Page:Things Japanese (1905).djvu/363

Rh "our thinking, any foreign power that should venture to attack Japan in her own waters, would be strangely ill-advised.'"

Need we say how brilliantly this prophecy has been realised in the great war with Russia now (1904) being fought out before the eyes of an astonished world? In less than two months from its inception, the Japanese established their superiority in the handling of modern vessels, in gunnery, in tactics, in everything that makes for efficiency. Now, after six months, little remains of their opponents fleet but disabled hulks, while the exploits of Admiral Togo, and his brave subordinates will live on in the memory of future generations.

 Newspapers. The founder of Japanese journalism was an Englishman, Mr. John Black, one of the earliest foreign residents of Yokohama. Before his time there no doubt existed street-criers (yomi-uri), who hawked small sheets roughly struck off from wooden blocks whenever some horrid murder or other interesting event took place. The Kwaigai Shimbun of 1864—5, published by "Joseph Heco," was a step in advance. Then, in 1871, appeared a small quasi-journalistic venture, entitled the Shimbun Zasshi, believed to be inspired by Kido, a then prominent politician. But Mr. Black's Nisshin Shinjishi, started in 1872, was the first newspaper worthy of the name,—the first to give leading articles and to comment seriously on political affairs. The seed once sown, Japanese journalism grew apace. There are now 781 newspapers and magazines published in the empire, of which 209 in Tōkyō alone. The most important newspapers appearing in the capital are the Kwampō, or "Official Gazette;" the Kokumin, semi-official; the Nihon, conservative and 