Once upon a time, there was a port town at the mercy of the tides and winds. What kind of place could it have been?

Located nearly at the center of the Seto Inland Sea, people used to anchor their ships at this port during the Edo Period, heading off to Mitarai while they waited for favorable winds. Sometimes they berthed for a day, other times they’d be waiting for many days on end. United in their shared predicament, people from all walks of life gathered in this port town; beyond merchants and sailors, daimyo lords on official visits, Tokugawa Shogunate officials, delegations from the Ryūkyū Islands, and Dutch foreigners all walked these streets.

Tracing history back further to ancient times, the Seto Inland Sea was always a seaway. Most of the boats that first sailed it were small, rowed by hand, and basically stuck to following the coastlines. Mitarai was not on the sea route back then, and had no residential housing or even a port.

Over time, navigation technology developed, and the Edo Period saw an increase in ships equipped with large masts and sails. More ships eschewed following the shorelines in favor of sailing the open sea, linking each region via the shortest distance possible. At that time, this little place called Mitarai gained attention. Ships that relied on wind power were sometimes unable to make their vessels move where they needed. During those times there was nothing for it but to wait out the wind. But what if a storm blew in while they waited? Take a look at your map with that perspective in mind – Mitarai is right at the leeside of an island, which ensures protection against storms.

It wasn’t all just twiddling thumbs until the breeze blew in. Actually, the direction of the tides was even more important than the winds. This is due to the Seto Inland Sea’s intense currents, which change directions at different times. As a result, ships in those days needed to wait out the tides. Moreover, as a port frequented by large ships, they needed to guarantee a certain level of water depth. Mitarai was a place that miraculously held all the necessary conditions. Sailors took notice, and when they started calling at its port, people from nearby villages also came with water, food, and sundries to sell. As Mitarai grew, the Hiroshima fiefdom furnished it with an official harbor.

Mitarai was blessed with another windfall in the form of “Kitamae-bune,” merchant ships that mainly operated via the Japan Sea. They were the lifeblood of logistics in those days, and they started frequenting the Seto Inland Sea. Mitarai developed rapidly at that time as it became a key port of call. As it was originally on a narrow stretch of land, they repeatedly reclaimed land and rapidly expanded. With everything in place, Kitamae-bune ships came calling one after another. Water and foodstuff sellers built fortunes by buying potentially lucrative goods from these ships, then sold them once their value increased.

Teahouses also played a crucial role in the port town’s development. Many were built at this time, including the historic Wakaebisu-ya. It’s said that as many as 100 courtesans worked these houses at the peak of their popularity.

Many people came to Mitarai as a result, and through this intersection of nature, people and goods, the town developed its own culture. Noted celebrities who visited include cartographer Inō Tadataka, as well as Shōin Yoshida and Sakamoto Ryoma during the Bakumatsu Period, where Mitarai served as the secret stage for a clandestine plan to overthrow the Shogunate.

However, the end of the Edo Period brought with it increased competition for Mitarai. A shadow grew over the prospering port town. The industrial revolution of the Meiji Era brought about the end of the sailboat, and ushered in the age of the steamboat. As the tides and winds became more immaterial to ships, the amount of ships that passed by the port town increased, and Mitarai’s own windfall would cease to blow in time. The once-prosperous Edo Period townscape then slipped into a long hibernation, frozen in time as if in hypersleep.

Just what kinds of stories remain untold in Mitarai? We suggest you begin your journey at the Former Shibaya Residence. It is surrounded by a townscape straight out of the Edo Period featuring the famous “Unagi-no-nedoko” or “Eel bed” style longhouses. These long, narrow houses were numerous during the Edo Period due to tax laws concerning frontage widths. You might otherwise notice that their second storeys are short. This is because second floors were always used for storage and not as living spaces for merchants. The warrior, farmer, artisan and merchant classes adhered to a strict hierarchy in those days, and merchants must never be seen to be looking down on warriors – another reason why second floors were built to be squat.

Try to gather Mitarai’s remaining stories as you stroll through the world of the Edo Period.