Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1854-07-01
Miscellaneous.
THE RESOURCES OF JAPAN.
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Foremost among the resources Of Japan are It's
fisheries. The sea and its productions, we believe.
contribute fully as much TO the sustenance oil the
natives as do the fruits Of the carth-rtco, perhaps,
excepted. One of their productions has a value
which is not confined to the spot but extends to us
to our enterprise, and our trade-we mean the
whale. or, rs they calIit, kudsuri. There is nothing
of which such extensive use is made by the Japan
csc, both for rich and poor. 1t is found all around
Japan, but particularly in the sea keumano, the
most important territory Of the Empire and it
nlso prevails In the islands of Tsussima and Goto,
and upon the coasts of Omura and Mono. These
whales not only afford oil in great abundance but
their flesh, which is considered very wholesome
and nutritious, is largely consumed. No part of
them, indeed, is thrown awGy-all is made avail
able to some useful purpose or another, excepting
the large shoulder bone. The skin, which is zen,
erallv black, the flesh, which is red and looks like
beef, the intestines, and nil tho inward parts, be.
sides the fat or blubber, which is boiled into oil.
and the bone, which is converted to innumerable
uses-all is made available to purposes of profit.
We have gone into these few particulars respecting
the whale because it is that which has brought our
countrymen into contact with Japan. Many of
cur 'nips have Tor some time past frcquented those
scas for capturing the whale, an occupation which.
1t Is found, might be pursued with great advantage
under a commercial treaty with the Government of
Japan, whose inhuman laws at present not only
prevent any assistance being rendered to ship
wrecked mariners, but expose them to nositiye
''N NhNh " ltltu ututlN 10 OJ-
tain redress in this respect was the primary object
Of Commodore Perry's expedition.
Japal abounds i'll natural and artificial produce
tons OF great value. Its mineral productions are
enormous, and Include metals Of various kinds,
especially gold, silver, and copper. Sulphur and
inter arc also found in large quantities there is
no want of coal, and there are precious stones of
almost every variety agates, sapphires, ~,jaspers,
comedians, and even diamonds while pearls are
found In great plenty among the shells upon the
rOuSt lhpn tho tprtiitv pF thn coil tv var,- urnoT
The mulberry tree grows extensively and affords
food for countless myriads of silk worms. The
hddSi, or paper tree, serves innumerable useful
purposes, including the manufacture of cloth,
stuts and cordage. The ceruSt, or varnish tree, is
another valuable production of the country, yield
ing large quantities OF a milky juice which the
natives employ to varnish, or iGpGr, as we call it,
various articles, Then there are the bay-tree, the
the camphor-trec, the fg-tree, the cypress-tree,
with very many more, all more or less valuable,
and from which q great variety of useful things
nre made; and last, though not least, there is the
tea-shrub, from the leaves of which the common
drink OF the people is brewed, and which is capa-
Die of yielding a valuable article of commerce.
Trees growing nuts of various kinds are abundant
the maple is extensive and excellent; bamboos are
very plentiful, and Of great use, as they are every
where in the Indies they cultivate as much cotton
ard hemp rs they can find room for III their fields
and as to rice, which is the main food of the ma
tiyes, that grown in Japan is considered the best
in all Asia, and it can be produced in almost any
quantity. Their corns are of several sorts besides
the komt or rice, there are the o0muggi, a kind of
barley the koomuGgi, their native wheat and the
da'dson, a species Of bean-all of which abound
with superior iarina.
The manufactures of Japan have hitherto been
confined almost exclusively to their own domestic
wants; but many Of them are nevertheless valuable
as articles of export, Our adoption here and
throughout Europe, of the term japan, as applied
to certain kinds Of vanished ware, indicates how
well known has been their peculiar excellence in,
It not their invention of the useful art. They
make various articles from tile paper tree resem.
bling our paper mache, which they paint and var
nish very highly-and these might form objects of
considerable trade, Their silks, muslins, and cot
ton goods are most of them very superior, and
some of them are calculated to become highly
recherche; and their carvings in wood, ivory, pearl
and f~sh-bone, arc most ingenious and elegant.
These are but a few of the products of their
handicraft but they are sufficient to show, taken
in connection with their natural productions, how
varied and how valuable are the resources of the
japanese,