Japan

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Nagasaki

The Mikado, coming from his cloisters, almost at a bound became a wise, progressive civil ruler. He says that feudalism was not suited to the age, and that the good of the people and the progress of his people demanded that it should be ended. His decree was issued, and feudalism went out like a flash, like serfdom in Russia. All this was not accomplished without hazard, with uprisings and warfare. But it has been done and Japan has made more rapid strides, and done more to bring herself into sympathy with the civilized world than ever before had been done by any nation, ancient or modern, in the same length of time.

NAGASAKI.

From a Correspondent.

NAGASAKI, JULY 2, 1873.

My last was dated the 14th ult., and on the 30th idem the French mail arrived, bringing dates from London down to the 9th May; but, as usual, telegrams had been previously received, and have taken off much of the interest newspapers used to have formerly. The interval has been marked by a rebellion breaking out in Chikuzen, Kokura, and other places lying some sixty miles or so northwards of this port. Various reasons to account for its origin are given, and they perhaps all have some little foundation, but do not exactly hit the mark, though they one and all agree in attributing the disturbances to the influence and even the open action of the disbanded Samurai, who are now no longer able to lead the life of luxurious idleness they did formerly. In this country it is very difficult to trace any rumour to its source, and hence the reason why anything more than disconnected bits of information never can be obtained at Nagasaki, and it is not unlikely that very little further particulars will be heard of the present troubles until executions take place by the dozen. Much dissatisfaction is known to exist amongst the population of Japan, and no little of this feeling has been caused by the continual changes ordered by the authorities, and the obnoxious manner in which the people have been forced into making them. The export of rice now entirely monopolized by the Government, who are reported to have sent it out of the country, and even sold it at a loss, has also furnished the lower and uneducated classes with materials for bitter complaint, and this has been greatly increased by the people more keenly feeling its action by rice rising in price owing to an almost unprecedented drought in this neighbourhood this year.

At whose door lies such a political mistake as this rice question I believe no foreigner has ever been able to discover; one thing, however, is certain a continuance of the monopoly must periodically render this country liable to the deplorable outbreaks of the character as those recently recorded if rice lie at the root of the disturbances, as some seem to think. As freedom of thought becomes more extended popular feeling will increase proportionately and be a source of trouble to the Government, unless continually checked by very harsh measures scarcely befitting Japan of the present day. A few particulars relating to the rebellion appears in the columns of the Nagasaki Express, but I observe that no attempt is made by that journal to attribute the origin to any particular cause. Perhaps in the absence of being able to give the real cause it is better left alone.

Business at this place appears to have come to nearly a standstill, but whether this is caused by the disturbing influence of affairs in the neighbourhood or by the forthcoming revision of the treaties is by no means clear, as the dullness has now been of long duration. We hear no noisy babel in the tea-firing establishments, no noisy coolies carting away imports into the native town ; and, indeed, the quietude into which we have relapsed forms a very unpleasant reminiscence of the bygone days of some three years ago.

The wet days of June have been few and far between, but July has come in wet; last evening and up to the moment of writing there has been a steady downfall of rain, so much needed by the rice crops.

Visits from men-of-war have been few recently the Russian despatch-boat Gornostay, now on the patent slip undergoing repairs, the crew of which is now located at Juasa, being the only one in port. It is somewhat remarkable that the Vitiay and Bogatyr both should leave this port for Yokohama on the day the news reached this place reporting a considerable increase in the insurrection both in Chikuzen and Kokura. American and British war-vessels are conspicuous by their absence the attraction of Shanghai has secured the presence of no less than seven of the former and two of the latter nationality, but here we have none, although troubles are in places at no great distance away.

August 27, 1894, London and China Telegraph

SHIPPING

The total shipping entered in the port of Nagasaki during 1893 was 713 vessels carrying a tonnage of 950,540 tons. As compared with the preceding year this shows a decrease of twenty vessels, but an increased tonnage of 52,266 tons. At the commencement of the year the Pacific Mail and the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Companies sent their regular mail steamers here for coaling purposes.

Several of these steamers are British, but the United States now figure for the first time for many years in the shipping returns of this port. Fifteen United States steamers called during the year with a carrying capacity of 35,784 tons. British shipping shows a decrease of fourteen vessels, but an increased tonnage of 401,525 tons, as compared with 372,638 tons in 1892. Norwegian shipping shows an increase of seventeen vessels and 9,500 tons.

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Russian Views of Japan, 1792-1913: An Anthology of Travel Writing
David N. Wells
Before Japan was 'opened up' in the 1850s, contact with Russia as well as other western maritime nations was extremely limited. Yet from the early eighteenth century onwards, as a result of their expanding commercial interests in East Asia and the North Pacific, Russians had begun to encounter Japanese and were increasingly eager to establish diplomatic and trading relations with Japan. This book presents rare narratives written by Russians - explorers, official envoys, scholars and, later, tourists - who visited Japan between 1792 and 1913. The introduction and notes set these narratives in the context of the history of Russo-Japanese relations and the genre of European travel writing, showing how the Russian writers combined ethnographic interests with the assertion of Russian and European values, simultaneously inscribing power relations and negotiating cultural difference. Students of Japanese history, nineteenth-century Russia, literature and cultural studies will find this book an invaluable insight|into the contact between two civilizations at a time when they were particularly ignorant of each other.

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1899. World's Fleet. Boston Daily Globe

Lloyds Register of Shipping gives the entire fleet of the world as 28,180 steamers and sailing vessels, with a total tonnage of 27,673,628, of which 39 perent are British.

Great Britain	10,990 vessels, total tonnage of 10,792,714
United States	3,010 vessels, total tonnage of 2,405,887
Norway	2,528 vessels, tonnage of 1,604,230
Germany	1,676 vessels, with a tonnage of 2,453,334, in which are included her particularly large ships.
Sweden	1,408 vessels with a tonnage of 643, 527
Italy	1,150 vessels
France	1,182 vessels

For Historical Comparison
Top 10 Maritime Nations Ranked by Value (2017)

	Country	# of Vessels	Gross Tonnage (m)	Total Value (USDbn)
1	Greece	4,453	206.47	$88.0
2	Japan	4,317	150.26	$79.8
3	China	4,938	159.71	$71.7
4	USA	2,399	55.92	$46.5
5	Singapore	2,662	64.03	$41.7
6	Norway	1,668	39.68	$41.1
7	Germany	2,923	81.17	$30.3
8	UK	883	28.78	$24.3
9	Denmark	1,040	36.17	$23.4
10	South Korea	1,484	49.88	$20.1
Total		26,767	87.21	$466.9