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.

Kozoku no Kaze (Lake Pirates and the Winds) 1

     Ripples from Lake Biwa are gently lapping into a quay.

     Very late at night, more than a dozen of boats are being moored to stakes, and boatmen are still in wait.

     The boatmen are waiting for good winds, and looking over at the Hira Mountains.

     “It’s the dead of night,” mutters a boatman.

     The moment he muttered, as if it had overheard his mumbles, there happened something unusual.

     It lasted a second, but it was imprinted onto the eyes and besides into the minds of the boatmen in the port.

     The top of Mt. Hira flashed white.

     Just for a moment, the mountain ridges revealed themselves against the dark sky.

     Young boatmen trembled.

     “You saw it first, didn’t you?” asked a seasoned hoarse voice, shivering in secret.  An instant spark was enough for a god to pose a menace.

     The boatmen were looking up to the mountains which were covered with the night dark again.  Everything stopped.  So did people, boats, or even air.

     No boatman, as far as he lives on the lake, could imagine anyone would dare break the stillness.

     “Hey!” uttered a panicked boatman to a man who were untying his mooring line.

     “Are you sure sane?”

     The man finished undoing the line.

     “Didn’t you see the flash of Mt. Hira?”

     The man shot the boatman a glance, a sword-like sharp one.

     Instead of answering the question, the man took a hold on a scull, and stood up.  The man’s sleeves flew, leaving an unexpected fragrance behind.  Other boatmen took doubtful sniffs of the fragrance, whose name they could never know.  It was kalaguru.

     While those boatmen were charmed by lingering scent of the incensed sleeves, the man sculled out of the quay.  A boatman suddenly came to himself and shouted.

     “Do you dare to die, this crazy guy?”

     The man’s boat etched a sharp wake on the dark water surface.  Another boatman recognized it, and grumbled.

     “He is Urokuzu.”

     The scull squeaked, leaving lingering sounds of the man, and faded away in the dark.

     The night dark has gone, yet the lake surface is deadly gray, reflecting the heavy cloudy sky.  Mt. Hira has gathered clouds.

     Urokuzu’s sharp eyes are being fixed on his way.  Just for a moment, they are turned to the mountainsides.  Urokuzu’s hands reach a straw-mat sail, and the mast is laid down against the bar at the stern.  As if it had been waiting for the process to finish, a squall runs down from the Hira Mountains.

     The squall has hail.. Its hailstones hit against Urokuzu like slugs.

     The first sudden squall is just a warning though.  The second and third are fully prepared to run down.  The lake surface is covered with uncountable waves punching at Urokuzu incredibly fast.

     Urokuzu is ready to face them, and lightly touches the foot of the mast.  There is a bunch of hair sealed in prayer.

     “My god Yebisu…” murmured Urokuzu with his eyes lightly closed.

     The body suddenly floats into the air.  If it had not been tied to the boat with the loincloth, the body would have been thrown into the lake.

     Urokuzu touches the shrine, and opens his eyes.  His trained tall body faces up to the lake.  He heads the stem of his boat against its rough with turbulent winds and waves.

     If it were fine, the lake should be vibrant with various big or small boats.  But Urokuzu is alone on the lake.  It is this, the Hira Downdrafts, that defends Urokuzu, however dreadful other boatmen feel of the storms.

     The roaring storms and rolling pyramidal waves are fooling around with Urokuzu’s boat, which is yet getting forward.

     It has been some time when Urokuzu looks afar at the lake shore, handling his boat.

     The sleet in slanting sheets obscures Urokuzu’s view, and he can see no farther than 50 meters.  Yet his five senses clearly show him the farther scene.

     “I’ve just passed by Ukimido Temple.”

     This place, off Katada, might be more dreadful than the winds and waves of the Hira Downdrafts.  If you have a better visibility, you can see Katata towns very close.

     “Katata pirates, can you stop me?”

     Urokuzu shoots a sharp look at Katata towns through blinding sleeting winds and waves.