Forbidden Sea - Kinkai

...A river where public fishing was prohibited for the purpose of fishing for fish to be offered to the gods or the Emperor's food, or for recreational hunting. It is also called a "Kugoe" (offering river), and when the prohibited object is the sea, it is called a "Kinkai" (forbidden sea). In ancient Japan, the principle of "public and private benefit" was the rule for mountains, fields, rivers, and seas, but when this principle was legally established from the second half of the 7th century onwards, along with the prohibited fields, parts of rivers, rivers, ponds, and lakes were enclosed, and forbidden rivers and seas were established to allow the fishing of fish for sacrifices, as long as it did not interfere with other private businesses.

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

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…神饌や天皇の食饌に供する魚類の漁獲や遊猟のために，一般の漁獲を禁じた河川。供御江（くごえ）ともいい，同様のもので禁制の対象が海の場合は禁海という。日本古代の山野河海は〈公私共利〉の原則であったが，7世紀後半以降この原則を法的に確立していく際に，禁野とともに江河池沼の一部を囲い込み，他の民業を妨げない範囲で，贄（にえ）としての魚類を漁獲する禁河･禁海が設置された。…

※「禁海」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報