The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (16)

     The Ouchi Clan hired central Buddhist priests such as Sakugen to import know-how of sending missions to Ming, and might have called up samurais of other Western warlords for guarding the mission ships to show off their supremacy.  The deployment of those other samurais, however, leaked out the know-how of maneuvering Ming officials and getting along during the mission or commercial stay in China.  After the collapse of the Ouchi Clan in 1551, those Western warlords tried to send their own (false?) missions to Ming to profit from trading if their legitimacy was admitted by Ming officials; if not, from smuggling; in the worst case, from pirating as Wokou.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (15)

     The missions to Ming in 1540 and in 1549 brought a lot of returns to Ouchi Clan.  However, the profit was not monopolized by the clan and Hakata merchants.  For example, in the mission in 1540, along with those Hakata merchants, some Sakai merchants were on the ship No. 3; Ikenaga Soha, Ikenaga Shinbe, Katayama Yosaemon, Ishida Yosagoro, Iwai Shichizaemon, and etc.  In the mission in 1549, Hibiya Sukegoro, Kinuya Sogoro, Konishi Yosaemon were on the ship No. 2. and Morita Shinzaemon was on the ship No.3, who were all Sakai merchants.  On the ship No. 4, a vassal of the Shimazu Clan, Tanaka Buzen-no-kami was on board.  It is quite natural we assume those Sakai merchants and the Shimazu Clan shared certain profit.

     We have another piece of corroboration to assume that vassals of other clans were on board.

     The Ueno Family, which used to be a member of the Wakabayashi Clan, in the Saga-seki Port, Oita Prefecture, has been passed down their genealogy.  The Ueno Family used to be a vassal of the Otomo Clan in the 15th century.

     According to the genealogy, Ueno Munetomo (?-1600) accompanied the mission in 1549 as a soldier at the age of 11, relying on Ouchi Yoshitaka (1507-1551), whose sister was a wife of Otomo Yoshishige (1530-1587).  Later, in the late 16th century, he was commended by the Otomo Clan for guarding their coast.  These 2 deeds of Munetomo suggest his, that is, his family’s, maritime skills including the skills of maritime fighting.

     In the late 15th century, Ueno Totomi-no-kami was given the approval of governing the Shiu village along the coast, and was appointed as the local administrator of Seki-miya Shrine’s estate in Saga County by Otomo Masachika (1444-1496).  In the next century, Ueno Akitoshi (?-?) was ordered by Otomo Yoshishige to arrest pirate boats along the coast of Ueno’s territory in a letter dated June the 18th, 1562.

     The Ueno Family was samurais who governed the territory from Saga-seki, Amabe County, to the Usuki estate along the Usuki Bay, and who were good at navigating ships and arresting pirate boats.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (14)

     On September the 3rd, the delegation went back as far as Han-zhou, and toured Lake Xi.  On the 12th, they finally got back to Ningbo.

     The 2 ships landed at a river pier near the Ling Bridge across the Fenghua River east of Ningbo.  The other mission members who had remained in Ningbo hurried to the pier to meet the delegation, and unloaded imperial gifts and souvenirs.  The delegation officers rode on palanquins, and returned to the reception hall in glory.  Kamiya Kazue prepared a hot bath.  The delegation members bathed in it, and healed themselves of strain from the long journey.

     Until May the 20th, 1541, when the mission left China, Sakugen spent more than 200 days in Ningbo, visiting neighboring places of scenic beauty, deepening their friendship with Chinese literary figures, and buying souvenirs.  Meanwhile, the ships were reequipped, and Yoshimi Masayori and Yada Masushige (?-?), the vassals of the Ouchi Clan, held a Buddhist service as the chief mourners on the 12th anniversary of Ouchi Yoshioki’s death, whose son, Yoshitaka, owned the mission ships, and they, of course, engaged the ambassador, vice-ambassador and the other accompanying priests in the service.

     After a little more than 2 years and 2 months, the mission finally returned to Naru-shima Island on June the 26th, 1541, with great success.  At the time, Ouchi Yoshitaka was at the front in the Kanayama Castle, Sato County, Aki Province.  Sakugen left Yamaguchi on August the 12th, got to the castle on the 18th, and met Yoshitaka on the 19th to report the mission’s completion.  He also had the used tally checked in the presence of Yoshitaka on September the 14th.  Yoshitaka greatly rejoiced wt the mission’s accomplishment, and, when he met Sakugen again on September the 16th, he already ordered Sakugen to visit Ming again.  Henceforth, they started preparing for the next mission in 1549 with Sakugen as the ambassador.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (13)

    Arriving at Beijing, the delegation started rehearsing the ceremony of being presented to the Emperor.   On March the 7th, the ambassador, vice-ambassador, 2 chief traders, and some accompanying priests entered the Imperial Palace with a chief translator, and had an audience with the Emperor.  They offered a tributary letter on the 8th, and tributes on the 11th to the Ministry of Rites.  They also rose to the occasion as they had ceremonies, banquets, and receptions.

     On May the 1st, the ambassador and other delegation officers were honored with Chinese gowns as to their ranks.  Having completed around 70 days’ delegation stay tasks, the delegation left Beijing on May the 9th.  Their return trip was in scorching heat with cicadas and frogs baying at them.

     Ming Officers had been sent to Nanjing in advance to prepare the expense for sulfur and the prize copper coins for the delegation.  The delegation officers were given the money and coins at Longjiang, an outer canal harbor of Nanjing, on July the 30th.

     In mid-August, the delegation went back as far as Chang-zhou and Su-zhou.  Sakugen purchased a lot of souvenirs there: a pair of chased iron products, a collection of philological literature, a box, a small ivory incense case, 6 Indian ink sticks, a brass chain, a stamp pad, a Chinese iron ring, a small golden Chinese ring, 2 picker cases, a blue ceramic sake cup, a bottle, a mat, a leather box, 2 red carpets, and etc.  He also bought 5 meal boxes for mission officers who were left in Ningbo.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (12)

     What and who were the members of the mission in 1540?  Besides the ambassador and vice-ambassador, who were both priests, there were some other Zen priests from the Kyoto Gozan temples; Tenryu-ji, Shokoku-ji, Kennin-ji, Tofuku-ji, and Manju-ji Temples.  Some others are vassals of the Ouchi Clan, including Yoshimi Masayori (1513-1588), a nephew of the assassinator of Sue Hiromori in 1482.  Still some others were the Hakata merchants such as Kamiya Kazue (?-?), Kawakami Mokuzaemon (?-?), and etc.  They still had translators, doctors, and, of course, sailers.

     The mission had 3 ships, all of which were owned by the Ouchi Clan.  On each ship, more than 10 dozens of people were on board.  The mission, in total, had more than 400 members.  Because of Sinocentrism, a heavy burden was on Ming’s side.

     The mission were treated poorly.  The rice was red and old.  The liquor was weak and cloudy.  Vinegar and sauce were thinned with water, and water itself went rotten after a night.  On July the 8th, Kochiku died at the age of 49, and, on the next day, Senpo Shokaku, one of the chief traders, died at the age of 42.  Some others got sick.

     On August the 16th, the mission finally received a permit to enter Beijing.  Only 50 of them were admitted to enter Beijing as a delegation.

     The delegation went north through the Grand Canal via Hang-zhou and Su-zhou, and arrived at Zhangjia-wan, an outer canal harbor of Beijing, on March the 1st.  They unloaded all the tributes there, and entered Beijing by road on March the 2nd.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (11)

     Sakugen Shuryou (1502-1579) was a priest of Myochi-in Temple, a branch temple in Tenryu-ji Temple.  He was a vice-ambassador of the first mission in 1540, and the ambassador of the second one in 1549.  He kept records, and described how they negotiated with Chinese officers, what Japanese delegate members and crews were doing daily, what they experienced while they were sailing north along the Grand Canal, what was the audience with the Emperor in Beijing like, and etc.

     Hereafter, we are going to follow the outline of Sakugen’s story about the mission in 1540.

     Sakugen assumed the vice-ambassadorship of the mission to Ming in 1540, whose ambassador was Koshin Sekitei (1481-1564), in 1537, answering the request by Ouchi Yoshitaka.

     The mission set sail from Naru-shima Island among the Goto Islands on April the 19th, 1539.  On May the 2nd, they encountered Chinese fishers, Wang Qi, Chen Ba, and Zhou Qi, off Wenzhou, communicated with them in writing, and learned, sailing large northward, it would take 5 days to get to Ningbo.  On May the 7th, they arrived off Ningbo, and on the 16th, they were allowed into its outer harbor.  Only then, they were supplied with groceries such as drinking water, chickens, pork, fishes, rice, liquor, and etc.  On the 22nd, they finally got a permission from the Office of Shipping and Trade in the town, left the outer harbor, sailed up along Yong River with Ming’s military ships escorting them, and arrived at Ningbo’s river harbor.

     The mission’s weapons were temporarily impounded in Ningbo while they were staying in China.  On May the 25th, the ambassador, the vice-ambassador, and chief traders were shown to the reception hall.  On June the 8th, the mission’s tributes were inspected by the warden of the Office of Shipping Trade in the region and Ningbo Governor, and landed.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (10)

     Then there came the Nimbo Incident in 1523.  This time, Yoshioki overpowered the Hosokawa Clan.  He got a new tally from Zhengde Emperor (1491-1521) of the Ming Dynasty, and monopolized the ownership of the 3 mission ships.  The Hosokawa Clan had an old tally issued by Hongzhi Emperor (1470-1505), Zhengde’s father, and had no way but to send out a false mission.

     The Nimbo Incident gave other Japanese Western warlords 2 lessons.  First, if you are lucky enough and have the know-how of treating Ming officers, including bribing them, well enough, you might be able to make an “official” mission even with an out-of-date tally.  Second, even if you are unlucky, Ming military or security forces are not invincible anymore, that is, you can smuggle in China as a Wokou.

     After the Ningbo Incident, in the mid-16th century, the Ouchi Clan monopolized the ownership of 2 missions to Ming: the 17th, which arrived at Beijing in 1540; and the 18th, in 1549.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (9)

     In the 10th mission to Ming, which left Japan in 1451 and reached Beijing in 1453, Ouchi Norihiro (1420-1465) colluded with the Hakata merchants.  Hakata used to be the outer harbor of Dazai-fu, the Kyushu regional government which had civil, military, and diplomatic functions.  In the course of the subjugation of Northern Kyushu by the Ouchi Clan, the Hakata town was burned down, and the new governor, the Ouchi Clan, and the Hakata merchants were much in need of the reconstruction money.  Norihiro and the merchants owned officially Mission Ship No.7, and also practically No.4, which was nominally managed in the name of Shibukawa Norinao (1422-1479), a Kyushu Tandai, a Kyushu regional guardian samurai corresponding to Dazai-fu.

     The 11th mission to Ming, which arrived at Beijing in 1468, had 3 ships.  Mission Ship No.1 was owned by the shogunate, No.2 by the Hosokawa Clan, and No.3 by the Ouchi Clan.  Although No.1 was owned in the name of Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490), the eighth shogun, Ouchi Masahiro (1446-1495), who had succeeded Norihiro, practically managed to raise the money for the equipment expenses of the ship.  The Ouchi Clan overwhelmed the Hosokawa Clan by 2-1.  The overwhelming ownership provoked a sense of crisis among central powerful families and big temples, and the Hosokawa Clan succeeded in ousting the Ouchi Clan from the next 3 missions to Ming: the 12th, which arrived at Beijing in 1477; the 13th, in 1484; and the 14th, in 1495.

     And then Ouchi Yoshioki (1477-1528) succeeded Masahiro in 1495.  By that time, the 10th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshitane (1466-1523) had been exiled by Hosokawa Masamoto (1466-1507) and was replaced with Yoshizumi (1480-1511).  After Masamoto was assassinated by one of his adopted sons, Yoshitane returned to shogun in 1511 with Yoshioki’s military support.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (8)

     As we have seen so far, the greater part of the Ouchi Clan’s foreign commerce in the form of exchanging missions was that with Korea.  But the commerce with China was more profitable.

     When the Ouchi Clan faced politically and economically vital issues, they bribed shogun family with Chinese products such as Chinese paintings, Chinese bells, water buffaloes, and etc.  Obtaining those Chinese products through Korea meant either to pay the cost of intermediary trade or to get quasi-Chinese products made in Korea.

     Ming Dynasty’s Sinocentric tribute system made the trades with them much more profitable. The tally trade was a part of a mission to Ming, and was a system devised and monitored by the Chinese officers for their king.  The tally trade involved exchanges of Japanese products for Chinese goods.  Thanks to their Sinocentrism, they, or the king, gave back more valuable Chinese goods than Japanese products.

     The Muromachi Shogunate had been monopolizing the commerce with China until the mid 15th century.  The shogunate sent missions to Ming for 18 times in total.  The first 7 missions’ ships were all “owned” by the shogunate.  In the next 2 missions, big temples in Kyoto such as Shokoku-ji Temple joined the “ownerships” as well as the Yamana Clan, one of the three powerful clans that provided vice-shoguns by turns.  That is, the monopolization by the shogunate collapsed.  In 1447, Tenryu-ji Temple, which had been built by Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358), the first shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, burned down.  The shogunate under Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490), the eighth shogun that reigned from 1449 to 1473, was under fiscal reconstruction, and Yoshimasa sold tallies to raise funds.  As a result, the largest mission to Ming of all time was planned as the 10th one.  The Ouchi Clan could join the ownership for the first time as a local clan along with the Otomo Clan in Kyushu.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (7)

     In 1479, Ouchi Masahiro (1446-1495) sent a mission to Joseon, and the mission members found out that other missions had been sent to Joseon during the past 10 years.  They instantly denied those missions’ legitimacy, although those missions might have been “officially” sent out by Noriyuki.  Anyway, after 1479, the Ouchi Clan sent missions to Joseon at 2-to-4-year intervals.

     Main exports from Japan were minerals such as sulfur, silver, and copper, lacquer ware, folding fans, folding screens, and swords.  Japanese copper was exported at a much higher price than sold in Japan.  China was chronically short of copper as its market economies were ever expanding.  In addition, Japanese copper included some silver, which Japanese refineries could not extract, but Ming refineries could.  As a result, Japanese copper was sold at a higher price than copper, and at a lower price than silver.

     The main imports were copper coins, raw silk, silk fabric, books, and ceramics.

     The Ouchi Clan devoted their energy to obtaining important exports in their domain.  They opened up the Iwami Silver Mine, the Sato Silver Mine, the Naganobori Copper Mine, and etc.  They introduced cupellation, a refining process new to them, from Joseon, and drastically increased their silver output.  The increase was so large that their silver output once accounted for the one-third of that in the world, and changed the commerce in East Asia dramatically.

     The Ouchi Clan also protected and promoted artisans such as lacquer painters, inkstone chisellers, sword guard engravers, and etc.  They also invited artists like Sesshu Toyo.  They welcomed aristocrats who were down and out in Kyoto, which was burned to the ground in the Onin War, and even an exiled ex-shogun, who might be considered as persons of culture.  The clan has been sometimes criticized for devoting themselves too much to culture, but their promotion of culture obviously improved and promoted their exports.  Their cultural policies should be evaluated as measures for the promotion of local industries and exports.  As the number of exports increased, they could import more.  They also promoted import substituting industrialization: silk fabric.  The craftsmanship developed there at the time had a major impact on Nishijin-ori, or Nishijin Weaving.  Nishi-jin literally and actually meant the Camp of the West (Force).

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (6)

     Ouchi Norihiro (1420-1465) died of disease, and his son, Masahiro (1446-1495) succeeded Norihiro.  The father and son tried to revitalize foreign commerce, and came into antagonism against the Hosokawa Clan, who were one of the three clans that were producing vice shoguns by turns, and, unlike the other 2 clans, who were interested in foreign commerce.

     In the meantime, the Onin War (1467-1477) broke out.  The shogunate power was divided into 2; the East Force and the West Force.  The East Force was commanded by Hosokawa Katsumoto (1467-1477), and that naturally led the Ouchi Clan to joining the West Force Warally.  Ironically enough, the Ouchi army turned out to be the strongest among the West, and Masahiro, whether he liked it or not, stayed and fought in Kyoto for a decade.

    As the Onin War progressed, the East conspired against Masahiro, who was fighting in Kyoto about 500 kilometers away from his home country, and appointed Noriyuki, then a priest, as a clan patriarch.  Noriyuki returned to secular life in a sense, and turned traitor to Masahiro.  As the East had Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490), the 8th shogun, with them, most of Ouchi’s vassals at home swore loyalty to Noriyuki.

   However, Sue Hiromori (1455-1482), the deputy guardian samurai of the Suo Province, alone rebelled against Noriyuki, defeated him in Suo first, then in the Nagato Province, and finally ousted him into the Buzen Province in Northern Kyushu.

   After the Onin War ceased in 1477, Masahiro returned, and concentrated himself on ruling and managing his provinces, boosting foreign commerce included.

   Sue Hiromori?  He was assassinated at the celebration party of the victory in Yamaguchi, Suo, in 1482.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (5)

       After Ouchi Morimi’s death in battle, his 2 sons, Mochiyo (1394-1441) and Mochimori (1394-1433), fought each other for the succession of the clan.  Although Mochimori once occupied all the provinces the clan was ruling besides a part of the Ishimi Province which Mochiyo escaped into, Mochiyo recovered the provinces with the supports from the local samurais.  Mochiyo defeated and killed Mochimori and succeeded Morimi.

     Later, Mochiyo defeated the Otomo and Shoni Clans, and conquered the Northern Kyushu.  When Ashikaga Yoshinori (1394-1441), the 6th shogun, was assassinated, Mochiyo was, unluckily, sitting in the same room,  was deadly injured, and died before long.
 
   After Mochiyo’s sudden death in 1441, his 2 sons, Noriyuki (?-?) and Norihiro (1420-1465), fought each other, as the matter of course, for the succession of the clan.  Somehow or other, Norihiro overwhelmed Noriyuki, and Noriyuki became a priest and started tutoring his younger brother, Norihiro, and later Norihiro’s son, Masahiro (1446-1495).

     In 1443, the Kingdom of Joseon required Norihiro to send a mission, and he realized at the time that his father, Mochiyo, had secretly sent a (false?) mission to Joseon.  In 1453, Joseon offered a tally to the Ouchi Clan.  The clan was privileged, but was charged with eliminating false missions in return.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (4)

     Ouchi Yoshihiro (1356-1399) sent troops to the Korean Peninsula into Gyeonsang Province in response to Goryeo’s summons for help.  Goryeo later sent an appreciation mission to Yoshihiro.  Yoshihiro asked for  the Tripitaka or Palman Daejanggyeong in return.  The Muromachi Shogunate seemed to have connived their direct exchanges, regarding the Ouch Clan as an agency with Korea.

     Being afraid of the Ouchi Clan’s power, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), the third shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, provoked Yoshimitsu to rebel against Yoshimitsu himself, and killed him at Sakai in 1399.  Yoshimitsu built Kinkaku-ji Temple, Shokoku-ji Temple, Rokuo-in Temple, and etc.  He might have built as many temples as his plots.

     After Yoshihiro’s death in the Oei Incident, the shogunate appointed his youngest brother, Hiroyo, as the guardian samurai of Suo, Nagato, and etc. Provinces, but Morimi (1377-1431), another younger brother of Yoshihiro who was elder to Hiroyo, defeated and killed Hiroyo in Nagato Province in 1401.  Morimi kept sending missions to Korea until 1423.

The Ouchi Clan and their Smuggling (3)

     The Kingdom of Goryeo (918-1392) and the Kingdom of Joseon (1392-1897) in the Korean Peninsula maintained the relationships with the central government of Japan, but also turned their efforts to establishing the relationships with powerful sea families and samurai families in the Northern Kyushu and along the Seto Inland Sea, while the Ming Dynasty accepted the diplomatic relations only with “the King of Japan”, in this case the Ashikaga Shogunate.  The kingdoms had to employ realistic approaches to clear Earlier Wokou away.

     Joseon accepted 2 types of official missions from Japan.  The first type was those from the King of Japan.  The second type was those from 5 “great chiefs”: 3 Shogun’s Deputies, the Shiba, Hosokawa, and Hatakeyama Clans, the Shoni Clan, and the Ouchi Clan.  The Ouchi Clan defeated the Hosokawa Clan, and diminished the Shoni Clan.  The Shiba and Hatakeyama Clans were mainly based in the Eastern Japan, and not interested in maritime affairs.  Even Joseon's official missions had to pass the Akama-ga-seki Channel, which were controlled by the Ouchi Clan, and the clan’s cooperation was inevitable.

I visited Rokuo-in Temple in Sagano, Kyoto, last Saturday.

Rokuo-in Temple was built in 1380 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate.

The sign of the temple gate was drawn by Yoshimitsu, and the gate and the sign have gone through more than 6 Centuries together.

An alley between green moss leads you to the guesthouse. From the guesthouse you can find a simple garden with rocks, camellias, and japonicas having the Arashi-yama mountain in the back. Across the garden, there stands the Shari-den building. Shari refers to Buddha’s remaining ashes, and this building enshrines his remaining tooth. The tooth was invited by Minamoto Sanetomo, the third shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate from the Song Dynasty, China.

As you enter the Shari-den building, you find a large dingy golden color with miniature workmanship tells us how precious the tooth was for the people at the time.

Walking back through the alley, I realized how quiet the temple was. Only a few sightseers there besides us. Rokuo-in Station along Arashiy^-yama Dentetsu Line is the nearest station. The line is more like trams than trains, and I could walk back to its terminal, Arashi-yama Station, on foot. I wonder why there are so few people who try to enjoy the quietness of the temple.