Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/138

* JAPAN. 132 JAPAN. Rivers and tlioir feeilors, while in .ShiUokii flat lands lie alon;; the Voshino Kivtr and in Kiushiu along the C'hikuyo. In Formosa a plain 20 miles wide, expanding toward the south, lies between the mountains and the western coast. The general trend of the mountain systems is along the longer extension of the islands — that is, from southwest to nortlieast. or from soutli- southwest to nortli-northeast — but in several places the main chains are intersected by other lofty ridges, running in a general way from north to south, as in Kiusliiu. Central Hondo, and Yezo. It is at these points that the greatest mountain masses and the most imposing scenery are found. In Formosa, also, the great backbone of the island extends from north to south, several of its peaks exceeding in height those of Japan proper. Keginniiig with tlie volcanic elevations of the Kurile grouj). which form a line of .'i2 step- ping-stones from Kumtcliatka to the island of Yezo, a range of trachytie and basaltic rocks is intersected near the centre of Yezo by a loftier and more massive chain composed of granite and old schists, from Cape Soya on the north (a continuation of the Saghalin system), the highest peak of which is the Tokachi. with an elevation of 8200 feet. F'arther on toward the southwest this volcanic Kurilian range merges into the west coast range from Cape Soya, and is marked by some remarkable volcanoes, the most noted though not the highest of which is Komagatake, or 'Foal Mountain' (a name of common occur- rence in .Tapan), with a height of nearly 4000 feet. Branching into two lines after the long western arm of the island rounds Volcano Bay, these mountains reappear on the main island in two parallel chains. One, the Northern Schist range, separates the ^'allev of the Kitagami lliver from the Pacific: the other, the main chain, continues toward the southwest, forms the backbone of the island imtil it meets the great complex of massive intersecting ridges which inclose the plateau of Shinano (2.550 feet above the sea), and occu]iies the central portion of the main island where it is widest. It sends out important branches and continuations south- east through the Hakone range into Idzu; south- west through Yamato and Shikoku to Kiushiu: and westerly through the centre of Chiugoku to Shimonoseki, forming in its course the dividing line between the gi-oup of provinces known as San-yodo and that called San-in-do. In thi,s central mountain mass, which covers the provinces of Kaga, Etchiu. Hida. Shinshiu. Koshiu, and part of Ko<lzuke are found the lofti- est peaks of .Japan proper (next after Fujiyama 'the Peerless.' with its elevation of 12..'ifl.5 feet, which soars near the southeast coast, not very far from Tokio). They also offer the grandest scen- ery, and hence are frequently called the Mapanese Alps.' The principal summits are: Haku-san in Kaga. an extinct volcano, with a height of 8020 feet: Yariga-take.10.000 feet, in Hida; Oohonsha, the highest peak of thcTate-yama range. 0.500 feet : Ko-ma-ga-take. 10.384 feet: and scores of others. Farther north in the Xikko range of Shimotsuke is Shirane-san. S.5S0 feel: Xant.ai-san. 81.50 feet: and farther north still, on the shores of Lake Inawashiro. is Bandai-san.fi280 feet. Tlience north- ward are Gwassan. (1200 feet : Oan-ju-san. or the Nambu-Fuji. 6.500 feet; and southward along the west coast from Iwaki-san or Tsusaru-Fuji (4500 feet), are (2Tio-kai-san, 7800 feet, Hagurosan, and others, each as n rule sacred to some deity and consequently much visited by pilgrims. Snow covers most of them in winter, but. except in a few cases, as, for example, Haku-san and the peaks of the great mountain nuisses of Shinano and Hida, it disappears before the end of summer. Even on Fujiyama only patches of snow remain from year to year. The toi/c or ])asses by which these mountains are crossed are coini)aratively low, due to the fact, as Rein points out, that ( 1 ) the mountain masses of primitive crystalline rocks and schists do not rise very high, and that (2) the volcanic formations, which have in so many places burst through and overlain them, seldom form long or very high riilges. It is said that there are in .Tapan, which is of volcanic origin, 170 volcanoes, most of them, liowever, regarded as extinct, some merely qui- escent, but scores still active, sending forth smoke and steam, or serving as landmarks at night by their fiery glow. Among the more famous volcanoes still reckoned as active are Asama-yama, in Shinano: Komaga-take and sev- eral others, in Yezo; Chacha-takc, in one of the Kuriles; Shirane-yama. in the Nikko range; Jliharayama, on Oshima or 'Vries Island,' one of the 'Seven Islands,' lying oil' the promontory of Idzu ; and Suwa-shima. in Loo-choo. As late as 1888 Bandai-san (q.v.) was in a state of violent eruption. Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence, and even in comparatively recent times some have been very disastrous. The line of greatest seismic disturbance extends from Loo- choo through Kiushiu to the northeast. On October 28. ISOl, occurred an earthquake, felt in six ])rovincos; 727!) persons lost their lives, 17.30.3 were injured, and 107,947 buildings were utterly destroyed. Thermal springs and solfataras are exceedingly numerous. In .Japan proper, the former. chieHy sulphur, are said to occur in 388 dillerent locali- ties, and almost all are much patnmized by the natives. The chief are Kusatsn and Tkao. in Kod- zuke: Yunioto, at the f9i)t of Shirane-yama. in the Xikko range: and Enoyu on Kirishima-yama. in Kiushiu. Chalybeate s]nings, both hot and cold, are also found. The solfataras are well exemplified liv the Ojigoku and Ko-jigoku. or 'Great and Little Hells,' of the Hakone range. Hydrography. Ovving to the mountainous ch.nracter of the country, and the narrowness of the islands. .Japan cannot boast of long rivers, no part being farther distant from the .sea than about 100 miles. Yet the country is well watered. Every valley has its stream or its stream- let, and one of the chief charms of the scenery is the rush of the ninnerous waters, and the beauty of its waterfalls, while the swiftness and torrential character of many of the streams pre- sent grave problems to the engineer engaged in railway construction or bridge-building. The largest river in the Empire is the Ishikari, in Yezo, which (lows into the Sea of .Japan. aft<>r a course of 407 miles. On the main island, the three gi-eat kawa. or rivers, are the Shinanogawa, the Tonegawa. and the KisogaAva. The Shinano rises in the province of that name, has a course of 320 miles, and flows northwest into the Sea of .Japan. The Kitagami. in the north; east, has a course of 122 miles, and flows south- east into the Bay of Sendai. The Tonegawa rises in Kodzuke, traverses the plain of Kwanto, and enters the Pacific near Tokio, after a course