Inubo Cape

Cape Inubō marked the Pacific shore of the Chōshi country, where maritime traffic met the Tone River's inland waterways. During the seventeenth century Chōshi became a transfer point for goods arriving from northeastern domains: cargoes were moved from sea-going vessels into river boats bound for Edo.

Fishing reshaped the coast close to the cape. Fishermen from Kii came in pursuit of sardines, and in 1658 Sakiyama Jirōemon settled at Tokawa, developing its harbour and laying out streets in a grid. More people followed from Kii, while neighbouring fishing settlements prospered through sardines, bonito and dried-fish fertilizer. By the later Edo period, visitors also came to admire the coast's unusual rocks and reefs on sightseeing excursions added to temple and shrine pilgrimages. The cape's surroundings thus connected commercial fishing, river transport and the growing travel culture of the shogunal capital.