Official
"Descent things" and "Descent things" ~ Rei Itsukushima and Shinkawa
● Speaking of "down goods" in Edo, it was the name of goods transported from "upper" by Hishigaki and barrel boats and landed in Edo Minato. Even daily necessities such as "downhill rice", "downhill water oil" and "downhill salt" came from "upside down".
"Descent goods" means high-quality goods, so to speak, modern marine products = imported brand goods.
On the other hand, "things that do not fall" refers to local products that cannot be said to be famous production areas, such as "Edo area" and "locally brewed sake".
● Shinkawa is the name of the canal that divided Rei Itsukushima into two. Mizuken Kawamura is famous for the excavation. On both banks of this canal, there were "downhill sake" cargo dealers lined up. And even now, the remnants can be seen.
▲ Monument to the site of Shinkawa (Shinkawa Park)
▲ Front (left) and back side of the monument
● Logistics routes by private shipping organizations such as the Hishigaki Kaisen and the Tarukaisen played a central role as a means of transporting goods connecting the upper part of the Edo period and Edo. It is said that the organization was operated by the trade union of cargo wholesalers and cargo wholesalers for each product and its federation.
In addition, the union itself and the shogunate monitored to ensure transportation and price maintenance were smuggling by transporters, such as "looking out" and "securing".
In addition, the supervisor was the "barge work" union between the boat and the riverbank and the landing area.
▲ Edo Minato at the mouth of the Okawa River (from "Genroku era Edo map")
▲ Shinkawa Sake wholesaler (from "Edo Famous Zoukai")
● The role of the town of Rei Itsukushima was that it was a "limited town where you can negotiate directly (business) with a boat." Specifically, a “Minafune Tsukifune Nakama” was formed to attach boats to various boats and sell vegetables and booths, and vegetables and booth items were sold to the Sengoku ship (large Japanese ship) who came to Edo Minato. We also supplied water required for the release of the return (even in the case of the current huge tanker, we will load ballast on the outbound voyage to buy oil). It is physically impossible to voyage a vessel that does not carry any cargo in the past and now.
● Until Rei Itsukushima became so stable that the water supply could be used, water from Kanda Josui was supplied to ships in various countries gathering in Edo Minato. And when the supply to the towns of Rei Itsukushima was switched from Kanda Josui to Tamagawajosui, the increasing number of ships in other countries came to Edo Minato with peace of mind.