Tourism EXPO JAPAN 2024
No.39_Merchant Ships Carrying Goods, Culture, and Big Dreams (Hokkaido, Aomori, Akita, Yamagata, Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kagawa Prefectures)
Merchant Ships Carrying Goods, Culture, and Big Dreams (Hokkaido, Aomori, Akita, Yamagata, Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kagawa Prefectures)
The ships were fragile, the voyages fraught with danger. Yet for more than a century the kitamae-bune merchant ships traveled between Hokkaido and Osaka along the Sea of Japan, drawn by the magnificent fortunes that could be earned from their trade.
The kitamae-bune were effectively trading companies on the sea. From around the mid-18th century to the beginning of the 20th century they bought and sold goods at each port of call ranging from salt, herring, and rice to paper, knives, and clothing. A kitamae-bune large enough to carry about 150 tons of rice could earn the modern equivalent of 60 million to 100 million yen, or about US$500,000 to $900,000, on a single voyage. It is easy to understand why so many sailors sought to rise through the ranks of the crew and eventually save enough money to buy their own ship.
The vast home of ship owner Sakaya Chobei is a vivid illustration of these potential riches. It was built in 1876 with some of the finest materials in the land and today houses a kitamae-bune museum in Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture. Among the items on display are navigational equipment used by crewmembers and a model of a kitamae-bune ship.
The kitamae-bune were purveyors of culture as well as goods, spreading folk songs, performing arts, food, and customs along their route. Sailors would learn local songs at a port, for example, which they would then sing at their next stop. As these songs traveled, they were developed into new folk music and performing arts that live on to this day.
The ships were fragile, the voyages fraught with danger. Yet for more than a century the kitamae-bune merchant ships traveled between Hokkaido and Osaka along the Sea of Japan, drawn by the magnificent fortunes that could be earned from their trade.
The kitamae-bune were effectively trading companies on the sea. From around the mid-18th century to the beginning of the 20th century they bought and sold goods at each port of call ranging from salt, herring, and rice to paper, knives, and clothing. A kitamae-bune large enough to carry about 150 tons of rice could earn the modern equivalent of 60 million to 100 million yen, or about US$500,000 to $900,000, on a single voyage. It is easy to understand why so many sailors sought to rise through the ranks of the crew and eventually save enough money to buy their own ship.
The vast home of ship owner Sakaya Chobei is a vivid illustration of these potential riches. It was built in 1876 with some of the finest materials in the land and today houses a kitamae-bune museum in Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture. Among the items on display are navigational equipment used by crewmembers and a model of a kitamae-bune ship.
The kitamae-bune were purveyors of culture as well as goods, spreading folk songs, performing arts, food, and customs along their route. Sailors would learn local songs at a port, for example, which they would then sing at their next stop. As these songs traveled, they were developed into new folk music and performing arts that live on to this day.
Co-exhibitor of Japan Heritage
A miniature garden city from the middle ages built around the onomichi channel :
Land of Izumo,Tatara Chronicle -A Thousand Years of Iron- :
Mt. Mitoku and Misasa Onsen Thrills and Spills An Exciting Climb and Healing Hot Springs :
No.100_Masuda glows with the brightness of the Age of Regional Revitalization :
No.101_Volcanic Iwami - Prehistoric forests and the Iwami Ginzan silver mines - :
No.103_Spreading the Sugar Culture Through Nagasaki-Kaido"SUGAR ROAD" :
No.104_A Legacy of Stonework : the craftsmanship of Yatsushiro's masons :
No.11_The down of Japan -woman in the Asuka Period- :
No.15_Japan Heritage "Shikoku Henro" -Circular pilgrimage route and unique pilgrimage culture- :
No.17_The Border Islands - A 2300-year story of trade, cultural interaction, and conflict.- :
No.1_The Educational Heritage of Early Modern Japan : the origins of learning and eiquette :
No.23_An Edo Travelogue through Four Hokuso Cities :
No.25_"Iza, Kamakura" Kamakura, a city of history and culture :
No.26_"What on Earth?!" Flame Pots and Snow Counry Culture in the Shinano River Basin :
No.27_The Story of Komatsu's Gems & Stones - A Heritage of Stone Polished by the Flow of Time :
No.2_Kakaa Denka -The Silk Story of Gunma- :
No.32_Living with Whales :
No.33_Japan's Largest Livestock Market Born of Jizo Bodhisattva Worship :
No.36_The Geiyo Islands, home to "JAPAN'S GREATEST CORSAIR" reviving the memory of the Murakami KAIZOKU :
No.39_Merchant Ships Carrying Goods, Culture, and Big Dreams (Hokkaido, Aomori, Akita, Yamagata, Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kagawa Prefectures) :
No.3_THETHE STORY OF THE LORD AND HIS CITIZENS WHO TURNED A CRISIS INTO A GREAT OPPORTUNITY :
No.45_Bantan Throughway - Gin no Bashamichi and Koseki no Michi Japan Heritage Site :
No.46_Treasure House of Scenic Beauty Wakanoura :
No.49_Kurashiki and the Story of Fiber - East meets west through cotton - :
No.50_Six Ancient Kilns - Ceramics Born and Raised in Japan - :
No.51_From Forest Railway to Yuzu Road-The Story of Japan's Largest Yuzu-Growing Region :
No.55_Kamikawa Ainu in Coexistence with Kamuy - Traditional World of the Gods at the Foot of Mt. Daisetsu - :
No.57_Underground Adventure -Utsunomiya,Home of Oya Stone- :
No.5_A Cultural Heritage Linking the Sea to the Ancient Capital :
No.60_A Landscape Interwoven with Vineyards -Kyotoh-Yamanashi Wine County- :
No.62_Infinite stone pavement conveying the footsteps of travelers from the past - Hakone Hachiri, the trace of a journey from the Edo period - :
No.64_Okayama, the birthplace of the Legend of Momotaro, a piece of Japan Heritage-A tale of ogre conquest handed down through ancient Kibi heritage- :
No.66_ Kunisaki where Oni and Buddhas coexist as one :
No.67_The Prehistoric Burial Mounds of Miyazaki :
No.69_The Story of MICHINOKU GOLD -Zipang,the Land of Gold:Tracing the Origins of Japanese Gold- :
No.74_A 1,300-Year-Old Buddhist Pilgrimage :
No.7_Saio - The Prayers of a Princess :
No.81_Awa - The Home of "Ai" - Searching for the Supreme Blue of Japanese indigo :
No.82_Defense Network of Satsuma Samurai Districts in the Edo Period :
No.84_A Heritage of Salmon -A Journey of Ten Thousand Years in the Nemuro Strait- :
No.88_THE STORY OF MULBERRY CITY :
No.89_Ultimate Snow Country Tokamachi - The True Story! A Story of a heavy snowfall :
No.90_The Railway That Crossed the Sea~The Railway of Miracle and Trajectory that Connected with the World~ :
No.94_Yaji and Kita's journey through Sunshu, gave rise to the first travel boom in Japan :
No.98_No Landslide Anymore! Crossing Kamenose,the heart of the ancient Tatsuta Kodo :
No.99_The birthplace of Shugendo, a tradition passed down through generations of believers and villagers :
| Booth No | L-030 |
|---|---|
| Area | Japan |
| Official site | https://en.kitamae-bune.com/ |
| SNS Links |   |
Photos
