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87 G
EAST ASIA.
and for every drop that fell there arose one of those verdant isles which are now
dotted over these waters, and one of the first to appear was the fair Avadzi, which
still stands sentinel at the eastern entrance of the fairy scene.
as little more
Geographically the Japanese Mediterranean must be regarded
than a simple depression produced by erosion. Even in the deeper cavities there are
scarcely more than 150 feet of water, while the mean depth is less than 80 feet.
The Simono-seki Strait, as the western entrance is called, has hardly 30 feet, so
that large vessels unaided by steam cannot safely enter into this narrow marine
channel, obstructed as it is by numerous reefs and dangerous currents. Of the
other straits by which it is approached, the Tomoga-sima, being freer from
while the Naruto Channel
strong currents, is generally chosen by shipping,
between Avadzi and Sikok is more dreaded than any other in the Japanese waters.
At the western entrance stands a picturesque island, with a lighthouse built by
foreign engineers and supplied with dioptric lights, with the lantern poised so as to
resist the effects of earthquakes everywhere so frequent in Japan. Through the
strait the course is tortuous, running first north then eastwards, when vessels
passing to or fro seem completely landlocked.
" As the boat progresses a distance
of some ten or twelve miles, a varying panorama of great beauty discloses itself at
every mile. On either hand rise high lands, sometimes wooded from base to
summit, sometimes diversified by hills clear of timber, but '
with verdure clad,' some-
times crested with trees, sometimes fringed at the foot with forests, or with strips
of bright green turf or yellow sands. Rocky heights rise behind, with sparse tufts
of vegetation, or stunted shrubs on their sides, showing
the effects of severe
weather, or riven clefts into which bountiful nature has crowded trees, lending
majesty to the smiling foreground.
" Bays and inlets of enticing picturesqueness appear, where trim native craft of
various dimensions are seen at anchor, while clear-looking villages lying low near
the beach, or built up the hills in terraces, give life to the scenery. Rounding the
last point, which, like several others, seems to bar all further advance, the spectator
is induced to fancy, perhaps not regretfully, that the huge steamer must remain
landlocked within this terraqueous Paradise. The fortified city of Simono-seki then
looms in the distance on the northern side of the waters, the strait widening at
unfolds its details and discovers to the view a
every mile. Slowly the picture
walled town with many large buildings stretching along the shore for several miles,
and for some distance inland. But this port is not open to foreign traffic, so the
steamer pursues its course to the eastward, passing several islets and another strait,
until it emerges in a wide expanse of waters." *
THE ISLAND OF SIKOK.
The island of Sikok, which skirts the south side of the Inland Sea for about
half of its entire length, consists of an irregular mass of schistose hills running
mainly east and west. The Sikokno Saburo, which is the chief stream, runs
* S. Mossman," Japan," 1880, p. 13, 15.