Takasebune, a small boat

We were surprised to know that the boats went back and forth in the river at that time.
Today the river is so shallow that even a raft cannot go well.
Here are reports on what Takasebune is and how it was used, based on the books from the historical resource center.

What is Takasebune? It was used as a ferryboat, which carried passenger to the other side of the river, and as a cargo boat. In the Heian period the noblemen used it for pleasure. Takasebune had a flat bottom and a raised bow (see picture above). When going up the river, Takasebune occasionally spread the sails.

What did Takasebune in the Ibo River carry? When going down, it carried mainly rice and soy beans as land tax.125 bales of rice could be loaded at one time. Soy sauce from Tatsuno, and firewood and charcoal from Yamasaki were among the carried item. When going up the river, it carried mostly salt from Ako along with miscellaneous and valuable goods form Kyoto and Osaka. Only the 75 bales of goods were loaded because the boat went against the stream. Why was salt from Ako the major item? Much salt was needed as ingredient of Somen, thin flour noodle, and soy sauce.

History of Takasebune---when it was established, how far it went up in the Ibo river, and why people stopped using it. 　 Takasebune was first built in the early stage of the Edo period, around 400 years ago. When used as a cargo ship, it went up 30 km to Yamasaki from Aboshi. It was used only 6 month in a year, from the autumnal to the spring equinox. In Ibogawa, ferry boats were placed at Shojo. There was no bridge over the river at that time, so ferry boasts were necessary.

Why did people stop using Takasebune? One reason was that the ground transportation such as railroad was developed and the bridges were built. The other reason was that the river lost much water. Since 100 years ago, Takasebune gradually disappeared. We can seethe strong ties between Takasebune and the Ibo River. After its establishment around 400 years ago, Takasebune had been used for 300 years. Somebody once described Takasebune as: "Takasebune looks like a man when going down quickly loaded. It looks like a woman when going up quietly with the spring wind. Its figure always gives me the pleasure. "Unfortunately, we cannot see the scenery any more. Even if we would make Takasebune and put in the river, it would not run even one kilometer. We human beings are responsible for it because we built dams, cut trees and took water from the river.