It is almost impossible to read stories about Japan today without mentioning the country’s population decline, a problem that is hitting rural areas the hardest. What is less common is the recognition that some corners of the country have been lamenting the loss of their golden days for some time.
One such community is Mikuni Minato, a once-thriving port city in Fukui Prefecture that was left behind by Japan’s shift toward modernity at the turn of the century more than 100 years ago.
You wouldn’t know it to look at Mikuni Minato now, but this sleepy community of about 20,000 residents used to be Japan’s third largest port, after Osaka and Yokohama. Thanks to kitamaebune – a shipping route from the Edo period (1603-1868) that connected the commercial centers of Kansai with ports along Japan’s east coast, all the way to Hokkaido – Mikuni Minato’s merchants grew wealthy from this coastal trade and set prices to their liking in line with their status as a crucial link in international trade.
