less variety in the contours of the mountains. Here as at Kobe the
hills consist mainly of a species of granite which is exposed to
weathering on so large a scale that the hard rocks are nearly
everywhere decomposed into a yellow sand unfavourable for
vegetation. The splendid wild granite cliffs of the north
accordingly are absent here. All the hill-tops are evenly rounded,
and everywhere, except where there has been a sand-slip, covered
with a rich vegetation, which in consequence of the evenness of
height of the trees gives little variety to the landscape, which
otherwise is among the most beautiful on the globe.

[Illustration: BURYING PLACE AT KIOTO. ]

We landed at two places, on the first occasion at Hirosami. Here
some fishermens' cabins and some peasants' houses formed a little
village at the foot of a high, much-weathered granite ridge. The
burying-place was situated near one of the houses, close to the
shore. On an area of some hundred square yards there were numerous
gravestones, some upright, some fallen. Some were ornamented with
fresh flowers, at one was a Shinto shrine of wooden pins, at another
stood a bowl with rice and a small _saki_ bottle. Our zoologists
here made a pretty rich collection of littoral animals, among which
may be mentioned a cuttle-fish which had crept down amongst the wet
sand, an animal that is industriously searched for and eaten by the
natives. Among the cultivated plants we saw here, as many times
before in the high-lying parts of the country, an old acquaintance
from home, namely buckwheat.

The second time the _Vega_ anchored at a peasant village right
opposite Shimonoseki. When we landed there came an official on
board, courteously declaring that we had no right to land at that
place. But he was immediately satisfied and made no more
difficulties when he was informed that we had the permission of the
Governor, and that instead of the usual passport an official from
Kobe accompanied the vessel. Shimonoseki has a melancholy reputation
in European-Japanese history from the deeds of violence done here by
a united English, French, Dutch, and American fleet of seventeen
vessels on the 4th and 5th September, 1864, in order to compel the
Japanese to open the sound to foreigners, and the unreasonably heavy
compensation which after the victory was won they demanded from the
conquered. Although only fifteen years have passed since this
occurred, there appears to be no trace of bitte