Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Apart from these important carriers, there were innumerable coastal vessels working
from harbor to harbor, and along rivers where these were navigable, carrying not only
goods but also passengers. One of the most important river routes was between Fushimi,
a few miles south of Kyoto, to Osaka, and was much used by travelers between these two
cities.
Since ships were carrying on only a coasting trade, with relatively short runs from port
to port, no great attention had to be paid to facilities for crews, apart from a simple awning
to keep off the rain, and a fire to cook some rice. Seamen were as weather-wise as they
are everywhere in the world, and had their superstitions. Their courage was tested by sud-
den storms, and they did not hesitate to tackle whales, the meat of which was a delicacy.
Localfishingwascarriedonallalongthecoastline,andwashighlyorganizednearthegreat
towns.
The spirit of free enterprise, which might euphemistically be said to have inspired the
pirates of the Inland Sea in the preceding era, remained with the seamen of the far west,
around Nagasaki and southwards to the tip of Kyūshū and northwards to the island of
Hirado. Here smuggling was rife. Connections from island to island southward led to the
Ryukyus and a link with China, and there were clandestine rendezvous with foreign ves-
sels.
In spite of the great development of marine transport between Edo and Osaka, there
was increasing traffic on the land highway. As well as being the scene of the
daimyō
pro-
cessions,itwasalsoanessentialmeansofcommunicationbothforwarriorsandmerchants.
The carrying of messages of extreme importance was entrusted to officials, who undertook
arduousjourneysinjoltingchairs.Thechair-menwouldutterrhythmicalgruntsastheyran
along with a characteristic stiff-legged gait, the effect of which on the passenger is said to
have been most uncomfortable. He tried to counter the motion by half supporting himself
onaloopedstrapfixedtothepolethatranthroughthetopofthechair.Themessengerwho
carried the news to Akō of his master's death is said to have been unable to let go of the
strapwhenhereachedhisdestination,sostiffenedwashebytherigorsoftheforcedmarch.
The chair-men had, of course, been relieved at short intervals, at the post-towns stationed
For the carriage of letters and documents, and of small packets of money, there was a
system of express messengers, traveling on foot. Early in the period the Shogun and vari-
ous
daimyō
organized their own message service; it was a relay system, with reliefs at sev-
en
ri
(17½ mile) intervals. In 1663 the organization of these messengers was transferred to
merchants, who arranged a thrice-monthly service between Edo and Osaka. These nomin-
ally did the journey to Kyoto in ten days, with two more to reach Osaka. There were some
slower, cheaper services taking up to 25 days, but there was also a real express delivery in
just over three days, involving traveling day and night, and averaging more than 100 miles
