. Its temperature
and products partake of a tropical character.

To the east of Kyushu lies Shikoku (meaning four provinces) which is the
fourth of the great islands of Japan. It is about one half as large as
Kyushu, which in climate and productions it much resembles. It is south of
the western extension of the Main island and is nearly parallel to it. Its
length is about 170 miles.

In the early history of Japan one of its names among the natives was
Oyashima, meaning the Great Eight Islands. The islands included in this
name were: the Main island, Kyushu, Shikoku, Awaji, Sado, Tsushima, Oki,
and Iki. The large island of Yezo had not then been conquered and added to
the empire.

Awaji is situated in the Inland sea between the Main island and Shikoku.
It is about fifty miles long and has an area of 218 square miles. Sado is
situated in the Japan sea, off the northwest coast of the Main island. It
is about forty-eight miles long and has an area of about 335 square miles.
Tsushima lies half-way between Japan and Korea, and has a length of about
forty-six miles, and an area of about 262 square miles. Oki lies off the
coast of Izumo and has an area of about 130 square miles. Finally Iki, the
smallest of the original great eight islands, lies west of the northern
extremity of Kyushu and has an area of fifty square miles.

The Japanese islands are invested on the east by the Pacific ocean. They
are separated from the continent by the Okhotsk sea, the Japan sea, and
the Yellow sea. The Kuro Shiwo (black current) flows from the tropical
waters in a northeast direction, skirting the islands of Japan on their
east coasts, and deflecting its course to the eastward carries its
ameliorating influences to the west coast of America. It is divided by the
projecting southern extremity of the island of Kyushu, and a perceptible
portion of it flows on the west coast of the Japanese islands through the
Japan sea and out again into the Pacific ocean through the Tsugaru and the
La Perouse straits. The effect of the Kuro Shiwo upon the climate and
productions of the lands along which it flows is not greatly different
from that of the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic ocean, which in situation,
direction, and volume it resembles.

The body of water known among foreigners as the Inland sea, but which the
Japanese call Seto-no-Uchi-Umi (the sea within the straits), is a
picturesque sheet of water situated between the Linschoten straits on the
eas