Cannot See the Wood for the Trees

The area of study on the history of pirates has accumulated a number of profound researches after Meiji Era. These years, Amino Yoshihiko argued “Sea Faring People,” and Katsumata Shizuo alleged “Samurai without their Lord.” Their arguments were widely noticed, but, after them, it seems that researches have been heavily inclined toward those to investigate specific conditions. For instance, inquiring into the difference between the sea world and the land world is rather unproductive. In the Inland Sea, the sea and the land are tightly connected, and some pirates worked as local magistrates. The sea was a highway anyone could use. The Inland Sea is a main artery, and the surrounding coastal areas of Chugoku and Shikoku should be recognized as a closely related region. I am going to describe the activities of pirates in this region. Of course, there used to be active pirates in Kyushu, Kumano, Shima, Chita, and etc., and some war lords organized pirates as their navy in those regions, other than in the Inland Sea. Here I concentrate on the pirate society in the Inland Sea because when Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and/or Ieyasu, war lord heroes, were going to unify the nation, organizing the pirates in the Inland Sea became of critical importance. Pirates integrated the coastal areas along the Inland Sea reducing frictions there. As the large part of the Western Inland Sea is included in Iyo, influential pirates such as Murakami clan regarded Kono clan, Iyo’s guardian, as their lord, and they were regarded as such even Mori Motonari wrote, “This time we send troops to Iyo in return, because Mori Takamoto and all of us were saved by Kurushima clan.” (Mori clan’s archives) He recognized that his clan’s victory over Sue clan in the Battle of Itsuku-shima Island in the 24th year of Tenbun, in 1555, owed to Kurushima clan’s support, who was one of the main vassals of Kono clan. That was why Mori clan sent troops to Iyo to help Kono clan in return. Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki smashed Nobunaga’s navy in the Battle of Kidu-gawa estuary, and successfully sent in provisions into Osaka Hongan-ji Temple in the 4th year of Tensho (in 1576). He gave thanks to Kono Michinao for Murakami Clan’s participating in the battle. Kono Clan used to be regarded as the top of pirates’ hierarchy during the Age of Provincial Wars. That kind of recognition was still seen even during Tensho years. The history of pirates has been studied by investigating the conditions of powerful pirate clans, such as Murakami Clan, during the Age of Provincial Wars, when their were most active. I it more important that Kono Clan and their distant relative, Mori Clan (practically Kobayakawa Takakage) were the pirates war lords, or public authorities who ruled the Inland Sea at the end of the Age of Provincial Wars. To make contrast with those war lords in East Japan who mainly fight land battles, I use the concept “pirate war lord”. The reason is that those pirate war lords were maintaining their domains by securing the mastery of the sea exploiting their pirates’ high maneuverability and well-honed mercenary wits. For instance, Kono Michinao could defend their country against the relentless attack by Chosokabe Motochika, a war lord in Tosa, thanks to their navy’s superiority. Would-be national leaders who were conquering West countries were inevitably to organize their own navy. For example, Kuki Yoshitaka entered wars under Nobunaga: first against Ise-Nagashima Uprising by the True Pure Land sect in the second year of Tensho (in 1574), second in another battle of Kidu-gawa estuary in the 6th year of Tensho (in 1578), third against the Hanakuma Castle in Settsu in the 8th year of Tensho (in 1580), and etc. He established himself as a pirate war lord serving under Nobunaga. Under Toyotomi regime, Kono Clan was ruined, and Murakami Clan was moved to Kyushu. Toyotomi’s war lords occupied Iyo and Awaji, and organized local pirates as their navies, which were sent to Korea. Those war lords included Todo Takatora, Kato Yoshiaki, and Wakisaka Yasuharu. At this stage of pirates’ history, utilizing big battle ships with cannons and lots of matchlock guns, which used to be called atake-bune in Japanese, and financing the armaments have become more indispensable than each pirate’s combat power. The end of pirates lords’ high days, when they sailed their sekibune or kohaya (Japanese small boats) tactically to enemy ships and burned them down with horoku-bi-ya, a kind of incendiary shells, had come. Some vassals of Murakami Clan left service to the clan, and served Toyotomi’s clans. However, Kuki Clan, with their building techniques of bottle ships, atake-bune, was taken into national leaders’ confidence. Some historians call Murakani Takeyoshi “a war lord on the sea”, “a pirate war lord”, or even “a unified regime on the sea”, who extended his power even over the East Inland Sea, but that is overestimation. Although Murakami Clan enjoyed independency, they placed themselves as Kono Clan’s senior vassal. They didn’t dream of acquiring a status to work under shogun or national leader’s direct orders. Preceding studies have analyzed each pirate, but didn’t research pirates’ power politics in coastal areas of Chugoku and Shikoku influenced by the behaviors of pirate war lords. They couldn’t see the wood for the trees.