Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

Chapter 105 Initial results
The Hokkoku Ship Trade, also known as the Kitamae Ship Trade, was a maritime trade route between Ezo and Osaka from the mid-Edo period to the Meiji period. The ships involved in the trade generally carried between 500 and 1,500 koku, so these ships were also called "1,000 koku ships" in some places. During its heyday, a fleet could have as many as 200 ships.

The Kitamae-bune trade supported the north-south logistics of Japan as a major maritime artery during the Edo period. Merchant ships departed from Honshu, loaded with various daily necessities such as salt, sugar, wine, vinegar, iron, medicine, textiles, etc., and headed north to Hokuriku, Ou, and Ezo for sale. At the same time, seafood such as rice, kelp, herring, dried sardines, salmon, and cod were transported back to Honshu from the above-mentioned areas. Calculated at today's prices, the profit of one voyage was about 100 million yen.

Yoshishige never expected that this route would be spoken by Hisahide Imai.

Historically, Tsuruga in Echizen, Obama in Wakasa, and Miyazu in Tango were all ports of call on the Kitamae Ship Route. Once this route could be integrated and opened, the ships and goods that previously flowed to Hakata and Yamaguchi would be "unloaded" in Takeda's territory, and the goods that flowed from Kinki to the North Country would also be "loaded" in Takeda's territory.

At that time, it will not only promote the development of commerce, shipbuilding and transportation industries in the territory, but also promote the prosperity of the castle town, and continuously bring tangible benefits to oneself, the powerful families and the people in the territory, thereby effectively solving the financial difficulties that may be caused by "Le City Le Zuo".

"I think we can give the route you proposed a try." Yoshishige nodded to Imai Hisahide and said affirmatively: "If this route can be successfully opened, our family will become an important link between Kinki and the North Country."

"You are right," Imai Hisahide was happy that his suggestion was taken seriously. He smiled and said, "Not only that, Your Highness, think about it more deeply. From Wakasa to Kyoto and Sakai, whether you go by land or by Lake Biwa, which territory do you have to pass through?"

At this moment, a map appeared in Yoshishige's mind, and he suddenly had an idea and said, "Are you talking about the Rokkaku family?!"

Imai Hisahide nodded: "With your current relationship with the Rokkaku family, you can save a lot of customs fees for merchants transporting goods on this route, right? This is the natural advantage of the Takeda family!"

"You are right, but I am thinking more than that." Yoshishige analyzed, "If more merchants take this route, it will also bring a lot of profits to the Rokkaku family. By then, the intimacy between the main family and the Rokkaku family will be further enhanced, which is very important for the main family to maintain external stability."

"I'm just a businessman, there's no need for you to say this to me," responded Imai Hisahide.

"Hikohachiro," Yoshishige shook his head and said, "From today on, you are not just a businessman. I have decided to appoint you as the deputy official of Obama and the ship magistrate of the main family. However, you are also aware of the situation of the main family. The annual salary is relatively low, 800 kan, please forgive me. But I promise you that when the northern country ship route is officially opened and generates income, your annual salary will be increased."

"Your Highness, you want me to be Obama's deputy official? Are you kidding?" Imai Hisahide looked at Yoshishige in disbelief. After a long while, he realized that he had lost his composure and quickly bowed down, saying, "I...oh no, I will do my best to be loyal to my lord from now on, and I will go through fire and water for the Takeda family without hesitation!"

"I will also hand over our family's merchant ships to you for management and command. I hope you can live up to my expectations and create a place for our family in the maritime trade." Yoshishige bowed solemnly to Imai Hisahide.

"Ha! I will do my best!" Imai Hisahide was filled with gratitude for Yoshishige's trust in him. At this moment, he secretly made up his mind to fully display his ambitions in front of the world through the three places of Wakasa, so that those daimyo who looked down on his identity as a businessman before would regret it.

After this meeting, Yoshishige immediately began to arrange reforms within the territory.

First, he decided to send Tsuruga deputy official Hirai Toshimasa and his son Hirai Toshimichi to follow the merchant ships from Sakai Port to Shuangyu Port for an inspection. Second, he instructed Imai Hisahide to start working on the northern shipping route as soon as possible.

The first step is to dredge the waterway. Obama, Takahama, and Tsuruga in Wakasa Bay are all natural harbors, but many ships would rather bypass them than stop at Wakasa Bay because of dangerous waters such as reefs.

To this end, with the support of Yoshishige, Imai Hisahide decided to hire Ataka Fuyuki as his assistant to participate in the dredging of the waterway at a large salary.

Ataka Fuyuki, commonly known as Kanjiro, was 1531 years old at the time. He was from the famous Kumano Navy Ataka clan. According to seniority, he was the brother of Miyoshi Toshinaga's younger brother and Ataka Fuyuyasu, the adopted son of Ataka Sanetoshi. In , when Miyoshi Motonaga supported Hosokawa Harumoto to attack Hosokawa Takakuni, he supported the latter and fled to Sakai Port to make a living as a shipbuilder after Takakuni was defeated.

This man had extensive experience in naval command, was familiar with hydrology, and knew how to build Atakabune, but because he hated Hosokawa Harumoto and the Miyoshi clan, he lived in seclusion in Sakai Port for many years.

However, when Imai Hisahide came to visit, he heard that he was recruiting for the Wakasa Takeda clan, so he agreed without much consideration. The reason was that the Wakasa Takeda clan also supported Hosokawa Takakuni in the past. The two families were allies who had suffered defeat together, so they naturally had some sympathy for each other.

Under the guidance and participation of Ataka Fuyuki, Imai Hisahide carefully drew maps of the coastal waters of Wakasa, Tango, and Tsuruga, built lighthouses, and equipped pilot boats to ensure that ships could pass smoothly through dangerous waters.

The second step is to fight against pirates. Another important reason why ships dare not not stop at Wakasa and Tango is that Tango pirates are rampant. During the time of Takeda Motonobu and Takeda Motomitsu, Tango was at the mercy of the enemy and they could do nothing about the pirates. Now that Tango and Wakasa are integrated, the plan to fight against pirates is on the agenda.

On September 19, Yoshishige dispatched Muto Mitsuyuki and Ataka Fuyuki, with 1,500 troops and 200 warships, to attack the Tango Peninsula, the largest base of Tango pirates, by land and sea. After nearly half a month of fierce fighting and clearing, the pirates on the Tango Peninsula were basically eliminated. Seeing this, the remaining scattered pirates either fled to Tajima and Inaba, or accepted the Takeda family's recruitment and became part of the Takeda navy. By early November, the pirates in the three places of Wakasa were basically eliminated.

The third step is to spread the word. In order to make the ships loading and unloading in Wakasa Bay safe, reliable and convenient, it is necessary to increase the popularity of the place as much as possible, change the inherent impression of local daimyo, merchants and fleets on the three places of Wakasa, and make them change from trying to dock at the beginning to being willing and happy to dock there.

To achieve this, he had to rely on Takeno Joo's strong network of contacts. He relied on his prestige in Sakai Port and the "Kaigoshu" (a self-governing organization of merchants in Sakai Port) to promote the port advantages and tax benefits of the three Wakasa ports. Merchants traveling from south to north recognized Takeno Joo's credibility and began to try to dock. Over time, the number of ships docking increased significantly.

In addition, Yoshishige also sent envoys to visit the daimyo lords along the northern shipping route, and exchanged their support by offering gifts and bribes. With their guarantee or acquiescence, those merchants and fleets were able to dock with more confidence.

After more than a year of construction and publicity, by June of 1541, the number of ships docked at Obama and the volume of cargo loading and unloading were comparable to those of Tsuruga Port, and the construction of the northern ship route could be said to have begun to show results.

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(End of this chapter)