Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/600

 572 1. Fuji-san 12,365 feet (above high-water mark at the town of Numadzu). 2. Asama-yama 8,500 ,, 3. Nantai-zan (the loftiest Jiill in the Nikko range) 7,800 ,, 4. Oyama, in Sagami 5,400 ,, 5. Tsukuba-san 5,000 6. Onsen-ga-take 4,100 ,, (according to Siebold). Rivers. Rivers. The rivers of Japan, although very numerous, are in no case of any great length. This of course is easily explained by the fact that the islands are narrow and hilly. The longest and widest river is the Tondgawa, which rises in the province of Kodzuke, and flows due east to the Pacific, throwing off, however, at Sekiyado in Shimosa, a branch that flows into Yedo Bay near the capital. 1 The length of the Tonegawa is over 170 miles. At S6kiyado (which is a large and thriving river-port) the water is no less than 40 feet in depth, while a few hundred yards above that town foot-passengers can ford the stream without any great difficulty. The Shinano- gawa and Kiso-gawa, both of which take their riss in the province of Shinano, rank next to the Tonegawa. The former flows first in a north-westerly direction, next due north, and then north-east through Echigo to the sea at Niigata ; the Kiso-gawa flows to the westward and then to the south, between the provinces of Mino and Owari, and finally falls into the sea at Kuwana. The Oi-gawa rises in the south-west of Kai, and traverses the province of Totomi ; it is less remarkable for the length of its course than for the great breadth of its bed, which near the mouth is 2^ miles across, its current being also very swift. The Fuji-kawa, flowing due south from the mountains of Kai through the province of Suruga, is famous as being one of the swiftest streams in all Japan. In the north, the Sakata-gawa flows due west from the range of mountains separating the provinces of Uzen and Rikuzen, and enters the Sea of Japan at the town of Sakata, from which it takes its name. Nearly all the rivers are fed by countless tributary streams, which in many cases form a complete network in the lower portions of the country, and thus greatly facilitate transport from the interior to the coast. On the Tonegawa and a few other streams of greater depth small river steamers ply for several miles ; but in general large flat-bottomed boats, drawing as a rule but a few inches of water, are employed. It is by no means uncommon to see boats of this description in process of construction even in remote country villages on the banks of streams in which the depth of water is but from 12 to IS inches at ordinary times. Floods are of frequent occurrence, especially at the commencement of summer, when the melting of the snows on the mountain ranges causes at times an almost incredible downflow from the higher lands to the plains. These floods invariably occasion great destruction of property, as the bridges spanning the rivers are only built of wood and turf, sup ported by piles. In some localities, notably in the western portion of the prorince of Shimosa, traversed by the southern branch of the Tonegawa, large tracts of rice-land are almost entirely destroyed by the fine sand from the bed of the river, swept over the fields during inundations. In addition to boats, long rafts of timber are constantly to be seen descending the larger rivers ; the logs are floated down in a rough state, to be afterwards thinned and sawn up at the seaport towns where the timber trade is carried on. La .ces. Lakes. Japan contains a large number of lakes, but only one the Biwa Lake, in the province of 6mi is worthy of special notice on account of its size. Its length is about 50 miles, and its greatest breadth about 20 miles. At 1 See Naumami s excellent pnper, &quot; Ueber die Ebene von Yedo,&quot; in Petermann s Mittheilungen, 1879. [GEOGRAPHY. a village called Katada, some 10 miles from its southern extremity, it suddenly contracts to a breadth of only a mile and a half, after which it again slightly expands. This lake derives its name from a fancied resemblance to the biwa or Japanese lute; the scenery around it is parti cularly beautiful, and it is a favourite resort for sightseers from Kioto. An ancient Japanese legend asserts that in the year 286 B.C., in the reign of the emperor Korei, there occurred a terrible earthquake, when the earth opened and Lake Biwa was formed; at the same time rose the mountain called Fuji-san. In Omi there is a small hill called Migami, which in shape slightly re sembles Fuji-san, and this fact is quoted by the natives in support of the theory connecting the lake A with the sacred mountain ; and the inhabitants of Omi were privileged to undertake the ascent of Fuji-san after only seven days purification, instead of one hundred days, the prescribed term for all other persons. After Biwa may be noted the lakes of Chiuzenji, Suwa, and Hakone, all of which lie far above the level of the sea. That of Chiuzenji is situated at the foot of the mountain called Nantai-zan, in the Nikko range in the province of Shimotsuke. The scenery in its vicinity has given rise to the proverb that he who has not seen Nikko should not pronounce the word &quot; beautiful.&quot; The lake of Suwa is in the province of Shinano, and can be reached by a road called the Nakasendo, running north-west from Tokio through the heart of the country to Kioto. The Hakone Lake lies in the range of hills bearing the same name just to the east of Fuji-san ; the water is exceedingly cold, and of great depth. A Japanese legend, indeed, asserts that it has never been fathomed. The hill scenery around it is very picturesque, and large numbers of foreign residents from Tokio and the neighbouring port of Yokohama visit it during the summer months. The Inawashiro Lake, in the province of Iwashiro, is said to be about 1 miles in length. It is fed by two streams flowing from the east and north-east, while out of it flows the Aka-no-gawa, which falls into the sea near Niigata. It is ! surrounded by hills of no great elevation ; the temperature there is cool, and in winter the streams are frozen for I several weeks. On the boundary line of the provinces of
 * Hitachi and Shimosa there are also large tracts of water, or

lagoons (Japanese mono), fed by the Tonegawa ; these, though not actually lakes, may almost be classed under that heading, as their connexion with the river itself con sists in many cases of but one narrow outlet. Those of chief note are the Ushiku-numa in Hitachi, and the Imba-numa, Tega numa, and Naga-numa in Shimosa. The country in this vicinity is as a rule exceedingly flat, but the Imba-numa is for some distance along its eastern shore bordered by small hills, thickly wooded down to the water s edge, the whole forming a very pretty land scape. The lagoons are well stocked with fish, the large eels found in the Ushiku-numa being especially prized for excellence of flavour ; in the winter months they teem I with wild fowl. The inhabitants of the numerous villages along the shores are, in fact, almost entirely maintained by fishing and shooting or trapping. Mineral*.- Japan is particularly rich in minerals, Mine among which may be specially mentioned gold, silver, iron, copper, coal, and stone of various kinds. The gold was first discovered and melted in the year 749 A.D., during the reign of the emperor Shomu ; it came from the department of Oda in the province of Oshiu, and in the following year more was found in the province of Suruga. During the long period of Japan s seclusion from the rest of the world, the gold discovered remained in the country, and the amount augmented year by year ; and this no doubt tended in a great degree to convey to the earlier foreign visitors the