Trading Scenes form Konjaku Monogatari

Konjaku Monogatari was edited sometime in the early 12th century, composed of Buddhism and other stories from India, China, and Japan. Its Vol.26’s 16th story is about Sadashige of Chinzei (today’s Kyushu), and the story shows us how exchanges between local officers and Tang traders were actually carried out. The story’s main character is Sadashige of Chikuzen Province (a part of today’s Fukuoka Prefecture), where Dazai-fu Administrative Office and Hakata-tsu Port were located. This Sadashige is presumed to be an actual figure, Hata Sadashige, who was so powerful that he was even mentioned in the entry dated September the 19th, 1009, of the journal kept by Fujiwara Michinaga, the clan leader of strong Fujiwara families and practically the top government officer at the time. Konjaku Monogatari writes, “When Shigesada finished the subordinate officer in Dazai-fu, he laid 30 nice swords in pledge, and took about 6 to 7 thousand of Tang goods from a Tang trader to give Fujiwara Yorimichi (Michinaga’s eldest son) and other personal acquaintances.” On his way back to Hakata, he exchanged his suits as an officer with pearls at Yodo-tsu Port. At Hakata-tsu Port, he visited the Tang trader, and got 10 of the swords back in exchange of the pearls. This story suggests that those who were appointed to officers in Dazai-fu Administrative Office would trade with Tang traders directly, bring the Tang goods to Kyoto, exchange the goods around Kyoto, and go back to Hakata-tsu Port. They also used to travel by water between Yodo-tsu Port and Hakata-tsu Port through the Seto Inland Sea.