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 1999 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. On one of these hills-Rokkosan-are a number of foreign residences. the place having become a favourite summer resort. The summit of this hill has been well prepared for the purpose, several miles of excellent paths making walking on the hills easy and enjoyable. Among the attractions of Rokkosan are excellent golf links. Kobe and Hyogo stretch for some three miles along the 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, and commodious chambers for the members. 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 town-the Oriental and the Great Eastern. Two foreign daily papers, the Kobe Chronicle and the Kobe Herald, and one weekly, the Japan Chronicle, are published in Kobe. There are also two native papers. The population of the city of Kobe in De- cember, 1900, was 249,987. There are about 3,000 foreigners residing in Kobe, but of this number nearly two-thirds are Chinese. When a census was taken in 1901, the British numberd 602, Germans 188, Americans 179, French 67, and the Portuguese 70.
The Temple of Nofukuji, which possesses a large bronze Buddha, and which is situated in the old town of Hyogo, 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 tem- ple, which claims some attention from its historic associations. On the Kobe side o the old river known as the Minato-gawa also stands a temple dedicated to Kusunok 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 1903 the values of the different classes of Imports were :- Beverages and Comestibles... Yen 4,978,133 Metals, and Manufactures of Dyes, Colours and Paints... 3,760,216 Rice... Cotton, Raw...
Grains and Seeds... Cotton Yarn and Piece Goods... Oil & Wax (mostly Kerosine Oil) Machinery, Watches, Arms, &c.
...
The values of the principal Beverages and Comestibles Yen Cotton Yarn & Cotton Goods Drugs, etc. (mostly Camphor) Matches
...
Mats for Floor
...
Metals (chiefly Copper)
...
...
58,087,584 6,022,746 5,698,950 4,019,472
...
10,608,968 23,675,776 7,983,099
Wool and Woollen Manufactures 7,225,589 Sundries...
...
22,472,480
Total Imports
Yen 154,534 013
...
...
...
...
articles of Export in the same year were as follows:-
4,867,144 Rice... 29,121,261 Straw-plaits
4,920,265 Tea... 7,677,166 Sundries... 4,603,042
8,693,348 Total Exports
...
...
10
...
4,214,817
3,761,192
4,497,477 18,162,504
...
Yen 90,518,316- The quantity of tea exported from Kobe-Hyogo during the year 1903 was 13,664,142 catties equal to 17,080,177 lbs. Practically the whole of this went to the United States of America and Canada.
Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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