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.