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   Geisha. See Things Japanese/Singing-girls.  Geography. The boundaries of Japan have expanded greatly in the course of ages. The central and western portions of the Main Island, together with Shikoku, Kyūshū, and the lesser islands of Iki, Tsushima, Old, Awaji, and perhaps Sado, formed the Japan of early historic days, say of the eighth century after Christ. At that time the Ainos, though already in full retreat northwards, still held the Main Island as far as the 38th or 39th parallel of latitude. They were soon driven across the Straits of Tsugaru into Yezo, which island was itself gradually conquered during the period extending from the twelfth to the seventeenth century. In the eighteenth century a portion of Saghalien was added to Japanese territory. But a discussion having arisen on this subject between Japan and Russia, the weaker of the two powers (for Japan was young and weak then) naturally went to the wall. Saghalien, with its valuable coal-fields and fisheries, was ceded to Russia by the treaty of St. Petersburg in 1875, and the barren, storm-swept Kurile Islands were obtained in exchange. Meanwhile, the Luchu and Bonin Islands had been added to the Japanese possessions, and in 1895 the valuable island of Formosa was ceded by the vanquished Chinese. The empire thus, in its present and furthest extent, stretches from Kamchatka on the north in about lat. 51°, to the extremity of Formosa on the south in lat. 22°, and from 120° to 156° of long, east of Greenwich.

Japan proper consists of three large islands, of which one, the largest or Main Island, distinguished as Hondo on some modern maps, has no name in popular use, while the other two are called respectively Shikoku and Kyūshū, together with the small islands of Sado, Oki, Tsushima, and a multitude of lesser ones still. The largest island is separated from the two next in size by the celebrated Inland Sea, for which latter also there is no generally current Japanese name. The area of the entire Japanese