Japanese Ships

The oldest type of boat excavated in Japan is "maruki-bune" from the Jomon period (pre 9th century B.C.), which were made by hollowing out a single tree, and examples have been found throughout the country. In Japan, an island country surrounded by ocean on all four sides, it is believed that this type of boat was already used to cross the sea during the Jomon period. In the Yayoi period (around 9th century B.C. to 3rd century A.D.), mult-timber dugouts, which were made by combining two or more pieces of wood, and semi-structured ships, which were made by using a multi-timber dugout as a boat bottom and placing splashboards on the boat's edge, were also born. Boat-shaped haniwa (clay figures), which are believed to have been modeled after large semi-structured ships used for ocean voyages, have been excavated from the Kofun-period tombs (late 3rd to mid 6th century A.D.). During the Nara (710-784 A.D.) and Heian periods (794-1185 A.D.), Japanese envoy ships were dispatched to the Tang Dynasty China. The ships were approximately 30 meters long and 7 to 8 meters wide, with sails made of woven bamboo attached to two sail poles, and it is said that each ship could carry around 120 people. However, the safety of ships at that time was not so high, and the voyage to Tang was a risky endeavor.

In the Kamakura period (1185-1333 A.D.), water transportation became more brisk for the transportation of manorial land-taxes and tributes such as rice, etc. Looking at the ships depicted in picture scrolls of the period, we can see semi-structured ships and multi-timber dugouts were still used. In the "Picture Scroll of the Mongol Invasion," which depicts the Mongol invasion that occurred in the late 13th century, Japanese troops can be seen fighting on dugout-style semi-structured merchant ships with shields lined up along the gunwale. It is believed that there were still no full-scale combat vessels in this period. In the Muromachi period (1336-1573 A.D.), instead of dugouts, full-scale structured vessels built with wooden planks were used for the bottom of the ships. In addition, when the third shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu began tributary trading with Ming Dynasty China, Japanese envoys were dispatched to Ming Dynasty China. The envoy-ships carried not only envoys but also many trading goods, however records show that they were not built as special ships, but were converted from large merchant vessels. In the late Muromachi period, the so-called Warring States period (mid-15th to mid-16th century), warlords in various regions built large warships called "atake-bune" as the main warship for their naval forces. Atake-bune had a two or three story watchtower like a castle tower, which was built on a full-scale turret on the deck, with cannons in the front, and bow, arrow and gun holes on the sides. Some of the vessels were as large as 30-40 meters in length and had a displacement of 300 tons.

When the Edo Shogunate was established, Tokugawa Ieyasu granted a special license featuring a red seal to ships traveling overseas, and conducted red-seal trade with countries in Southeast Asia. Many of the red-seal ships were designed based on Chinese "junk" style sailing ships, with some European "galleon" technology incorporated, and it is said that more than 350 ships traveled between 1604 and 1635. The Tokugawa family banned ships of 500 koku (75 tons) or more in order to control the power of the feudal lords in Western Japan (merchant ships were permitted in 1638), while at the same time building large luxurious vessels such as atake-bune like the  "Atake-maru (Tenka-maru)" and goza-bune such as the"Tenchi-maru" to show the prestige of the shogunate family. Eventually, as the feudal system of the shogunate and domains was established, distribution increased, and cargo liners called "higaki-kaisen" and "taru-kaisen" were used to transport cargo between Edo (present Tokyo) and Osaka. These vessels were called "benzai-sen", which had good sailing performance and could be operated with a small crew. Various other types of ships were also developed during the Edo period, including "goza-bune", used by feudal lords for "sankin-kōtai" (rotating residency system), "takase-bune", used to transport goods on the Tone River, and "yakata-bune", used for boating on the Sumida River in Edo.

"Chipu" is the "Ainu" word for a boat, especially a dugout canoe, which were made by hollowing out the trunks of trees such as katsura, Japanese ash, Japanese oak, Sakhalin fir, and Japanese linden, and were used to move around in rivers and lakes, and to catch fish. There were also boats called "yara-chipu" made of tree bark, which were used to transport items including game caught during hunting. Furthermore, the Ainu fished and traded at sea in boats called "itaoma-chipu", which consisted of a dugout attached wooden boards bound with ropes to protect it from the waves. In Ainu culture, people prayed to the gods when cutting trees for the boats, and held a ceremony called "chipu-sanke" when the boats were used for the first time. When the boats became unusable, a ceremony called "ikuwate" was held to send them to the land of the gods.

As a tributary state to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.), Ryūkyū established diplomatic relations and actively conducted trade. During the Ming dynasty, Ryūkyū offered tribute 171 times and prospered as a transit point for trade between Ming and Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asian countries. These trades were conducted using Chinese junk ships. In particular, official trade with the Ming Dynasty involved the use of large "Shinkō" ships which were given to Ryūkyū by the Ming Dynasty, and 30 such ships were used between the short period of 1368 and 1424. In the early Edo period, Ryūkyū came under the control of the Satsuma domain, but Ryūkyū’s exchange with the Ming and Qing continued even after that.