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Shipping route in Japan from the Edo to Meiji Period
The
kitamaebune
(
北前船
, "northern-bound ships")
was a
shipping route
(and also the ships involved) in
Japan
from the
Edo period
to the
Meiji era
. The route went from
Osaka
through the
Seto Inland Sea
and the
Kanmon Straits
to ports in
Hokuriku
on the
Sea of Japan
and later to
Hokkaid?
.
Kaga Domain
, which sold about 70,000
koku
of rice every year in Osaka, succeeded in sending 100
koku
by boat through this route in 1639. The
Tokugawa shogunate
also received rice from
Dewa Province
through merchant
Kawamura Zuiken
in 1672, but it is thought to be a response from these ships. Japanese ships at the time normally could make only one trip per year, but with the arrival of Western
schooners
in the Meiji era, ships were able to make up to four trips annually.
The
Meiji Restoration
also brought the end of the
feudal system
and the introduction of the
telegraph
, removing gaps between regional markets and making it difficult for the shipping routes to make large profits. The national construction of
railroads
further led to the end of the
kitamaebune
.
Currently, the
Shin Nihonkai Ferry
is sometimes called the modern
kitamaebune
, with stops along the old route at
Maizuru
,
Niigata
,
Akita
,
Tomakomai, Hokkaid?
, and
Otaru
.
External links
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