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Sakata has long been a thriving port city. In the Heian Era, it is said to have served as the port for the provincial government of Dewa that was located outside of Sakata City. Sakata Port is also said to have been a stopover point used by the Oshu-Fujiwara clan when it brought over culture and technologies from Kyoto by sea routes.
In 1189, thirty-six members of the Fujiwara clan settled in what is now Miyanoura after being defeated by soldiers from Minamoto no Yoritomo. These thirty-six members became central to the settlement, operating shipping businesses and building the foundation for present-day Sakata. Later, approximately 480 years ago, they moved across the banks of the Mogami River from Miyanoura to the current city location.
A western sea route opened by Zuiken Kawamura in 1672 further spurred development in Sakata, which greatly prospered as a Japan Sea base in Tohoku for the transport of goods along a sea route between Sakata and Osaka. Boats traveled the Mogami River to bring goods such as rice, soybeans, grains, and safflower to Sakata. The goods were then transported by ship to Osaka, while salt, clothing, seafood, iron, pottery, and other goods were brought back to Yamagata from Osaka and Edo.
The Abumiya residence was the home of a typical shipping agent in Sakata in the Edo Period. It is an important building that brings the culture of that time to life and was designated as an historic site by the Japanese government in 1984.
Abumiya took a leading role in the group of thirty-six that founded the city, and the family continued for many generations to participate in the local political scene. Throughout the Edo period, Abumiya was a wealthy and prosperous merchant.
Abumiya gained fame throughout Japan as a wealthy merchant and shipping agent, and was even mentioned in the book Japan Eitaigura by Saikaku Ihara, a famous novelist and poet from the Edo period. The book says of Abumiya, “The enterprise began as a small inn, but prospered under Abumiya’s talent for business, becoming the biggest shipping agent in the north. There is no one in Japan who does not know his name.”
At the time, shipping agents would offer lodging in their own homes to the captains and owners of goods when ships arrived at port, and business would be conducted on the premises. When agreements were reached, the shipping agent received a percentage as commission. Shipping agents would also store goods, getting paid fees not only for brokering business deals, but for storing merchandise as well. In those days, they served both as innkeepers and a trading company.
(Koichi Ito et al., VIPS)
The photos on this page are courtesy of Courtesy of the Shonai Visitors Association, Sakata City, Sakata Machizukuri Kaihatsu, and VIPS.
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