Database: Obama

Obama is a small port on the Sea of Japan, nestled at the bottom of the Bay of Wakasa in the (current) department of Fukui. It is the closest port to Kyoto on the Sea of Japan. The city was prosperous at the end of the 16th century and probably grew to several thousand inhabitants. Goods from Hokuriku in the east, and from the coasts of San'in to the west, flowed into the port before being transported to Kyoto by land. As a result, fish and salt were transported to the capital. Additionally, goods from China and Korea and other ports of the archipelago made their way to Kyoto through Obama. Notably, some of these goods were delivered to Kyoto's imperial court. The abundance of fish and seafood transported on the road linking Obama to Kyoto earned it the name, the 'Mackerel Highway.'

The city was, therefore, a redistribution warehouse. Nevertheless, it also had a small paper and lacquer industry. Obama's prosperity prompted some people to call it little Kyoto or even Nara-by-the-sea (Umi no aru Nara). After the Battle of Sekigahara, the region was granted as a fief by Tokugawa Ieyasu to the daimyō Kyōgoku Takatsugu who built a castle in Wakasa.