Mihama Town spans the area from Kugushi Lake, one of the five lakes of Mikata in the Wakasa Bay Quasi-National Park, to the eastern Tsuruga Peninsula. The Hayase settlement, which surrounds the Hayase River connecting Lake Kugushi and Wakasa Bay, produced many prominent Kitamae-bune shipowners.
Hiyoshi Shrine in Hayase preserves models of Kitamae-bune ships and ema (votive tablets) depicting ships. The festival float used in its rituals was constructed with the involvement of Kitamae-bune shipowners, and to this day, children’s kabuki performances are staged atop the float. The stone lanterns of both Hiyoshi Shrine and Ebisu Shrine served as navigational markers for ships approaching from the sea.
ports of call
Cultural Properties of Mihama Town
①Kitamae-bune Ship Flag
A ship's flag passed down through the generations of a shipowner in Sakajiri village.
55 cm x 313 cm
②Konpira Shrine flag
The banner flags of the Konpira Shrine, which is enshrined on the grounds of the shipowner's house in Sakajiri village. The banners bear the same ship name as in ①.
③Funa-ema
This is a depiction commissioned by a shipowner from Kugushi village in Meiji 39 (1906) and painted by the artist Enmato of Osaka. It illustrates three ships that the shipowner had successively owned over the generations, depicted side by side.
④Ship chest
This item is owned by a shipowner from Kugushi village. The owner is the same as in ③.
⑤Compass
This item is owned by a shipowner from Kugushi village. The owner is the same as in ③ and ④. It bears the inscription "Kadono Risichi Fujiwara Shigemichi live in Tsuruga District, Mishima" and is said to have been acquired from a ship captain in Tsuruga.
⑥Documents related to Kitamae-bune
Owned by a shipowner from Kugushi village. The owner is the same as in ③ to ⑤. The collection includes a seafarer's registry (dating from 1903, Meiji 36), a ship operator's license (from 1898, Meiji 31), and permits issued by the Moji Customs Office, among other documents.
⑦Ocean Depth Map
These items were owned by a Kitamae-bune shipowner from Kugushi village. They were created by Meiji-era copperplate printmakers in Osaka, such as "Kyosendo" and "Wakabayashi Shunsuido." The owner is the same as in ③ to ⑥.
⑧Saki Shrine Burge
A ceremonial ship dedicated to Saki Shrine in Kugushi village. It was commissioned by the same shipowner as in ③ to ⑥ during the shrine's reconstruction and was modeled after his own ship, the Uwase-maru.
⑨Ship name tag
This item is owned by a shipowner from Hayase village. Records indicate that ships from this household made port calls ranging from Matsumae to Tonoura in Shimane.
⑩Maritime Safety Wooden Tag
Owned by a shipowner from Hayase village. The owner is the same as in ⑤. This item originates from Ryutakusan Zenpoji Temple in Yamagata.
⑪The townscape of Hayase Shipowners' Village
Hayase village faces Wakasa Bay and retains the layout of an early modern port town. The area features shipowners' residences, temples built in the late Edo period, and sake breweries, all showcasing historic architecture.
⑫Kitamae-bune Collection Materials in Hiroko Watanabe Fabric Museum
Historical materials passed down by the descendants of Kitamae-bune shipowners include old documents, ship chests, and compasses.
⑬Model Ships Dedicated to Hiyoshi Shrine
Hiyoshi Shrine is located in Hayase village, a settlement that flourished as a port of call and a shipowners' community. It was revered by shipowners, and within its precincts, a model ship resembling a Kitamae-bune is enshrined.
⑭Hiyoshi Shrine floats and portable shrines
The festival float and the portable shrine are used in two major events of Hayase village’s Hiyoshi Shrine: the Children’s Kabuki (a town-designated cultural property) and the Minazuki Festival. Records from the time of the float’s construction, as well as the sacred mirror enshrined in the mikoshi, bear the names of shipowners and coastal shipping merchants as donors.
⑮Hayase village All-night Lights
The Stone All-night Lights enshrined on a hillside within the Hayase district was erected in the 19th century and served as a landmark for ships at sea.
⑯Hayase village Kitamae-bune Ship Related Documents
A collection of over 180 documents from the Hayase district, including ship inspection records, agreements among funa-aratame (ship's Inspector), sailors, market prices in regions such as Dewa, and shipwreck reports.
⑰Nyukonpira Shrine Ema Group
The region's maritime traders in the Wakasa area revered this site, where funa-ema and other types of ema, including those donated to Mihama Town, have been dedicated.
