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sequel, impeded the development of a mercantile fleet. Moreover, the people did not immediately shake off the habits of mind educated by centuries of exclusion from this field. Thus, the first notable private effort in the matter of maritime enterprise after the restoration of peace was made by Mr. Iwasaki in 1872, whose name and that of the company organized by him—the Mitsu Bishi Mail Steamship Company—will ever be associated with the inception of maritime enterprise in Japan. Another large steamship company—the Union Steamship Transport Company—was started in 1880, and these two, having been amalgamated in 1885, formed the present Japan Mail Steamship Company (Nippon Yusen Kaisha). Meantime, the Osaka Shosen Kaisha and other smaller shipping companies were formed. Thus there has been a large increase in tonnage and a corresponding increase in the facilities in the home and short distance trade. But distant ocean service was not regularly undertaken until 1892, when the Nippon Yusen Kaisha opened a monthly service to Bombay.

The successful issue of the Chino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, which marked an epoch in the history of Japan, gave a strong impulse to our maritime enterprise. The Nippon Yusen Kaisha opened in 1896 a service between Yokohama -and London and Antwerp, which now has fortnightly sailings; a service between Hong Kong and Seattle, which also is now fortnightly; and still another monthly service between Yokohama and Melbourne. Further, a Japanese company, organized under the name of the Toyo Kisen Kaisha (Oriental Steamship Company), runs a line of steamers between Hong Kong and San Francisco; and the Osaka Shosen Kaisha (Osaka Mercantile Marine Company) has opened various lines—e.g., a service between Shanghai and Hankow, and services between Foochow and Hong Kong, Hong Kong and Angpin, Hong Kong and Tamsui, etc. Many smaller shipowners carry on regular or irregular services between various Asiatic ports. Thus the field of Japanese maritime enterprise has been very largely extended. An arithmetical idea of the progress of our mercantile marine may be gathered from the fact that, whereas the tonnage of our vessels of foreign type (steamers and sailing ships included) in 1879 totalled only 110,000 tons gross, it rose to 220,000 tons gross in 1889, and to 796,930 tons gross in 1900, thus doubling in the first decade of that period and more than trebling in the second period. Japan ranked tenth amongst the maritime nations of the world in 1898, and the Nippon Yusen Kaisha stood seventh in point of tonnage amongst the principal shipping companies.

As to the share taken by Japanese vessels in the outward and inward carrying of trade of the country, statistics show