hikoku. The high mountains and the well watered valleys, the
abundance of forest trees, and wild and luxuriant vegetation,(11) give to
these islands an aspect of perennial verdure.

The productions of the Main island are, as might be expected, far more
various. In the southern part, especially that part bordering on the
Inland sea, the productions are to a large extent similar to those in the
southern islands. Rice and cotton are raised in great abundance. Tea
flourishes particularly in the provinces near Kyoto and also in the rich
valleys of the east coast. Silk-raising is a principal occupation. Nearly
one half in value of all the exports from Japan is raw and manufactured
silk, and a large part of the remainder is tea. The principal food raised
in nearly all the islands is rice. The streams of water which abound
everywhere make the irrigation which rice cultivation requires easy and
effective. Besides the rice which is raised in paddy land there is also a
variety called upland rice. This grows without irrigation but is inferior
to the principal variety in productiveness. In the early rituals of the
Shinto temples prayers were always offered for the five cereals. These
were understood to be rice, millet, barley, beans, and sorghum. All these
have been cultivated from early times, and can be successfully raised in
almost all parts of the islands. Rice cannot, however, be raised north of
the Main island. Millet, barley, and beans are cultivated everywhere, and
are the principal articles of food among the country population. Buckwheat
is also cultivated in all northern parts. It is believed to have been
introduced from Manchuria where it is found growing wild.

The domestic animals of Japan are by no means so abundant as in the
corresponding parts of the continent. The horse has existed here from
antiquity but was only used for riding or as a pack-horse, but never until
recently was used for driving. The cow, owing perhaps to the restrictive
influence of the Buddhist doctrines, was never used for food. Even milk,
butter, and cheese, which from time immemorial formed such important
articles of food throughout Europe and among the nomadic peoples of Asia,
were never used. Sheep are almost unknown even to this day, and where they
have been introduced it is only in very recent times and by foreign
enterprise. Goats are sometimes but not commonly found. On the island of
Oshima,(12) off the province of Izu, they had multiplied