Thomas Wright Blakiston

“ The produce of the interior must find its way to the coast by the Kita-kami valley and river, an additional reason why a port opened in the bay of Sendai before advocated, would be of the greatest importance. And it would be wise on the part of the Government to institute detailed surveys of the ports in Sendai bay, with a view to the selection and improvement of the most suitable for an increasing trade. There is probably no port in Japan where a larger export of the more bulky production of the country would be drawn directly from the interior. ”

“ We started early from Ichinosiki, crossed at once a large tributary of the Kitakami, and thence followed up the road on the Western side of the main valley. A fine mountain group lies North-east of Ichinosiki, which has the appearance of a detatched mass, but is really the commencement of a range of mountains on the East side of the river. Its slopes are very picturesque. The valley is well cultivated with rice, wheat, beans, and hemp, the last being made into twine used for fishing nets, the manufacture of which seems to employ a large part of the population. ”

“ The horses, too, were lower and not so leggy as the Sendai animals. When the ground is likely to be pretty soft, the straw shoes which are generally used as protection to the horses feet, were neglected. Men’s straw sandals are cheap enough throughout this country, being usually eight tenths of a cent to one cent per pair.
The valley is more or less cultivated all the way along. As you approach Numakunai (82/3 ri from Morioka) the hills become moderate, and are mostly bare of wood. This village may be said to be the last in the valley, there being above only a few houses. ”

“ The highway or kaido, often crosses the upper valleys on these embankments, which are strong and substantial. The larger valleys are frequently double as it were; that is to say, a river on either side, and a village and much cultivated land in the middle. Invariably there is a small stream led down the principal street of the village, used for household purposes. I do not consider that these double valleys are natural, but imagine that the tributary streams which make up a river, have been artificially confined and led down the sides of the valley ”

“ On the top is a rolling grass-covered country, with a few deep valleys cut in it. The actual road is often avoided in favour of drier paths and better travelling, there being in bad weather many sloughs of black mud. Soon after passing a hamlet known as Nakai-yama, the road strikes the head of a deep valley with steep sides, down which a strong path leads to another hamlet, five ri from Numakunai, called Kutsunaki. Here we changed horses, and continued for the rest of the day down this valley, sometimes having to mount the sides to clear precipitous banks. ”

“ The headland of Kinkasan, the eastern extremity of Sendai Bay was visible bearing about E.N.E. The next stage was five ri, the road keeping along the foot of some hills on our left hand and passing through a good village called Yamasta. The whole extent of country between the road and the sea is a low lying dead level fiat, entirely rice-cultivated. On the upper grounds I noticed in the gardens, mulberry, beans, tobacco, daikuns, cotton, turnips, buckwheat, and the paper-shrub. The country people seemed poor, and the houses dilapidated. ”

“ Rice is cultivated wherever possible. Ichinosiki lies in a fine valley, and is a pretty fine town, having been the capital of a small daimio called Tamura, a cadet of the house of Sendai. It is said to be one day’s travel from the sea. The capital of the province, from what I could understand, is Midzusawa, on the coast. The Sendai peculiarity of dialects prevails here, the word used for “yes” being “Nae.” In Nambu this is changed into “Ha,” pronounced very broad. ”

“ This road is known as the Hama-kaido or coast-highway in distinction from the Naka-kaido or inland post-road; both of which start from Yedo and running northwards, converge again at Sendai, one hundred ri from the Nipon Bashi or great bridge of Yedo. It partakes of the character of the To-kaido—so familiar to residents and tourists in Japan, and so often described—the general principle being a roadway from twenty to forty feet in width, lined by pine trees closely planted on either side, forming an avenue. ”

“ A thousand scenes of the most picturesque groups of pines, rising in straight or inclined turtle-backed stems, and branching out above in all sorts of variations of curves and twists, roofed with a dense mass of the brightest dark green foliage, might be selected, and be a study for an artist’s lifetime. ”

“ Sendai, distant one hundred ri from Yedo, is at present the chief town of Miangi Ken. It was formerly the residence of the daimio. It is a large place, in fact from the imperfect way I was enabled to judge in the dark, I should take it to be of greater extent than any town I have been in in Japan, save Yedo and Osaka, though the population is stated at only 21,000. I noticed several good stores principally devoted to the sale of foreign imported goods. There are many bird fanciers’ shops. ”

“ In most of the villages of Nambu and Northern Sendai there are stationary ladders erected in the middle of each village as fire outlooks. But I think it was near Gonohe where I noticed one on the top of a hill within sight of the town, which the people informed me had been erected in former times when the inhabitants of the neighbouring province of Tsugaru, and those of Nambu did not live on the best of terms, frequent raids being made by one side into the territory of the other, and vice versâ. ”

“ The rollers coming in on the beach were very heavy, and forced us in one place to make a considerable detour inland instead of following the usual route along the sea beach. A good deal of the country was wild, but the valleys were cultivated with rice, cotton, tea, and beans; the farmers having good substantial houses and appearing well to do. Pine trees skirted a great part of the regular road. ”

“ All the nearer valleys and ridges run eastward. This mountain path descends into a deep valley at Asamioso, there crossing a small tributary of the Nachinohe river. Continuing over more ridges, but not nearly so high, we reached Gonohe in the middle of the day, which is a considerable place for this part of the country, and has a business-like appearance. Goods are transported on pack animals from Hachinohe, distance five ri. ”

“ A fine mass of mountains lies away to the westward having some detatched pyramids standing out into the lower country. From an elevated position on the road I could trace these mountains stretching onwards as far as a north bearing, while some distant highland is visible about east, but the country between these points of the compass was clear of mountains. ”

“ In this interval of one and a half ri, we passed the boundary of Miangi Ken and entered the province or country of Midzusawa. Thence ascended uplands and a rolling country; the road about 24 feet wide running over low scrub wooded hills between lines of pine trees, the valleys only being cultivated. Changed horses again at 11/2 ri, and then 21/2 ri more brought us to a well-to-do looking village called Sikitatae. A branch road to Shonai on the west coast of Nipon branches off somewhere hereabout. ”

“ At three ri we changed horses at the village of Shirono. Thence one ri over a broken country, for a large part pine-wooded, the road being in places cut through the clay rock with gutters on either side, to a small place called Kido. On the beach are sheds in which sea water is evaporated for its salt; a wooden spout running out on the beach to high water mark, into which the water is baled by hand, All about Taira and throughout this part of the country. the nature of the rock admitting of easy excavation, one notices numerous caves which the farming people use as storehouses ”

“ And thus as the erosion goes on, so are the beds of the rivers, each season, deepening and leaving remains of their flood plains above. In our times, of course, these formations are going on more slowly and by lesser differences of level, but still the beds of rivers in mountainous districts are, where unobstructed by solid rock, generally deepening, and eating their way more and more into the mountain sides. Consequently they leave remains of their flood plains higher and higher above their beds. ”

“ It is difficult however to accept such explanation. For, if it were the rising of the land, it must be assumed that the land has invariably been elevated evenly, and not on an incline; which is against all modern observations. ”

“ As a protection against the rays of the sun, and some mitigation of the piercing blasts of winter winds, they are of utility. Besides, they thrive best on the driest soil, and in distinction from other trees do not seem to add to the dampness of the ground ”