linguistic record destroyed, one would still be able to divine how terrible an enemy fire had been to Japanese antiquities. Fire insurance, be it observed, was not among the words connected with fire in Old Japan. It dates only from the new regime, being Europe's contribution to the vocabulary. At first the practice of insurance gained ground but slowly. It may be matter for wonder that capitalists should have found it worth their while to assume risks so heavy. Under the circumstances, very high premiums are still charged; but despite this drawback, the people seem now thoroughly to appreciate the advantage of purchasing peace of mind even at a heavy price, and for several years past companies have been in operation all over the country to insure against fire and other calamities.
To Ōoka, the Japanese Solomon, who was mayor and judge of Yedo early in the eighteenth century, belongs the credit of having organised the fire-brigades which formed so useful and picturesque a feature of Yedo life. Since his day, fire engines of European make have been brought into use. Moreover, the number of conflagrations has been much diminished of late years by the gradual introduction of stone and brick buildings and of wider streets, and by stricter police control. Even, therefore, granting the possible truth of the popular assertion that in some parts of Tōkyō houses were only expected to survive three years, that state of things happily belongs to the past. Still, fire is an ever-dreaded foe. It is a foe at whose entry into the city the carpenters, unless they are greatly maligned, have frequently connived, because it brings them work; and the peculiar dress and antics of the firemen are things which no visitor to Japan should miss a chance of seeing. Every year, on the 4th January, the firemen parade the streets with their tall, light ladders, and give a gymnastic performance gratis.
The most famous of all the many great Yedo fires was that of 1657, when nearly half the city was destroyed and over 107,000 persons are said to have perished in the flames. The government
tsuke-bi, sosō-bi jikwa, morai-bi, ruishō, shita-bi, hinote, hinomoto, keshi-kuchi, kwaji-mimai. Fire insurance mentioned just below, is kiuasai-hoken.
