KOBE-HYOGO
71
TAKATA & Co., Merchants
S. Takata, president (Tokyo)
S. Ishikawa, manager
TAYLOR, WALLACE, M.D., 15, Kawaguchi-Cho
TOKYO MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY, LD.,
23, Koraibashi-dori, Shichome
H. Hirao, manager
KYOTO
Rev. C. M. Cady and wife
3, Daisan Koto Gakko Kwansha
Yoshida, Kyoto
DOSHISHA HOSPITAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL
FOR NURSES
R. Saiki, M.D.
KOBE-HYOGO
Kobe was until 1892 the foreign port of the adjoining town of Hyogo and was opened to foreign trade in 1868, and in 1899 the two towns were incorporated under the title of Kobe City, when the City Municipal Law was put into force. The port is finely situated on the Idzumi-nada, at the gate of the far-famed Inland Sea. The harbour is good and affords safe anchorage for vessels of almost any size. The two towns face the land-locked water covered with white sails, while behind, at a distance of about a mile, rises a range of picturesque and lofty hills, some of which attain an altitude of about 2,500 feet, and the steep sides of which are partly covered with pines. Kobe and Hyogo stretch for some three miles along this strip of land between the hills and the water. The Foreign quarter at Kobe is well laid out; the streets are broad and clean, and lighted with gas. The Bund has a fine stone embankment and extends the whole length of Kobe. The foreign houses are neatly built, and the Sannomiya railway station, within three minutes' walk of the Bund, has a very English look. The railway terminus is at the other end of Kobe, where it meets Hyogo, and there are extensive carriage works adjoining the station. There are two Clubs--the Kobe Club (British) and the “Club Concordia" (German). At Mirume the K. R. & A. C. have a fine boathouse and large lawn for all kinds of sports, while commodious chambers have been erected. The Union Protestant Church and a French Roman Catholic Church are in what was formerly known as the Concession. An English Episcopal Church, All Saints', was opened in 1898 on the Hill behind, and there is also a native Protestant Church in Kobe town. There are two foreign hotels in the business part of the town-the Oriental and the Great Eastern. Two foreign daily papers, the Kobe Chronicle and the Kobe Herald, are published in Kobe. There are also two native papers. The population of the city of Kobe in December, 1900, was 249,987. There were over 2,901 foreign residents in Kobe in December, 1901, of whom 1,701 were Chinese. The British numbered 602, Germans 188, Americans 179, French 67, and the Portuguese 70.
The old town of Hyogo is only divided from Kobe by the river Minato, which is spanned by several substantial stone bridges. Hyogo contains few features of interest, and the streets and shops are inferior to those of Kobe, its population being much smaller and nearly stationary. The Temple of Shinkoji, which possesses a large bronze Buddha, is worth a visit; and there is a monument to the Japanese hero Kiyomori, erected in 1286, in a grove of trees in the vicinity of the temple, which claims some attention from its historic associations. On the Kobe side of the Minato-gawa also stands a temple dedicated to Kusunoki Masashige, so famous in Japanese history for loyalty and valour, who died on the spot in 1336 during the unsuccessful wars for the restoration of the Mikado's power. The Kawasaki Shipbuilding Yard situated at Hyogo is one of the largest in Japan. The new graving Dock will accommodate vessels of some 5,000 tons.
Kobe's excellent railway communications, both north and south, have naturally tended to centralise trade at this port.
In 1902 the values of the different classes of Imports were :-
Dyes, Colours & Paints
Yen 3,184,954 Metals and Manufactures of...
10,656,668
Cotton, Raw
...
67,810,878 Rice...
7,013,705
Cotton Yarn and Piece Goods Drugs, Chemicals, etc.,
8,238,117 Grains and Seeds
4,529,724
3,927,361
Wocl and Woollen Manufactures 7,062,574
Oil & Wax (mostly Kerosine Oil) Machinery, Watches, Arms, &c.
6,547,809
Sundries...
...
22,047,238
3,497,083
Total Imports
...
Yen 144,516,111
The Russian Government uses over 1,000 REMINGTON Typewriters.
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