city state · Korea and Japan

Sakai

1470 CE – 1569 CE (approx.) · capital Sakai

A self-governing merchant port near Osaka that Jesuit visitors compared to Venice, a centre of overseas trade, gunmaking and the tea ceremony.

Origins

Sakai grew as a port on Osaka Bay and became a terminus of the official trade with Ming China after the Onin War made the routes through Hyogo unsafe from about 1469. Wealthy merchant houses took over the town's administration as central authority collapsed.

Rule and society

A council of leading merchants, the egoshu, governed the town, which was protected by moats and hired its own guards. Sakai traded with China, the Ryukyu Kingdom and later the Portuguese, and became one of Japan's main producers of firearms. The tea masters Takeno Joo and Sen no Rikyu came from its merchant class, and the Jesuit Gaspar Vilela described it as a republic like Venice.

Decline and legacy

In 1568 Oda Nobunaga demanded a huge war levy; Sakai at first resisted but submitted in 1569 and came under his direct control. Toyotomi Hideyoshi later filled in its moats and moved many merchants to Osaka.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sakai. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sakai
MLA
“Sakai.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sakai. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Sakai.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sakai.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sakai’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sakai (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻