The areas of Nishizu are connected by a network of roads tied together like a fishing net. Some areas are named after fisherman group leaders, including street names like Kamocho Street, which is named after Kamon who moved to the area when Obama Castle was built. By the way, gaining fishing rights was very competitive back then due to limited resources. Those who could fished within their own territory, and those who couldn’t had to go out to sea.

Fishing and Kitamae-bune both involved boats, but that's the only thing they had in common. They were two worlds apart.

That is, except for the cases of fishermen who joined the Kitamae-bune industry, beginning with none other than the founder of Furukawaya. He and his brother went out to catch yellowtail one day, but unfortunately the ship went under and he lost his brother, barely making it back to Nishizu himself. With nothing but the clothes on his back, he decided to make a comeback by joining a Kitamae-bune company in Obama and had a fresh start as a crew member with his boat handling skills. From there, he worked his way up to become a crew leader, and eventually established Furukawaya on his own.

There must have been many fishermen in Nishizu who dreamed of making it big like Furukawaya, of rising from a lowly fisherman to a Kitamae-bune boatman and finally becoming a business owner.