KITAMAE SHIP TOURS

The culture that now represents
Japan was nurtured by the commercial routes that
connected Hokkaido to
Osaka from the Edo period to the Meiji period.
Merchant vessels that operated along these routes are
collectively referred to as “Kitamae-bune.

Mid-Edo Period (mid-18th century) ~Meiji 30s
Osaka and Hokkaido, around the Sea of Japan
A group of merchant ships that were tied
together while selling and buying goods

Traditional crafts such as Wajima lacquerware, Kutani
ware, and Tsubame cutlery, as well as Japanese food
and sake,
which are highly acclaimed overseas, are
products of the Kitamae Ship.
It was not a ship that simply transported cargo while
“buying and selling.” ……
Kitamae-bune ships sailed between Osaka and
Hokkaido, buying any “inexpensive” goods they
found at ports of call and selling their cargo at ports
where they could sell it at a higher price.

HOKKAIDO / OTARUcity

Otaru, a town that prospered with the increase of immigrants due to the herring fishery and port development after the Meiji era.

YAMAGATA / SAKATAcity

In the Edo period (1603-1867), this port town prospered thanks to the “westbound sea route. From Sakata, rice from the Shonai Plain and safflowers from Dewa were transported, and on the return journey, people brought back Kyoto yuzen and other goods dyed with the safflowers. The Yamai Warehouse, built in 1893 to store rice, is a symbol of the city of Sakata.

NIGATA / SADOcity

The “Shukunegi” district, located in the southwestern part of Sado Island, developed and prospered as a port of call for Kitamae ships from the middle of the Edo period to the Meiji period. The townscape, which was densely populated with shipbuilders and other shipbuilding technicians, shows its former glory and subsequent decline.

TOYAMA / TOYAMAcity

Higashi-Iwase, located in the northern part of Toyama City, once prospered as a port of call for Kitamae-bune, or “Kitamaebune” ships. Even today, the houses of the wholesale merchants who prospered in the Kitamaebune trade line up along the old Hokkoku Kaido (Omachi Street), retaining strong traces of those days. Restaurants and liquor stores line the street, making the most of the old townscape.

ISHIKAWA / KAGAcity

The Hashidate area of Kaga City has been inhabited since the Edo period by many shipowners, boatmen, and sailors of Kitamae-bune, and Hashidate was once called the richest village in Japan. The residences of shipowners do not have the flamboyance of samurai residences, but there are scattered aesthetics here and there that make one think of a man of the sea.

FUKUI / MIKUNIcity

Located at the mouth of the Kuzuryu River, Mikuni Minatomachi prospered from the Edo period to the early Meiji period through trade with Kitamae-bune (Kitamaebune ships). Visitors can still feel the history and bustle of the past in the old townscape, with rows of townhouses with atmospheric latticed doors and merchant houses that still retain the appearance of wealthy merchants.

TOTTORI / TOTTORIcity

Tottori City,” which has the largest sand dunes in Japan, has prospered as a castle town since ancient times. Karo Port, a port of call for Kitamae-bune, has long flourished as an important point of maritime transportation connecting the Sea of Japan with the Kokufu and Tottori Castle area.

SHIMANE / OKIcity

Oki, an island in the Sea of Japan, once flourished as an important stopover point during the era of the Kitamae-bune. As Kitamae-bune became larger and larger, ships that could only travel along the land could now sail from Shimonoseki to Oki to Noto in a single leap, and Oki became an important stopover point.

HIROSHIMA / ONOMICHIcity

Onomichi has developed as one of the largest port towns in the Seto Inland Sea since the Middle Ages because of its easy anchorage geography. Murakami pirates, the largest pirates in Japan, appeared in the nearby Geyo Islands. They undertook pilotage and maritime security in exchange for tolls.

OSAKA / OSAKAcity

As the starting and ending point of the Kitamae-bune, Osaka prospered as one of Japan's leading trading ports, with water transportation links to Kyoto and shipping routes to Tokyo.

JAPAN

OTHER

1800

-1804-
Russian envoy Rezanov arrives in Nagasaki and requests trade.

-1804-
Enthronement of Emperor Napoleon.

1810

-1814-
Stevenson invents the steam locomotive.

1820

-1825-
Edo Shogunate announced a decree to drive out foreign vessels.

-1828-
“Siebold Incident” occurs in which Japanese officials secretly hand over a map to Siebold.

1830

-1833-
Hiroshige Utagawa publishes The Fifty-three Stages of the Tokaido.

1840

-1840〜1842-
Opium War

-1848-
The February Revolution takes place in Paris. Marx and Engels publish The Communist Manifesto

1850

-1853-
Commodore Matthew C. Perry had reached Uraga by the “Black Ships” and taken a leading role in the opening of Japan. following year,Conclusion of the Treaty of Kanagawa

-1855-
Paris Expo

-1859-
Darwin’s “Origin of Species” published.

1860

-1867-
The Tokugawa Shogunate returns power to the Emperor in the “Grand Seihokan” (Great Government Restoration).

-1868-
Outbreak of Boshin War, establishment of Meiji Government.