PART I — SETTING

The Country in Two Halves

7 min read

If you have ever visited Japan, you almost certainly saw its southern half. Tokyo faces the Pacific. Osaka faces the Inland Sea.

The Southern Half

Kyoto's bamboo groves. Nara's deer. Mount Fuji in the golden hour. These images are all captured on the Pacific side. But that is only half the country.

Map of Japan showing the Japan Alps dividing the country — Pacific side and Sea of Japan side

Tokyo

Niigata

Wajima

Tsuruga

Kyoto

Hiroshima

Osaka

Sakata

The Japan Alps form a continental-scale weather wall, dividing the country in two.

The Weather Wall

A mountain range running the length of Honshu acts as a continental-scale weather barrier, dumping more snow in winter than Norway.

The Wealth of the Forgotten Half

And yet, most of Japan's wealth was produced in this forgotten half. The finest rice, fed by snowmelt. The richest fishing grounds. Herring and kelp from the northern frontier of Ezo. The problem was transport.

END OF CHAPTER 1.2

Continue to §1.3 — Why Ships Mattered More Than Roads →