Kamagasaki Fieldwork

We gathered in front of the east wicket of JR Shin-Imamiya Station. About 30 of teachers. The gathering was drawing some people's attention. Some young girls were delivering suspicious looks to us. I was going to take a field-work class, one of the elective classes to renew my teacher's license. After a lecture in a building near the station, we started off to the city in the midst of the baking hotness. You can easily find more vending machines, more coin-operated laundries, and even more coin-operated lockers even along the streets once you walk into the Kamagasaki area, the poorest, not one of the poorest but actually the poorest, area in Japan. It's a kind of a wonder that so many stuffs are coin-operated in the poorest area in Japan. The second monotonous feature you find in the town might be rents of apartment rooms. Most of the signs you can find on the front windows of real estate agents or apartment buildings themselves show ¥42,000/a month, the highest rent the Livelihood Protection Law permits. Soft drinks sold by the vending machines in the Kamagasaki area are surprisingly cheap. Especially in the core area, I could find vending machines with ¥50 canned drinks and ¥80 PET bottled ones. In other areas in Japan, if you can find vending machines with ¥100 canned drinks, they are buys. They say that the Kamagasaki area used to center round on day laborers. Flophouses, liquor stalls, and as such. Many day laborers have become on welfare. The area has changed its looks and state themselves. In its core area, so-called poverty industries have come into existence. Its outskirts are looking for other industries.

Kono Clan, a Pirate War Lord

The first entry in written document about Murakami Clans was Nojima Murakami Clan. To-ji Temple’s cashbooks in 1349, the fifth year of Jowa, remain and can read “a gift money for eating and drinking for Nojima”. It implies that Nojima Murakami Clan was guarding the To-ji Temple’s manor against villain forces’ embezzling. In the middle of 15th Century, however, another entry blames Nojima Murakami Clan for their embezzling the manor forcefully as a pirate. Pirate people guarded a manor when they were employed, but were ready to embezzle the manor when not employed. They were that type of medieval samurais on the sea. Murakami Bukichi, a well-known historical figure in the Age of Provincial Wars, became the leader of Murakami Clan, having defeated Murakami Yoshiyasu, his cousin, and Kurushima Michiyasu, who supported Yoshiyasu, with the help of Murakami Takashige, his uncle. After Yoshimasu died of illness, Bukichi negotiated a peace, married Michiyasu’s daughter as a lawful wife, became the leader of all Santo Murakami Clans, and made every possible effort as an important vassal of Kono Michinao. The next appearance was that of In’noshima Murakami Clan. On December 11, 1427, in the 34th year of Oei, Ashikaga Yoshimochi wrote a half-public letter of gratitude to Murakami Bicchu Nyudo (Yoshisuke), who is supposed to belong to the clan. In 1434, in the 6th year of Eikyo, “Murakami, a pirate in Bingo State” was appointed as a guard of ships to Ming Dynasty China on the recommendation of Yamana Clan. This “Murakami” is supposed to be In’noshima Murakami Clan. The indubitable historical document on which Kurushima Murakami Clan first appeared is munefuda (namely ridge plate), a kind of a list of donors of building expenses, of Ohama Yahata Shrine in the fourth year of Taiei, or in 1524. Later Kurushima Michiyasu granted the asylum of Kono Michinao, the then leader of Kono Clan, in Kurushima Island when Kono Clan’s family struggle broke out. Michinao rewarded Michiyasu with the license to use Kono Clan’s family crest. That means Kurushima Murakami Clan came to be treated nominally as a member of Kono Clan. Later even in Edo Period, Kurushima Clan’s leaders used “michi” in their first names. The documents mentioned above show that those three Murakami Clans were active as late as in Muromachi Period, but it surely suggests that they had been active for years before their appearances in the documents. Three Murakami Clans as pirate people placed Kono Clan as their master family. Kono Clan has its roots in Ochi Clan, and share the same ancestor with Ohofuri Clan, Shinto priests of Oyamazumi Shrine, which enshrine the god of the sea. It clearly suggests why and how Kono Clan, as a pirate war lord, kept the top of the pirate society. Pirate people are liable to have a quick eye for gain and to be too realistic to maintain strong relationship of lord and vassal. They are sometimes regarded as something like mercenary soldiers. They were certainly wide awake and were shifting their military alignment with Otomo Clan, to that with Ouchi Clan, Mori Clan, Uragami Clan, Miyoshi Clan and etc. However, although they sometimes conflicted, they were consistently regarding Kono Clan, the guardian of Iyo State, as their lord with no doubt. Their political maneuvers should be understood in this regard. The outstanding pirate lord was definitely Kono Clan, who used to organize Murakami Navies as their vassals. For example, as I described before, Murakami Clan’s meritorious services in the Battle of Kidu-gawa estuary was praised by Ashikaga Yoshiaki through giving a letter of appreciation to Kono Michinao. For another example, Kurushima Murakami Clan, when Michiyasu was the leader, enjoyed power as a main vassal of Kono Michinobu and climbed the power ladder by being treated as if they had been a member of Kono Clan. Even In’noshima Murakami Clan, whose stronghold was In’noshima Island in Bingo State and who enjoyed close relations with Yamana, Ouchi, and Mori Clans, received a letter of appreciation from Kono Norimichi, a guardian of Iyo State.

A Drastic Change in Naval Battles

More than 2 decades after the introduction of guns to Japan, Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) was facing the pressing need to gain naval supremacy in the Seto Inland Sea to fight against the Mori Clan.  Nobunaga heavily lost to navies of the Mori and Kono Clan in the Battle of Kizu-gawa Estuary in July, 1576.  In June and November, 1578, however, he fought against navies of the Mori Clan and the Saika people again, which ended as his overwhelming victory.  We are going to compare the entries about the two naval battles from the Biography of Lord Nobunaga, which was written by Ota Gyuichi (1527-1613), who had been one of the best arrow shooters of Nobunaga when young and who was very good at writing war tales after he became a secretary.

 

“They stopped our ships, and shot many earthenware explosives to burn the ships down.  We were heavily outnumbered, and lost veteran samurais such as Manabe Sadatomo, Numa Iga, Numa Den’nai.  Western forces won a victory in the battle, shipped military provisions into Osaka Hongan-ji Temple, and sailed their forces back to the western provinces.”

 

“On June 26, in the 6th year of Tensho, our ships sailed out to the Sea of Kumano-ura, sailed to Osaka.  They rowed numerous boats out of Soga, Tan’nowa and as such against our big ships off Tan’nowa.  They shot arrows and guns, and pressed attacks on us from all sides.  Kuki Yoshitaka (1542-1600), who had decorated the 7 ships like mountains, fought restrictively first, waited for the enemy boats to come closer, then fired big guns all at once, and destroyed many of the enemy boats.  Afterward, the enemy boats could hardly find ways to approach our ships, and we could easily sail to Sakai on July 17.

 

“On November 6, more than 600 ships and boats from western provinces advanced to Kizu areas.  Kuki Yoshitaka (1542-1600) intercepted the enemy ships and boats.  They besieged our ships, sailing southward, and fought a sea battle from 8 in the morning till around noon.  Kuki seemed to be having a hard battle at first, but, having many big guns in the 6 ships, waited for the enemy ships and boats to come closer, and fired the guns to the enemy flagship to strike it down.  They became panicked and couldn’t approach ours any more.  Kuki finally drove hundreds of the enemy ships and boats into Kizu Bay, and all the audience praised Kuki Yoshitaka for his military exploits.”

 

The first quotation describes how the naval battle in July, 1576 was fought.  In the battle, the navies of the Mori and Kono Clans, whose de facto main force was the Murakami Clan, surrounded Oda sea forces, threw in many earthenware explosives, and burnt down Oda’s ships and boats.  The tactics to cut off each enemy ship surrounding with small fast boats and to attack with earthenware explosives used to be common in the Seto Inland Sea battles.  An earthenware explosive was a round fire bomb.  The bomb has black powder and iron pieces or lead balls covered with earthenware, and popularly used from the Warring States Period till Shoku-Ho Era.  Later, even small rockets with 3 plumes fired with guns, cannons, or wooden cylinders came to be employed.  The explosive powder in their tips exploded when they stroke ships.

 

Those navies who were killed in the battle, including the Manabe Clan, were samurais in Izumi Province, and had strongholds along Osaka Bay, including Otsu in Izumi Province.  They were severely beaten by the navies of the Mori and Kono Clans, whose de facto main force was the Murakami Clan, who was a champion on the Seto Inland Sea at the time, and could not stop the enemy’s shipping military provisions into Osaka Hongan-ji Temple.

 

After the first battle, Nobunaga ordered the Kuki Clan, pirates in Shima Province, to build armored ships and to sail them to Osaka Bay via the Sea of Kumano-nada.  The latter quotation tells us that, in June, the armored ships encountered the besieging enemy navies from Saiga and Tan’nowa shooting arrows and guns, but defeated them with big guns.  The big guns showed their power in November as well to defeat the navies of the Mori and Kono Clans.

 

Just 2 years witnessed a big change in navy battles; from throwing in earthenware explosives to shooting big guns.  The armored ships were not only armored with iron plates to shield the enemy attacks of shooting arrows and guns.  The Correspondences of the Society of Jesus in Japan also reported that the ships were equipped with 3 cannons.  We may well call them battleships with heavy guns.

 

Kano Mitsunobu (1565-1608), a painter of the Kano school, one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting, painted Nagoya Castle in Hizen on a byobu with 6 panels in detail years later.  The castle was a base to sally forth to the Korean Peninsula.  The byobu represented armored ships as well with two-storied or three-storied donjons on top of them.

 

Those donjons might have been spaces for a commander, and symbols of authority and power. The ships had sails, but were usually driven with oars.  Small-sized armored ships were said to have 50 oars, while big-sizes to have more than 150 oars.  They were equivalent to ships with 75-300 of net tonnage, and were equipped with heavy guns, and were crenelated.

 

The structure of the armored ships suggests that they could not sail so fast.  They went to battles with small fast boats guarding them.  In terms of modern navy battles, an armored ship fought as a battleship, a medium-sized boat as a cruiser, and a small boat as a destroyer.  Navy battles were definitely changing, and surpassing in firepower was playing more decisive roles than maneuverability.

 

On land, Shoku-Ho castles with high stone walls, a donjon and towers were getting in all their glory.  Big ships with a high-rise building on top of them and with a lot of guns to shoot from there at enemy ships and boats are opening a new era on the sea as well.

 

Pirates had accumulated their own tactics as sea fighters, but lacked capital reserves to prepare themselves to face the new era with big ships and firepower.  This is the background why the champion in the Seto Inland Sea changed dramatically from pirates such as the Murakami Clan to warlords under the Toyotomi Clan with the capital strength abundant.

Naval Battles and Guns

The fact that Manabe Clan was given about 600 kg of gunpowder a month suggests that they had considerable number of guns and that they were actually using the guns, and also implies how Nobunaga Navies were organized. These years have witnessed a significant progress of the study over medieval weapons, as they came to be argued from the view point of the political history too. Guns, representative weapons in the Age of Provincial Wars, have been argued over how they were introduced into Japan. There are 3 main types of arguments. The first argument is the most popular belief that guns were introduced by Portuguese who drifted ashore on Tanega-shima Island in the 12th year of Tensho, or in 1543. Against the belief, Mr. Takehisa Udagawa examined remains of guns and related documents, and presented the second argument that guns’ introduction through Tanegas-shima Island is just a case and that Wako brought guns which they had used in Southeast Asia. The third argument was offered by Mr. Shosuke Murai, who had elaborately and extensively researched historical documents. It was Wang Zhi, a major figure among Post-Wako, who were mainly Chinese smugglers, and his Chinese junk that brought Portuguese with guns used in Southeast Asia to Tanega-shima Island. Those arguments are very interesting and suggest there used to be varieties of routes to introduce guns to Ryukyu and even to the coasts of Japanese Sea mediated by Wako. We are going to read a document which tells us, even a quarter century before the famous Nagashino Battle, in which Oda Nobunaga, with his 3000 guns, overpowered then famous Takeda’s cavalry, the usage of guns was introduced in Inland Sea. Bairin Shuryu, a monk in Tofuku-ji Temple in Kyoto, wrote about a sea battle with guns in his diary on September 19, in the 19th year of Tenmon, or in 1450. Around noon, when they were sailing off Hibi, Bizen (today’s Tamano City, Okayama), their ship was approached by a pirate ship. Negotiations were carried between the two ships, and failed. A battle was started. Pirates shot arrows, and the ship Bairin on board fought back with guns. The pirates ended up with many injured. Guns with a range of about 500 meters had an advantage over arrows with a range of about 380 meters. Especially in naval battles where longer ranges mattered, guns must have been employed swiftly. War lords in Western Japan who organized navies exploited guns eagerly. Otomo Clan’s big gun, Kuni Kuzushi (namely State Destroyer) was a well-known example. Later in naval battles during the Japanese Invasion of Korea, or the Imjin War, cannons and guns were key weapons. Even Yi Sun-shin (1545-1598), a famous Korean navy admiral, was shot to death during the Battle of Noryang, the last naval battle at the end of the war.

A Mobile Base

Manabe Clan in Izumi, a local pirate who was organized into Nobunaga’s Navy, gives us a good example to understand how pirate society in Inland Sea changed. Their surname has its origin in Manabe Island in Oda County, Bichu (in today’s Kasaoka City, Okayama Prefecture). They gained a certain social status in Inland Sea as a vassal of Hosokawa Clan, a guardian of Bichu in Muromachi period. Eventually, they gained ground even in Izumi, and Nii and Uma Counties in Iyo, where there used to be Hosokawa Clan’s branch possessions. Manabe Sadaharu, who was later called Sin’nyu-sai, was the head of the clan during Shokuho Era and a founder of Manabe Clan in Wakayama, one of chief vassals of the Wakayama Clan. He was included in the entries of Meishin-Den (Biographies of Excellent Vassals) of “The History of Nanki Tokugawa”, a collection of the Wakayama Clan’s historical sources. Manabe Sadaharu was recognized as a descendant of Manabe Shiro and Goro brothers, who had shot Kahara Taro and Jiro brothers, popular characters in The Tale of Heike, in The Lord of Manabe Shin’nyu’s Thumbnail Biography. It is also recorded that Sadanari’s 6th ancestor moved from Manabe Island to Tan’nowa in Izumi (to today’s Misaki Town in Osaka Prefecture). Manabe-yama, a place name around a round tumulus with a moat around it, is all that is left to tell where once the clan lived. The document continues, “They established Manabe Checkpoint in Sen-shu, and those ships sailing from Kyushu or Shikoku toward the Capital had to pay sail taxes.” They might have imposed sail taxes at Manabe Checkpoint in Tan’nowa on those ships leaving from Kyushu or Shikoku, probably sailing off the Tosa coast, and passing Kitan Straits. In other words, Manabe Clan was conducting piracy in Kitan Straits. Meanwhile, Hosokawa Clan in Izumi fell and Miyoshi Clan rose, and Manabe Clan followed Miyoshi Clan instead. Manabe Sadayuki, Sadanari’s grandfather, fought for Miyoshi Clan in Shariji Battle in Settsu in July, the 16th year of Tensho, or in 1547, and made the very first thrust among 800 samurais into the enemy lines. In the 11th year of Eiroku, or in 1568, Nobunaga entered Kyoto, and Izumi samurais including Matsuura Clan, an active guardian there, capitulated to him. Nobunaga antagonized Hongan-ji Temple in Osaka, and paid attention to Manabe Clan needing to impose a blockade across Osaka Bay. According to The Biographies of Excellent Vassals, Manabe Sadatomo, Sadanari’s father, was stationed at Otsu Castle in Izumi (in today’s Izumi-Otsu City, Osaka), and guarding mouths of rivers in Osaka. He was given lands about half as much as those of daimyo, salaries for 1,000 men, and 600 kg of monthly gunpowder. According to Biography of Lord Nobunaga, which was written by Ota Gyuichi, one of Nobunaga’s arrow shooters, and is believed to be one of the reliable biographies of Nobunaga, Manabe Sadatomo was deployed along with other Izumi samurais such as Numa Clan at a strategic point in Sumiyoshi in Settsu in May, in the 4th year of Tensho. He was in charge of maritime defense. Manabe Clan was deployed as defense against Hongan-ji Temple, Osaka. According to a document dated June 18 issued by Nobunaga, Sadatomo, together with Numa Den’nai and etc., was ordered to guard in Osaka Bay to cut off supply routes to Hongan-ji Temple, Osaka. Other documents such as Hineno Document at the time, shows Sadatomo was carrying out naval blockades. Sadatomo was killed in the battle at the mouth of Kidu River in July together with Numa Clan and etc. As we have seen above, Manabe Clan moved their base from Manabe Island, Bichu, to Tan’nowa, Izumi, and to Otsu, Izumi. They carried out military actions such as naval blockades under the orders of supreme powers such as guardians, war lords, or national leaders. They also established sea checkpoints and imposed sail taxes. Obviously, they were acting as a typical pirate people in the pirate society in Inland Sea. The point worthy of attention is that they are based on naval transfers, and that they moved their bases according to the changes of the political surroundings in land. That is quite different from the behaviors of land samurais who tended to fight for their lands at the risk of their own lives. Murakami Clans, a champion in Inland Sea, for another example, might not have minded to change their residences because they originally had had plural strongholds in plural states.

The Excavation of Sea Castles

Geiyo Archipelago, lying between the Seas of Hiuchi-nada and Itsuki-nada, used to be Murakami Clan’s strongholds, and their sea castles were densely located there. The studies of sea castles have progressed these years, stimulated with the outcomes of the studies of medieval castles and supported by the accumulation of excavation data of sea castles themselves. The data point out the variations of the castles’ locations and structures, reveal their features to have numerous pits on shore reefs, and show their characteristic relics with imported porcelains etc. The study of the pits on shore reefs is attracting a considerable attention these days. The pits can be found only in the 20 castles in those areas controlled by Nojima Murakami and Kurushima Murakami Clans. The pits can be divided into independent pits, column pits and rank pits. The column pits lined at right angles to the seashores at regular intervals in a single line, while the rank pits run in parallel with the seashores in a row or two. The independent pits and the column pits are supposed to have worked to support mooring posts. However, how the rank pits were used is not specified yet. The castles and fortresses with those pits are distributed along the offshore routes. The sea castles here have 3 characteristic features. First, each castle is small in size, and even main castles can be called fortresses. They had simple structures sometimes even without forts or moats which used to be popular parts with mountain castles in the Age of Provincial Wars. Second, when a small island was fortified, water supplies were secured on the opposite shore. Third, the castles might have been distributed under the consideration of the clan’s networks and sea routes. The conceptualization of the sea castle distribution will be certainly developed with the progress of the study of pirates. Recently, the site of Nojima Castle, which is supposed to be Nojima Murakami Clan’s headquarters, was excavated and researched by Imabari City Educational Board. They found remains of residences and a smithy. The discovery was reported on Asahi (the Ehime edition) and Ehime newspapers published on February 12, 2011 and on February 17, 2011 respectively. Nojima Island today is an uninhabited island about 850 meters around located in the strait between Oshima and Hakatajima Islands in Imabari City. Taizakijima Island, about 260 meters around, is located south to Nojima Island. The width of the waterway between the two islands is about 70 meters at full tide, and about 20 meters at low tide. The whole land of the both islands is Nojima Murakami Clan’s castel, and functioned as their sea castle from the latter half of the 14th Century till 16th Century, during the Period of the Northern and Southern Courts and the Age of Provincial Wars. According to Imabari City Educational Board, two remains of residences were found at South-East Keep in the south of Nojima Island, and at the Third Keep in the west of the island. In South-East Keep, more than 10 remains of pillar pits with a diameter of 40 to 50 centimeters were found about 20 centimeters underground in the area of about 8 meters long from south to north and 4 meters wide from east to west. In Third Keep, a lot of remains of pillar pits and granite foundation stones were found about 40 centimeters underground in the area of about 8 meters long from south to north and 4 meters wide from east to west. They were lined in order in a rectangle in the both cases. A remain of a smithy with a diameter of about 1 meter was found about 30 centimeters underground near Third Keep in the north-west of the island. An unglazed earthen ventilation pipe between the bellows and furnace was found, too. The pipe is with a diameter of about 10 centimeters and length of about 10 centimeters, and is called “haguchi” in Japanese. Pieces of fired scrap iron and earth were found in chunks, iron flakes scattered around in the process of forging were left. They suggest that iron weapons were made and mended in the castle. Among the foundation stones in Third Keep, many pieces of big pots of Bizen Ceramics were excavated. They can be restored into huge pots with a diameter of 50 to 60 centimeters and in the height of about 1 meter. These discoveries are causing us to change the current view of Nojima Castle. Usually, Nojikma Castle has been regarded as a fortress in rapid currents which was utilized in wartime or in an emergency only. People might have lived at Miyakubo in Oshima. It has been handed down that there used to be Miyakubo Castle or Koga-yashiki (Koga Residence) on the hills in Miyakubo. Having water supply, Miyakubo might have worked with Nojima jointly as a castle. However small Nojima Island may be, it had buildings, and many daily earthen vessels were found in the reclaimed ground in its south. Those findings suggest that people spent their daily lives in the island. Moreover, numerous unglazed earthenware small plates in the remains of main buildings, which implies that formal samurai ceremonies similar with those carried out in the castles of war lords might have also been held there. Imported ceramics and Chinese coins were reported to have been excavated in 1938. Nojima Castle can be recognized as an independent castle which functioned by itself. Additional characteristic feature is that many sea castles were placed with sea checkpoints side by side. Many main sea castles along offshore routes, such as Kaminoseki Castle in Suo, In’noshima Murakami Clan’s Mikasaki Castle in Bingo along Aki coastal route, and Nojima Murakami Clan’s Nii-Oshima Castle in Iyo along Iyo coastal route worked as sea checkpoints as well even after “prohibitions against pirates” issued in the 16th year of Tensho, or in 1588. That leads us to suppose there probably had been more sea castles with sea checkpoints affixed.