Murotsu
- Japanese: 室津 (Murotsu)
Murotsu was a major Inland Sea port located within the territory of Himeji han. It is today part of Tatsuno City, Hyôgo prefecture. During the Edo period, in addition to a volume of typical traffic, Murotsu also regularly provided lodgings for shogunate officials, daimyô on sankin kôtai journeys to or from Edo, and foreign envoys from Korea, the Dutch East India Company, or the Ryûkyû Kingdom.
Originally known as Harima Murô no tomari, the port was first established in the Nara period, as one of five harbors built at that time as the chief ports of the realm.[1]
Murotsu was home to a chaya (lit. "teahouse"), established and maintained by Himeji han, which served as a honjin, providing lodgings and reception for elite guests.
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), 52.