Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 6.djvu/226

RV 198 with the great rice-producing district of Kiushiu existed from a tolerably early date, but the equally prolific provinces in the north-east and the north-west remained without any shipping service until the time of the third Shogun (1623—1650), when some of the leading Yedo merchants were ordered to supply the deficiency. Like everything else relating to commerce, the maritime carrying trade fell entirely into the hand of guilds; a plainly beneficial arrangement in one respect, namely, that each guild or union of guilds insured the goods carried by its ships as well as the ship itself, losses being paid on the mutual principle. This fact is interesting, since it has been confidently affirmed by foreign writers that the Japanese had no conception of insurance prior to the Meiji era, whereas in truth they practised it for two centuries before that time. All vessels engaged in the business of maritime transport were registered by a "shipping association," which has been aptly called the "Lloyd's of Japan," since every detail relating to a ship was entered in the association's books, and a wooden ticket bearing its stamp was given to each registered vessel. Strict laws governed matters relating to maritime disasters. In case of wreck, the people of the vicinity were entitled to a portion of the cargo and wreckage salved by them, and there were detailed regulations with regard to jettisoning cargo, which seems to have been fraudulently practised at times.