I went to Hofu yesterday (4/18). I hadn't seen the Mohri Museum yet, so I went. It is a precious mansion designated as an important cultural property of the country. As a follow-up to that story, on the way back, I went to Mitajiri Port, where the Mouri clan's Ofunate-gumi was located. Ofunate-gumi was the department in charge of sea protection for the Mouri Domain (Choshu Domain), which is similar to the Japan Coast Guard today.
The entrance is called Ofunakura, and only the site remains today. It used to be open to the sea, but now landfill is progressing and it is a corner of a residential area. Huge factories are lined up along the coast. In the depths of the present-day Mitajiri Port, a few vestiges of those days still remain. The port with the fishermen's cooperative had an old stone wall left. Since it was a prohibited area except for those involved in the fishing industry, I took pictures from outside.
The sea checkpoints of the Mouri clan were from west to Akamagane (Shimonoseki) → Nakanoseki (Mitajiri) → Kamadoseki (Kaminoseki) → Okikamuroseki to the east was the eastern gateway to the domain. Okikamuro Island also had Ofunagura, where small high speed boats were placed.
The Murakami family of Suo-Oshima served as the head of the Mōri Domain's Ofunate-gumi. Takeyoshi Murakami, the general of the Murakami Kaizoku, settled in Wada, and his eldest son Motoyoshi died in the attack on Matsumae in Iyo during the Battle of Sekigahara, so his second son Kagechika took over the family. Kagechika raised the young Mototake, who was the son of Motoyoshi, and became the leader of the Ofunate-gumi.
At that time, Okikamuro Island also had Ofunakura as the eastern gateway to the domain. The Tomozawa family, who descended from the Ishizaki family, acted as governors of the Gobansho and Funabansho. It is said that the Tomozawa family also had a residence in Mitajiri. Where it was, it may be left in the materials of the clan.
It is a historic site that has a very close relationship with Okikamuro Island.
Shoji Matsumoto
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