Families. Genera. Species.
Dicotyledonous plants 121 795 1934
Monocotyledonous plants 28 202 613
Higher Cryptogamous plants 5 38 196
--- ---- ----
Vascular plants 154 1035 2743
The investigations of Japanese botanists are adding constantly to the
above number, and it is not likely that finality will be reached for
some time. According to a comparison made by A. Gray with regard to
the numbers of genera and species respectively represented in the
forest trees of four regions of the northern hemisphere, the following
is the case:--
Atlantic Forest-region of N. America 66 genera and 155 species.
Pacific Forest-region of N. America 31 genera and 78 species.
Japan and Manchuria Forest-region 66 genera and 168 species.
Forests of Europe 33 genera and 85 species.
While there can be no doubt that the luxuriance of Japan's flora is
due to rich soil, to high temperature and to rainfall not only
plentiful but well distributed over the whole year, the wealth and
variety of her trees and shrubs must be largely the result of
immigration. Japan has four insular chains which link her to the
neighbouring continent. On the south, the Riukiu Islands bring her
within reach of Formosa and the Malayan archipelago; on the west, Oki,
Iki, and Tsushima bridge the sea between her and Korea; on the
north-west Sakhalin connects her with the Amur region; and on the
north, the Kuriles form an almost continuous route to Kamchatka. By
these paths the germs of Asiatic plants were carried over to join the
endemic flora of the country, and all found suitable homes amid
greatly varying conditions of climate and physiography.
_Fauna._--Japan is an exception to the general rule that continents
are richer in fauna than are their neighbouring islands. It has been
said with truth that "an industrious collector of beetles,
butterflies, neuroptera, &c., finds a greater number of species in a
circuit of some miles near Tokyo than are exhibited by the whole
British Isles."
Of mammals 50 species have been identified and catalogued. Neither the
lion nor the tiger is found. The true Carnivora are three only, the
bear, the dog and the marten. Three species of bears are
scientifically recognized, but one of them, the ice-bear (_Ursus
maritimus_), is only an accidental visitor, carried down by the Arctic
current. In the main island the black bear (_kuma_, _Ursus japonicus_)
alone has its habitation, but the island of Yezo has the great brown
bear (called _shi-guma_, _oki-kuma_ or _aka-kuma_), the "grisly" of
North America. The bear does not attract much popular interest in
Japan. Tradition centres rather upon the fox (_kitsune_) and the
badger (_mujina_), which are credited with supernatural powers, the
former being worshipped as the messenger of the harvest god, while the
latter is regarded as a mischievous rollicker. Next to these comes the
monkey (_saru_), which dwells equally among the snows of the north and
in the mountainous regions of the south. _Saru_ enters into the
composition of many place-names, an evidence of the people's
familiarity with the animal. There are ten species of bat (_komori_)
and seven of insect-eaters, and prominent in this class are the mole
(_mugura_) and the hedgehog (_hari-nezumi_). Among the martens there
is a weasel (_itachi_), which, though useful as a rat-killer, has the
evil repute of being responsible for sudden and mysterious injuries to
human beings; there is a river-otter (_kawauso_), and there is a
sea-otter (_rakko_) which inhabits the northern seas and is highly
valued for its beautiful pelt. The rodents are represented by an
abundance of rats, with comparatively few mice, and by the ordinary
squirrel, to which the people give the name of tree-rat (_ki-nezumi_),
as well as the flying squirrel, known as the _momo-dori_ (peach-bird)
in the north, where it hides from the light in hollow tree-trunks, and
in the south as the _ban-tori_ (or bird of evening). There are no
rabbits, but hares (_usagi_) are to be found in very varying numbers,
and those of one species put on a white coat during winter. The wild
boar (_shishi_ or _ii-no-shishi_) does not differ appreciably from its
European congener. Its flesh is much relished, and for some
unexplained reason is called by its vendors "mountain-whale"
(_yama-kujira_). A very beautiful stag (_shika_), with eight-branched
antlers, inhabits the remote woodlands, and there are five species of
antelope (_kamo-shika_) which are found in the highest and least
accessible parts of the mountains. Domestic animals have for
representatives the horse (_uma_), a small beast with little beauty of
form though possessing much hardihood and endurance; the ox (_ushi_)
mainly a beast of burden or draught; the pig (_buta_), very
occasionally; the dog (_inu_), an unsightly and useless brute; the cat
(_neko_), with a stump in lieu of a tail; barndoor fowl (_niwa-tori_),
ducks (_ahiro_) and pigeons (_hato_). The turkey (_shichi-mencho_) and
the goose (_gacho_) have been introduced but are little appreciated as
yet.
Although so-called singing birds exist in tolerable numbers, those
worthy of the name of songster are few. Eminently first is a species
of nightingale (_uguisu_), which, though smaller than its congener of
the West, is gifted with exquisitely modulated flute-like notes of
considerable range. The _uguisu_ is a dainty bird in the matter of
temperature. After May it retires from the low-lying regions and
gradually ascends to higher altitudes as midsummer approaches. A
variety of the cuckoo called _holotogisu_ (_Cuculus poliocephalus_) in
imitation of the sound of its voice, is heard as an accompaniment of
the _uguisu_, and there are also three other species, the _kakkodori_
(_Cuculus canorus_), the _tsutsu-dori_ (_C. himalayanus_), and the
_masuhakari_, or _juichi_ (_C. hyperythrus_). To these the lark,
_hibari_ (_Alauda japonica_), joins its voice, and the cooing of the
pigeon (_hato_) is supplemented by the twittering of the ubiquitous
sparrow (_suzume_), while over all are heard the raucous caw of the
raven (_karasu_) and the harsh scream of the kite (_tombi_), between
which and the raven there is perpetual feud. The falcon (_taka_),
always an honoured bird in Japan, where from time immemorial hawking
has been an aristocratic pastime, is common enough, and so is the
sparrow-hawk (_hai-taka_), but the eagle (_washi_) affects solitude.
Two English ornithologists, Blakiston and Pryer, are the recognized
authorities on the birds of Japan, and in a contribution to the
_Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan_ (vol. x.) they have
enumerated 359 species. Starlings (_muku-dori_) are numerous, and so
are the wagtail (_sekirei_), the swallow (_tsubame_) the martin
(_ten_), the woodchat (_mozu_) and the jay (_kakesu_ or _kashi-dori_),
but the magpie (_togarasu_), though common in China, is rare in Japan.
Blackbirds and thrushes are not found, nor any species of parrot, but
on the other hand, we have the hoopoe (_yatsugashira_), the red-breast
(_komadori_), the bluebird (_ruri_), the wren (_miso-sazai_), the
golden-crested wren (_itadaki_), the golden-eagle (_inu-washi_), the
finch (_hiwa_), the longtailed rose-finch (_benimashiko_), the
ouzel--brown (_akahara_), dusky (_tsugumi_) and water
(_kawa-garasu_)--the kingfisher (_kawasemi_), the crake (_kuina_) and
the tomtit (_kara_). Among game-birds there are the quail (_uzura_),
the heathcock (_ezo-racho_), the ptarmigan (_ezo-raicho_ or
_ezo-yama-dori_), the woodcock (hodo-shigi), the snipe
(_ta-shigi_)--with two special species, the solitary snipe
(_yama-shigi_) and the painted snipe (_tama-shigi_)--and the pheasant
(_kiji_). Of the last there are two species, the _kiji_ proper, a bird
presenting no remarkable features, and the copper pheasant, a
magnificent bird with plumage of dazzling beauty. Conspicuous above
all others, not only for grace of form but also for the immemorial
attention paid to them by Japanese artists, are the crane (_tsuru_)
and the heron (_sagi_). Of the crane there are seven species, the
stateliest and most beautiful being the _Grus japonensis_ (_tancho_ or
_tancho-zuru_), which stands some 5 ft. high and has pure white
plumage with a red crown, black tail-feathers and black upper neck. It
is a sacred bird, and it shares with the tortoise the honour of being
an emblem of longevity. The other species are the demoiselle crane
(_anewa-zuru_), the black crane (_kuro-zuru_ or _nezumi-zuru_, i.e.
_Grus cinerea_), the _Grus leucauchen_ (_mana-zuru_), the _Grus
monachus_ (_nabe-zuru_), and the white crane (_shiro-zuru_). The
Japanese include in this category the stork (_kozuru_), but it may be
said to have disappeared from the island. The heron (_sagi_)
constitutes a charming feature in a Japanese landscape, especially the
silver heron (_shira-sagi_), which displays its brilliant white
plumage in the rice-fields from spring to early autumn. The
night-heron (_goi-sagi_) is very common. Besides these waders there
are plover (_chidori_); golden (_muna-guro_ or _ai-guro_); gray
(_daizen_); ringed (_shiro-chidori_); spur-winged (_keri_) and
Harting's sand-plover (_ikaru-chidori_); sand-pipers--green
(_ashiro-shigi_) and spoon-billed (_hera-shigi_)--and water-hens
(_ban_). Among swimming birds the most numerous are the gull
(_kamome_), of which many varieties are found; the cormorant
(_u_)--which is trained by the Japanese for fishing purposes--and
multitudinous flocks of wild-geese (_gan_) and wild-ducks (_kamo_),
from the beautiful mandarin-duck (_oshi-dori_), emblem of conjugal
fidelity, to teal (_kogamo_) and widgeon (_hidori-gamo_) of several
species. Great preserves of wild-duck and teal used to be a frequent
feature in the parks attached to the feudal castles of old Japan, when
a peculiar method of netting the birds or striking them with falcons
was a favourite aristocratic pastime. A few of such preserves still
exist, and it is noticeable that in the Palace-moats of Tokyo all
kinds of water-birds, attracted by the absolute immunity they enjoy
there, assemble in countless numbers at the approach of winter and
remain until the following spring, wholly indifferent to the close
proximity of the city.
Of reptiles Japan has only 30 species, and among them is included the
marine turtle (_umi-game_) which can scarcely be said to frequent her
waters, since it is seen only at rare intervals on the southern coast.
This is even truer of the larger species (the _shogakubo_, i.e.
_Chelonia cephalo_). Both are highly valued for the sake of the shell,
which has always been a favourite material for ladies' combs and
hairpins. By carefully selecting certain portions and welding them
together in a perfectly flawless mass, a pure amber-coloured object is
obtained at heavy cost. Of the fresh-water tortoise there are two
kinds, the _suppon_ (_Trionyx japonica_) and the _kame-no-ko_ (_Emys
vulgaris japonica_). The latter is one of the Japanese emblems of
longevity. It is often depicted with a flowing tail, which appendix
attests close observation of nature; for the _mino-game_, as it is
called, represents a tortoise to which, in the course of many scores
of years, confervae have attached themselves so as to form an
appendage of long green locks as the creature swims about. Sea-snakes
occasionally make their way to Japan, being carried thither by the
Black Current (Kuro Shiwo) and the monsoon, but they must be regarded
as merely fortuitous visitors. There are 10 species of land-snakes
(_hebi_), among which one only (the _mamushi_, or _Trigonocephalus
Blomhoffi_) is venomous. The others for the most part frequent the
rice-fields and live upon frogs. The largest is the _aodaisho_
(_Elaphis virgatus_), which sometimes attains a length of 5 ft., but
is quite harmless. Lizards (_tokage_), frogs (_kawazu_ or _kaeru_),
toads (_ebogayeru_) and newts (_imori_) are plentiful, and much
curiosity attaches to a giant salamander (_sansho-uwo_, called also
_hazekai_ and other names according to localities), which reaches to a
length of 5 ft., and (according to Rein) is closely related to the
_Andrias Scheuchzeri_ of the Oeningen strata.
The seas surrounding the Japanese islands may be called a resort of
fishes, for, in addition to numerous species which abide there
permanently, there are migatory kinds, coming and going with the
monsoons and with the great ocean streams that set to and from the
shores. In winter, for example, when the northern monsoon begins to
blow, numbers of denizens of the Sea of Okhotsk swim southward to the
more genial waters of north Japan; and in summer the Indian Ocean and
the Malayan archipelago send to her southern coasts a crowd of
emigrants which turn homeward again at the approach of winter. It thus
falls out that in spite of the enormous quantity of fish consumed as
food or used as fertilizers year after year by the Japanese, the seas
remain as richly stocked as ever. Nine orders of fishes have been
distinguished as the piscifauna of Japanese waters. They may be found
carefully catalogued with all their included species in Rein's
_Japan_, and highly interesting researches by Japanese physiographists
are recorded in the Journal of the College of Science of the Imperial
University of Tokyo. Briefly, the chief fish of Japan are the bream
(_tai_), the perch (_suzuki_), the mullet (_bora_), the rock-fish
(_hatatate_), the grunter (_oni-o-koze_), the mackerel (_saba_), the
sword-fish (_tachi-uwo_), the wrasse (_kusabi_), the haddock (_tara_),
the flounder (_karei_), and its congeners the sole (_hirame_) and the
turbot (_ishi-garei_), the shad (_namazu_), the salmon (_shake_), the
_masu_, the carp (_koi_), the _funa_, the gold fish (_kingyo_), the
gold carp (_higoi_), the loach (_dojo_), the herring (_nishin_), the
_iwashi_(_Clupea melanosticta_), the eel (_unagi_), the conger eel
(_anago_), the coffer-fish (_hako-uwo_), the _fugu_ (_Tetrodon_), the
_ai_ (_Plecoglossus altivelis_), the sayori (_Hemiramphus sayori_),
the shark (same), the dogfish (_manuka-zame_), the ray (_e_), the
sturgeon (_cho-zame_) and the _maguro_ (_Thynnus sibi_).
The insect life of Japan broadly corresponds with that of temperate
regions in Europe. But there are also a number of tropical species,
notably among butterflies and beetles. The latter--for which the
generic term in Japan is _mushi_ or _kaichu_--include some beautiful
species, from the "jewel beetle" (_tama-mushi_), the "gold beetle"
(_kogane-mushi_) and the _Chrysochroa fulgidissima_, which glow and
sparkle with the brilliancy of gold and precious stones, to the jet
black _Melanauster chinensis_, which seems to have been fashioned out
of lacquer spotted with white. There is also a giant nasicornous
beetle. Among butterflies (_chocho_) Rein gives prominence to the
broad-winged kind (_Papilio_), which recall tropical brilliancy. One
(_Papilio macilentus_) is peculiar to Japan. Many others seem to be
practically identical with European species. That is especially true
of the moths (_yacho_), 100 species of which have been identified with
English types. There are seven large silk-moths, of which two only
(_Bombyx mori_ and _Antheraea yama-mai_) are employed in producing
silk. Fishing lines are manufactured from the cocoons of the
_genjiki-mushi_ (_Caligula japonica_), which is one of the commonest
moths in the islands. Wasps, bees and hornets, generically known as
_hachi_, differ little from their European types, except that they are
somewhat larger and more sluggish. The gad-fly (_abu_), the housefly
(_hai_), the mosquito (_ka_), the flea (_nomi_) and occasionally the
bedbug (called by the Japanese _kara-mushi_ because it is believed to
be imported from China), are all fully represented, and the dragon-fly
(_tombo_) presents itself in immense numbers at certain seasons.
Grasshoppers (_batta_) are abundant, and one kind (_inago_), which
frequent the rice-fields when the cereal is ripening, are caught and
fried in oil as an article of food. On the moors in late summer the
mantis (_kama-kiri-mushi_) is commonly met with, and the cricket
(_kurogi_) and the cockroach abound. Particularly obtrusive is the
cicada (_semi_), of which there are many species. Its strident voice
is heard most loudly at times of great heat, when the song of the
birds is hushed. The dragon-fly and the cicada afford ceaseless
entertainment to the Japanese boy. He catches them by means of a rod
smeared with bird-lime, and then tying a fine string under their
wings, he flies them at its end. Spiders abound, from a giant species
to one of the minutest dimensions, and the tree-bug is always ready to
make a destructive lodgment in any sickly tree-stem. The scorpion
(_sasori_) exists but is not poisonous.
Japanese rivers and lakes are the habitation of several--seven or
eight--species of fresh-water crab (_kani_), which live in holes on
the shore and emerge in the daytime, often moving to considerable
distances from their homes. Shrimps (_kawa-ebi_) also are found in the
rivers and rice-fields. These shrimps as well as a large species of
crab--_mokuzo-gani_--serve the people as an article of food, but the
small crabs which live in holes have no recognized _raison d'être_. In
Japan, as elsewhere, the principal crustacea are found in the sea.
Flocks of _lupa_ and other species swim in the wake of the tropical
fishes which move towards Japan at certain seasons. Naturally these
migratory crabs are not limited to Japanese waters. Milne Edwards has
identified ten species which occur in Australian seas also, and Rein
mentions, as belonging to the same category, the "helmet-crab" or
"horse-shoe crab" (_kabuto-gani_; _Limulus longispina_ Hoeven). Very
remarkable is the giant _Taka-ashi_--long legs (_Macrocheirus
Kaempferi_), which has legs 1½ metres long and is found in the seas of
Japan and the Malay archipelago. There is no lobster on the coasts of
Japan, but there are various species of crayfish (_Palinurus_ and
_Scyllarus_) the principal of which, under the names of ise-ebi
(_Palinurus japonicus_) and _kuruma-ebi_ (_Penaeus canaliculatus_) are
greatly prized as an article of diet.
Already in 1882, Dunker in his _Index Molluscorum Maris Japonici_
enumerated nearly 1200 species of marine molluscs found in the
Japanese archipelago, and several others have since then been added
to the list. As for the land and fresh-water molluscs, some 200 of
which are known, they are mainly kindred with those of China and
Siberia, tropical and Indian forms being exceptional. There are 57
species of _Helix_ (_maimaitsuburi_, _dedemushi_, _katatsumuri_ or
_kwagyu_) and 25 of Clausilia (_kiseru-gai_ or pipe-snail), including
the two largest snails in Japan, namely the _Cl. Martensi_ and the
_Cl. Yoko-hamensis_, which attain to a length of 58 mm. and 44 mm.
respectively. The mussel (_i-no-kai_) is well represented by the
species _numa-gai_ (marsh-mussel), _karasu-gai_ (raven-mussel),
_kamisori-gai_ (razor-mussel), _shijimi-no-kai_ (_Corbicula_), of
which there are nine species, &c. Unlike the land-molluscs, the great
majority of Japanese sea-molluscs are akin to those of the Indian
Ocean and the Malay archipelago. Some of them extend westward as far
as the Red Sea. The best known and most frequent forms are the _asari_
(_Tapes philippinarum_), the _hamaguri_ (_Meretrix lusoria_), the
_baka_ (_Mactra sulcataria_), the _aka-gai_ (_Scapharca inflata_), the
_kaki_ (oyster), the _awabi_ (_Haliotis japonica_), the _sazae_
(_Turbo cornutus_), the _hora-gai_ (_Tritonium tritonius_), &c. Among
the cephalopods several are of great value as articles of food, e.g.
the _surume_ (_Onychotheuthis Banksii_), the _tako_ (octopus), the
_shidako_ (Eledone), the _ika_ (Sepia) and the _tako-fune_
(Argonauta).
Greeff enumerates, as denizens of Japanese seas, 26 kinds of
sea-urchins (_gaze_ or _uni_) and 12 of starfish (_hitode_ or
_tako-no-makura_). These, like the mollusca, indicate the influence of
the Kuro Shiwo and the south-west monsoon, for they have close
affinity with species found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. For
edible purposes the most valuable of the Japanese echinoderms is the
sea-slug or _bêche de mer_ (_namako_), which is greatly appreciated
and forms an important staple of export to China. Rein writes: "Very
remarkable in connexion with the starfishes is the occurrence of
_Asterias rubens_ on the Japanese coast. This creature displays an
almost unexampled frequency and extent of distribution in the whole
North Sea, in the western parts of the Baltic, near the Faroe Islands,
Iceland, Greenland and the English coasts, so that it may be regarded
as a characteristic North Sea echinoderm form. Towards the south this
starfish disappears, it seems, completely; for it is not yet known
with certainty to exist either in the Mediterranean or in the southern
parts of the Atlantic Ocean. In others also _Asterias rubens_ is not
known--and then it suddenly reappears in Japan. _Archaster typicus_
has a pretty wide distribution over the Indian Ocean; other
_Asteridae_ of Japan, on the other hand, appear to be confined to its
shores."
Japan is not rich in corals and sponges. Her most interesting
contributions are crust-corals (_Gorgonidae_, _Corallium_, _Isis_,
&c.), and especially flint-sponges, called by the Japanese _hoshi-gai_
and known as "glass-coral" (_Hyalonema sieboldi_). These last have not
been found anywhere except at the entrance of the Bay of Tokyo at a
depth of some 200 fathoms.