View source for Ushimado

*''Japanese'': 牛窓 ''(Ushimado)''

Ushimado was a major [[Inland Sea]] port town in [[Okayama han]], which regularly saw ''[[kitamaebune]]'' merchant ships, ''daimyô'' fleets on ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' journeys, and [[VOC|Dutch]], [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo|Ryukyuan]], and [[Korean embassies to Edo]], as well as more everyday traffic. Ushimado was also the chief departure point for pilgrims seeking to sail from Honshû to Shikoku to visit [[Konpira Shrine]]. Ushimado is today part of Setouchi City, [[Okayama prefecture]]. At its [[Edo period]] peak, the town was home to about 4000 people.<ref>Miyake Riichi 三宅理一, ''Edo no gaikô toshi'' 江戸の外交都市, Kashima shuppankai (1990), 85.</ref>

Okayama han maintained a ''chaya'' ("teahouse") in the town which served the function of a ''[[honjin]]'', providing lodgings for the [[Ikeda clan]] lord of Okayama, other ''daimyô'' on ''sankin kôtai'' journeys, shogunate officials, foreign envoys, and the like who passed through the town. Between 1624 and 1655, Korean missions were entertained and lodged at the Buddhist temple [[Honren-ji]], which dates to the 15th century, and today features a number of buildings which have been designated [[Important Cultural Properties]].<ref>''Chôsen tsûshinshi to Okayama'', 34.</ref> After 1655, these missions were housed in part at the ''chaya'', which was first established in [[1630]], and renovated in [[1669]]. Korean high officials (上官) and their followers (次官) were often housed at the private home of the village headman (''ôshôya''), Naraya Sukesaburô, a home which also served as the center of the village administration. The more than 160 middle-ranking officials (中官) in a Korean mission were housed at the home of Nasu Sanpei, a relative of Naraya by marriage, while a row of eight ''[[machiya]]'' homes were given over to providing lodgings for the 230 or so lower-ranking officials (下官) in the mission. The lord of [[Tsushima han]] who escorted these Korean missions typically stayed in the ''honjin'', along with a number of his retainers.<ref>Miyake, 77-84.</ref>

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==References==
*''Umimichi wo yuku: Edo jidai no Seto Naikai'' 海道をゆく－江戸時代の瀬戸内海－, Museum of Ehime History and Culture 愛媛県歴史文化博物館 (1999), 46.
*''Chôsen tsûshinshi to Okayama'', Okayama Prefectural Museum, 2007, 56.
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[[Category:Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]