Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-04-14
Interesting from Japan-A Visit to Nam
Rasaki.

Interesting from Japan-A Visit to Nam
gasaki.
late number of the San Francisco Herald
contains letter from Shanghai, in which the
writer gives an account of visit recently made
by him to Nangasaki. The harbor he describes
as one of the finest in that part of the world
1t is spacious and deep and about three miles
distant from the Island of Decima. He says:
"Never in my life did / see such large
crowds of people thronging the roads and
streets, in all kind Of vehicles and all kinds of
costumes; and as the people are accustomed to
see the doctor or some officers daily, they took
no notice of me. Nangasaki is one of the I'm
perial towns, is well built and spacious, and
contains some magnificent palaces and temples.
! could form no idea of the population, but
was told the actual population was from sew.
enty to eighty thousand, though moro than that
amount visit the city daily from the surround
ing places for trading purposes. Some of the
merchants here are possessed of enormous
wealth, and live in the greatest luxury.
" The distinction of rank is only perceptible
in their outward apparel, which is always strict
ly observed by the people-each one remain
ing in the sphere to which he belongs. The
household of the prince or governor is COM
posed of the nobility of the first class, who. in
their turn, are waited upon by the nobility of
the second, and so on. Every Japanese must
send his children TO school, which accounts for
the great number of public schools, and the
great desire for information among all classes.
Dutch and Chinese are only learned by the no.
bility who fill the high Offices and some under
stand little English, / saw some really hand.
some women, of graceful form and highly intel.
ligent countenances, who bear no com parison
whatever to the moonlike appearance of the
Chinese. They do not seem TO be excluded
from society, nor subject to that state of seryi-
tude like the Celestias. | went four times to
Nangasak, and was always treated with the
greatest politeness and open heartedness by the
people; indeed, politeness seems to be univer
sal among all.
" i had good chance of seeing how trade
was conducted on the Island of Decima, and
in looking in the store houses, was astonished
to find such a variety of articles which it never
would have come in my head to suppose could
be articles for profitable shipment. Every
officer had his business-some trading, some
receiving and others attending to the boxing
of copper, melted in bars Of one size, little
over the thickness of an inch. As they were
expecting the yearly ship in shortly, | could
Judge by the immense quantity they had on
hand that the cargo was nearly ready. The
Dutch on Decima seem glad about The opening
of other ports nearer to the great Japanese me-
'tropohs, Jeddo, which promises extensive ope-
rations between their colonies and that popu-
lous empire.
" canot forego to mention an amusing cir.
cumstance which occurred coming back one
afternoon from Nangasaki. Arriving at the
Factory, young noble seeing an English edi-
ton Of McCulochs Dictionary lying on my
table, he asked me politely for how much /
would part with it? Not knowing what he
meant, as he spoke Dutch, asked Doctor de
Vriens who translated for me, to tell him he was
welcome to il, and thanking me with a polite
bow, which Frenchman could not have i'm.
proved, handed the book to one of his interiors.
Next morning the Doctor informed me he had
received four hundred pounds of copper for me
from Nangasaki. The copper looks more like
gold than any copper have SEEM
The writer remained four days OH the island,
and during the whole period he received the
kndest attention.