Japanese Western Warlords’ International Diplomatic Relations

     During the Warring State Period in Japan, there stood numerous powerful clans.  Some of them were strong enough to invade and annex neighboring clans, and aimed to advance to the Heian-Kyo Capital and unify the whole nation.  However, some powerful Western clans, especially those established themselves in Kyushu, stood too far from the Capital, and, instead, looked further West at Asia.

     The Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo, keeps the Shimazu Clan texts, which include a letter from the atom Clan.  The letter starts, “This time, we sent out a ship to Nanman (today’s Cambodia),” and mentions Sorin.  The letter was sent from a vassal of Otomo Sorin (the warlord of Bungo Province, today’s Oita Prefecture, 1530-1587) to a vassal of the Shimizu Clan, who ruled Satsuma Province, today’s Kagoshima.  It is supposed to have been written in 1573.

     The Otomo Clan seemed to have established diplomatic relations with the kings of Khmer, whose capital was located at Longvek, which was also visited by Portuguese.

     According to the letter, the ship sent out by the Otomo Clan was wrecked in Shimizu’s territory.  Otomo's asked Shimazu’s about the ship, but received no reply, so demanded the immediate return of the ship.

     In 1578, a Khmer king tried to present copper guns and elephants to Sorin, but the ship with the presents aboard was captured and interned by the Shimazu Clan.  In 1579, Shimazu Yoshihisa (1533-1611) sent a letter and presents to the kin instead (in return?).

     During the latter half of the 16th Century, other Western warlords turned their eyes to Asia as well.  The Sagara Clan in Higo Province, today’s Kumamoto Prefecture, sent their ships to Ming Dynasty, China.  The Matsura Clan in Hizen Province, today’s Nagasaki Prefecture, sent letters to kings of Siam, today’s Thailand.

     Those Western warlords’ active diplomatic relations with Asian countries were progressing, as a matter of course, side by side with their trading.  Why, then, could those Western warlords do a lot of trade?  Their trading was supported with silver and sulfur.

     In the first half of the 16th Century, the Ouchi Clan, who were based in Suo Province, today’s Yamaguchi Prefecture, fully opened up the Iwami Silver Mine.  The silver produced there was so massive as to flow out of Japan and to sweep all over East Asia.  The silver became a de facto international currency in East Asia.

     That was “silver rush”, and we had “sulfur rush” in the latter half of the 16th Century.  As Europeans brought guns into East Asia, there came a great demand for gunpowder.  However, China hardly produced sulfur while Japan had far too little saltpeter to meet the demand by so many warlords fighting one another.  Smuggling them between the two was just inevitable.

     The Otomo Clan’s and the Shimazu Clan’s territories produced a lot of sulfur thanks to active volcanoes there, and other areas in Japan had minor volcanoes too.  The more warlords ventured on smuggling, the more Chinese and Europeans were attracted to Japan.  China towns were formed in Western warlords’ territories, and, in the capital of Otomo’s for example, we can even find a record that Chinese living in the China town visited Ise Shrine to pay homage there along with some other Japanese living in neighboring towns.  How profoundly they adapted to Japan!

     The tally trade preceded these smugglings by Western warlords.  The tally trade was a part of the Sinocentric tribute system, and only those who were recognized as “subjects” by the Ming Dynasty were issued with certificates and were allowed to trade within the boundaries of the dynasty.

     The third shogun of Ashikaga Shogunate, Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), was accepted as a “subject” in 1402.  In 1404, 100 tallies were given to Japan, at least 6 of which were used by himself under the name of his son, Yoshimochi (1386-1428).

     In the latter half of the 15th Century, Ashikaga Shogunate declined, and was deprived of the control over the tally trade by the Hosokawa Clan and the Ouchi Clan, who were allied with the Sakai merchants near the Heian-kyo Capital and with the Hakata merchants in Kyushu.  In the 16th Century, the Ouchi Clan monopolized the control.

     In the middle of the 16th Century, the Ouchi Clan was destroyed by their vassal, Sue Harutaka (1521-1555).  After the fall of the clan, the tally trade has been supposed to have severed.  However, a couple of Western warlords such as the Sagara Clan and the Otomo Clan attempted to revive the trade, some others started unofficial trading for themselves, and, above all, “smuggling” flourished with Later Wokou sweeping the East China Sea.