Kitamaebune

Shipping route in Japan from the Edo to Meiji Period

The kitamaebune (北前船; "northern-bound ships") was a shipping route (and also the ships involved) in Japan from the Edo period to the Meiji era. The route went from Osaka through the Seto Inland Sea and the Kanmon Straits to ports in Hokuriku on the Sea of Japan and later to Hokkaidō. Kaga Domain, which sold about 70,000 koku of rice every year in Osaka, succeeded in sending 100 koku by boat through this route in 1639.

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