Recollections of Japan

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: JAPAN. CHAPTER I. Geographical Situation, Climate and Extent. The geographical situation of the Japanese possessions is, in respect to latitude, the same as that of the countries lying between the southern provinces of France, and the south part of Morocco; their longitude is about 100 East from St....
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: JAPAN. CHAPTER I. Geographical Situation, Climate and Extent. The geographical situation of the Japanese possessions is, in respect to latitude, the same as that of the countries lying between the southern provinces of France, and the south part of Morocco; their longitude is about 100 East from St. Petersburg, so that, in the middle part of Japan, the sun rises seven hours earlier than in that city. The Japanese empire consists of islands, of which the largest, and most considerable, is the Island of Niphon. Its greatest length, from south, west to north-east, is 1300 wersts, and its greatest breadth about 260 wersts. At a small distance, to the north of Niphon, lies the twenty second Kurile Island of Matmai or Matsmai, which is 1400 wersts in circumference. To the north of Matsmai are the Island of Sagaleen, but of which, only the southerly half belongs to Japan, the other half being subject, to the Chinese, and the three Kurile Islands of Kunaschier.Tschikotan and Eetooroop(Turpu). To the south of Niphon, lie the two considerable Islands of Kiosu and Sikonfu. The length of the first is above 300 wersts; and that of the second, 200. Besides these eight principal Islands, the Japanese possess many others of inferior consequence. The Japanese possessions, surrounded by the Eastern ocean, lie opposite to the coasts of Corea, China and Tartary, from which they are separated by a broad strait, which is called the Japan sea, and in the narrowest parts, the straits of Corea. The, least breadth of this strait, between the southern coast of Niphon and Corea, is 140 wersts: but the greatest breadth is above 800 wersts. On a comparison of the geographical situation of the Japanese possessions, with that of the countries of the western hemisphere, under the same degrees o...