It is observable that no marked increase is taking place in the area
under cultivation, and that the business of growing cotton, hemp and
indigo is gradually diminishing, these staples being supplied from
abroad. In Germany and Italy the annual additions made to the arable
area average 8% whereas in Japan the figure is only 5%. Moreover, of
the latter amount the rate for paddy fields is only 3.3% against 7.9%
in the case of upland farms. This means that the population is rapidly
outgrowing its supply of home-produced rice, the great food-stuff of
the nation, and the price of that cereal consequently shows a steady
tendency to appreciate. Thus whereas the market value was 5s. 5d. per
bushel in 1901, it rose to 6s. 9d. in 1906.
Silk and Tea.
Scarcely less important to Japan than the cereals she raises are her
silk and tea, both of which find markets abroad. Her production of the
latter staple does not show any sign of marked development, for though
tea is almost as essential an article of diet in Japan as rice, its
foreign consumers are practically limited to the United States and
their demand does not increase. The figures for the 10-year period
ended 1906 are as follow:--
Area under cultivation Tea produced
(acres). (lb. av.).
1897 147,230 70,063,076
1901 122,120 57,975,486
1906 126,125 58,279,286
Sericulture, on the contrary, shows steady development year by year.
The demand of European and American markets has very elastic limits,
and if Japanese growers are content with moderate, but still
substantial, gains they can find an almost unrestricted sale in the
West. The development from 1886 to 1906 was as follows:--
Raw silk produced
yearly (lb.).
Average from 1886 to 1889 8,739,273
1895 19,087,310
1900 20,705,644
1905 21,630,829
1906 24,215,324
The chief silk-producing prefectures in Japan, according to the order
of production, are Nagano, Gumma, Yamanashi, Fukushima, Aichi and
Saitama. At the close of 1906 there were 3843 filatures throughout the
country, and the number of families engaged in sericulture was
397,885.
Lacquer, vegetable wax and tobacco are also important staples of
production. The figures for the ten-year period, 1897 to 1906, are as
follow:--
Lacquer Vegetable Tobacco
(lb.). wax (lb.). (lb.).
1897 344,267 25,850,790 110,572,925
1906 668,266 39,714,661 101,718,592
While the quantity of certain products increases, the number of
filatures and factories diminishes, the inference being that
industries are coming to be conducted on a larger scale than was
formerly the case. Thus in sericulture the filatures diminished from
4723 in 1897 to 3843 in 1906; the number of lacquer factories from
1637 to 1123 at the same dates, and the number of wax factories from
2619 to 1929.
Agricultural Improvements.
It is generally said that whereas more than 60% of Japan's entire
population is engaged in agriculture, she remains far behind the
progressive nations of Europe in the application of scientific
principles to farming. Nevertheless if we take for unit the average
value of the yield per hectare in Italy, we obtain the following
figures:--