[ STATE RAILWAYS [XXXV].] The railways, which were nationalised in 1907, extended in 1919 to 6,000 miles. There were also nearly 2,000 miles of light railways (in addition to 1,368 of electric street cars). Most of the lines are single track. The gauge is 3 ft. 6 in. The Government has proposed gradually to electrify the whole system.
[ ILLEGITIMACY [XXXVI].] In Japan illegitimacy is a question not of morals but of law. That is to say, it is a question of registration. If a husband omits to register his marriage he is not legally married. Thus it is possible for there to be born to a married pair a child which is technically illegitimate. If the child should die at an early age it is equally possible for it to appear on the official records as illegitimate. A birth must be registered within a fortnight. It may be thought perhaps that it is practicable for the father to register his marriage after the birth of the child and within the time allowed for registration. It is possible but it is not always easy. An application for the registration of the marriage of a man under twenty-five must bear the signature of his parents and the signature of two persons who testify that the required consent has been regularly obtained. In the event of a man's father having "retired," the signature of the head of the family must be secured. If a man is over twenty-five, then the signatures of his parents or of any two relatives will suffice. Now suppose that a man is living at a distance from his birthplace or suppose that the head of his family is travelling. Plainly, there may be a difficulty in securing a certificate in time. Therefore, because, as has been explained, no moral obloquy attaches to unregistered marriage or to unregistered or legally illegitimate children, registration is often put off. When a man removes from one place to another and thereupon registers, it may be that his marriage and his children may be illegitimate in one place and legitimate in another. There is a difference between actual and legal domicile. A man may have his domicile in Tokyo but his citizen rights in his native village.
[ SAKÉ AND BEER [XXXVII].] Saké is sold in 1 or 2 go bottles at from 10 to 25 sen for 2 go. As it is cheaper to buy the liquor unbottled most people have it brought home in the original brewery tub. There are five sorts of saké: seishu (refined), dakushu (unrefined or muddy), shirozake (white saké), mirin (sweet saké) and shōchū (distilled saké). Saké may contain from 10 to 14 per cent. of alcohol; shōchū is stronger; mirin has been described as a liqueur. Japanese beers contain from 1 to 2 per cent. less alcohol than English beers and only about a quarter of the alcohol in saké. More than four-fifths of it is sold in bottles. Beer is replacing saké to some extent, but owing to the increase in the population of Japan the total consumption of saké (about 4,000,000 koku) remains practically the same. In 1919 beer and saké were exported to the value of 7,200,000 and 4,500,000 yen respectively.
[ MINERAL PRODUCTION [XXXVIII].] In 1919 the production was as follows: gold, 1,938,711 momme, value 9,681,494 yen; silver, 42,822,160 momme, value 11,131,861 yen; copper, 130,737,861 kin, value 67,581,475 yen; iron, steel and iron pyrites, 169,545,050 kwan, the value of the steel being 72,666,867 yen; coal, 31,271,093 metric tons, value 442,540,941 yen.
[ JAPAN AS SILK PRODUCER [XXXIX].] In exportation of silk, Japan, which in 1919 had under sericulture 8.6 of her total cultivated area and 17.1 per cent, of her upland, passed Italy in 1901 and China in 1910. Her exportation is now twice that of China. In production her total is thrice that of Italy. France is a long way behind Italy. The production of China is an unknown quantity.
As to the advantages and drawbacks of Japan for sericulture the Department of Agriculture wrote in 1921: "Japan is not favourably placed, inasmuch as atmospheric changes are often very violent, and the air becomes damp in the silk-culture seasons. This is especially the case in the season of spring silkworms, for the cold is severe at the beginning and the air becomes excessively damp as the rainy season sets in. The intense heat in July and August, too, is very trying for the summer and autumn breeds. Compared with France and Italy, Japan seems to be heavily handicapped, but the abundance of mulberry leaves all over the land and the comparatively rich margin of spare labour among the farmers have proved great advantages."
The length of the sericultural season ranges from 54 days in spring to 31 or 32 days in autumn, but there are variations according to weather, methods and seed. The season begins with the incubation period. Then follows the rearing. Last is the period in which the caterpillars mount the little straw stacks provided for them in order that they may wind themselves into cocoons. I do not enter into the technics of the retardation and stimulation of seed in order to delay or to hasten the hatch according to the movements of the market. Hydrochloric and sulphuric-acid baths and electricity are used as stimulants; storage in "wind holes" is practised to defer hatching.
Cocoons are reckoned both by the kwan of 8¼ lbs. and by the koku of approximately 5 bushels. The cocoon production in 1918 worked out at about 16½ bushels per acre of mulberry or 18 bushels per family engaged in sericulture. About 34 million bushels of cocoons are produced. In 1919 the production was 270,800,000 kilos. The average production of a tambu of mulberry field was 1.356 koku. In 1919 a koku was worth on the average 106.81 yen (including double and waste cocoons). The cost of producing cocoons rose from 4.105 yen per kwamme in 1916 to 11.284 yen in 1920. The daily wages of labourers employed by the farmers rose from 62 sen for men and 47 sen for women in 1910 to 1 yen 93 sen for men and 1 yen 44 sen for women in 1920. With the slump, the price of cocoons fell below the cost of production and there was trouble in several districts when wages were due. The labourers engaged for the silk seasons of 1916 numbered 341,577, of whom 30,000 came from other than their employers' prefectures. These people migrate from the early to the late districts and so manage to provide themselves with work during a considerable period. As many as 5½ per cent, of the persons engaged in the industry are labourers. Many employment agencies are engaged in supplying labour.
It has been estimated that the labour of 19.8 persons (200 per hectare) is needed for a tambu of mulberry field. The silkworms hatched from a card of eggs (laid by 100 moths) are supposed to call for the labour of 49.2 persons (1,456 per kilo, 2.204 lbs.)
The production of cocoons rose from 0.866 koku per card in 1914 to 1.105 in 1918, or from 4,412,000 to 6,832,000.