Harbor - Kouwan (English spelling) harbor; port

Japanese: 港湾 - こうわん（英語表記）harbour; port

A body of water that is protected from wind, waves, and currents so that ships can anchor, load and unload cargo, and passengers can board and disembark. Ports have played an important role in civilization since humans began to sail out to sea in boats. The Phoenicians (→Phoenicia), who developed in the Mediterranean, were familiar with maritime traffic and built ports in Saida (Sidon) and Tyre in the 13th century BC, and their trade activities extended to the entire world at that time. As Venice and Genoa competed for dominance in Mediterranean trade in the Middle Ages, large cities gained power according to their ability to develop sea routes. Many of the ports at that time were natural ports that made use of the natural topography, and there was little progress until the mid-1800s. Early ships were small, so natural ports were sufficient for their role. Then, with the Industrial Revolution, trade and commerce flourished, and as ships became larger, it became necessary to artificially expand the width and depth of ports. These are called artificial ports as opposed to natural ports. In this sense, most of today's ports can be considered artificial ports. Today, ports come in a wide variety of sizes, from small enclosed harbors that serve pleasure boats to ports covering several thousand acres.
An important factor in the function of a port is the size of the enclosed water area. The narrow straits and land in the ports of New York and San Francisco provide ideal natural barriers against wind and waves, but many ports have openings through which waves and wind can mercilessly penetrate. In such ports, breakwaters are built. The breakwaters of ports in open coastal areas, such as Chennai (Madras) in India, are often severely damaged by strong waves and often require repairs. Another important criterion for a port is the water depth. Modern large ships require special routes and waterways, and some require water depths of more than 30 meters. Water that deep is rare in natural harbors, and regular dredging of the seabed is necessary.
Most of the facilities at ports are for loading and unloading cargo, and they take various forms depending on the purpose. For example, ports used for foreign trade require large wharves, warehouses, cargo handling equipment, navigational aids, customs and quarantine offices, roads and rail networks, etc. These large berthing ports have a series of loading piers that connect the various facilities. The coastline of New York Port is over 770 km long, but if you add the quay extension, it is another 240 km longer. In addition to traditional wharves, ports equipped with facilities for transferring large amounts of oil from large tankers maintain the depth of the waterway by regular dredging. The space for this large-scale loading and unloading is located offshore, and the facilities required are only light piers to carry oil pipes. Another common facility is the dock.
Japan has many winding coastlines, so there are many ports throughout the country. Domestic ports are classified according to the Port and Harbor Law and the Fisheries Port and Fishing Grounds Development Law, and are either privately or publicly managed. After World War II, port development progressed with the shift to heavy industry, with a focus on the creation of coastal industrial zones and the construction of excavated ports. Ports that make use of the natural topography include Nagasaki Port and Maizuru Port, while artificial ports include Yokohama Port, Kobe Port, and Osaka Port. Excavated ports such as Tomakomai Port, Tagonoura Port (Shizuoka Prefecture), and Kashima Port can be considered completely artificial.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

船舶の停泊，荷の積み降ろし，乗客の乗降などのために，風や波や潮流を遮蔽した水域。人間が舟で海へ出るようになって以来，港湾は文明に大きな役割を果たしてきた。地中海に発展したフェニキア人（→フェニキア）は海上交通に通じ，前13世紀にサイダ（シドン）とテュロス（ティルス）に港湾を築き，貿易活動は当時の全世界に及んでいた。中世のベネチアとジェノバが地中海貿易の覇を競ったように，大都市は海路を開発する能力に応じて力を得てきた。当時の港湾の多くは自然の地形をいかした天然港湾で，1800年代半ばまでほとんど進歩はみられなかった。初期の船は小型であったので，どこでも天然の港湾で十分役割を果たしていたからである。やがて産業革命とともに貿易と商業が盛んになり，船舶の大型化に伴い港湾も人工的に広さと深さとを拡張する必要が生じてきた。これを天然港湾に対して人工港湾と呼ぶ。こうした意味では今日の港湾のほとんどは人工港湾といえる。現代は，遊覧船の集う小さな囲い港から数千エーカーを有する港湾までさまざまな規模の港湾が存在する。
港湾の機能で重要なのは，遮蔽水域の広さである。ニューヨークやサンフランシスコの港湾は，狭い海峡や陸地が風や波の理想的な天然の防壁となっているが，多くの港湾は波や風が容赦なく侵入する開口面をもつ。このような港湾では防波堤がつくられている。インドのチェンナイ（マドラス）のように海辺の開けた場所にある港湾の防波堤は，激しい波浪によって大きな被害を受けることが多く，しばしば修理が必要となる。港湾のもう一つの重要な基準に，水深がある。現代の大型船舶は特別な航路や水路を要し，30m以上の水深が必要なものもある。天然港湾ではそれほどの水深はまれであり，定期的な海底浚渫が必要となる。
港湾の設備の大半は荷の積み降ろし用で，用途によりさまざまな形態がある。たとえば外国貿易に使われるような港湾では，大型埠頭，倉庫，荷役機械，航路標識，通関，検疫事務所，道路や鉄道網などが必要である。このような大規模停泊港には船荷用桟橋が連なり，諸設備と連結されている。ニューヨーク港の海岸線延長は 770km以上であるが，岸壁延長を加えるとさらに 240km長くなる。昔ながらの埠頭に加え大型タンカーから石油を大量に移送する設備を備えた港湾は，定期的な浚渫によって航路水深が維持されている。この大量積み降ろしのスペースは沖に設定されるが，設備としては送油管を運ぶ軽量桟橋があればよい。ほかによく見られる設備にドックがある。
日本は屈曲に富む海外線をもつため，各所に多数の港湾が存在している。国内の港湾は港湾法と漁港漁場整備法によって分類されており，経営形態には私営と公営がある。第2次世界大戦後は重工業への転換とともに臨海工業地帯の造成，掘込港の建設などを中心に港湾開発が進められてきた。天然の地形を利用した港湾としては長崎港，舞鶴港があり，人工港湾としては横浜港や神戸港，大阪港がある。苫小牧港，田子ノ浦港（静岡県），鹿島港などの掘込港湾は，完全な人工港湾といえる。

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