Directory_and_Chronicle_1887 — Page 574

HAKODATE.

This, the most northerly of the treaty ports of Japan, is situated in the south of Yesso on the Straits of Tsugar, which divide that island from Hondo. The port lies in latitude 41 deg. 47 min. 8 sec. N., and longitude 140 deg. 45 min. 34 sec. E., and the harbour is nearly land-locked. The town clusters at the foot and on the slope of a bold rock known to foreigners as Hakodate Head, 1,106 feet in height. The surrounding country is hilly, volcanic, and striking, but the town itself formerly possessed few attractions, and consisted mainly of one long street of single-storied houses, the distinguishing feature of which was the roof, made of thin wood shingle kept on by quantities of flat stones. The greater part of the town was destroyed by a terrible fire in December, 1879. That disaster was, however, productive of great improvements, leading to the substitution of tiled for wooden roois, and to the adop- tion of substantial walls of brick, stone, or other fire-proot materials in the buildings, while the streets have all been widened. The foreign concession has never been built upon, the few foreign residents in the port having taken up their quarters in Japanese buildings. A row of fine temples, with lofty picturesque roofs, occupying higher ground than the rest of the town, are the most conspicuous buildings. There are some Public Gardens at the eastern end of the town, which contain a small but interesting Museum. The climate of Hakodate is healthy and bracing. The hottest month is August, but the thermometer then rarely rises above 90 degrees Fahr.; in the winter it sometimes sinks to 18 degrees. The mean temperature throughout the year is about 48 degrees. The population of Hakodate in 1885 was 41,231. The number of foreign residents in 1885 was 81, of whom 38 were Europeans and Americans, and 43 Chinese.

The

The foreign trade of the port is small and has never been important. The foreign shipping is annually decreasing and the direct imports have fallen off largely. The imports in 1885 amounted to £1,386 as compared with £1,025 in 1884. The exports for 1885 amounted to £119,447, compared with £66,310 in 1884 The agricultural resources of Yesso have been to some extent developed under the auspices of the Kaitakushi or Colonization Department. rich pasture lands are well adapted for breeding cattle. In the valuable and extensive fisheries on the coast, however, the chief exports of the future from Hakodate are to be looked for. Increasing quantities or dried fish and seaweed are exported annually, mostly to China. The inineral resources of Yesso, said to be large, may also some day yield a valuable addition to the exports of this port. Hakodate is connected with the capital by telegraph. A railway from Otarunai to Sapporo, 22 miles long, was opened to public traffic on the 28th November, 1880, and has since been carried on to Poronai, where are some coal mines, the total length of the line being 56 miles.

KENCHO.

Takito Tamemoto, Chiji

Hori Kimpo, chief secretary Terada Rioski, assist. do.

DIRECTORY.

IMPERIAL CUSTOMS.

Noda Takao, superintendent

BRITISH CONSULATE.

Consul―J. J. Quin

HAKODATE KOso In (COURT OF APPEAL.) Takehise Shofu, chief judge Haruki Yoshiaki, chief commissary

HAKODAT & SHISHIN SAIBANSHO (COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE)

K. Saito, chief judge M. Nishimura, commissary

Constable-H. B. Lucas

AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN CONSULATE.

Acting Consul―J. J. Quin

DANISH CONSULATE.

Consul-John II. Dūūs