Who Is The Ferry Boatman (Shichiri no Watashi boatman)?
The pilot of the Tokaido's sea crossing
The Boatman of the Shichiri Ferry
The Ferry Boatman is the man who steers the boat of the Shichiri Ferry, the sea route on the Tokaido highway linking Miya (Atsuta, in today's Nagoya) with Kuwana (today's Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture). In Tokaidochu Hizakurige (Shank's Mare), Yaji and Kita also take this boat to Kuwana.
It is a shared boat filled with strangers, and out at sea there is no getting off to escape. On board, an attempt to relieve oneself using a bamboo tube sets off a commotion that draws in the surrounding passengers. Keeping the boat moving with all that uproar on board is the boatman's job.
Seven ri is roughly 28 kilometers, and the voyage is said to have taken about four hours, depending on tides and winds. Kuwana, at the far end, is famous for grilled clams and for the pun "sono te wa Kuwana no yaki-hamaguri," which plays on the town's name to say "I won't fall for that trick."
