Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/137

* JAPAN. 121 JAPAN". JAPAN, in Japanese NIPPON, or NIHON. An empire eon.sistinjx of a chain of islands lying alons the eastern coast of Asia, and extending from" latitude 21° 48' to 50° 50' N., and from longitude 110° 20' to 156° 32' E. It is sepa- rated from the most northern island.s of the Philippine gi'oup by the Baslii Channel ; from China by the Formosa Channel, 70 to 100 miles wide; from Korea by Broughton Channel, less than 25 miles in width; from the Russian island of Saghalin by La Perouse Strait, 25 miles wide, and from Kamtchatka by the Kiirilc Strait ; wliile the wide, somewhat secluded Sea of Japan lies in the embrace of the main island and Yezo, on the south and east, and of the east coast of Korea and the maritime province of Siberian Alanchuria on the west and north. Japan is the name by which the country is known to foreigners, but in .Japan itself Nippon or Xihon is used, sometimes with the syllable Dai ('Great") prefixed to it, and occasionally also Te Koku ('Empire' or 'Imperial'), so that in its most expanded form the name is Te Kokii Dai Nippon (or Xihon), that is. 'The Empire of Great Japan.' The name Xihon seems to have been adopted about the year 670. Down to that time Yamato was tlie name, from the province adjoining Kioto, in which .Jimmu Tenno (B.C. 660) and the early mikados ruled. The Chinese have long known the country as Jihpun-Kwoh, or 'Sun-origin Kingdom.' The islands of which the Empire is composed are said to number nearly 4000. but of these only about 500 are inhabited or have a coast- line of over one ri, or about 2.44 miles. The remaining islands are mere rocks, sometimes covered with vegetation, as for example the 808 tiny islets of the Bay of Sendai. collectively known as ilatsusbima, or 'Pine Islands.' The chief islands are five in number : ( 1 1 The Hondo. or 'JIain Island.' sometimes also designated as Honshiu. or 'the JIa inland,' and formerly but incorrectly named yippoii. a name which can be applied only to the wliole country. It has an area of 14.492 square ri (the square ri being equal to .5.955 square miles). In shape it is an irregular crescent, its concave side forming the southeastern boundary of the Sea of .lapan. Its greatest breadth is less than 200 miles. It is separated from Yezo, on the north, by Tsugaru Strait, 10 miles in width (through which runs a strong current from the Sea of .Japan), and from the eastern part of Shikoku, on the southwest, by Kii Channel. (2) Shikoku, with an area of 1151 square ri. lying south of the western part of Hondo, and separated from it by the beautiful land-locked but shallow channel, studded with islets, known to foreigners as the 'In- land Sea,' but to the Japanese by different names in different parts of its length. (.3) Kiushin, with an area of 2311 square ri, separated by the narrow Strait of Shimonoseki from the western point of Hondo, and lying to the west of Shikoku, from which it is divided by Bungo Channel, (4) Yezo, an irregular four-cornered island, with an area of 5056 square ri. lying north of the main island, with one long arm or corner stretch- ing north to .Siberia, and one reaching northeast to the Kurile Islands. (5) Formosa (q.v.),with an area of 2253 square ri, lying off the coast of China. The other considerable islands or groups of islands are Sado and Oki, in the Sea of Japan, with a combined area of 75 square ri; the island of Awaji, lying off the mouth of Osaka Bay and between the main island and .Shikoku, area"36.6'J .square ri ; and Iki and Tsushima, lying between Kiushiu and Korea, and having an area of 52.50 square ri, or with their si.x adjacent islands, 53.25 square ri : lastly, the 'Seven Islands,' which are found off the promontory of Idzu. The first three of the large islands, viz. Hondo, Shikoku, and Kiushiu, with their adjacent isl- ands, together with Sado, Oki, Awaji, Iki, and Tsushima, with their adjacent islands, constitute Oyashima, or 'Old .Japan.' With the 55 islands of the Loo-choo group and the 20 of the Bonin group added, there is formed Japan proper — Yezo, with its 12 adjacent islands, the 32 islands of the Kurile group, and Formosa and the Pesca- dores, with their numerous adjacent islands being regarded merely as colonial possessions. The following table shows the different con- stituent members of the Empire — the chief isl- ands with the number of adjacent islands, the length of coast-] ine of the various groups, and their area in squai'e miles: Chief Islands, Coast-Lixe, E>] AXD .KEA OF THE PIRE JapaXESE CHIEF ISLAXDS .djacent islands Coast-line in miles Area in sq. miles 165Vi 74H 150 "i 1 1 5 5.930.12 1,628.29 4,506.33 130.05 185.36 89.76 90.89 503.17 87.771.01 Shikoku 7,030.90 15.587.45 Sado 336 44 Oki 130.35 218 48 rki^':::::::::::::::::::::::::::;:::;:: 51.39 266 30 Total, Old Japan . 13-063.97 111 392 32 Loo-nhoo group. 55 islands.. Bonin group, 20 islands 768.74 174.65 934.40 26.79 Total, Japan proper 'l4.037.36 112,353.51 Tpzo 12 29 47 1.533.56 1,496,23 859.63 98.67 30.143.01 6,153.25 13,418.04 85 33 Kurile group, 32 islands Pescadores Total. Japanese Empire .. 17,995.45 162.153.74 TopocR.iPHT. Japan is a land of high moun- tains and deep valleys, with few plains of any extent. Its scenery is, in the main, pleasing rather than grand or sublime, rounded heights clad with forests, or with the verdure of a re- markably luxuriant vegetation predominating, though a large number of lofty, more or less shat- tered and craggy volcanic peaks are found. The level land lies chiefly along the lower courses of the principal rivers, or consists of stretches by the seashore, or of plateaus and gentle slopes along the feet of the mountain ranges. The most extensive plains are those which border the Ishikari and Tokachi rivers in Yezo, or stretch along the seashore at Kushiro and Xe- niuro. In the northeast section of Hondo is the Oshiu plateau, watered by the swift-flowing Kita- ganii. and extending over portions of four pro- vinces. In the central region is that of the Tone- gawa. or plain of the Kwanto. which spreads into the provinces of JIusashi, Kodzuke. Hitachi, and Shimo.sa. Xext comes the Kisocjawa. which forms part of Mino and Owari. The most ex- tensive of the littoral plains is found in Etchigo, along the lower waters of the Shinano P>iver. In the Five Home Provinces are several compara- tively wide plains along the Yodo and Yamato