Directory_and_Chronicle_1930 — Page 569

KOBE

Kobe was until 1892 the foreign port of the adjoining town of Hyogo and was opened to foreign trade in 1868, but in 1889 the two towns were incorporated under the title of Kobe City, when the City Municipal Law was put into force. The reclamation of the bed of the Minatogawa River in 1910 and the extension of the tram- way service have resulted in the disappearance of the old boundary line between Kobe and Hyogo. Hyogo, therefore, is now inerely one of the administrative sections of Kobe. 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, but to extend the facilities for loading and discharging an extensive scheme of harbour improvement was begun in 1907, and most of the larger shipping now moors at the four large Customs piers. Further works are in progress, the harbour rapidly growing towards the east. The town faces 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 3,000 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 stretches for some five miles along the strip of land between the hills and the water, and is rapidly extending in the direction of Osaka, which is connected with Kobe by rail and three electric tramways. Within the last few years the Japanese have bought many of the lots in the former Foreign Settlement and erected large offices of five or six stories, which have greatly improved the city. The railway terminus is at the other end of Kobe, where it meets Hyogo, and there are extensive carriage works adjoining the station, but the foreign section of the city is best reached from Sannomiya Station. There are several Clubs-the Kobe Club (including members of all nationalities), the Masonic Club, the Indian Club, the Club Concordia (German), and the Kobe Regatta and Athletic Club (international). At Mirume the K. R. & A. C. have a fine boathouse and large lawn for all kinds of sports. The French Roman Catholic Church is a fine structure in Nakayamate-dori. An English Episcopal Church, All Saints, was opened in 1898 and there are several native Protestant churches. There are several foreign hotels in the city.

The population of Kobe City in October, 1925, was 644,212. Of this number 7,874 were foreigners, the chief nationalities represented being:-Chinese, 5,417; British, 853; American, 625; German, 390; Russian, 195; Indian, 125; French, 53; Portuguese, 97; Swiss, 83; and Dutch, 36. Statistics published in 1928 gave the popula- tion of Kobe as 666,700.

The Temple of Nofukuji, which possesses a large bronze Buddha, is situated in the old town of Hyogo and 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. The bed of the old river Minatogawa was reclaimed in 1910. The upper part of the reclaimed area is now known as Minatogawa Park, where there is a City Hall, behind which is a large market. The lower part of the river-bed is a centre for public entertainments, such as theatres, cinematographs, etc. The shrine dedicated to Kusunoki Masashige, who fell on this spot in 1336 during the unsuccessful wars for the restoration of the Mikado's power, stands between Kobe Station and the Okurayama Park, where there is, also, a large City Library. In the park stands a bronze statue of the late Prince Ito, who was one of the most influential and powerful statesmen of Japan in the Meiji period. The Kawasaki Shipbuilding Yard situated at Hyogo is one of the largest in Japan. The Mitsubishi Co., also, have a dockyard at the Western extremity of the port. The Government in 1906 sanctioned a scheme for the improvement of the harbour involv- ing an expenditure of 32,000,000 yen. Large reclamations were undertaken at Onohama, and commodious wharves and other facilities for the working of cargo are now available.

Kobe's excellent railway communications, both north and south, have naturally tended to centralise trade at this port.