[4] Obtained from the shell of the Halictis.
[5] In 1877 there were 120 English engineers, drivers and foremen in the service of the railway bureau. Three years later only three advisers remained.
[6] The largest is the mitsubishi at Nagasaki. It has a length of 722 ft. Next stands the kawasaki at Kobe, and in the third place is the uraga.
[7] They were called fuda-sashi (ticket-holders), a term derived from the fact that rice-vouchers were usually held in a split bamboo which was thrust into a pile of rice-bags to indicate their buyer.
[8] In 1725, when the population of Yedo was about three-quarters of a million, the merchandise that entered the city was 861,893 bags of rice; 795,856 casks of sake; 132,892 casks of soy (fish-sauce); 18,209,987 bundles of fire-wood; 809,790 bags of charcoal; 90,811 tubs of oil; 1,670,850 bags of salt and 3,613,500 pieces of cotton cloth.
[9] Some derive this term from mika, an ancient Japanese term for “great,” and to, “place.”
[10] The names given in italics are those more commonly used. Those in the first column are generally of pure native derivation; those in the second column are composed of the Chinese word shū, a “province,” added to the Chinese pronunciation of one of the characters with which the native name is written. In a few cases both names are used.
[11] The mayor of a town (shichō) is nominated by the minister for home affairs from three men chosen by the town assembly.
[12] The term hyaku-shō, here translated “working man,” means literally “one engaged in any of the various callings” apart from military service. In a later age a further distinction was established between the agriculturist, the artisan, and the trader, and the word hyaku-shō then came to carry the signification of “husbandman” only.
[13] A tent was simply a space enclosed with strips of cloth or silk, on which was emblazoned the crest of the commander. It had no covering.