Japanese Pirates’ Medieval Times (8) ——Kobayakawa Clan: A Case of Samurais from the East (3)——

Kobayakawa Clan’s 5th head, Tomohira, following Kamakura Shogunate’s orders, actively performed series of crackdowns on pirates around Nuta Manor. In 1314, he rounded up Uemon Goro and Saemon Jiro, and, in 1319, he even arrested a pirate of Iyo Province, Yagoro Hideie. Iyo Province was on the opposite side of the Seto Inland Sea from Aki Province. Kobayakawa Clan must have got control over some pirate(-like) people around Nuta Manor to execute these duties against pirates. During Tomohira’s time, Kamakura Shogunate collapsed in 1333. Kobayakawa Clan, however, didn’t stop their jobs even during the disorder in Nanboku-cho Period (1334-1392), or Northern and Southern Courts Period, before the establishment of Muromachi Shogunate by Ashikaga Clan. Tomohira’s 3 successors tried to expand their advance into Geiyo Islands, which spread in the Seto Inland Sea between Aki (=Gei) and Iyo (=Yo) Provinces, even more eagerly and freely. Tomohira’s grandson, Sadahira, inherited the patrimony from his father, Nobuhira, on October the 10th in 1341 as the seventh head of the clan. Sadahira had participated in Genko War (1331-1333), which terminated Kamakura Shogunate, in 1333 at the age of 16. In 1342, Sadahira moved his men south to cross the Seto Inland Sea with a reminder from Muromachi Shogunate in his hand, although the shogunate was still fighting against Southern Court over the national domination. They occupied Ikuchi-jima and Yuge-jima Islands, and invaded Inno-shima Island. They later went further down to Osaki-kami-jima, Osaki-shimo-jima Islands, and even advanced to Iyo-o-shima in the territory of Iyo Province, which was ruled by Kono Clan then. Kono Clan was too busy being under the pressure from the east, Hosokawa Clan. Sea people living around Geiyo Islands, who would be organized as Murakami Clan later, were still competing and fighting with one another. Kobayakawa Clan at the time were also developing rice fields with the cooperation of traders in Nuta bazaar, and put Setoda Port on Ikuchi-jima Island under their rule The port used to be one of the most important ports in the Seto Inland Sea to wait for the changes of tidal currents. The rule over the port enabled the clan to keep the hegemony over the control of the transportation structures in the sea, and, later in Muromachi Period, to trade even with Korea. By this time, Kobayakawa Clan seemed to have already changed their character significantly from eastern samurais fighting on horses. Their entrance into the Seto Inland Sea, however, was performed with the leverage as a manorial steward samurai. That means they eyed sea people from “outside.”