Lesson plan
Kitamaebune
The was a shipping route (and also the ships involved) in Japan from the Edo period to the Meiji era. The route went from Osaka through the Seto Inland Sea and the Kanmon Straits to ports in Hokuriku on the Sea of Japan and later to Hokkaidō. Kaga Domain, which sold about 70,000 koku of rice every year in Osaka, succeeded in sending 100 koku by boat through this route in 1639. The Tokugawa shogunate also received rice from Dewa Province through merchant Kawamura Zuiken in 1672, but it is thought to be a response from these ships. Japanese ships at the time normally could make only one trip per year, but with the arrival of Western schooners in the Meiji era, ships were able to make up to four trips annually. The Meiji Restoration also brought the end of the feudal system and the introduction of the telegraph, removing gaps between regional markets and making it difficult for the shipping routes to make large profits. The national construction of railroads further led to the end of the kitamaebune. Currently, the Shin Nihonkai Ferry is sometimes called the modern kitamaebune, with stops along the old route at Maizuru, Niigata, Akita, Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, and Otaru.
Article summary
The was a shipping route (and also the ships involved) in Japan from the Edo period to the Meiji era. The route went from Osaka through the Seto Inland Sea and the Kanmon Straits to ports in Hokuriku on the Sea of Japan and later to Hokkaidō. Kaga Domain, which sold about 70,000 koku of rice every year in Osaka, succeeded in sending 100 koku by boat through this route in 1639. The Tokugawa shogunate also received rice from Dewa Province through merchant Kawamura Zuiken in 1672, but it is thought to be a response from these ships. Japanese ships at the time normally could make only one trip per year, but with the arrival of Western schooners in the Meiji era, ships were able to make up to four trips annually. The Meiji Restoration also brought the end of the feudal system and the introduction of the telegraph, removing gaps between regional markets and making it difficult for the shipping routes to make large profits. The national construction of railroads further led to the end of the kitamaebune. Currently, the Shin Nihonkai Ferry is sometimes called the modern kitamaebune, with stops along the old route at Maizuru, Niigata, Akita, Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, and Otaru.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.