Provinces and Prefectures
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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 (2½ 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) | 2shō 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
Acre4 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 Factories. | Aggregate Horse Power. | No. of Factories 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 Factories. | Horse Power. | No. of Operatives. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silk reeling | { | 1,046 1,722 | 9,362 6,631 | 112,887[202] 102,071 | |
| Cotton and silk spinning | { | 117 112 | 12,523 20,463 | 56,417 80,107 | |
| Ships, machines, etc. | { | 155 198 | 2,577 4,190 | 16,654 18,131 | |
| Weaving | { | 25 56 | 3,005 2,596 | 7,924 9,588 | |
| Cement | { | 251 37 | 1,099 1,825 | 2,712 3,554 | |
| Printing | { | 30 15 | 246 531 | 3,233 5,224 | |
| Paper-mills | { | 11 18 | 3,097 3,398 | 1,761 2,909 | |
Factories without Motor Power
| No. of Factories. | No. of Operatives. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silk reeling | { | 636 496 | 17,614 14,077 | |
| Cotton and silk spinning | { | 2 21 | 38 542 | |
| Ships, machines, etc. | { | 188 99 | 4,512 3,195 | |
| Weaving | { | 1,025 1,245 | 28,900 34,965 | |
| Cement | { | 136 119 | 5,099 2,870 | |
| Printing | { | 103 95 | 2,784 2,617 | |