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Tosa was perhaps one of the most active domains in shipping activities, with a considerable proportion of the ships at Osaka in most periods being Tosa boats. Tosa boatmen were frequently obligated to transport goods to Osaka for the samurai, or to undertake other shipping or transportation tasks, to the extent that many complained it seriously cut into the time they could devote to their own livelihoods. In the early half of the Edo period, lumber and firewood were the chief export; however, as deforestation set in towards the mid-18th century, the domain's merchants shifted to smaller boats, and to shipping increasing amounts of eggs, paper, sugar, and tea.<ref name=merc47/>

Tosa was perhaps one of the most active domains in shipping activities, with a considerable proportion of the ships at Osaka in most periods being Tosa boats. Tosa boatmen were frequently obligated to transport goods to Osaka for the samurai, or to undertake other shipping or transportation tasks, to the extent that many complained it seriously cut into the time they could devote to their own livelihoods. In the early half of the Edo period, lumber and firewood were the chief export; however, as deforestation set in towards the mid-18th century, the domain's merchants shifted to smaller boats, and to shipping increasing amounts of eggs, paper, sugar, and tea.<ref name=merc47/>

Tosa also played a particularly prominent role in the lumber market in Osaka, especially in the 17th century. Early in the century, a canal dug at Osaka to help facilitate the on- and off-loading of lumber was dug by the Yamauchi, and in return Tosa lumber merchants operating in Osaka were given a number of special privileges; they operated their own wholesaler association, and were exempt from most of the fees paid by other lumber guild merchants. While much of the lumber was shipped out of Tosa along rivers that flowed south towards the Pacific, some major sources of lumber were shipped along rivers which passed north to the [[Inland Sea]], through [[Tokushima han]], making the journey much shorter for the shippers, but also requiring them to pay 20% in fees to Tokushima.<ref name=merc47/>

Tosa also played a particularly prominent role in the lumber market in Osaka, especially in the 17th century. Early in the century, a canal dug at Osaka to help facilitate the on- and off-loading of lumber was dug by the Yamauchi, and in return Tosa lumber merchants operating in Osaka were given a number of special privileges; they operated their own wholesaler association, and were exempt from most of the fees paid by other lumber guild merchants. While much of the lumber was shipped out of Tosa along rivers that flowed south towards the Pacific, some major sources of lumber were shipped along rivers which passed north to the [[Inland Sea]], through [[Tokushima han]], making the journey much shorter for the shippers, but also requiring them to pay 20% in fees to Tokushima.<ref name=merc47/> As early as the 1610s, feudal obligations to the shogunate, in the forms of corvée labor for public works projects, and ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'', drove the domain into deep debt. The problem was so severe that domain officials had difficulty finding Osaka or Edo merchants who were willing to lend to them, and by [[1620]], ''daimyô'' [[Yamauchi Tadayoshi]] was warned he was in danger of losing his domain. Through the imposition of a new corvée for his own peasants, and other economic reorganizational efforts, Tadayoshi mobilized the entire domain to dramatically expand the output of lumber, repaying the domain's debts almost overnight, and in fact generating a budget surplus by [[1627]]. This might be said to mark the start of a mercantilistic sense of the domain economy as a unified engine of production for the financial benefit of the entire domain. After this incident, Tadayoshi secured an agreement with the shogunate allowing Tosa to contribute lumber, instead of labor, from then on to shogunal construction projects. Tosa would remain heavily reliant on its lumber industry for at least the rest of the first half of the Edo period, until the supply of lumber began to decline.<ref>Roberts, ''Mercantilism'', 52-55.</ref>

A particular type of [[Japanese long-tailed fowl]] called the ''onagadori'' was specially bred in Tosa, and its feathers were often used to decorate spears used in the lord's ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' processions, adding to the distinctiveness of Tosa's processions.

A particular type of [[Japanese long-tailed fowl]] called the ''onagadori'' was specially bred in Tosa, and its feathers were often used to decorate spears used in the lord's ''sankin kôtai'' processions, adding to the distinctiveness of Tosa's processions.

According to one account, Tosa was during the [[Edo period]] one of the strictest domains in terms of allowing individuals in and out of its borders, with only Satsuma, [[Awa han|Awa]], and [[Hizen han]] being identified as more tightly "closed."<ref>Munemasa Isoo 宗政五十緒, “Tachibana Nankei ‘Saiyūki’ to Edo kōki no kikō bungaku” 橘南谿『西遊記』と江戸後期の紀行文学, in ''Shin-Nihon koten bungaku taikei'' 新日本古典文学大系, vol. 98, (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1991), 442.</ref>

According to one account, Tosa was during the [[Edo period]] one of the strictest domains in terms of allowing individuals in and out of its borders, with only Satsuma, [[Awa han|Awa]], and [[Hizen han]] being identified as more tightly "closed."<ref>Munemasa Isoo 宗政五十緒, “Tachibana Nankei ‘Saiyūki’ to Edo kōki no kikō bungaku” 橘南谿『西遊記』と江戸後期の紀行文学, in ''Shin-Nihon koten bungaku taikei'' 新日本古典文学大系, vol. 98, (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1991), 442.</ref>