The Water Transportation in the Kanto Plain and the "Piracy" there (2)

     Katori Sea has been named as such by today’s historians.  It used to be called “Uchi-umi” (literally: Inland Sea), “Nagare-umi” (Flowing Sea), or “Nasaka-umi” (Reverse-waving Sea).  Kinu River ran into the sea along with other smaller rivers such as Kobai and Hitachi Rivers.

     Katori Sea was largest at the beginning of Jomon Period.  More than 80 dugout canoes have been excavated in Kaiso area alone, which bordered south on Katori County.  80 corresponds to about 40% of all canoes excavated in Japan.  Today’s inland area where Katori Sea used to be has more than 100 place names which have either “fune” or “funa” (boat), or “tsu” (port).

     Katori Shrine ruled 24 ports in Shimousa Province, and 53 ports in Hitachi Province.  Scatters of medieval documents suggest that the shrine governed sea people there as fishermen and as sailors, and even put up some river checkpoints along the rivers running in the Kanto Plain, and even sea checkpoints at least at today’s Katsushika in Tokyo Prefecture and Gyotoku in Chiba Prefecture both along the Edo Bay.  Those checkpoints collected tolls and taxes, which, in Western Japan, pirates along the Seto Inland Sea did.  That is, Katori Shrine used to be doing a kind of semi-governmental piracy.