Revival of the Hiratabune Boat (as a transportation medium)

Kitakamigawa-River’s main current runs through Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures.

The stream extends 249km, and its basin, the largest in the Tohoku region, covers a surface of 10,150㎢.

This unique river that stretches from north to south in Japan, has been a constant concern for the local people on account of its frequent inundations.

900 years ago, a flourishing river commerce started, and goods were transported in boats called Hiratabune.

The shipping system was implemented by the feudal Lords of Iwate, Lord Fujiwara, and in the 1600 Lord Date Masamune of the Sendai clan and other rulers that participated in the development of new rice paddies, and land reclamation.

Later, Kitamaebune, sea-shipping boats, were added to river transportation, and from the 1700s to the beginning of the 1900s the river was used as one of the major transportation routes.

In recent years, thanks to the cooperation between the various administrative districts, the Hiratabune boats that once were part of the Kitakamigawa history, have now been restored, and the old culture of the valley has been revitalized.