 10.000 7.750
[205]Jap. Sock Maker „ 6.000 9.500
[205]Eur. Confectioner „ 9.750 13.000
[205]Male Servant „ 2.625 4.000
[205]Female Servant „ 2.000 3.250
[205]Tailor, Eur. clothes „ 17.625 30.000

RAILWAYS IN JAPAN

The report on railway development shows that since the government constructed its first line of eighteen miles from Yokohama to Tōkyō in 1872, a great trunk line of 1,200 miles has been built, and the total mileage in the country increased to 6,042, which in 1910 handled 153,088,066 passengers and 25,815,000 tons of freight. Of this entire mileage, 506 miles are owned by private corporations, and 5,536 by the government, which was the pioneer in the movement to give the country modern land transportation. No private construction was done until 1883, when the government had 181 miles of railway under operation; and it was not until 1889 that private enterprise for a time led the governmental effort. The state railways to August, 1905, cost the sum of 85,573,511 _yen_, while the private systems represented a cost for construction to the same date of 191,230,291 _yen_. In 1910 the grand total had reached almost 577,000,000 _yen_.

According to the reports made on the railways at the end of the year 1910 the gross earnings of both state and private railways for that year were 89,000,000 _yen_, the gross expenditures 46,796,000 _yen_, and the net profit over 43,700,000 _yen_.

The government has arranged plans for railway construction and development which involve an outlay of 174,523,365 _yen_, the construction to extend through eight years, and the improvements through twelve.

The line from Nagoya to Haichioji, near Tōkyō, opened to traffic in 1911, is about 224 miles long. The construction represents the best engineering skill, and an outlay of $17,500,000. It has ninety-five tunnels and 350 bridges.

The people of the country opposed the construction of the first line from Yokohama to Tokyo as a dangerous thing, and it was several years before public opposition to the innovation was entirely removed. Bond issues for railway construction were opposed, but the government insisted on its policy and finally won the people to its general support, so that by the end of the year 1908 on all lines there were 2,156 locomotives, 5,951 passenger coaches, and 34,045 freight cars in use.

POSTAL SAVINGS IN JAPAN[206]

It must be admitted at the outset that the system of postal savings in Japan cannot boast of any particularly brilliant record. The study of it reveals, however, a state of things which is not without some encouraging features. We give below the amounts of the deposits and some other items for every third year since the inauguration of the institution:—

======+==================+====================+============
| DEPOSITS AT THE | | AMOUNT PER
YEAR. | END OF THE YEAR. | NO. OF DEPOSITORS. | DEPOSITOR.
| _Yen._ | | _Yen._
------+------------------+--------------------+------------
1875 | 15,000 | 1,800 | 8
1878 | 286,000 | 14,100 | 20
1881 | 821,000 | 38,900 | 21
1884 | 5,260,000 | 141,200 | 37
1887 | 18,213,000 | 568,800 | 31
1890 | 19,197,000 | 833,700 | 25
1893 | 26,155,000 | 1,060,200 | 24
1896 | 28,251,000 | 1,273,300 | 21
1899 | 23,455,000 | 1,397,600 | 16
1902 | 28,536,000 | 2,707,500 | 10
1905 | 54,754,096 | 5,858,560 | 9
1908 | 92,389,473 | 7,886,279 | 12
1911 | 200,000,000 | 12,000,000 | 17
======+==================+====================+============

The sudden drop between the years 1896 and 1902 is owing to the fact that the extraordinarily high interest offered by the ordinary banks during that period of monetary stringency diverted deposits from the Post Offices. The gradual fall in the general rates of interest since then has already begun to turn the tide back in favor of the Post Offices, as shown by the figures for late years. What is particularly satisfactory is the increase in the number of depositors, the increase in this respect being far more remarkable than the increase in the amount of the deposits, as shown by the decreasing amount per depositor. This means, if it means anything, that the advantages offered by the Postal Savings Bank are more and more extensively appreciated by the poorer classes.

The amount of deposits at the Postal Savings Bank seems to be steadily increasing, as is shown by the table. The figures for 1909, not given there, show 9,717,236 depositors, and 122,098,101 _yen_ deposits.

Not altogether unsatisfactory as is this result of the official efforts to encourage the saving habit among the people, it must be noted that we are in this respect far behind some of the European countries. Consulting the statistics for the year 1898, we find the postal savings reached in that year to £120,000,000 in England, £33,000,000 in France, £21,000,000 in Belgium, £4,800,000 in Austria, £1,000,000 in Hungary, £2,700,000 in Holland, and £3,400,000 in Sweden. In spite of the great improvement effected in the system of late years, especially in the way of simplifying the official procedure connected with the acceptance and repayment of the deposits, much still remains to be done in order to bring the facilities provided by it within easy reach of the people by increasing the number of the Post Offices authorized to receive deposits throughout the country.

While speaking of savings, it may not be uninteresting to mention a few figures on the state of the deposits at the ordinary banks. We do not happen to have at hand the statistics covering all the banking concerns in the country. The “Ginkō Tsushin-Roku,” however, supplies us with reliable statistics up to February, 1902, so far as the principal banking centres are concerned. We find, then, that the total amount of deposits at the banks belonging to the clearing-houses of Tōkyō, Ōsaka, Kyōto, Nagoya, Yokohama, and Kōbe, stood at the end of February at 308,289,000 yen, made up as follows, not including the deposits at the Bank of Japan:

_Yen._
Tōkyō 119,268,000
Ōsaka 75,824,000
Yokohama 49,280,000
Kōbe 23,423,000
Kyōto 22,616,000
Nagoya 17,878,000

In June, 1910, the Bank of Japan had a paid-up capital of 37,600,000 _yen_; in 1909 the deposits were 220,101,784 _yen_. At that time the Industrial Bank of Japan had deposits of 8,930,050 _yen_. The deposits in all the Japanese banks in 1909 amounted to 1,617,873,711 _yen_.

THE OIL INDUSTRY IN JAPAN[207]

Japan’s oil industry has a brilliant future before it. The use of kerosene in the country has grown at a wonderfully rapid pace. In the first year of _Meiji_ the amount of oil imported was 639 _koku_. In 1901 it had reached 1,300,000 _koku_. The value of the oil imported in 1868 was only 7,236 _yen_; that imported in 1901 was 14 million _yen_.[208] The following table shows the rate at which the import of kerosene into Japan increased:—

=======+===========+============
| | VALUE.
YEARS. | _Koku._ | _Yen._
-------+-----------+------------
1868 | 639 | 7,236
1872 | 8,936 | 160,608
1877 | 53,645 | 605,598
1882 | 413,644 | 2,320,905
1887 | 421,177 | 1,871,428
1892 | 653,785 | 3,328,398
1897 | 1,221,164 | 7,667,350
1900 | 1,356,846 | 14,162,652
1901 | 1,379,927 | 14,943,400
=======+===========+============

Notwithstanding the large supply that has come from abroad, of late years the demand for the Echigo oil has gone on increasing, as shown in the subjoined table, which covers seven years.

=======+=================+===========
| _Koku_ OF CRUDE | VALUE.
YEARS. | PETROLEUM. | _Yen._
-------+-----------------+-----------
1895 | 158,334 | 526,976
1896 | 207,470 | 619,333
1897 | 257,614 | 668,677
1898 | 355,006 | 670,308
1899 | 544,583 | 1,450,904
1900 | 836,628 | 2,142,003
1901 | 1,115,807 | 2,345,916
=======+=================+===========

It is calculated that about 5/10 of the total quantity of this crude petroleum was used for lighting purposes. It would seem, then, that Echigo supplied 3/10 of the total amount of oil used for lighting in Japan during the seven years, and that the remaining 7/10 came from abroad. Taking the year 1901, the value of the crude petroleum being 2,345,916 _yen_, it is estimated that when refined this amount of petroleum would fetch not less than 4 million _yen_. But the fact remains that the proportion of oil imported is still very large, so that there is room for a further great development of the business.

In 1908 Japan’s output of petroleum was 1,872,592 U. S. barrels. Echigo is by no means worked out: new fields are constantly being discovered in that province. Then petroleum has been found in Hokkaidō and in the Yamagata and Shizuoka prefectures. So that among Japan’s modern industries her oil trade may be pronounced to be full of promise. How the quality of the Japanese oil compares with the American and Russian brands, we are not told by the _Jiji_, but from other sources we gather that when properly refined Japanese petroleum is equal to the best American and Russian oils.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

The following table shows the national development in population, finance, trade, railway, vessels, telegraphs, savings, and currency, during the 30 years from 1872 to 1902.

========+===============+==============+=============+==========
| | STATE | | RAILWAY.
YEAR. | POPULATION. | EXPENDITURE. | TRADE. | MILES.
| (IN THOUSAND) | _Yen._ | _Yen._ |
--------+---------------+--------------+-------------+----------
1872 | 33,210 | 57,730,025 | 43,204,462 | 18
1873 | 33,300 | 62,678,601 | 49,742,830 | 18
1874 | 33,625 | 82,269,528 | 42,779,120 | 38
1875 | 33,997 | 69,203,242 | 48,586,738 | 38
1876 | 34,338 | 59,308,956 | 51,676,296 | 65
1877 | (unknown) | 48,428,324 | 50,769,424 | 66
1878 | „ | 60,911,336 | 58,862,974 | 68
1879 | 35,768 | 60,317,578 | 61,128,772 | 73
1880 | 35,929 | 63,140,896 | 65,021,987 | 98
1881 | 36,358 | 71,460,321 | 62,250,133 | 122
1882 | 36,700 | 73,480,667 | 67,168,344 | 170
1883 | 37,017 | 83,106,859 | 64,712,861 | 244
1884 | 37,451 | 76,663,108 | 63,544,112 | 262
1885 | 37,868 | 61,115,313 | 66,503,659 | 353
1886 | 38,507 | 83,223,960 | 84,044,745 | 430
1887 | 39,069 | 79,453,036 | 96,711,932 | 593
1888 | 39,607 | 81,504,024 | 131,160,744 | 912
1889 | 40,072 | 79,713,671 | 136,164,472 | 1,136
1890 | 40,453 | 82,125,403 | 138,332,086 | 1,339
1891 | 40,718 | 83,558,891 | 142,454,540 | 1,716
1892 | 41,089 | 76,734,740 | 162,428,833 | 1,870
1893 | 41,388 | 84,581,872 | 177,970,036 | 1,938
1894 | 41,813 | 78,128,643 | 230,028,141 | 2,118
1895 | 42,270 | 85,317,179 | 265,372,756 | 2,290
1896 | 42,706 | 168,856,509 | 289,517,234 | 2,507
1897 | 43,228 | 223,678,844 | 382,435,848 | 2,948
1898 | 43,763 | 219,757,568 | 443,255,909 | 3,120
1899 | 44,260 | 254,165,537 | 435,331,802 | 3,638
1900 | .... | 292,726,996 | 491,691,839 | 3,855
1901 | .... | 266,856,824 | 508,166,187 | 4,026
1902 | .... | 275,751,194 | |
--------+---------------+--------------+-------------+----------

========+==============+=============+============+=============
| VESSELS. | TELEGRAPHIC | | MONEY IN
YEAR. | TON. | LINES. | SAVINGS. | CIRCULATION.
| | _Ri._ | _Yen._ | _Yen._
--------+--------------+-------------+------------+-------------
1872 | 22,364 | 87 | .... | 132,611,498
1873 | 26,988 | 806 | .... | 159,423,361
1874 | 26,120 | 1,758 | .... | 157,660,830
1875 | 42,304 | 1,833 | 15,224 | 154,931,596
1876 | 40,248 | 2,156 | 41,845 | 163,692,344
1877 | 49,105 | 2,876 | 100,138 | 175,432,023
1878 | 43,899 | 3,512 | 286,289 | 221,994,874
1879 | 42,763 | 3,842 | 494,114 | 215,912,239
1880 | 41,215 | 4,489 | 662,091 | 203,994,171
1881 | 41,044 | 5,078 | 821,938 | 195,742,688
1882 | 42,107 | 5,477 | 1,058,225 | 186,376,681
1883 | 45,350 | 5,871 | 2,298,502 | 182,625,317
1884 | 49,845 | 6,122 | 5,260,484 | 177,978,053
1885 | 59,613 | 6,283 | 9,050,255 | 181,433,916
1886 | 63,314 | 6,353 | 15,462,054 | 198,557,838
1887 | 72,322 | 6,818 | 18,417,022 | 200,157,163
1888 | 81,066 | 7,588 | 20,142,169 | 207,825,609
1889 | 88,816 | 8,191 | 19,976,419 | 220,748,343
1890 | 93,812 | 9,250 | 19,197,942 | 205,408,438
1891 | 95,588 | 9,113 | 26,424,174 | 210,872,584
1892 | 102,301 | 9,920 | 30,031,483 | 219,848,385
1893 | 110,205 | 10,230 | 32,199.954 | 244,847,437
1894 | 169,414 | 11,502 | 32,772,652 | 256,088,534
1895 | 213,221 | 12,212 | 41,143,695 | 291,665,016
1896 | 227,841 | 15,431 | 46,693,884 | 307,461,803
1897 | 426,624 | 18,360 | 51,550,536 | 330,470,142
1898 | 464,246 | 20,561 | 52,532,992 | 285,589,698
1899 | 498,376 | 24,342 | 68,829,712 | 332,702,090
1900 | 534,239 | 27,390 | 72,897,286 | 318,280,814
1901 | .... | .... | .... | 306,315,006
1902 | | | |
--------+--------------+-------------+------------+-------------

NOTE.—In expenditure, the figures from 1872 up to 1898 are taken
from the settled account, and those of 1899, 1900, and 1901 from the
actual account. 1902 is from the Budget. In railways, the figures
show the mileages of the lines belonging to the government as well
as those belonging to private firms opened to traffic at the end of
the respective years. The tonnage of vessels shown in the table is
that of steamers. Before 1896, the figures represented the aggregate
amount of both registered and unregistered tonnage, while from that
year up to 1902, the figures only represented registered tonnage. In
savings, the figures show the total amount saved in the post offices
as well in the savings banks at the end of the respective years.
The figures from 1890 to 1900 indicate, however, the amounts of the
postal savings only.

From the “Tōyō Keizai Shimpō” (Oriental Economist).

DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOREIGN TRADE OF JAPAN

From the official statistics we give a table of Japan’s foreign trade each year from 1868 to 1901, and for 1909.

=======+====================+=====================+===================
| | |
| EXPORTS. | IMPORTS. | TOTAL.
| _Yen._ | _Yen._ | _Yen._
| | |
-------+-------------+------+--------------+------+--------------+----
1868 | 15,553,472 | 870 | 10,693,071 | 790 | 26,246,544 | 660
1869 | 12,908,977 | 990 | 20,783,633 | 090 | 33,692,611 | 080
1870 | 14,543,012 | 510 | 33,741,637 | 360 | 48,284,649 | 870
1871 | 17,968,608 | 660 | 21,916,727 | 650 | 39,885,336 | 310
1872 | 17,026,647 | 220 | 26,174,814 | 930 | 43,201,462 | 150
1873 | 21,635,440 | 850 | 28,107,390 | 030 | 49,742,830 | 880
1874 | 19,317,306 | 090 | 23,461,814 | 400 | 42,779,120 | 490
1875 | 18,611,110 | 610 | 29,975,627 | 620 | 48,586,738 | 230
1876 | 27,711,527 | 500 | 29,964,678 | 960 | 51,676,206 | 460
1877 | 23,348,521 | 600 | 27,420,902 | 950 | 50,769,424 | 650
1878 | 25,988,140 | 280 | 32,874,834 | 170 | 58,862,974 | 450
1879 | 28,175,770 | 190 | 32,953,002 | 390 | 61,128,772 | 580
1880 | 28,395,386 | 660 | 36,626,601 | 000 | 65,021,987 | 660
1881 | 31,058,887 | 930 | 31,191,246 | 020 | 62,250,133 | 950
1882 | 37,721,750 | 570 | 29,446,593 | 980 | 67,168,344 | 550
1883 | 36,268,019 | 590 | 28,444,841 | 780 | 64,712,861 | 370
1884 | 33,871,465 | 500 | 29,672,647 | 450 | 63,544,112 | 950
1885 | 37,146,691 | 430 | 29,356,967 | 920 | 66,503,659 | 350
1886 | 48,876,312 | 790 | 32,168,432 | 260 | 81,044,745 | 050
1887 | 52,407,681 | 150 | 44,304,251 | 690 | 96,711,932 | 840
1888 | 65,705,510 | 210 | 65,455,234 | 010 | 131,160,744 | 220
1889 | 70,060,705 | 820 | 66,103,766 | 600 | 136,164,472 | 420
1890 | 56,603,506 | 030 | 81,728,580 | 500 | 138,332,086 | 530
1891 | 79,527,272 | 340 | 62,927,268 | 380 | 142,454,540 | 720
1892 | 91,102,753 | 630 | 71,326,079 | 500 | 162,428,833 | 130
1893 | 89,712,864 | 590 | 88,257,171 | 710 | 177,970,036 | 300
1894 | 113,246,086 | 150 | 117,481,955 | 460 | 230,728,041 | 610
1895 | 136,112,177 | 920 | 129,260,578 | 280 | 265,372,756 | 200
1896 | 177,842,700 | 620 | 171,674,474 | 250 | 289,517,234 | 870
1897 | 163,135,077 | 320 | 219,300,771 | 640 | 382,435,848 | 960
1898 | 165,753,752 | 880 | 277,502,156 | 510 | 443,255,909 | 390
1899 | 214,929,894 | 310 | 220,401,925 | 990 | 435,331,820 | 300
1900 | 204,429,998 | 980 | 287,261,845 | 680 | 491,691,839 | 560
1901 | 252,349,542 | 100 | 255,816,644 | 700 | 508,166,187 | 800
=1909= |=413,112,511=| .. | =394,198,843=| .. | =807,311,354=|

=======+=======================================
| IMPORTS COMPARED WITH EXPORTS.
+--------------------+------------------
| INCREASE. | Decrease.
| _Yen._ | _Yen._
-------+-------------+------+-------------+----
1868 | ....... | .. | 4,860,401 | 080
1869 | 7,874,655 | | |
1870 | 19,198,624 | 850 | |
1871 | 3,948,118 | 990 | |
1872 | 9,148,167 | 710 | |
1873 | 6,471,949 | 180 | |
1874 | 4,144,508 | 310 | |
1875 | 11,364,517 | 010 | |
1876 | ....... | .. | 3,746,848 | 540
1877 | 4,072,381 | 850 | |
1878 | 6,886,693 | 890 | |
1879 | 4,777,232 | 200 | |
1880 | 8,231,214 | 340 | |
1881 | 132,358 | 090 | |
1882 | ...... | .. | 8,275,156 | 590
1883 | ...... | .. | 7,823,177 | 810
1884 | ...... | .. | 4,198,818 | 050
1885 | ...... | .. | 7,789,723 | 510
1886 | ...... | .. | 16,707,880 | 530
1887 | ...... | .. | 8,103,429 | 460
1888 | ...... | .. | 250,276 | 200
1889 | ...... | .. | 3,966,939 | 220
1890 | 25,125,074 | 470 | |
1891 | ...... | .. | 16,600,003 | 960
1892 | ...... | .. | 19,776,674 | 130
1893 | ...... | .. | 1,455,692 | 880
1894 | 4,235,869 | 310 | |
1895 | ...... | .. | 6,851,599 | 640
1896 | 53,831,713 | 680 | |
1897 | 56,165,694 | 320 | |
1898 | 111,748,403 | 630 | |
1899 | 5,472,031 | 680 | |
1900 | 82,831,851 | 600 | |
1901 | 3,467,101 | 600 | |
=1909= | | | |

THE WEALTH OF JAPAN

The following estimate gives an idea of the wealth of Japan and its distribution:—

Land 7,000 millions _yen_.
Mines 500 „ „
Live-stock 80 „ „
Buildings 1,900 „ „
Furniture 400 „ „
Railroads 350 „ „
Warships and merchant-ships 250 „ „
Specie 200 „ „
Miscellaneous 300 „ „
Goods and other products 800 „ „
------
Total 11,080 „ „

* * * * *

The output of gold in 1908 was 168,883 ounces.

* * * * *

On the position Japanese occupy as regards the acquisition of wealth Mr. Kure Bunso, the well-known statistician, writes in the “Shakaigaku Zasshi” as follows: There are only two men in Japan who pay an income tax on over 250,000 _yen_. There are only 13 men in the whole country who pay on 39,000 _yen_, being in the proportion of 4 persons to every 100,000 inhabitants; only 67 who pay on 24,000 _yen_, being in the proportion of 2 persons to every 10,000 inhabitants; 96 persons who pay on 17,000 _yen_, being in the proportion of 2.8 persons to every 10,000 inhabitants; those who pay on 11,000 _yen_ number 140, being in the proportion of 4 persons to every 10,000 inhabitants. Out of every 1,000 inhabitants there are only 7 persons who make 2,700 _yen_ a year. Thus it is seen that when compared with the French and the English the Japanese are extremely poor. The Germans seem to be rich to the Japanese, though when compared with the French and English they are poor. General Grant, when in Japan nearly twenty years ago, remarked that Japan was fortunate in having such an equality among all classes of the people. He said that the gulf between the rich and the poor did not exist here. Equality may be all very well in its way, but, says Mr. Kure, a state of equality in which most of the people hardly have enough to live on is anything but desirable.[209]

* * * * *

The new building of the Mitsui Company in Tōkyō is constructed upon steel frames, and is the only one of its kind in the East. The Mitsui Bank is the oldest banking establishment in Japan, more than 200 years old. The building area is 2,600 square yards on a site covering 2-1/2 acres.

JAPANESE YEAR PERIODS

It should be borne in mind that the Japanese year periods do not regularly correspond with the reigns of the Emperors, because “a new one was chosen whenever it was deemed necessary to commemorate an auspicious or ward off a malign event.” But hereafter the era will correspond with the reign of an Emperor. The names of some of these eras are quite famous, like the Elizabethan or the Victorian Era in English history. As the first era was a time of great reforms, it is known as the Taikwa Reformation; the Engi Era, in the tenth century, is celebrated for important legislation; the Genroku Era, in the seventeenth century, was “a period of great activity in various arts”; and the Tempō Era, of recent days, was “the last brilliant period of feudalism before its fall.” This name was also given to the large 8 _rin_ piece coined in that era. The Wadō Era, in the fourteenth century, was so named on account of the discovery of copper; and the second era, Hakuchi, commemorates a “white pheasant,” presented to the Emperor.

LIST OF JAPANESE YEAR PERIODS.[210]

===========================+===========+===========
NAME. | JAPANESE | CHRISTIAN
| ERA.[211] | ERA.
---------------------------+-----------+-----------
Taikwa | 1305 | 645
Hakuchi | 1310 | 650
(Blank) | 1315-1331 | 655-671
Sujaku | 1332 | 672
Hakuhō | 1332 | 672
Shuchō | 1346 | 686
(Blank) | 1347-1360 | 687-700
Daihō [Taihō] | 1361 | 701
Keiun | 1364 | 704
Wadō | 1368 | 708
Reiki | 1375 | 715
Yōrō | 1377 | 717
Jinki [Shinki] | 1384 | 724
Tembiō | 1389 | 729
Tembiō shōhō | 1409 | 749
Tembiō hoji | 1417 | 757
Tembiō jingo | 1425 | 765
Jingo keiun | 1427 | 767
Hōki | 1430 | 770
Tenō | 1441 | 781
Enriaku | 1442 | 782
Daidō | 1466 | 806
Kōnin | 1470 | 810
Tenchō | 1484 | 824
Jōwa [Shōwa] | 1494 | 834
Kajō [Kashō] | 1508 | 848
Ninju | 1511 | 851
Saikō | 1514 | 854
Tenan | 1517 | 857
Jōgwan [Jōkwan] | 1519 | 859
Gwangiō [Genkei] | 1537 | 877
Ninna [Ninwa] | 1545 | 885
Kwampei | 1549 | 889
Shōtai | 1558 | 898
Engi | 1561 | 901
Enchō | 1583 | 923
Jōhei [Shōhei] | 1591 | 931
Tengiō [Tenkei] | 1598 | 938
Tenriaku | 1607 | 947
Tentoku | 1617 | 957
Ōwa | 1621 | 961
Kōhō | 1624 | 964
Anna | 1628 | 968
Tenroku | 1630 | 970
Ten-en | 1633 | 973
Jōgen | 1636 | 976
Tengen | 1638 | 978
Eikwan | 1643 | 983
Kwanna | 1645 | 985
Eien | 1647 | 987
Eiso [Eisho] | 1649 | 989
Shōriaku | 1650 | 990
Chōtoku | 1655 | 995
Chōhō | 1659 | 999
Kwankō | 1664 | 1004
Chōwa | 1672 | 1012
Kwannin | 1677 | 1017
Ji-an | 1681 | 1021
Manju | 1684 | 1024
Chōgen | 1688 | 1028
Chōriaku | 1697 | 1037
Chōkiū | 1700 | 1040
Kwantoku | 1704 | 1044
Eijō [Eishō] | 1706 | 1046
Tengi [Tenki] | 1713 | 1053
Kōhei | 1718 | 1058
Jiriaku | 1725 | 1065
Enkiū | 1729 | 1069
Jōhō [Shōhō] | 1734 | 1074
Jōriaku [Shōreki] | 1737 | 1077
Eiho | 1741 | 1081
Otoku | 1744 | 1084
Kwanji | 1747 | 1087
Kahō | 1754 | 1094
Eichō | 1756 | 1096
Jōtoku [Shōtoku] | 1757 | 1097
Kōwa | 1759 | 1099
Chōji | 1764 | 1104
Kajō [Kashō] | 1766 | 1106
Tennin | 1768 | 1108
Tenei | 1770 | 1110
Eikiū | 1773 | 1113
Genei | 1778 | 1118
Hōan | 1780 | 1120
Tenji | 1784 | 1124
Daiji | 1786 | 1126
Tenjō [Tenshō] | 1791 | 1131
Chōjō [Chōshō] | 1792 | 1132
Hōen | 1795 | 1135
Eiji | 1801 | 1141
Kōji | 1802 | 1142
Tenyō | 1804 | 1144
Kiū-an | 1805 | 1145
Nimbiō | 1811 | 1151
Kiūju | 1814 | 1154
Hōgen | 1816 | 1156
Heiji | 1819 | 1159
Eiriaku | 1820 | 1160
Ōhō | 1821 | 1161
Chōkwan | 1823 | 1163
Eiman | 1825 | 1165
Ninan | 1826 | 1166
Ka-ō | 1829 | 1169
Jō-an [Shōan] | 1831 | 1171
Angen | 1835 | 1175
Jishō | 1837 | 1177
Yōwa | 1841 | 1181
Ju-ei | 1842 | 1182
Genriaku | 1844 | 1184
Bunji | 1845 | 1185
Kenkiū | 1850 | 1190
Shōji | 1859 | 1199
Kennin | 1861 | 1201
Genkiū | 1864 | 1204
Kenei | 1866 | 1206
Jōgen [Shōgen] | 1867 | 1207
Kenriaku | 1871 | 1211
Kempō | 1873 | 1213
Jōkiū [Shōkiū] | 1879 | 1219
Jō-ō | 1882 | 1222
Gennin | 1884 | 1224
Karoku | 1885 | 1225
Antei | 1887 | 1227
Kwangi | 1889 | 1229
Jō-ei | 1892 | 1232
Tempuku | 1893 | 1233
Bunriaku | 1894 | 1234
Katei | 1895 | 1235
Riakunin | 1898 | 1238
En-o | 1899 | 1239
Ninji | 1900 | 1240
Kwangen | 1903 | 1243
Hōji | 1907 | 1247
Kenchō | 1909 | 1249
Kōgen | 1916 | 1256
Shōka | 1917 | 1257
Shōgen | 1919 | 1259
Bunō | 1920 | 1260
Kōchō | 1921 | 1261
Bunei | 1924 | 1264
Kenji | 1935 | 1275
Kōan | 1938 | 1278
Shō-ō | 1948 | 1288
Einin | 1953 | 1293
Shōan | 1959 | 1299
Kengen | 1962 | 1302
Kagen | 1963 | 1303
Tokuji | 1966 | 1306
Enkiō [En-kei] | 1968 | 1308
Ōchō | 1971 | 1311
Shōwa | 1972 | 1312
Bumpō | 1977 | 1317
Gen-ō | 1979 | 1319
Genkō | 1981 | 1321
Shōchū | 1984 | 1324
Kariaku | 1986 | 1326
Gentoku | 1989 | 1329
Shōkiō [Shōkei] | 1992 | 1332
Kemmu | 1994 | 1334
Rekiō | 1998 | 1338[212]
Kōei | 2002 | 1342[212]
Jōwa | 2005 | 1345[212]
Kwanō | 2010 | 1350[212]
Bunna | 2012 | 1352[212]
Embun | 2016 | 1356[212]
Kōan | 2021 | 1361[212]
Jōji | 2022 | 1362[212]
Ōan | 2028 | 1368[212]
Eiwa | 2035 | 1375[212]
Kōreki | 2039 | 1379[212]
Eitoku | 2041 | 1381[212]
Shitoku | 2044 | 1384[212]
Kakei | 2047 | 1387[212]
Koō | 2049 | 1389[212]
Engen | 1996 | 1336[213]
Kōkoku | 2000 | 1340[213]
Shōhei | 2006 | 1346[213]
Kentoku | 2030 | 1370[213]
Bunchū | 2032 | 1372[213]
Tenju | 2035 | 1375[213]
Kōwa | 2041 | 1381[213]
Genchū | 2044 | 1384[213]
Meitoku | 2050 | 1390
Ō-ei | 2054 | 1394
Shōchō | 2088 | 1428
Eikiō | 2089 | 1429
Kakitsu | 2101 | 1441
Bunan | 2104 | 1444
Hōtoku | 2109 | 1449
Kōtoku | 2112 | 1452
Kōshō | 2115 | 1455
Chōroku | 2117 | 1457
Kwanshō | 2120 | 1460
Bunshō | 2126 | 1466
Ōnin | 2127 | 1467
Bummei | 2129 | 1469
Chōkō | 2147 | 1487
Entoku | 2149 | 1489
Mei-ō | 2152 | 1492
Bunki | 2161 | 1501
Eishō | 2164 | 1504
Dai-ei [Taiei] | 2181 | 1521
Kōroku | 2188 | 1528
Tembun | 2192 | 1532
Kōji | 2215 | 1555
Eiroku | 2218 | 1558
Genki | 2230 | 1570
Tenshō | 2233 | 1573
Bunroku | 2252 | 1592
Keichō | 2256 | 1596
Genna | 2275 | 1615
Kwanei | 2284 | 1624
Shōhō | 2304 | 1644
Kei-an | 2308 | 1648
Jō-ō [Shō-ō] | 2312 | 1652
Meireki | 2315 | 1655
Manji | 2318 | 1658
Kwambun | 2321 | 1661
Empō | 2333 | 1673
Tenna | 2341 | 1681
Jōkiō | 2344 | 1684
Genroku | 2348 | 1688
Hō-ei | 2364 | 1704
Shōtōku | 2371 | 1711
Kiōhō | 2376 | 1716
Gembun | 2396 | 1736
Kwampō | 2401 | 1741
Enkiō | 2404 | 1744
Kwannen | 2408 | 1748
Hōreki | 2411 | 1751
Meiwa | 2424 | 1764
Anei | 2432 | 1772
Temmei | 2441 | 1781
Kwansei | 2449 | 1789
Kiōwa | 2461 | 1801
Bunkwa | 2464 | 1804
Bunsei | 2478 | 1818
Tempō | 2490 | 1830
Kōkwa | 2504 | 1844
Ka-ei | 2508 | 1848
Ansei | 2514 | 1854
Manen | 2520 | 1860
Bunkiū | 2521 | 1861
Genji | 2524 | 1864
Kei-ō | 2525 | 1865
Meiji | 2528 | 1868
Taishō | 2572 | 1912
---------------------------+-----------+----------

The names of these periods are made by the various combinations of
68 Chinese words of good omen.
===================================================

There are, moreover, other expressions which more closely resemble such common Occidental phrases as the Victorian Era, the Elizabethan Era, the Age of Pericles, except that in the impersonal Orient such expressions are named more often from places. In Japanese history, for instance, it is very common to read of the Nara Epoch, the Heian Epoch, the Muromachi Period, the Kamakura Period, the Yedo Era, the Tōkyō Period (Modern Japan). Personal names are applied, however, in such cases as the Hōjō Era, the Ashikaga Period, the Tokugawa Era, the Fujiwara Period.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF EMPERORS AND EMPRESSES.[214]