bezaisen
Sign in to saveThe or Benzaisen was a large wooden sailing ship that was widely used for domestic shipping in Japan through the Edo and Meiji periods.
In the Vinony graph
Within Vinony's link graph, bezaisen is referenced by 2 other articles, and connects out to Meiji era, Japanese and Osaka.
It sits within the topics Merchant ships of Japan and Naval ships of Japan.
Its subject is documented across 4 Wikipedia language editions.
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- sailing ship
- Country of origin
- Japan
- Image
- Ueno junks.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- name in kana
- べざいせん
- Commons category
- Bezaisen
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
15 sectionsContents
- Name
- Origin
- Improvements
- Edo-period developments
- Meiji-period developments
- Performance
- Typical size
- Cargo capacity
- Sailing performance
- Economy
- References
- Further reading
- External links
- See also
- External links
The or Benzaisen was a large wooden sailing ship that was widely used for domestic shipping in Japan through the Edo and Meiji periods.
== Name == Several theories exist regarding the origin of the name Benzai-sen. Folklorists Kunio Yanagita and Tarō Wakamori proposed that it derives from the Bensai-shi (弁済使), officials engaged in the management of maritime transport and delivery. Another theory from the Edo period held that “Bezai” (ベザイ) derived from Heizai (平在), meaning “stable presence,” referring to the ship’s good balance and seaworthiness. A further explanation suggests it evolved from Hezaizen (舳在船), meaning “a ship with a prow.” However, since the term was originally written as “Bezai,” the Bensai-shi theory is doubtful, and the “Heizai” interpretation does not match changes in the vessel’s actual design.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “bezaisen” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.