Benzaisen

Japanese: 弁財船 - べんざいせん

Large sailing ships were seen in sea villages from Aomori to Niigata prefectures. In the Noheji region, they were Japanese-style ships of 200 koku or less with their sterns cut off, but on the coast of Niigata prefecture, all sailing ships of 18 tan or more were called benzai. The word benzai is said to come from the word "bensai-shi" that appears in ancient documents, and in Kyushu this word has come to mean the captain of a large ship or the head of a sea village. In the Tohoku region, sailors on sailing ships were also called "benzaishu" or "benzaisha." [Ishizuka Takatoshi]

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

青森県から新潟県にかけての海村で見られた大型の帆船。野辺地地方では200石以下の和船で，艫が尻切れになったものだといっていたが，新潟県の海辺では18反帆以上の帆船はすべてベンザイといっていた。ベンザイとは，古文書に見える〈弁済使〉からきているといわれ，九州ではこのことばが大船の船頭の意味になったり，海村の区長の意味になったりしている。東北では帆船の船乗りを〈弁財衆〉〈弁財者〉ともいっていた。【石塚尊俊】

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

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