CHAPTER 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 anchorageCrowds 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

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ON the 17th of December, 1860, the good steam

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ship England,' in which I was

passenger, The wind,

weighed anchor and proceeded to sea. which had been blowing a gale the day before, was now light and fair, so that we were able to crowd on all sail and made rapid progress. The headlands which had lately been christened as “Mandarin Bluff" and "Treaty Point," were soon passed, and the pretty little towns of Yokuhama and Kanagawa were lost to our view in the distance. In the afternoon we passed Cape Sagami and the volcanic islands at the entrance of the Bay of Yedo, and were once more in the great Pacific Ocean. Cape Idsu-that stormy

cape, the dread of mariners, but which, I am bound to say, has as yet treated me kindly-was also passed, and then darkness set in, and the fair land of Nipon was hidden from our eyes.

On the following morning I was up and on deck before sunrise, and was well rewarded by the beauty of the scene. Landward, Fusiyama, or the "Holy Mountain," was seen towering high above all the other land, covered with snow of the purest white, and its summit already basking in the rays of the morning sun, although that luminary had not yet shown himself to the denizens of our lower world. Sailors and passengers alike looked often and long upon that lovely mountain, and it was with regret we watched it gradually disappear from our view and sink in the horizon.

In the afternoon of this day we were abreast of Cape Oo-sima, and soon afterwards entered the Kino Channel, which lies between the islands of Sikok and Nipon, and leads into the Inland Sea. A reference to the map of Japan will give a better idea of the position of this sea than any description. No foreign vessel, except ships of war or transports, had been allowed to navigate its waters, and, as it had not been surveyed, it was necessary, in all cases, to obtain pilots from the Japanese Government before attempting the passage. The 'England' was not a ship of war nor in any way connected with the Government, and, in ordinary cases, would not have been permitted to pass through the sacred waters of the Inland Sea. But as Captain

Dundas and his passengers were all anxious to view the beautiful scenery of which they had · often heard, a request was sent to the authorities for permission and pilots, backed by the following powerful reasons. Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain had presented a handsome steamyacht to the Tycoon of Japan, and the latter had made a selection of lacquer-ware, paper screens, swords, and a variety of other articles, to send to Her Majesty in return. Now, although the good ship England' was not a "man of war," and had no great warrior amongst her crew and passengers, yet she had on board the presents for the Queen, and on that account was surely entitled to all the honours of a ship of war. Besides, she might be wrecked if exposed to the stormy waters of the North Pacific Ocean, the presents might be damaged or lost, and that was an additional reason why she ought to be allowed to take the smooth-water passage. The propriety and prudence of the course suggested was perceived at once by the authorities, and pilots were granted forthwith.

As the night was calm and clear, we steamed onwards slowly, and found ourselves in the morning on the eastern side of the island of Awadji, or Smoto as it is called in some English charts. There is a passage on the south-east side of this island, but in its centre is a dangerous whirlpool, which all mariners carefully avoid. We therefore took the northern passage. As daylight was breaking

the ship got ashore on a bank of soft mud. Our Japanese pilots appeared to be steering right on to the island, thinking, no doubt, that the wonderful English vessel, that went along without sails or paddles, could pass over land and villages as easily as she could plough the waters of the deep Without much difficulty we got the ship afloat again, and proceeded on our voyage, but our confidence in the knowledge of our pilots was considerably lessened. Going onward in a northwesterly direction, we approached the entrance to the bay of Hiogo and Osaca.

sea.

This beautiful Inland Sea was greenish in colour and smooth as a mill-pond. In the direction of the towns just mentioned it was studded with the white sails of small junks, showing that this portion of the Japanese islands must be densely populated. Fishing-boats were seen in all directions busily employed in securing food for the teeming population; and pleasant-looking villages and Daimios' castles were observed scattered along the shores of the bay.

The town of Hiogo, which is the seaport of the imperial city of Osaca, is one of the ports which, according to the treaty, should be opened to foreign trade in 1863; and from all accounts it is likely to prove the most important place in Japan. Kæmpfer, who passed through Osaca about 170 years ago, tells us that he found it "extremely populous, and, if we can believe what the boasting Japanese tell us, can raise an army of eighty thousand

men among its inhabitants. It is the best trading town in Japan, being extraordinarily well situated for carrying on commerce, both by land and water. This is the reason why it is so well inhabited by rich merchants, artificers, and manufacturers. Whatever tends to promote luxury, or to gratify sensual pleasures, may be had at as easy a rate here as anywhere, and for this reason the Japanese call Osaca the universal theatre of pleasures and diversions. Plays are to be seen daily, both in public and private houses; mountebanks, jugglers who can show artful tricks, and all the raree-show people who have either some uncommon or monstrous animal to exhibit, or animals taught to play tricks, resort thither from all parts of the empire, being sure to get a better penny here than anywhere else." In proof of this demand for luxuries in Osaca, Kæmpfer tells us that the Dutch East India Company "sent over from Batavia, as a present to the Emperor, a casuar, a large East India bird who would swallow stones and hot coals. This bird having had the ill luck not to please our rigid censors the governors of Nagasaki, and we having thereupon been ordered to send him back to Batavia, a rich Japanese assured us that, if he could have obtained leave to buy him, he would have willingly given a thousand taels for him, as being sure, within a year's time, to get double that money by showing him at Osaca."

Hiogo and Osaca were visited by Mr. Alcock in the summer of 1861, and his despatch to Earl

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