# Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan/Series 1/Volume 3/Part 2/Notes of a Journey from Awamori to Niigata

NOTES OF A JOURNEY FROM AWOMORI TO NIIGATA, AND A OF VISIT TO THE MINES OF SADO.
BY
J. H. GUBBINS, Esq.
Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan on the
14th April 1875.
———o———
The Bay of Awomori, at the extreme end of which stands the town of the same name, is among the best in Japan, the harbour being well protected while there is deep water close to the shore on all sides.
The town of Awomori, which is the seat of the Awomori Ken, is extremely uninteresting, and there was comparatively little left to see of it on the occasion of our visit, as more than half of the place had been destroyed by fire the year before. Its Meibutsu or production for which it is famous, is a kind of sweetmeat made of beans and sugar. No particular industry is carried on, but a considerable trade passes through the town, as it is the favourite place of communication between this part of the country and Hakodate, owing to its proximity to Hirozaki which was formerly the castle-town of the district; while on the other hand it is conveniently situated with respect to the great cattle-province of Nambu. Cattle and rice are the chief exports to Hakodate, while from that place skins, fish, and foreign merchandise of all kinds are imported. Another thing which tends to give a certain importance to ​Awomori is the fact of its being the principal outlet, so to speak, of the large yearly emigration of the country people who flock in large numbers in the spring of every year to Hakodate—either to join the fisheries on the coast of Yesso, or to pick up what living they can in Hakodate and its neighbourhood, returning as regularly in the autumn to their native places.
Considering the comparatively short period during which out-door work can be carried on in the northern parts of Japan, it seems strange that these people should choose for their periodical flitting the very time of year when, as one would be apt to think, their labour would pay them best; and the reason assigned—which the fact of the yearly emigration itself proves to be in a measure correct—namely,—that the fisheries are so lucrative that the amount which they earn by this livelihood serves not only to keep them through the winter months, but to defray the cost of their journeys to and fro—leads us to infer that agriculture in these northern districts of the country is not a remunerative pursuit. This emigration is not confined to the male portion of the population; the women emigrate in just as large if not in larger numbers than the men.
At Awomori commences the long chain of hills which runs down intersecting the country from north to south as far as Takasaki and on through Shinshiu. A lesser ridge of hills has a direction from north-east to south-west, but is irregular, there being breaks at intervals and some of the peaks being much higher than others. In this last chain is the mountain Iwakiyama, which like so many other mountains in Japan is shaped like a volcano, and stands out a little distance from the rest of the chain. It is of course impossible to form any accurate conclusion as to the height of a mountain without ascending it, but judging from the size of the hills near Iwakiyama ever which we passed we estimated its height roughly at about 5,000 feet.
Proceeding from Awamori towards Namioka, the first post stage on the road to Hirozaki, one passes over the ​last-mentioned ridge of hills at a point called the Tsugaruzaka the ascent of which is somewhat tedious, though there is a nice view to be had when the top is reached, of Iwakiyama and of the valley in which Hirozaki lies. In the district between Awomori and the Tsugaruzaka the chief product is of course rice, but the cultivation is altogether very scanty. Some of the hills were covered with a coarse-locking medium-sized bush which, seen from a distance bears a certain resemblance to the mulberry-plant, though the leaf is larger. The name given by the Japanese to the plant is Gomagiri, and the bark is employed to make the incense-sticks in common use in Japanese temples. The Sasa or scrub-bamboo, dwarf-oak, and ordinary pine grow everywhere in great profusion. On the other side of the Tsugaruzaka the country opens out into a broad valley in which the villages of Namioka, Fujizaki, and the town of Hirozaki are situated, and which is bounded by the two ranges of hills already mentioned. The scenery loses much of its desolateness, the broad valley full of rice presenting a cheerful contrast to the country already passed through. The valley is watered by the Hiragawa which flows through it from North-East and South-West, and is crossed by the road some two miles from Namioka. The river when we saw it was only about thirty yards wide, but in flood it attains a considerable breadth. The houses in the villages along the road are almost all built of clay with slight wooden frames, but the better class of buildings in the villages and the houses in the towns are ordinary wooden structures, presenting in point of architecture no marked difference to those seen in Yedo and its environs. I should not forget to mention the water-melons, which one sees everywhere growing in the wildest profusion, sometimes trailing up the sides of the houses and almost hiding the roofs altogether from view with their rich luxuriance of foliage, and at other times forming the hedge-row to a garden. All the way from Awomori to Niigata water-melons are grown, and as they are also found in great quantities down south, this plant may be said to be ​almost as universal a production of Japan as the staple product, rice.
Hirozaki is an old castle-town containing some 30,000 inhabitants. By old castle-town is meant that the town in former days was the residence of a northern Daimio, and possessed a castle. This is now no more. It was burnt down four years ago and the site is now occupied by barracks for the 800 soldiers who are quartered in the town. The stream called the Tsudzubudzugawa intersects Hirozaki.
The towns here in the north are built in a curious style. Though, as I have said, the houses in the towns have no particular peculiarities of architecture to distinguish them from those further south, yet owing to the heavy snow-fall in the winter when the snow attains an average depth of 12 or 13 feet, the roofs of the houses and the verandahs are built very strongly, and these latter are made continuous—each verandah connecting with those of the houses on each side—so that in winter however great the depth of snow the inmates of the houses are able to go in and out of their dwellings with comfort and even to take a certain amount of exercise. As is the case in all mountainous localities, the roof are further protected by large boulders and stones which are placed on them in the usual way.
Hirozaki considered in any way is a very uninteresting place. All old castle-towns in Japan have more or less a dull and dead-alive atmosphere pervading them which has a depressing effect upon a new comer, and Hirozaki is no exception to the rule. Owing to the increasing trade passing through Awomori, Hirozaki has been quite superseded by the former place, and though still a large town, business appears to be almost at a stand still. Very good apples are grown in the neighbourhood, and a kind of green lacquer ware is manufactured, which however, though of some repute in the locality, is held in small estimation at the capital.
It was a long day’s ride from Hirozaki to Odaté, our next stopping place. After emerging from the valley the ​road led as over the crest of a densely wooded hill some 500 feet high, and it was all the ponies could do to carry us up, the path being entirely composed, as is not uncommon in mountain tracks in Japan, of small logs of wood cut to the same size and laid so as to form steps up the hill side. A curious feature of the scenery further on, was that the hills on our left were covered with fine turf, but otherwise destitute of vegetation, with the exception of some dwarf-shrubs scattered here and there, whereas those immediately opposite these, and to the right of us as we went along, were clothed with the densest vegetation from their bases to their summits, chestnuts and a species of elm being chiefly noticeable. Fortunately for our rate of progression our road skirted the sides of the first named hills, and we were thus enabled to push on at a rapid rate. We saw numbers of horses grazing on the hills all round even in the steepest and most precipitous places, and now and again some of these answering to the call of their owners who had come out to collect them would come bounding down the hill sides uttering shrill neighs and indulging in the wildest of gambols. Our own steeds betrayed an intimate acquaintance with the geography of the neighbourhood which could only have been acquired in this way, and shewed at times an evident inclination to join their friends playing in the vicinity.
Of Odaté as of Hirozaki there is little to be said. Like Hirozaki it also possessed a castle once, and was the residence of a Hatamoto, and like that of Hirozaki the castle is no longer in existence. The town holds about 4,000 inhabitants. The principal products of the district are rice and the indigo plant. Curious looking clay ovens were to be seen along the road side as we came from Hirozaki, in which this plant is subjected to some mysterious process before the dye is extracted. Tea has latterly been grown, but not as yet with much success.
We found on arriving at Odaté, that we should have to continue our journey by boat for 13 ri as far as a place called Tsurugata, as the bridges had been all swept away by recent floods, which floods are of common occurrence, ​taking place five or six times in the course of a year. The Yonetsurugawa, the river which proves so troublesome, rises in the district of Kadzunogori in Nambu and flows into the sea on the west coast a little below the town of Tsurugata.
The boats or rather canoes used on this river are of two sizes. It was in the smaller kind that we embarked. Their shape is somewhat peculiar, and a description of them may not be out of place. They are flat-bottomed, long and narrow, the length of the one in which we embarked being about 25 feet, while the breadth was only 21/2 feet. They lie low in the water, there being hardly a foot of free-board, and the sides are slightly rounded so as to curve inwards. The draught of the smaller boats, such as the one in which we were, I should take to be about six inches. The prow is very long and high, and does not project sharply outwards, as is the case with ordinary Japanese boats, but is continued in a line with the body of the boat in a gradual long curve. The breadth of these canoes is the same all over, except at the bows where they become slightly narrower. They are worked by two boatmen. One of these stands in the stern of the bout and steers with a long paddle; the other either sits in the bow and rows with a very unwieldy paddle fixed in rowlocks made of rope, or else stands up with a pole to ward the canoe off from the rocks and keep it well into the stream. The canoes seem on the whole adapted to the locality and are managed with great skill when shooting the small rapids which occur here and there on the river.
Swinging down with the current at some six miles an hour, we passed through a beautifully undulating country, the scenery being very pretty at times and very picturesque all along. There is a fine view about twelve miles above the village of Tsurugata. Here the hills on each bank rise to a height of 300 or 400 feet, and the stream gradually grows narrower and narrower until at last making a sharp turn to the right it dashes into a steep gorge. From the boat, as it is whirled down amidst the ​strong eddies of the current, the view of the hills overhead, shaded as they are by dark pines and cryptomerias, is very grand.
From Suyama close to Tsurugata, where we landed, on to Kado the country is beautiful. Large tracts of rich meadow-land, varied here and there by small bits of lightly wooded country, extend down to the sea on the one hand and as far as the hills on the other. In these meadows wild boars, so our guides said, are frequently to be met with even in the day time. Beyond Kado the country becomes more cultivated; the villages are more numerous and more thickly populated, and the houses composing them differ from those further North in not being mere clay structures but built of wood in the usual style. Near this latter place we saw the ordinary bamboo for the first time, not growing wild but carefully cultivated in a hedgerow along with other trees. Shortly after leaving Kado an extensive lagoon, about 15 miles long by five broad, as far as we could roughly estimate it, and connected with the sea by an arm so narrow that the first impression formed by the traveller of it is that it is an isolated piece of water, comes into view on the right. Near the outlet to the ocean, as if specially stationed there to guard the entrance, are two high bills called respectively Honzan and Shinzan, or old and new mountain, the latter being the name of the higher of the two. As we proceeded further the meadow land gave way entirely to cultivation. The uri or small melon seemed to be the chief production of the district, and those we saw were much larger than those grown near Yedo.
A nice view of Kubota, the capital of the Akita prefecture, is obtained a short distance from the town which is situated in an extensive valley at the foot of Taiheisan, a mountain of some 4,000 feet, and on the river Omogawa. This river has its source at Iwasaki and flows into the sea on the west coast near Kubôta. Kubôta has a population of 60,000 inhabitants, and though, like Hirozaki, an old castle-town, has considerably more life in it than the latter place. The houses though built like those at Hirozaki ​have a more finished appearance, the street are wider and better kept and there are some good shops and fine large tea-houses in the town. Jinrikishas ply to and fro, the roads, however, being too bad to admit of their being used outside of the suburbs, the streets are thronged with a busy crowd, and there is every sign of a brisk trade being carried on. The Meibutsu of Kubôta are Tsumugi, a silken fabric much used in making hakama and kimono, and the pattern of which is usually black and yellow in stripes, white Chijimi, a species of crape with raised woof which fetches a high price at Yedo, and Karakami—the sliding-doors of Japanese houses.
Near Kubota we saw large tracts of woodland fenced in, and at certain spots in the wide enclosures thus formed were fixed posts notifying that the land in question belonged to the Kaitakushi or Agricultural Department. It is gratifying to see that the Japanese Government are at length disposed to turn their attention a little nearer home, and perceive that Yezo is not the only place where the influence of the Kaitakushi may be exercised to advantage; for certainly there is in the northern districts of the main island great room for improvement, and owing to the more genial accessories of position and climate the labours of the Colonization Department in this direction, where such a large field for agricultural experiments is open to them, would, it is presumable, be far more likely to be attended with success than in a country with the Siberian climate of northern Yezo—where millions of dollars have been expended—with what result is only too well known.
Hitherto all the way from Awomori to Kubota and on as far as Murakami we found that a knowledge of the language as spoken at Yedo and the neighbourhood of the capital was of very little use when speaking to the country people, though of course officials both in towns and villages can invariably speak the Yedo dialect. The dialects vary in every town to a certain extent. Near Awomori the Nambu dialect is the one in common use. Owing, however, to the yearly emigration of the country ​people before alluded to, a medley of many different dialects is the result, which to a traveller is utterly incomprehensible. The harsh language of Kaga, the dialects of Nambu with its peculiarities of intonation, expression and pronunciation, the nasal twang which distinguishes the dialects spoken near Hirosaki, and in the old provinces of Aidzu—combined with the hard and clipped language of Hakodate, in itself a compound of many dialects, when jumbled up together combine to produce a jargon the disagreable effect of which on the ear of a stranger may readily be imagined. As an instance of the local peculiarities of dialect which fell under our notice I may state that we met with no less than five different expressions for the common word “Yes” namely Hé, Hai, Né, Na, and Chi. By this alone some idea may be found of the difficulties which stand in the way of a traveller understanding and being understood by the people with whom he is thrown into communication.
The coast line from Hirazawa on loses much of the dreary desolateness noticeable between Kubota and Hirazawa. Hitherto the coast has extended in a straight unbroken line varied by no indentations or bays, while endless sand, and nothing but sand, has reigned uninterrupted everywhere. Here, however, the monotony is broken by several tiny bays, the entrances to which are almost concealed by high fierce-looking rocks which bar the passage to all but small fishing boats, and on the shores of which stand little fishing villages, whose inhabitants were actively engaged when we passed by in the ordinary pursuits of a fishing population. The character of the country too softens and improves. The hills run down close to the water’s edge. Wild lilies of a bright orange colour, harebells and wild pinks grow in great profusion, and little hillocks rich in trees and shrubs are dotted all over the rice-fields. Such is the country between Shokoshi and Kosagawa.
The road from Shokoshi on towards Sakata lies along ​the tops of high cliffs overhanging the sea and over the Misaki-togé or Pass of the Three Promontories. Owing to the hills all round, the view of Chôkaisan, one of the highest mountains of Japan, is constantly changing, and although the mountain is clearly seen from a long distance back, yet it is only when drawing near Sakata that one obtains a good view of it, and of the chains of low hills stretching away from if, so as to form an accurate idea of these. The whole presents a curious sight.
The volcano Chôkaisan, which the natives of the place are fond of likening to Fujiyama, stands out boldly against the sky, rising up to a height of 8,000 feet and towering far above the low hills which surround it. Seen as we saw it, it forms as it were the centre of a circle of which only half is visible, or of a spider’s web, and from this centre three ridges, like the radii of a circle or the principal threads of a web, run westwards down to the sea and are continued out into it in three promontories, forming two bays, and thus giving the name of Misaki Togé to the Pass, whilst a fourth chain of hills extends in a south-easterly direction ending shortly above Sakata. Pilgrimages are made up Chôkaisan the mountain being ascended from Fukuura, a small village about 11 miles from Sakata.
The road all the way from Hirazawa is so pretty and the scenery so varied that the journey seems shorter than it really is, and thus when we reached the valley in which Sakata lies, and, entering it from the North close to the foot of Chokaisan rode through the whole length of it up to Sakata, we were not too fatigued to be able to enjoy the rich landscape spread out before us.
The valleys in Japan may appear to some monotonous and uninteresting. They may say that they are all so alike that the eye becomes wearied by constantly dwelling on the same views. But it is not so with a real admirer of Japanese scenery. True it is that these valleys possess in a great measure a certain similarity, and that apparently, to some, the same scene is often repeated. But these valleys are peculiar to the country, it is in them ​that we find lurking the special charm attaching to Japanese scenery, and to us there is some new beauty in each peculiarly its own. However much the principal features of valley scenery are repeated, and it by no means follows that they always are, there is ever some new accessory of mountain, forest or river, which lends a special interest to each, and which is easily discernible by those who are in any way close observers of nature. Hirozaki, Kubôta, Sakata, and Murakami are all situated in valleys, but beyond a certain similarity which is always to be met with in the same geological formations the valleys in which these towns lie are far from being counterparts one of another. The valley of Kubota presents a striking contrast to the others on account of its vast extent, and in each of the three others the prominent features of the landscapes, not to speak of the positions of the towns which differ in each case, have a distinct individuality which forbids the idea of any monotony or sameness pervading them. We must plead guilty to a fondness for Japanese scenery. In spring when everything appears dressed in its brightest colours fairer landscapes are to be seen here perhaps than in any other country. In autumn there is also as much variety, and the many coloured tints which light up the hillsides and bring the woods out in their sombre richness of colouring have more attractions for some than the brighter views of springtime. But this is digressing.
The town of Sakata like all Japanese towns is a very straggling place. It holds about 12,000 inhabitants. Though a considerable trade is carried on in the place it has no meibutsu, nor is any special industry as far as we could learn carried on in it. The principal street deserves a word said about it. The houses forming it stand each in a separate enclosure, and as these enclosures are planted with evergreens and other trees, the effect is singular—giving the town the appearance rather of a big village than of a town.
When there we did not lose the opportunity of visiting the grave of Mr. Smith. The site chosen for it is a quiet ​retired spot in a corner of the graveyard of the principal temple of of Sakata, and there are only one or two recent graves in the immediate neighbourhood. The tomb is fenced in with a wooden railing, and a simple slab of stone with the name, age and residence in Japan of the deceased marks the head of the grave. We were conducted to the spot by the head-priest of the temple who seemed to take a certain pride in pointing out that every thing was kept in excellent order.
Murakami lies just at the point where the defile leads out into a broad valley which is shut in on the north and east sides, but is open on the west and south. Also an old castle town it has a very deserted appearance. The castle is in ruins, though some portions of it here and there are still standing. The Meibutsu of Murakami are Lacquer (though lacquer ware is not made here in any quantity) salmon and tea, the latter having improved much in quality during the last few years. A great deal of pine-wood from the adjacent forests is cut into lengths and sent to Niigata and even to Yedo to be made into chopsticks, so this may also be included among the Meibutsu.
Niigata is so well known that little need be said of the town itself. Everybody is aware what difficulties in the shape of insecure harborage and imperfect road communication with the capital have stood in the way of the development of its trade, and how, in spite of these drawbacks, the town has gradually increased. It is also known how much the town has gained by the appointment of the present governor, how a prison, a hospital, a school conducted on the new system, and barracks have sprung up, and with what good results the care bestowed in laying out new streets, in restoring the old ones, and in cleansing and improving the network of canals which intersects the town, has been attended.
Under the energetic administration of the present Governor the town has made evident progress, and if the necessary works which are required for the formation of a good harbour were only carried out, if the road ​communication with Yedo was improved, and if the various resources of the neighbourhood were drawn out as they should be, it would not be long, we venture to predict, before Niigata took a leading place among the towns of Japan.
But it is expecting too much to suppose that all this will be done. Even the scheme for constructing a harbour will, it is to be feared, not be carried out. The townspeople are naturally anxious for the execution of a plan which, if successful,—which there is every reason to suppose it would be—must be of great benefit to their town. The local officials are for reasons of their own desirous of being entrusted with the direction of the works. The plans have been drawn up, the estimates begun long ago, should be finished by this time, but here the matter will probably rest. The development of the scheme presents certainly great difficulties, though not greater ones than modern engineering can surmount. But it necessitates a considerable sum of money, and money the Japanese Government are for various reasons chary of granting. The question will probably be indefinitely shelved, and if the Government ever do take it into their consideration, it will probably be only when it is too late to do any good, and the opportunity will thus have been lost.
Sado, which lies opposite to the mainland off Niigata, may be reached in two ways—either by going direct from Niigata to Yebisu the Northern Harbour, or by proceeding from Niigata to Teradomari—a village 30 miles south of Niigata and thence to the south-east point of the island. The former is the longer route by sea—being 40 miles,—but though by taking the latter route one saves half the distance by water, yet it involves a good day’s journey overland from Niigata to Teradomari.
The former may be said to be the preferable route at ordinary times, but in the stormy season the latter is the best. The Bay of Yebisu, the northern harbour of Sado, is a fine bay, being ten miles long with an average breadth of a mile, and affords good protection to shipping, so that in bad weather ships lying off ​Niigata put in here for shelter, but it is unfortunately open on the north side and consequently in northerly gales, which are very prevalent during the winter months, vessels have to make for the Bay of Omi, a small harbour on the east coast, or for Futami Bay which is on the southern end of the island. At Yebisu there is a temple picturesquely situated on the crest of a steep hill, and from here to Aikawa, the locality of the mines, the scenery is tolerably pretty, and the road just before Aikawa is reached goes over a pass some 500 feet high.
Sado is well known on account of the gold mines to which it owes its importance. Aikawa the chief town of Sadô, and the head-quarters of the local administration, lies at the extreme south of the island. It has a population of 10,000 inhabitants, but the rest of the island is but thinly populated. The road connecting Aikawa with Yebisu, the small town from which the northern Bay takes its name, is the only decent road on the island, and we fear we must plead guilty to the charge of “damning with faint praise,” as all that can be said in its favour is that it might be worse. There are several villages at certain distances along this route, but the western and north-western portions of Sadô are mountainous and almost totally uncultivated.
From the fact of there being gold mines in Sado, one is naturally inclined to look for signs of a certain degree of prosperity among its inhabitants, but the reverse of this is the case. The villages are wretched and dirty in the extreme, and the people appear to be miserably poor. What natural wealth it possesses has done little for the island, if we may judge from outward appearances. Even Aikawa, which should be a rich thriving town, has the appearance of an ordinary fishing village. The upper part of the town where the Kencho and mining office are situated is not so bad, but in the lower town dirtiness and poverty prevail in a very marked degree, and the houses are mostly wretched hovels.
As a natural consequence labour is absurdly cheap in ​Sado, and travelling therefore very inexpensive,—the charge for one coolie per day being 21/2 sen.
The mines are within a short walk of the Mining Office and are prettily situated in high hills. The height of the highest of these hills is 1,100 feet, but the principal entrance to the mines is only 700 feet above the sea-level. The gallery which one enters here—the only one which can be explored comfortably—is fitted with a tramway, and extends for a distance of 300 yards with a slight ascent into the hill, when three dark and uninviting shafts are reached—one descending to the left—another to the right—and the third leading straight into the heart of the hill. This latter has been disused for some time, and has only lately been re-opened. We had sufficient respect for our clothes, in the absence even of other deterrent reasons, not to yield to any inducements which might be held out to us to prosecute our researches underground any farther, and indeed there were risks to be run which we little dreamt of when we committed ourselves to the care of our guides. Every now and then a huge truck full of ore would come rolling down the tramway on its way with its load to the mouth of the gallery, which forced our party to have recourse to a general ‘sauve qui peut’ in the nooks and crannies within reach, and inexperienced as we were, it was as much as we could do to save ourselves from annihilation by clinging closely to the sides of the subterraneous passage.
Since the time the mines were first opened they have been subject, at certain intervals, to inroads from water, and on the way from the mining office we passed several old shafts long since abandoned owing to this reason. From the primitive character of the old workings it naturally followed that from time to time casualties and loss of life resulted from the water coming in. What up to sixty years ago used to be the principal entrance to the mines, was at that date the scene of one of these catastrophes, when no less than 300 people are reported to have perished. That ​in the face of these accidents and the danger attaching to mining operations conducted when modern appliances and engineering skill were as yet unknown, the works should have been proceeded with,—says something for the perseverance of the local Japanese, but probably their greed for gain induced them to overstep the bounds of prudence, and the very ignorance of the miners of the common laws on which engineering is based possibly made them underrate the dangers to which they were exposed.
Of late years the water has been gradually accumulating to such an extent as effectually to obstruct the working of the mines, and in some shafts, we were told, the water had attained a depth of 15 feet. With a view, therefore, to freeing the mines from this obstruction, a survey of them has been instituted, and the necessary plans and estimates are being prepared. The cost of removing this obstacle will it is said be very great, as it is calculated that it will take quite five years to get the mines into good working order, but it is also equally the general opinion that unless the requisite measures to this end are speedily put into execution the mines will eventually have to be abandoned, as they cannot otherwise be worked to advantage.
There is, however, a large quantity of ore on hand, enough, it is stated, to occupy two years in smelting. The new smelting works, which have only recently been completed, will thus come in very useful.
The tramway which was laid down three years ago for the conveyance of the ore from the mines to the town is still in existence, but the tramway system was not found to work well. Owing to the carelessness and ignorance of those in charge of the tramways, accidents were of constant occurrence, and moreover, labour being so cheap, it was found to be just as economical to employ manual labour. Another consideration which probably had some weight is that the conveyance of the ore in the old way from the mines gave occupation to a considerable number of people, and for this reason alone the tramways were very likely unpopular. Women are chiefly employed in the ​transport of ore. They receive 4 sen a day and are supposed to make three or four trips to and fro in that time.
In spite of the high quality of the ore extracted from them, the cheapness of labour, and the favourable situation of the mines with regard to the town, it is yet a fact that the Sado mines are worked at a loss. On account of the smallness of the population, and owing also perhaps in a measure to that aversion to a change of locality which is common to all Japanese, all the inhabitants of the island are more or less related to each other, and thus if one obtains an official position, it is generally not long before his numerous relations are all similarly provided. Consequently the number of officials employed in the Mining Office and kenchô as compared with the amount of work to be done is perfectly ridiculous.
Not only do the mines not pay but they are a source of considerable expense to the Government. We actually heard it stated on good authority, the statement being subsequently confirmed on our return to Yedo, that in one year $60,000 worth of gold was forwarded to Yedo, but that in order to obtain this $75,000 were sent from the capital to meet the working expenses. Unless a radical reform be effected one can foresee only one result from a state of things like this.
ITINERARY OF ROUTE FROM AWOMORI TO NIIGATA.
* ↑ The affirmative “Yes”—“Sayo” as opposed to “No” is of course not meant.
* ↑ This it should be borne in mind is the Government rate.
ASIATIC SOCIETY OF JAPAN.
The Regular April Meeting of the Society was held on Wednesday, the 14th, at 5 p.m. at the Imperial College, Yedo, in the Reception Room, which had been courteously tendered to the Society for the purpose by the Director, Y. Hatakeyama Esq.
The chair was taken by Prof. Murray Ph. D. who congratulated the members on the fact of holding a meeting of such a Society, for the first time, at the capital of an empire so progressive as that of Japan.
After reading the minutes of the last Meeting, the Secretary announced, as new members, Mr. Charles H. Dallas; Mons. Conil, and Professors, R. W. Atkinson, R. Smith, and D. Marshall. The donation of a case of Butterflies by H. Pryer Esq., was also announced, likewise the receipt of Journals of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
A motion was made by Dr. Murray and seconded by Dr. Antisell to the effect
“That the Council of the Society be requested to make arrangements for giving a reception to the officers, and especially the Scientific Corps, of H.M.S. Challenger.”
In the absence of the writer, the Hon. F. R. Plunkett read a paper “Notes of a Journey from Awomori to Niigata, and of a Visit to the mines of Sado,” by J. H. Gubbins, Esq.
Mr. Dallas spoke of the dialects heard in the region referred to in the paper as being very unlike the language spoken at Tokio; and promised to present an account of the Yonezawa dialect soon.
Dr. Antisell remarked that the description of the mountain ranges given in the paper was interesting. Although not acquainted with the region, yet he recognised in these ranges some similarity to the mountain systems of Yezo and farther north. In the northern part of the Empire there were two distinct ranges of hills; one coming directly from the north, a continuation of the chain in Karafto, which, after passing down south along the west shore of Yezo, is found in Dewa and farther South. The second system of mountains is that entering Yezo from the Aleutian isles and Kamschatka, runing N. 20–25 E. and S. 20–25 W. and crossing in places the first described system: it is from the existence and crossing of these chains that Yezo derives its quadrangular form. These two systems have very different mineral contents for their axes, the first has essentially a granitic and felspathic axis, produced perhaps by shrinkage, and is slow of decomposition of its minerals forming thin soils: the second has an axis plutonic or volcanic yielding basalts, traps, and diorites, decomposing readily, forming deep and rich soils; hence the different kinds of vegetation described by the writer as occurring on the slopes of the two chains. Where the two chains cross, also, there is found a rolling country closed up at the North and East by hills, valleys opening to the ​South and West. This volcanic chain is secondary in the district described, but in Yezo, and again in Kiusiu island, it attains great prominence.
In reply to a question of Mr. Schenk, Dr. Antisell also stated that the method of getting the gold out of the quartz, at the Sado mines, was by stamping—as in California—only that wooden stamps were used.
Reference having been made by Prof. Smith to the mode of getting rid of water, the Secretary stated that this, and the other processes, were exhibited in the model of the Sado mine which is in the Society’s Museum at Yokohama.
Mr. Syle questioned whether the low rate of wages mentioned in the paper—from 21/2 to 4 sen a day—could include the labourer’s food; but Mr. Dallas supposed it might do so, because, in that region, coolies might he hired at 10 sen per diem; and only 3 rios a month were paid for school-teachers. In reply to Mr. Knipping he also stated that the native maps found in those parts, though not drawn to scale, were good and useful.
Dr. Murray remarked on the excellence of maps he had seen in and about Kiôto; and on the ingenious method employed of giving the heights of mountains by projecting an elevation of them in their site on the map.
As to the longitude marked on such maps, some gave it from Yedo and some from Kiôto.
The thanks of the Society were returned to Mr. Gubbins for his paper, and to Mr. Plunkett for his kindness in reading it; and the Secretary was instructed to convey to the authorities of the College the Society’s best acknowledgements for the courteous manner in which the use of the room where the Meeting was held, had been tendered.