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During the [[Edo period]], Niigata was the chief economic center of [[Nagaoka han]], [[Echigo province]], and a key port along the ''[[kitamaebune]]'' or ''nishi mawari kôro'' ("western sea circuit") trade route connecting [[Hokkaido|Hokkaidô]] and the Sea of Japan coast to the [[Inland Sea]] and [[Osaka]]. Primarily a merchant city, Niigata lacked a castle, and a magistrates' office was the chief site of samurai activity. The city saw much cultural activity, including theater, [[sumo]], and festivals, and emerged as a major site, famous throughout the realm, of [[prostitution]].
During the [[Edo period]], Niigata was the chief economic center of [[Nagaoka han]], [[Echigo province]], and a key port along the ''[[kitamaebune]]'' or ''nishi mawari kôro'' ("western sea circuit") trade route connecting [[Hokkaido|Hokkaidô]] and the Sea of Japan coast to the [[Inland Sea]] and [[Osaka]]. Primarily a merchant city, Niigata lacked a castle, and a magistrates' office was the chief site of samurai activity. The city saw much cultural activity, including theater, [[sumo]], and festivals, and emerged as a major site, famous throughout the realm, of [[prostitution]].
The city was home to several competing pleasure districts, including the upper-class Nakamichi ''[[yujo|yûjo]]'' district, and the somewhat lesser Teramachi district, where the girls were called ''ukimi''. Nakamachi attempted to petition in 1730 for a monopoly on prostitution in the city, such as was officially held by the [[Yoshiwara]] in [[Edo]], and argued that the ''ukimi'' dressed and played [[shamisen]] like ''yûjo'', thus diluting their product; the petition was denied, however, as city officials maintained their position of neither banning prostitution nor officially permitting (let alone encouraging) it. ''[[Shinbo jowa|Shinbo jôwa]]'', a volume written by one of the town magistrates in or around the 1790s, presents the position that while prostitution is recognized as a societal evil, and while local officials are opposed to it presenting any distraction or problem for local boys/men, it cannot be banned for fear that merchant sailors will bypass Niigata for other more "pleasurable" ports, thus doing great harm to the economic prosperity of the city, and of the domain.
As early as the late 17th century, Niigata played a key role in the transportation of rice paid in taxes from [[Hokuriku]] and [[Tohoku|Tôhoku]] domains to the shogunate storehouses at Osaka. The business of the rice trade fluctuated, and at one time in the 18th century, the port became silted up and too shallow for the large tax-rice ships. However, by the beginning of the 19th century, as many as 2,000 vessels might visit Niigata in a year, carrying not only tax rice, but a wide variety of other goods, including marine products from [[Ezo]], sugar, Chinese medicine, and [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryukyuan]] red ink. For a number of years in the 1820s to early 1840s, ships sponsored by [[Satsuma han]] (including, chiefly, ones run by the [[Hamazaki family]]) brought [[sugar]], sweet potatoes, and perhaps various Chinese goods, to Niigata to trade for cinnabar and medicinal goods. Merchants of the city paid taxes to the town office (''machi kaisho''), which was run by elders known as ''kendan'' and ''chôrô'', who then conveyed the tax payments to the domainal authorities in [[Nagaoka castle|Nagaoka]]. As in many [[han|domains]], towards the end of the Edo period, the domain authorities fell into severe debt; in Nagaoka, efforts to alleviate these financial difficulties included forcing merchants to give loans to the authorities, sometimes amounting to as much as tens of thousands of ''[[currency|ryô]]'' at a time.
As early as the late 17th century, Niigata played a key role in the transportation of rice paid in taxes from [[Hokuriku]] and [[Tohoku|Tôhoku]] domains to the shogunate storehouses at Osaka. The business of the rice trade fluctuated, and at one time in the 18th century, the port became silted up and too shallow for the large tax-rice ships. However, by the beginning of the 19th century, as many as 2,000 vessels might visit Niigata in a year, carrying not only tax rice, but a wide variety of other goods, including marine products from [[Ezo]], sugar, Chinese medicine, and [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryukyuan]] red ink. For a number of years in the 1820s to early 1840s, ships sponsored by [[Satsuma han]] (including, chiefly, ones run by the [[Hamazaki family]]) brought [[sugar]], sweet potatoes, and perhaps various Chinese goods, to Niigata to trade for cinnabar and medicinal goods. Merchants of the city paid taxes to the town office (''machi kaisho''), which was run by elders known as ''kendan'' and ''chôrô'', who then conveyed the tax payments to the domainal authorities in [[Nagaoka castle|Nagaoka]]. As in many [[han|domains]], towards the end of the Edo period, the domain authorities fell into severe debt; in Nagaoka, efforts to alleviate these financial difficulties included forcing merchants to give loans to the authorities, sometimes amounting to as much as tens of thousands of ''[[currency|ryô]]'' at a time.