Kawamura Magobee

Japanese: 川村孫兵衛 - かわむらまごべえ

… [Norio Hasegawa]
[Ishinomaki Minato]
This port town of the Sendai Domain developed at the mouth of the Kitakami River and was known as "the first port in Oshu." In the Middle Ages, it was called Oshika Port, and developed greatly when Date Masamune ordered his vassal Kawamura Magobei to redirect the course of the Kitakami River and make the main stream flow south to Ishinomaki during the Genna era (1615-24). Rice, timber, copper, and other goods from the Sendai Domain, Morioka Domain, and Hachinohe Domain were unloaded at Ishinomaki from the three rivers of Kitakami, Hasama, and Eai, and transferred to 1,000 koku ships such as Tento-sen at Ishinomaki Port and shipped to Edo.

From the Kitakami River

…The Kitakami River south of Morioka City has a gentle average gradient of 0.6‰, and the water volume is abundant even upstream from the narrowing point at Kozenji, making it suitable for shipping. During the feudal era, Sendai feudal lord Kawamura Magobei Jukichi redirected the downstream course of the Kitakami River and built it into the Ishinomaki estuary port. Since then, the river has flourished as an artery for transporting rice and other goods between the Morioka and Sendai feudal domains, and more than 40 river ports have flourished along the coast. The main ones are Morioka, Hanamaki, Kurosawajiri (now Kitakami City), Sakenose/Kozenji (now Ichinoseki City), Usuginu (now Kawasaki Village), Nanokamachi (now Fujisawa Town), and Ishinomaki. …

From Momono Town

…In the Middle Ages, the area was ruled by the Kasai clan, and in the early modern period, it was the territory of the Sendai domain. The feudal lord, the Date clan, ordered his vassal, Kawamura Magobei, to carry out the Kitakami River Improvement Works, which made it possible to develop new fields in the vast Noyachi area. The Kitakami River Improvement Works were undertaken again after the levees collapsed twice in 1910, and the current irrigation and drainage system was completed in 1935. …

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Kawamura Magobei" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…【長谷川典夫】
［石巻湊］
　北上川河口に発達し，〈奥州第一の湊〉といわれた仙台藩の港町。中世に牡鹿湊と呼ばれ，元和年間(1615‐24)伊達政宗が家臣川村孫兵衛に命じ北上川の流路を付け替え，本流を石巻に南下させるに及んで大きく発達した。北上･迫（はさま）･江合の3河川を石巻に積み下ろされた仙台藩，盛岡藩，八戸藩などの米，材木，銅などは，石巻湊で天当船など千石船に積み替えられ江戸に回漕された。…

【北上川】より

…盛岡市以南の北上川は，平均こう配が0.6‰とゆるやかで，かつ狐禅寺の狭窄部より上流部でも水量が豊富なため，舟運に適している。藩政時代仙台藩の川村孫兵衛重吉が北上川下流路の付け替え，石巻河口港への構築を行って以来，盛岡･仙台両藩の米，物資輸送の動脈として活況を呈し，沿岸に40余の河港が栄えた。なかでも盛岡，花巻，黒沢尻(現，北上市)，柵ノ瀬･狐禅寺(現，一関市)，薄衣（うすぎぬ）(現，川崎村)，七日町(現，藤沢町)，石巻が主要なものであった。…