Yedo and Peking. A narrative of a journey to the capitals of Japan and China. With notices of the natural productions, agriculture ... of those countries. With map and illustrations

Front matter

VISITS TO THE CAPITALS OF JAPAN AND CHINA. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. TWO VISITS TO THE TEA COUNTRIES OF CHINA AND THE BRITISH TEA PLANTATIONS IN THE HIMALAYA. With a Narrative of Adventures, and a full Description of the Culture of the Tea slant. Third Edition. Woodcuts. 2 vols. Post 8vo. 18s. II. A RESIDENCE AMONG THE CHINESE . Inland, on THE COAST, AND AT SEA: a Narrative of Scenes and Adventures during a Third Visit to China, 1853-56. With Notices of Works of Art, the Culture of Silk, &c. Illustrations. 8vo. 1 5s. Also lately published, PICTURES OF THE CHINESE, DRAWN BY A NATIVE ARTIST, and described by A FOREIGN RESIDENT. With 34 Engravings. Crown 8vo. 9s. VIEW OF YOKUHAMA FROM THE HILLS BEHIND THE TOWN. twanur b. Bridge and Gate, with Guard-hoi lie Gan-ke-ro (see p. 37). o*. A Temple in a Wood. ».

Canal, /. Kanagawn. g. Paddy Kiil.ls. h. Fort i.mlt in 1860. i. Raiati Path \. j loknhama. k.m. Road to Yedo. I. Harbour and Shipping. n. New Foreign Settlement. YEDO AND PEKING. A NAERATIVE OF A JOURNEY TO THE CAPITALS OP JAPAN AND CHINA. WITH NOTICES OF THE NATURAL PRODUCTIONS, AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, AND TRADE OF THOSE COUNTRIES, AND OTHER THINGS MET WITH BY THE WAY. By ROBERT FORTUNE, HONORARY MEMBER OF THE AGR1-HORT. SOCIETY OF INDIA. WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1863. Tlie right of Translation is reserved. LONDON: PRINTED BY \V. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET, AND CHAEsNO CROSS. ? ft E F A C E. The Empire of Japan has been all but closed to the inhabitants of other nations for more than two hundred years. Except a few Dutch and Chinese, who were kept almost like prisoners at Nagasaki, no foreigners have been allowed to reside or trade in the country since about the year 1636.

A great and unexpected change has now taken place ; Japan has not only opened some of her ports to foreign trade, but has also sent her Ambassadors to visit many of the principal Courts of Europe and America. The news of the success which attended the English and French forces in the earlier part of the late war with China was quickly wafted across the " Eastern Sea " to Yedo, and, doubtless, had no little effect in inducing the Tycoon and his Ministers (in an evil hour for them) to open their country to foreign intercourse. It is to be hoped that this re-entry into the great family of nations will not bring on those dissensions and Avars which marked the period between 1560 and VI

Preface

. 1636, when the experiment was last tried ; for it is well known that, ever since foreigners were expelled from Japan, " the land has had peace." This change of policy on the part of the Japanese Government gave me an opportunity which I had long desired of visiting the country. I was well aware that Japan was remarkable for the beauty of its scenery, and that it was rich in many species of trees, and other vegetable productions of an ornamental and useful kind, unknown in Europe. With the view of making collections of these and other objects of natural history and works of art, I took my departure for the "far East" in the summer of 1860, and reached Japan in the month of October of that year. The story of my wanderings is now presented to the reader, with the hope that it may add somewhat to the knowledge already acquired concerning this strange people and their very beautiful land.

I have confined my descriptions in a great measure to what came under my own observation. The manners and customs of the people are painted as they appeared to me in their everyday life. The natural productions of the country, whether of commercial importance to other nations, or " pleasant to the eye, and good for food," I have very fully described ; and

PREFACE.

. VII I have endeavoured to show that its export trade is capable of being greatly increased, particularly in those staple articles of tea and silk, which have now become almost necessaries of life amongst ourselves. The Agriculture of the country was carefully examined ; and, as it is in many respects some what remarkable, a full description of it has been given in the following pages. I have also ventured to make a few observations on our political relations with this extraordinary people, which may be of some interest at the present time. Most of the illustrations were kindly sketched for me by Dr. Dickson of China. I am also indebted to my fellow-passenger, Dr. Barton, for some views in the Inland Sea, and for that of Castle Island, Cape Grotto. When I had finished my work in Japan, the Chinese war had been brought to a successful termination, and I was enabled to visit the new ports of Chefoo and Tien-tsin, on the Grulf of Pe-chele, and also the capital city of Peking itself, and the mountains which lie beyond it.

In the concluding chapters of the work I have sought to give a faithful description of this part of my travels over a country which, until the last war, was almost as little known to Europeans as Japan itself. Mr. Wyndham, of H.M. Legation

PREFACE.

. VIII in Peking, furnished me with the sketch of the curious " White-barked Pine " of that country. Having thus given an outline of what may be expected in this narrative of my journey to the capitals of Zipangu and Cathay, I have only to solicit the kindness and indulgence of my readers, trusting that they will overlook the many faults of my imperfect performance. The Author. London, February, 1863. CONTENTS. CHAPTEE I. First view of Japan — Curious islands — Papenberg — Massacre of Christians — Visit from the officials — Harbour of Nagasaki — Desima of old — Desima of the present day — Japanese factory — Town of Nagasaki — Tea-houses — Salamanders — Buddhist temples — Large camphor-trees — Tombs — Mimic processions — Dr. Siebold's residence — Excursions — Epunga — Natural productions — Scenery — Trade of Nagasaki — Its capabilities as a Sanatarium • Page 1 CHAPTEE II.

We leave Nagasaki — Van Dieman's Strait — Gale of wind — Vries's Island — View of Fusi-yama — Bay of Yedo — Yokuhama — Its value as a port for trade — Foreign houses — Native town — Shops — Bronzes, ivory carvings, and curiosities — Lacquer ware — Porcelain — Rock-crystal balls — Toys — Books and maps — Menagerie — The Gan-ke-ro — Surrounding country — Its geological formation 24 CHAPTEE III. Town of Kanagawa — The Imperial highway — Travellers upon it — Princes — Pack-horses — Mendicant priests — Blind men — Beggars, &c. — Visit to the temple of Bokengee — The umbrella pine-tree — Sintoo temples — Scenery — Thatched roofs — Valuable elm — The farmer and his chrysanthemums — Tomi — His one fault — Temple of To-rin-gee — Scenery by the way — Thujopsis dolabrata — Farm-houses — Tea-plant — Fruit-trees — Yedo vine — Vegetables — Trees and shrubs of the district — The male aucuba — Geological features CONTENTS.

X CHAPTEE IV. Journey from Kanagawa to Yedo — Native body-guard — The Tokaido — Civility of the people — Beggars by the wayside — Tea-houses — Kawasaky — River Loga — " Mansion of Plum-trees" — The ladies' platform — Hostess and waiting-maids — Japanese and Chinese ladies compared — Tea-gardens — Sinagawa — English Legation — Hospitality of Mr. Alcoek — Large cemetery — Garden and trees — TheYakoneens Page 63 CHAPTEE V. The city of Yedo — Hill of the god Atango — Magnificent view of the city from its summit — " Official quarter" — Broad streets — Castles of the feudal princes — The inner circle — Moats and massive walls — Clumps of trees — No embrasure or guns visible — Use of the moats and ramparts — Murder of the Regent or Gotiro — Fate of the murderers — The Harikari — Castle of the Emperor — Kæmpfer's description — " Belle Vue " — Population of Yedo — Size of the city 77

CHAPTER VI.

The country round Yedo — Hill and valley — Trees — Autumnal foliage — Views of Fusi-yama — Cottages and farm-houses — Flowers and vegetables — Signs of high civilization — Public baths — Beautiful lanes and hedges — Avenues and groves — Civility of the people — Dogs and their prejudices — Street dogs — Lapdogs — Fire at the British Legation — Mode of giving alarm — Organization of Fire-brigade — Wretched engines — Presents from foreign governments — More suitable ones pointed out 91 CHAPTEE VII. A journey in search of new plants — Japanese College — Residence of Prince Kanga — Dang-o-zaka — Its tea-gardens, fish-ponds, and floral ladies — Nursery-gardens — Country people — Another excursion — Soldiers — Arrive at Su-mae-yah — Country covered with gardens — New plants — Mode of dwarfing — Variegated plants — Ogee, the Richmond of Yedo — Its tea-house — The Tycoon's hunting-ground — Fine views — Agricultural productions — A drunken man — Intemperance of the people generally . .

CONTENTS. XI CHAPTEE VIII. Residence of the Abbe Girard — Singing-birds — Commercial quarter of Yedo — Shops — Paper, and the uses to which it is applied — Articles of food — Monkeys eaten — Fire-proof buildings — Nipon Bas — Ah-sax-saw — Its bazaars, temples, and tea-gardens — Fine chrysanthemums — Tea-plant — The Yedo river — The city opposite Yedo — Temple of Eco-y ing — Its origin — Crowds of people — Curious scene in the temple — Earthquakes — Their frequency — How they are dreaded by the natives — Straw shoes of men and horses Page 120 CHAPTEE IX. Leave Yedo — Mendicant nuns — Place of execution — Its appearance in the days of Kæmpfer — Visit to a famous temple — Field crops by the way — Begging priests — Pear-trees — Holy water — Temple of Tetstze — Its priests and devotees — Inn of " Ten Thousand Centuries " — Kind reception — Waiting-maids and refreshments — Scenes on the highway — Relieved from my yakoneen guard — New plants added to my collections — Names of the most valuable — Ward's cases, their value — Plants shipped for China — Devout wishes for their prosperous voyage 136 CHAPTEE X. Adieu to Yokuhama — Views of Mount Fusi — The Kino Channel and Inland Sea — Presents for the Queen — The port of Hiogo and town of Osaca — Important marts for trade — Good anchorage — Crowds of boats — Islands — Charming scenery — Daimios' castles — Towns and villages — Gorgeous sunset — Village of Ino-sima — Terraced land — "The pilot's home" — River-like sea — Scenes on shore — Clean and comfortable houses — Fortress of Meara-sama — Visit of officials — Their manners and customs — Gale of wind — Extraordinary harbour — Southern Channel — Ship ashore — Two Jonahs on board — Nagasaki in winter — Arrival at Shanghae — Plants shipped for England It9 CONTENTS.

CHAPTEE XL Return to Japan — Kite-flying at Nagasaki — Spring flowers — Field crops — Gale of wind in Van Dieman's Strait — Arrive at Yokuhama — Insect and shell collecting — Reported difficulty in getting assistance from the natives — How to manage Orientals — Rare beetle — Dr. Adams's account of its capture — Curious mode of catching fish — Visit Kanagawa — Agriculture in spring — Paddy cultivation — Mode of manuring the land — Winter crops nearly ripe — Trees and flowers — " The Queen of the Primroses " Page 171 CHAPTEE XII. Invitation from the American Minister to visit Yedo — Inland road — Nanka-nobu tea-garden — Extraordinary Glycine — Pleasant lanes and hedges — Civility of the people — Arrive at the American Legation — Guard and spies — Large tree — Unpleasant diplomatic correspondence — Nursery gardens in the country visited — Summer flowers and new plants — Return to Yedo — A ride in the country — Mr. Heuskin's tomb — " Temple of Twelve Altars " — Poets' Avenue — How a drunken Japanese makes himself sober — Shoeing horses — Departure from Yedo — General remarks on the city and suburbs 187

CHAPTER XIII.

Return to Kanagawa — Moxa and acupuncture — Mode of performing these operations — Their supposed value — Prospects of better medical and surgical knowledge in Japan — Roadside altar — Ladies at their prayers — The conclusion of the ceremony — Field crops and spring flowers at the end of May — Commencement of rains — Beautiful rainbow — A violent earthquake — Burning rape-stalks for manure — An English strawberry found — New plants discovered — Vegetables and fruit in the markets — Entomological notices — Land shells — A Buddhist congregation — Their mode of worship — Amusing visit from the congregation — An interval in the service — Its conclusion 203 CHAPTEE XIV. Journey into the country— Fine views by the way — Town of Kanasawa — Our inn — Visit to a temple — The visitors' book — Crowds CONTENTS.

XIII in front of the inn — Their manners and customs — Japanese bedrooms — Natural productions — Uncultivated land — Remarks on the extent of population in Japan — Fine views — Kamakura the ancient capital — An insane woman — Her extraordinary conduct — Our inn at Kamakura — Large bronze image — Its interior — Crowds and their behaviour — A tiffin and a siesta — Visit to the temples of Kamakura — The sacred stone — Yuritomo's tomb — A page from Japanese history — Return to Kanagawa .. Page 221 CHAPTEE XV. Assassinations — Supposed causes — The innocent suffer for the guilty — Japanese desire for revenge — Midnight attack on H. B. M. Legation — The scene next morning — Supposed reasons for the attack — Document found on a prisoner — Its translation — Opinions of Japanese ministers — True reasons for the attack — Instigators known — Weakness of government — Causes of its weakness — Its sincerity — The difficulties it has to encounter — Murder of Mr. Richardson — News of a revolution in Yedo . . 241 CHAPTEE XVI.

Climate of Japan — Dr. Hepburn's tables — Hottest and coldest months — Monsoons — Gales of wind — The rainy season — Earthquakes — Agriculture — Rank of the farmer — Rocks and soil — Cultivation of winter crops — Seed-time and harvest — Curious mode of harvesting — Summer crops on dry land — Mode of planting — Manures — Crops requiring irrigation — Cultivation of rice — Other crops — Animals few in number — Waste lands — Crops and 264 seasons CHAPTEE XVII. Other productions of Japan — Silk, tea, &c. — Silk country — Value of silk — Tea districts — Curious statements on tea cidtivation — Value of exports from Kanagawa in 1860-61 — Means of increasing the supplies of silk and tea — Prospects on the opening of the new ports — Japanese objections to the opening — The T3rcoon's letter to the Queen — Ministers' letter to Mr. Alcock — Their recommendations considered — Danger of opening Yedo at present — Remarks on the other ports — Trade probably overrated — Japanese mer- CONTENTS. chants compared with Chinese — Prejudices against traders in Japan — Foreign officials and these prejudices — War with Japan not improbable Page 281 CHAPTEE XVIII.

Narrative resumed — Exciting times — Supposed attacks on M. de Wit and others — Visit from the Governor of Kanagawa — Object of his visit — He inspects my collections — A question regarding my safety — A cautious and consolatory reply — Fences repaired and spiked — Guards stationed round the foreign dwellings — My researches in Japan come to an end — Plants put into Ward's cases — Curiosity of the natives — Kindness of Captain Vyse — Adieu to Japan — Arrival in China 297 CHAPTEE XIX. Leave Shanghae for Peking — Port of Chefoo — Agricultural and natural products — The Pei-ho river — Arrival at Tien-tsin — Salt-mounds — Suburbs — Mean buildings — Active trade — Noisy coolies — Shops — Large warehouses — Hawkers — Gambling propensities of the people — The city — Ruinous ramparts — Filth}' streets — Surrounding country— Salt plain — Gardens and nurseries — Winter houses for plants — Fruit-trees cultivated in pots — Fruit ice-houses — Vineyards — San-ko-lin-tsin's Folly — Winter in Tien-tsin 305 CHAPTEE XX.

The people of Tien-tsin — Visit to a gentleman's house — Reception — Street beggars — Begging musicians — Civil hospital established by the English — Dr. Lamprey's report — Chinese poorhouse — Fat beggars — Climate and temperature — Dust-storms — Remarkable size of natural productions — Large men and horses — Shantung fowls — Gigantic millet, oily grain, and egg-apples — Jute — Vegetables in cultivation — Imperial granaries — Use of millet and jute stems — Foreign trade — New settlement for foreign merchants — The future of Tien-tsin as a centre of trade . . .. - . . CONTENTS. XV CHAPTEE XXI. Leave Tien-tsin for Peking — My passport — Mode of travelling — Carts and wretched roads — Hotel at Tsai-tsoun — Towns of Hoose-woo, Nan-ping, and Matao — Hotel at Chan-chow-wan — Poor accommodation — Moderate charges — Appearance of the country — Crops and cultivation — Mountains in the distance — Walls and ramparts of Peking — Foreign embassies — English Legation — Medical missions — Chinese observatory — Views from it — Tartar and Chinese cities Page 344 CHAPTEE XXII.

The streets of Peking — Imperial palaces — Lama mosque — Western side of the city — Portuguese cemetery — Marble tablets — Tombs of Catholic priests — Ricci and Verries — Visits to the Chinese city — Scenes at the gates — The cabs of Peking — Shops and merchandise — Vegetables and fruits — " Paternoster Row " — Jade-stone and bronzes — Ancient porcelain — Temple of Agriculture — South side of Chinese city — Nursery gardens and plants — Country people — South-west side of Chinese city — Waste lands — Royal ladies expected — A September morning in Peking — Northern part of the Tartar city — The An-ting gate — Graves of English officers — The Lama temple — Chief features of Peking . . 357 CHAPTEE XXIII. A journey to the mountains — Long trains of camels and donkeys — Pagoda at Pale-twang — Large cemetery — Curious fir-tree — Agricultural productions — Country people — Reach the foot of the hills — -Temples of Pata-tshoo — Foreign writing on a wall — A noble oak-tree discovered — Ascend to the top of the mountains — Fine views — Visit from mandarins — Early morning view — Return to Peking — Descend the Pei-ho — Sail for Shanghae — Arrange and ship my collections — Arrive in Southampton .. 373 Index LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS. 1.

View of Yokuhama, from the hills behind the town.. Frontispiece. PAGE 2. View of Castle Island, Cape Gotto 1 3. View of Fusi-yama — From a Japanese sketch 28 4. Street in Kanagawa. — The Tokaido or Imperial Highway Tofacep.42 5. Packhorse, with grass shoes 44 6. Umbrella Pine (Sciadopitys verticillata) To face p. 47 7. Farm-houses near Yedo, with Iris on the Roofs .. To face p. 57 8. Plan of Central Portion of the City of Yedo .. .. To face p. 81 9. A Yedo Gentleman, with Servant carrying Sword, and Custom-house Officer with Fan 90 10. Japanese Heads, showing the mode of dressing the hair .. 119 11. Bridge Scene in Yedo. — From a native sketch .. To face p. 125 12. Bikuni, or Mendicant Nuns 138 13. Nursery Maids 143 14. Inc-Sima, " Our Pilot's Home " To face p. 161 15. Entrance to Kamino-Saki Harbour To face p. 165 16.

Remarkable Beetle {Damaster blaptoides) 179 17. Girls meeting — an example of Japanese manners 218 18. Bronze Image 231 19. Sturdy Beggars. — From a Photograph 329 20. Street Musicians. — From a Photograph 330 21. White-barked Pine (Pinus Bungeana) Toface.p. 378 22. Map of Japan and part of China At the end. YEDO AND PEKING. View of Castle Island. Cape Gotto CHAPTEE I First view of Japan — Curious islands — Papenberg — Massacre of Christians — Visit from the officials — Harbour of Nagasaki — Desima of old — Desima of the present day — Japanese factory — Town of Nagasaki — Tea-houses — Salamanders — Buddhist temples — Large camphor-trees — Tombs — Mimic processions — Dr. Siebold's residence — Excursions — Epunga — Natural productions — Scenery — Trade of Nagasaki — Its capabilities as a Sanatarium.

At 'daylight on the 12th of October, 1860, the swift little barque ' Marmora,' in which I was a passenger from China, was rapidly approaching the coast of Japan — a country at the ends of the earth, and well named by its inhabitants " the r. Chap. I. 2 FIRST VIEW OF JAPAN. Kingdom of the Origin of the Sun." When I came on deck in the morning the far-famed shores of Zipangu lay spread before my wondering eyes for the first time. Having heard and read so many stories of this strange land — of its stormy coasts, on which many a goodly vessel had been wrecked ; of its fearful earthquakes, which were said to have thrown up, in a single night, mountains many thousands of feet above the level of the sea ; of its luxuriant vegetation, full of strange and beautiful forms; of its curious inhabitants; and last, but not least, of its salamanders !— I had long looked upon Japan much in the same light as the Eomans regarded our own isles in the days of the ancient Britons.

My first view of these shores, however, did a good deal towards dispelling this delusion. It was a lovely morning. The sun rose from be hind the eastern mountains without a cloud to obscure his rays. The Grotto islands and Cape Grotto were passed to the north of us, and with a fair wind and smooth sea we were rapidly approaching the large island of Kiu-siu, on which the town of Nagasaki is situated. The land is hilly and mountainous, and in many instances it rises perpendicularly from the sea. These perpendicular rocky cliffs have a very curious appearance as one sails along. There are also a number of queer-looking detached little islands dotted about ; and one almost wonders how they got there, as they seem to have no connexion with any other Chap. I. PAPENBERG. 3 land near them. Some of them are crowned with a scraggy pine-tree or two, and look exactly like those bits of rockwork which are constantly met with in the gardens of China and Japan.

No doubt these rocky islands have suggested the idea worked out in gardens, and they have been well imitated. Others of these rocks look in the distance like ships under full sail, and in one instance I observed a pair of them exactly like fishing junks, which are generally met with in pairs. Nearer the shore the islands are richly clothed with trees and brushwood, resembling those pretty " Pulos" which are seen in the Eastern Archi pelago. The highest hills on this part of the mainland of Kiu-siu are about 1500 feet above the level of the sea; but hills of every height, from 300 to 1500 feet, and of all forms, were ex posed to our view as we approached the entrance to the harbour of Nagasaki. Many of these hills were terraced nearly to their summits, and at this season these terraces were green with the young crops of wheat and barley.

The pretty little island of Papenberg stands as if it were a sentinel guarding the harbour of Nagasaki. Pretty it certainly is, and yet it is associated with scenes of persecution, cruelty, and bloodshed of the most horrible description. " If history spoke true," says Captain Sherard Osborn, " deeds horrid enough for it to have been for ever blighted by God's wrath have been perpetrated there during the persecutions of the Christians in b ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS. C'UAP. I. the seventeenth century. It was the G-olgotha of the many martyrs to the Roman Catholic faith. There, by day and by night, its steep cliffs had rung with the agonized shrieks of strong men, or the wail of women and children, launched to rest, after torture, in the deep waters around the island. If Jesuit records are to be believed, the fortitude and virtue exhibited by their Japanese converts in those sad hours of affliction have not been excelled in any part of the world since religion gave another plea to man to destroy his fellow-creature ; and may it not be that the beauty with which Nature now adorns that rock of sorrows is her halo of glory around a spot rendered holy by the sufferings, doubtless, of many that were brave and good ?

" As we passed the island we gazed with awe and pity on its " perpendicular side, from which these Christians were cast headlong into the sea. As soon as our ship rounded Papenberg the harbour and town of Nagasaki came full into view. On each side of this entrance to the bay there are numerous batteries, apparently full of guns. On Papenberg itself, as well as on every little island and headland, fortifications were observed as we sailed along. There is also a flagstaff and tele graph station on one ofthe hills ; and the moment a ship is seen approaching, a signal is made and passed on to Nagasaki. We were not molested by either guard-boat or customhouse officer, but allowed to sail quietly in to our anchorage. Here Chap. I. HARBOUR OF NAGASAKI. 5 we were boarded by sundry officials, who imme diately began to put all sorts of questions regarding the ship, her cargo and passengers ; and the information obtained was all committed to paper.

The commanding officer was then informed that two of these gentry would be left on board, and he was requested to give them shelter and accom modation in the cabin. The harbour of Nagasaki is one of the most beautiful in the world. It is about a mile in width, and three or four in length. When you are inside it appears to be completely land-locked, and has all the appearance of an inland lake. The hills around it are some 1500 feet in height, and their surface is divided and broken up by long ridges and deep glens or valleys which extend far up towards the summits. These ridges and glens are for the most part richly wooded, while all the more fertile spots are terraced and under cultivation. The whole scene presents a quiet, and charming picture of Nature's handiwork inter mingled with the labour of man.

On the south side of the harbour there has been a portion of land set apart for the subjects of foreign nations whose Governments have lately made treaties with Japan. The various Consuls, most of whom are also merchants, reside at present in small houses or temples on the sides of the hill behind the settlement. It is an inter esting sight to see the flags of several Western nations — English, French, American, and Por- ISLAND OF DESIMA. Chap. I. tuguese — flying at this distance from home. A great portion of the land set apart for the foreign settlement was in the course of being reclaimed from the sea, and ere long a town of considerable size will rise on the shores of this beautiful bay. The island of Desima — dear old Desima, where the Dutch have traded and dreamed so long — lies a little further up the bay, and looks in the distance like a small fort or breastwork in front of Nagasaki.* In these days, when Japan has to a great extent been opened to foreigners, it is amusing to read the account of the restrictions which were placed upon the movements of the Dutch during the period when all the trade of Japan was their own.

The little island was only separated from Nagasaki by a narrow canal spanned by a stone bridge, but the dwellers on either side were prevented from seeing each other by means of a high wall. The bridge was closed by a gate, beside which was a guardhouse occupied by police and soldiers ; and no one was allowed to quit, the island on any pretence without the per mission of the Governor. Japanese were not allowed to visit the Dutch without permission, ex cepting those who were appointed to inspect their dwelling-place, and then only at certain hours. The Japanese servants of the Factory were obliged to leave the island at sunset, and to report them- * It is about 600 feet in length, and 240 in width. Chap. I. ISLAND OF DESIMA. selves at the guardhouse to prove that they had really left the Factory.

The only individuals exempt from leaving the island at sunset were women who had forfeited the first claim of their sex to respect or esteem, and no female of good character was permitted on any pretence to set foot upon Desima. A placard set up near the bridge-gate announced this in the plainest and coarsest terms. When any member of the Factory wished to visit the town of Nagasaki, or the country in its vicinity, for a little recreation or amusement, he was obliged to send in a petition to the Governor twenty-four hours beforehand. Leave was usually granted, providing the captive was accompanied by a certain number of officials, police-officers, and a compradore. These again had their servants and friends, so that the attendants and hangers on of one unfortunate pleasure-seeker usually amounted to some twenty or thirty persons, all of whom he was bound to entertain.