Water transport - Suiun

Transporting people and cargo by boat or raft using waterways such as rivers, seas, and lakes. A general term for inland waterway transport on rivers and lakes and shipping on the sea. Waterway transport played an important role in moving people, goods, and information due to its convenience in areas where communication between coastal regions and waterways was easier than by land, and its efficiency in being able to transport large amounts of goods and heavy goods over long distances more quickly at one time compared to land transport. In ancient times, waterway transport was mainly used to transport official goods such as tributes, labor, miscellaneous goods, and rice, and was carried from the provincial government ports of Koku-zu to the outer ports of Kyoto by official ships or hired private ships. The Engishiki contains regulations regarding sea routes and shipping fares from coastal provinces to Heian-kyo. From the 10th century onwards, the main source of transport was tribute from manors and imperial territories, and in addition to the ports of the kokuga and gunga, ports within manors and imperial territories and nearby ports began to be used. The main sea route was the Seto Inland Sea, connecting Dazaifu's outer port of Natsu (later Hakata Port) and Heian-kyo and Heijo-kyo's outer ports of Naniwa-tsu, while the main ports on the Sea of ​​Japan route were Tsurugatsu, which connected to Kyoto via land routes and Shiotsu and Otsu on the coast of Lake Biwa, and Yodotsu and Kizu on the Yodo River system, which connected Kyoto to the Seto Inland Sea.

By the end of the 12th century, it appears that the sea routes along the Seto Inland Sea, the Sea of ​​Japan coast, and the Pacific Ocean had been linked, making it possible to navigate to various coastal areas of Japan, and in addition to the important ports that had existed since ancient times, Tomo, Murotsu, and Owada no Tomari (later Hyōgotsu) on the Seto Inland Sea, Obama and Sakamoto on the shores of Lake Biwa in the Hokuriku region, and Anotsu and Ōminato on the Pacific coast had become important relay points. Trade with China and Korea was also conducted from Hakatatsu and Hyōgotsu, and with the north from Tsurugatsu and Tosaminato.

From the late 13th century onwards, with improvements in production technology and the decline of the manor and public land system, goods became the main mode of transport, and cargo ships travelled between distant locations. The volume of traffic also led to pirate activity and the proliferation of checkpoints, which caused problems in navigation. The thriving water transport industry in the 15th century can be seen in the Hyogo Kitaseki Iri Fune no Cho (Hyogo Northern Barrier Entry Ship Account Book) and the shipping regulations, copies of which have been handed down to various regions. During the Sengoku period, the situation surrounding water transport was thrown into chaos by the expansion of war, with sea route blockades and cargo detentions, but under the Toyotomi government, routes that had been cut off due to the Sobu Jirei (Order to Ensure Safety) and the Kaizoku Chojirei (Order to Stop Piracy) were restored, and unified control of water transport was achieved.

In the early modern period, the National Isolation Order prohibited Japanese ships from traveling overseas, but the shogunate carried out large-scale reorganization of waterways within Japan, such as digging the Fuji River and Takase River, and revamping the East-bound and West-bound shipping routes, and worked to develop a national waterway network centered around Edo and Osaka. Stored rice from various feudal domains and private goods were transported, and cargo ships such as the Higaki Kaisen and the Taru Kaisen, and cargo-buying ships such as the Kitamae-bune and the Utsumi-bune operated, and wholesalers also developed. Laws and regulations regarding waterway transport were also developed against the backdrop of the increasing complexity of operations and employment relationships, and the frequent occurrence of marine accidents. In the modern era, the role of waterways declined due to the development of railway and road networks and changes in transportation and transport systems, but in recent years, their importance has been reevaluated due to their role as an alternative transportation and transport method to land routes in times of disaster and other emergencies, as well as their low environmental impact.

[Tomoko Watanuki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

河海(かかい)・湖沼などの水路を利用し、船や筏(いかだ)で人や貨物を運ぶこと。川や湖沼での内陸水運と海での海運の総称。臨海地域間や水路での連絡が陸路より容易である地域での利便性、あるいは陸運に比べ1度に大量の物資や重量のある物資をより早く遠距離まで運ぶことが可能であるという効率性から、水運は人や物資、情報の移動に重要な役割を果たした。古代には調(ちょう)・庸(よう)・雑物(ぞうもつ)、舂米(しょうまい)などの官物輸送が主体で、国衙(こくが)の港である国（府）津(こ（く・う）づ)から官船や雇用された民間船により京の外港へと運ばれた。『延喜式』には臨海諸国から平安京への海路行程や漕賃に関する規定がみえる。10世紀以降、輸送の主体は荘園・公領からの貢納物となり、国衙、郡衙の津以外にも荘園・公領内や近隣の港が利用されるようになった。大宰府の外港那津(なのつ)（のちの博多津）、平安京や平城京の外港難波津を結ぶ瀬戸内海が基幹航路で、日本海航路では陸路と琵琶湖沿岸の塩津・大津などを経て京都に連絡する敦賀津(つるがつ)が、京都と瀬戸内海を連絡する淀川水系の淀津、木津などが代表的な港である。

　12世紀末までには瀬戸内海、日本海沿岸、太平洋の航路を接続することで国内沿岸各地への航行が可能になっていたとみられ、古代以来の要港のほかに瀬戸内海の鞆(とも)・室津(むろつ)・大輪田泊(おおわだのとまり)（のちの兵庫津）、北陸の小浜・琵琶湖沿岸の坂本、太平洋側の安濃津(あのつ)・大湊(おおみなと)などが重要な中継地となった。博多津や兵庫津を拠点に中国や朝鮮と、敦賀津や十三湊(とさみなと)を拠点に北方との貿易も行われた。

　13世紀後期以降、生産技術力の向上や荘園公領制の衰退により輸送の主体は商品となり、遠隔地間を廻船が航行した。通航量を背景に海賊の活動、関所の濫立など通航上の支障もみられる。15世紀、水運の活況は「兵庫北関入船納帳(ひょうごきたせきいりふねのうちょう)」や各地に諸写本が伝来する廻船式目からも窺われる。戦国期、航路封鎖や荷留など、戦火の拡大により水運をとりまく状況も混乱するが、豊臣政権下で惣無事令(そうぶじれい)や海賊停止令(かいぞくちょうじれい)により寸断されていた航路が復旧し、水運の一元的支配が図られた。

　近世には鎖国令で日本船の海外渡航が禁じられるが、国内では幕府が富士川や高瀬川開削、東廻(ひがしまわり)・西廻海運の刷新など大規模な水路再編を行い、江戸、大坂を基軸とする全国的水運網の整備に努めた。諸藩の蔵米や民間商品が廻漕され、菱垣廻船(ひがきかいせん)・樽廻船などの賃積船、北前船・内海船(うつみぶね)などの買積船が稼働し、問屋も発達した。操業や雇用関係の複雑化、海難事故の多発を背景に水運に関する法令も整備された。近代以降は、鉄道網・道路網が整備され、交通・輸送体系が変化したことで役割が低下するが、近年、災害などの非常時に陸路にかわる交通・輸送手段としての役割、環境負荷の低さなどからその重要性が見直されている。

［綿貫友子］

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