Imizu

Imizu's lowland waterways converged at Hōjōzu, a port and political centre in Etchū. In 1493 the displaced shogun Ashikaga Yoshiki, later known as Yoshitane, stayed there under the protection of the Jinbō family. Hōjōzu Castle, the residence of the Jinbō deputy governors of Imizu and Nei districts, consequently became the setting for what is sometimes called the Etchū shogunate.

Later town records preserve a different aspect of local authority. The Matsuya documents include papers on land reclamation around Hōjōzu lagoon and a dispute over festival floats in 1775. In a petition, townspeople described fishing as their livelihood and asked permission to draw the floats as they had in earlier years. Religious observance, town government and the work of people living beside the water thus met in the management of an annual festival.