Uwanibune
- Other Names: 小荷船 (ko nibune), 瀬取船 (setori bune), 茶船 (chabune)
- Japanese: 上荷船 (uwanibune)
Uwanibune, or lighters, were small boats used in large ports, especially Osaka, to help load and unload goods from larger ships.
While the larger ship anchored out in the offing, these small boats would be used to shuttle cargo to and from the port town. These same boats were sometimes used for river transport, especially along the Yodo River between Osaka and Fushimi, in which case they were typically called chabune. They ranged in size from 10 koku to 100 koku, in terms of the amount of cargo they could hold.
