The Fucuko Gabe has an article on the life of " jinricsha man, It commences with afew' remarks upon poverty, which it states will even compel a man to do the work of a horse or ox in order to provide sustenance for himself and family. It then goes on to say that the jinricsha or man ower cart was invented by one Idzumi Yosuki about 1870 and was at that time first brought into practical use. At first only two or three vehicles were made, and a stand was erected for them a little to the south of the Nihonbashi, Tokio, with a sign out to attract customers. At first business was dull, but by degrees the vehicles came into favour, and are now to be found not only throughout Japan but the whole of the East. In course of an investigation recently made by the authorities, it transpired that no less than 41,430 of these vehicles were in daily use in Tokio alone. When the jinricsha man first started to ply for hire his pay was comparatively good in the capital, bub nowadays the increased cost of the necessaries of life together with the competition, of trams, omnibuses, ete., make his living a very precarious one. The article goes on tors tate that there is one class owning their own vehicles and another hiring them at the average rate of 10 sen per diem. Each owner of a public jinricsha has to pay one yen per annum for the ordinary one-man vehicle, and double that amount for. a Inowna built for two. This tax is collected semi-annually. The kurumaya has his own trate guild and a copious patois of his own. For example, dote means 10 sen; kiwa 9 sen; bando, 8 sen; meinan, 7 sen; ronji, 6 sen: genko, 5 sen; dari, 4 sen} yui, 3 sen, etc. The jinricsha man, known colloquially in Japan as shaft, (from sha, a carriage, fu, man) is divided into two classes; the ' kukaye no she fu and the tsiji machi shafue The first named is a man employed by private individuals, usually by the month, for which he is paid from "5 to 8 yen and supplied with food as well as being provided with a vehicle. 'The other class are the men who ply for hire in the streets, and who stand most of the day idle waiting for their fares, When' a
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.