Minato

Japanese: 湊 - みなと

A key transportation location where ships for water transportation, fishing, etc. can anchor. In the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, it appears as "Mito" or "Suimon" and originally referred to the entrance or exit of water from the sea, river, or lake, or to landforms such as inlets, lakes, lagoons, sandbars, and sand spits formed there by ocean or river currents or the ebb and flow of the tides, but by extension it refers to ports created by utilizing such landforms. In ancient times, they were often called Tsu or Tomari, and it is believed that from the end of ancient times they evolved from simple wharves to become ports with urban elements. In the ports, helmsmen and boatmen lived, and horse-luggers also lived for land transport. In some cases, markets were established and toimaru (commuters) were set up. Representative examples include Sakai in Senshu, Hyogo, Murozu, Ushimado, Tomo, Onomichi, and Akamagaseki on the Seto Inland Sea, Hakata, Nagasaki, and Bonotsu in Kyushu, Obama and Tsuruga on the Sea of Japan, Kuwana in Ise, as well as Otsu on Lake Biwa and Toba and Yodo on the Yodo River. In the early modern period, the shogunate and various feudal domains worked to develop ports for the transport of stored rice, and with the development of westward and eastward shipping, ports in the Ou region were also developed. →Port towns→Related article Naoetsu

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

水上交通や漁業などのための船舶が碇泊する交通の要地。《古事記》《日本書紀》に〈水戸〉〈水門〉とみえ，元来は海・川・湖などの水の出入り口，または海流・河流や潮の干満などによってそこに形成された入江・内湖・潟・砂州(さす)・砂嘴(さし)などの地形をさしたが，転じてその地形を利用してつくられた港湾をいう。古くは津・泊(とまり)とよばれることが多く，古代末期以降たんなる船着場から都市的要素をもった湊となっていったとみられる。湊には梶取(かじとり)・船頭が集住し，陸送のため馬借(ばしゃく)なども存在した。また市が立ったり，問丸(といまる)が置かれる場合もあった。代表的なものとして泉州堺，瀬戸内海の兵庫・室津・牛窓・鞆(とも)・尾道・赤間関(あかまがせき)，九州の博多・長崎・坊津(ぼうのつ)，日本海の小浜(おばま)・敦賀(つるが)，伊勢の桑名などのほか，琵琶湖の大津，淀川の鳥羽(とば)・淀などがある。近世に入ると，幕府・諸藩は蔵米の回送などのため湊の造成に取り組み，また西廻海運・東廻海運の発達により奥羽地方の湊も整備されていった。→港町
→関連項目直江津

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