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Nakaminato At Nakaminato, pictured above in 1842, seagoing boats unloaded Edo-bound cargo that continued to the shogun's capital on inland waterways. Ouchi-ke "Go-yodome," a family's collection of documents on shipwrecks, describes the loss of 28 metric tons of rice from a boat that drifted into rocks at Isohama on January 28, 1700. In 2004 a local historian, Sate Tsugio, compared two writings of the boat captain's name. Ouchi Yoshikuni (left) represented the family. THE PICTURE MAP of Nakaminato, above, was made by Watari Kizaemon in Tenpo 13 (1842) and published in Ansei 4 (1857). Map courtesy of the city office of Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture. OUCHI-KE "GO-YODOME," a single volume of 1,390 pages, contains writing from many hands. One hand, probably no earlier than 1735, compiled all the material on wrecks between 1700 and 1735, according to SaW Tsugio, an authority on Mito-han documents. The volume's entire contents, along with reports on 14 other Edo-period shipwrecks, have been printed by Nakaminato Shishi Hensan I'inkai (1993). In this modern volume the 1700 wreck is number 55, pages 81-83. THE MAPS OPPOSITE are derived from modern sources. The middle map is from Kawana (1984, p. 6, 20) and Kaizuka and others (2000, p. 21). The lowest map is from 1:25,000-scale maps by Kokudo Chiri' in ("Hitachinaka" 1999; "Isohama" 200 I) except for the former entrance to Naka River, which is from a 1:200,000-scale map by Rikuchi Sokuryobu, 1885 (Meiji 18). THE RICE BOAT went aground at "Hakoiso" (p. 69, column 6). The place name denotes the shore south of the Naka River mouth on a map from 1845 (Tempo 15). The rocks in the photo at right include a group called "Hakoiso" on a fishers' sketch map from Oarai in 2004. 66 THE ORPHAN TSUNAMI OF 1700 Main points High waves on the morning of January 28, 1700, prevented a boat from entering the river-mouth port of Nakaminato. A storm that evening drove the boat to a rocky shore near Isohama village (map, lower right). Lost were all the boat's cargo-28 metric tons of rice-and two of the crew (p. 68-69, 71). Officials of Mito-han certified the losses in response to a petition (p. 70). The certificate and petition were copied into a family's collection of documents about Edo-period wrecks near Nakaminato (opposite). The morning high waves probably represent ordinary ocean swells that were opposed at the river mouth by the ebb currents of a long-lasting tsunami (p. 72-75). Setting The river mouth at Nakaminato afforded access to inland waterways that conveyed cargo to metropolitan Edo (p. 31, 61). The waterways followed valleys that the sea covered 6,000 years ago. A prehistoric people, the Jomon, fringed this former sea with piles of clam shells (dots, right). To reach Nakaminato, Edo-period sailors threaded a rocky constriction north of a sand spit (lower map at right, picture map at left). Additional rocks awaited boats that drifted south toward Isohama, a name that means "rocky beach" (photo below). Nakaminato served as the main port in Mito-han. The rice boat came from another domain, Nakamura-han (upper map). The lost rice belonged to the Nakamura daimyo. Villagers from Isohama towed the wreck for salvage but failed to recover any of the rice. Documents The boat captain, two local villagers, and two other men petitioned local officials to certify the accident. The petition and the resulting certificate make up "Ura shamon no koto" (ura, port; shaman, certificate; p. 70-71). A headnote states that 470 bails of rice were lost. Next, a narrative explains the loss in the words of headmen from Isohama village. The certificate concludes with a signed statement by representatives of the senior ministers of Mito-han. The earliest extant copy appears in a family volume, Ouchi-ke "Go-yadome" (go-yo, official business; tome, records). The volume (opposite) contains documents on 131 shipwrecks near Nakaminato between 1670 and 1832. Rocks break fair-weather surf near former Isohama. CARGO ROUTES 8 Miyako Nakamura-han .....:.:.~~ Likely course Mito-han··· .c :} of rice boat ] 200 km o N t o o Site of recorded onshore inundation by 1700 tsunami Mito Approximate passage ~ ·0 . o Upland to Edo by way of lakes, canals, and rivers ..' r: Edo ~ .. ~. .,\ \ '.. ". Nakaminato (now Hitachinaka) .' Tide gauge in 1960 (record, p. 73) Isohama (now 6arai)·····0 • Shell mound o Modern...

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