The Otomo Clan and their Smuggling (2)

     A record of the Kingdom of Joseon tells us that Otomo Mochinao (?-1445?) asked the kingdom for Makaprajnaparamita Sutra, or “Large Perfection of Wisdom Sutra,” and a large Buddhist temple bell in 1429.  The request was a countermeasure against the Ouchi Clan’s importing Palman Daejanggyeong, or Tripitaka.  The overwhelming number of Tripitaka the Ouchi Clan possessed showed off their outstanding position in Japan-Joseon relations.

     The 8th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490, reigning 1449-1473), who built Ginkaku-ji Temple, sold Japan-Ming trading tallies for his financial reasons.  The spread of tallies enabled the Otomo Clan to take part in a mission to Ming along with the Ouchi Clan.

The Otomo Clan and their Smuggling (1)

     The founder of the Otomo Clan was Yoshinao (1172-1223).  He was born to the Kondo family, and later was adopted to the Nakahara family.  As he was based at Otomo County (a part of today’s Odawara City in Kanagawa Prefecture) in Sagami Province, he started calling his family Otomo.

     Yoshinao performed great military services for the establishment of Kamakura Shogunate, and became one of the most powerful vassals of Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), the founder of the shogunate.  Yoshinao was appointed to be the guardian samurai in Buzen, Bungo, and Chikuzen Provinces in Kyushu, but it is not clear if he actually visited those provinces.  He mainly stayed either in Kamakura or Kyoto.

     The Otomo Clan might have been too close to the Minamoto Clan.  As the power shifted to the Hojo Clan in the shogunate, Otomos lost their chances to play important parts in the shogunate government.  In the meanwhile, Khubilai Khan (1215-1294), the first Mongol emperor of China, sent his naval expeditions to Kyushu in 1274 and 1281.  Otomo Yoriyasu (1222-1309), the third head of the clan, went to Bungo Province.  He was appointed a wartime commissioner, and did his jobs to ask for warriors despatched, to verify their services in battle fields, and report their contributions to the shogunate government.

     Later, the Otomo Clan came to be based in Funai, Bungo Province.

The Sagara Clan and their Smuggling (7)

     The Sagara Clan was a good pupil of the Ouchi Clan.

     In 1547, Muromachi Shogunate, or practically the Ouchi Clan, ordered the Sagara Clan to guard the mission ships, and the clan sent some of their vassal samurais.

     When the Sagara Clan developed Miyahara Silver Mine, they invited a silver refiner, Doun, from Iwami Silver Mine, which was ruled by the Ouchi Clan at the time.

     All in all, the Sagara Clan quickly acquired knowledge and skills necessary for getting along with Ming from the Ouchi Clan and managed to send their first “mission” to Ming in 1554, just 3 years after the Ouchi Clan practically fell with Yoshitaka’s defeated suicide death in 1551, when Yoshitaka was overthrown by Sue Harutaka, his vassal.  Next year, in 1555, the Sagara Clan sent their second “mission” to Ming.  In 1557, the Ouchi Clan, their teacher, even nominally became extinct with the suicide death of Yoshinaga, Yoshitaka’s nephew and a puppet of Sue Harutaka.  This time he was defeated by the Mori Clan.  Sue Harutaka?  He had already been killed in the battle against the Mori Clan on Itsuku-shima Island as early as in 1555.

維也納廣播交響樂團＠台北國家音樂廳

Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonoren-Ouvertüre Nr. 3 C-Dur op. 72b (1806)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonie Nr. 7 A-Dur op. 92 (1811-12)
Johannes Brahms: Symphonie Nr. 1 in c-Moll op.68 (1862-76)


At the beginning of Nr. 3, their strings section was too weak and their brass section too strong. However, they were professional and their balance got better and better. The balance and their speedy way of performance just matched the concert hall with Nr. 7. I am sorry I had to leave after the 2, because of tomorrow's schedule.

The Sagara Clan and their Smuggling (6)

     We can find another piece of supporting evidence that the silver mine was at Miyahara in Kuma County.  Miyahara Village used to have Nakashima-Kirishima Shrine, and neighboring Okamoto Village used to have Ofuki-Kirishima Shrine.  The two were built at the beginning of the 9th century.  It is recorded that Sagara Haruhiro (1513-1555) renovated Nakashima-Kirishima Shrine sometime between 1532 and 1555, Ofuki-Kirishima Shrine in 1548.  In his above-mentioned letter, Sagara Yoshishige (1489-1546) requested Haruhiro to thank the divine protection that the clan had found the silver mine.  Haruhiro probably might have followed his advice 2 years after the letter.

     In the 16th century, for Japanese “missions” to Ming, silver was not only exports but the means of payment for necessities of life during their stay in Ming.  For example, the mission organized by the Ouchi Clan in 1549 had to anchor and wait in Hang-zhou Bay for months before they were allowed to sail into Ningbo Port.  During those months, they had to buy rice, alcoholic drinks, dried fish, vegetables, beans, tauco or tauchu, shaobing, green onions, potatoes, bamboo shoots, oranges, tofu, firewood, incense sticks, sickles, pots, straw mats, and paper at Aoshan or Dinghai in Zhoushan Island with their silver according to a record preserved by Myochi-in Temple.

The Sagara Clan and their Smuggling (5)

     New Ichiki-maru set sail to Ming, not to Ryukyu, on March the 2nd, 1554, and sailed back home at Tokubuchi Port on July the 12th, 1554.  Only 4 months!  It means they didn’t, or couldn’t, visit Beijing.  It means they might not have been recognized as a national official mission.

     Anyway, however, what made it possible for the Sagara Clan to try trading with Ming?

     Previously in 1546, Sagara Yoshishige (1489-1546) wrote a letter dated July the 12th to his adopted-son, Haruhiro (1513-1555).  The letter reads that silver ore was found in Miyahara on July the 6th.  On the 18th, it was refined into about 100 grams of silver.

     In the Sagara Clan’s domain, there used to be 2 Miyaharas; one was in Kuma County in the mountains, the other in Yatsushiro County along the seashore.  There used to be a copper mine at Fukada near Miyahara in Kuma County.  The mine output copper the most between 1704 and 1735 during Edo Period, but was closed in 1740.  The silver mine Yoshishige mentioned might have been at Miyahara in Kuma County.

The Sagara Clan and their Smuggling (4)

     Let me show one example of the Sagara Clan’s trade with Ryukyu.

     On May the 26th, 1542, Engakuji Zenso, a priest diplomat of Ryukyu Kingdom, wrote a letter to Sagara Yoshishige (1489-1546).  According to the letter, Yoshishige had sent a commercial ship to Ryukyu, and had paid various tributes to the king.  The kingdom addressed their thanks to Yoshishige for the rare tributes, charged the sea captain with passing the letter to Yoshishige, and presented back about 70 kilograms of sugar in requital.

     Interestingly enough, the kingdom admitted the ship to be an official ship of the Higo Province, although the Sagara Clan themselves were not the guardian samurai of the province.  Official ships of provinces were excused from paying tariffs.  The fact they recognized the ship as a Japanese official one implies that Yoshishige did not hire Chinese commercial ships, which called at ports in Japan often in those days, but had his own ship.  He quite possibly used Ichiki-maru.

     As things went so well with Ryukyu, it wasn’t so difficult for them to sail westward to Ningbo for about 800 kilometers, after having learned some lessons.  Actually, Sagara Haruhiro (1513-1555), an adopted son of Yoshishige, built another Ichiki-maru in 1554, 3 years after the collapse of the Ouchi Clan.  The ship launching ceremony was held on February the 23rd in the same year.

The Sagara Clan and their Smuggling (4)

The Sagara Clan and their Smuggling (3)

     Sagara Tametsugu  (1447-1500) was succeeded by his eldest son, Nagatsune (1469-1518).  Nagatsune had 3 sons; 2 elder illegitimate sons, Yoshishige (1489-1546) and Nagataka (1492-1526), and 1 younger legitimate son, Nagamasa (1501-1525).  Nagatsune abdicated in 1512, and was succeeded by Nagamasa.

     Once Nagatsune, who had been holding real power, died in 1518, Nagasada started trying to realize his belief in his legitimacy.  In 1524, Nagasada attacked Hitoyoshi Castle, eliminated Nagamasa, and killed him in 1525.  On May the 11th, 1526, Nagataka attacked Hitoyoshi Castle this time, and eliminated Nagasada.  On the 15th, Nagataka was attacked by Yoshishige, and committed hara-kiri on the 16th.  Nagasada, his wife, and his 2 sons were assassinated in 1531.

     In 1533, Uemura Nagatsune (1495-1535), one of the brothers-in-law of Sagara Yoshishige, built a large mansion at Tokubuchi Port in Yatsushiro County.  The Sagara Clan built a big enough ship, Ichiki-maru, there in 1538.  Ichiki-maru made commercial voyages southward from Kyushu to Ryukyu by themselves for about 700 kilometers.

The Sagara Clan and their Smuggling (2)

     Sagara Nagatsugu (1411-1468) had 3 sons, Yorikane (?-?), Yoriakira (?-?), and Tametsugu (1447-1500).  Yorikane was the eldest, but was handicapped.  Yoriakira died young.  Tametsugu succeeded Nagatsugu, although Yorikane had a son Nagasada (?-1531).

     In 1467, the Onin War broke out, and Nagatsune was invited to Kyoto by Hosokawa Katsumoto (1430-1473), Shogun’s Deputy.  Nagatsugu went to Kyoto with his army, but got sick the following year, came back to Hitoyoshi, and died there.  Katsumoto, then, requested Tametsugu to come to the front.  Tametsugu answered that he would consult Kikuchi Tamekuni (1430-1488), the provincial guardian samurai in Higo Province, and Shimazu Tadakuni (1403-1470), the provincial guardian samurai in Satsuma, Osumi, and Hyuga Provinces, but was demanded forcibly.  Tametsugu went to Kyoto with his army in 1468.

     Meanwhile, however, Ashikaga Yoshimi (1446-1495), a would-be shogun, or a shogun, or a false shogun, went over from the East Army to the West army.  Tametsugu followed Yoshimi, and left Katsumoto.  There, in the West Army, he met Ouchi Masahiro (1446-1495), and probably might have had his eyes opened to the sea.

The Sagara Clan and their Smuggling (1)

     The Sagara Clan used to live in Sagara Manor in Totomi Province.  Sagara Yorikage (?-?) was not so cooperative with the establishment of Kamakura Shogunate, that he was exiled to Taraki Manor in Kuma County, Higo Province, Kyushu, 1195 by the shogun, Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199).  He was later forgiven by Yoritomo, and was appointed as the guardian samurai in Taraki Manor in 1197.  His son, Nagayori (1177-1254), fought well for the Hojo Clan in the battles in 1205, and was appointed as the guardian samurai in Hitoyoshi Manor in Kuma County in the same year.

     The Kuma county was an inland county.  Its gateway to the sea was Yatsushiro County, which had Tokubuchi Port.  The port was one of the 4 busiest ports in Higo Province, along with Takase, Kawajiri, and Shiki.

     In 1448, Sagara Nagatsugu (1411-1468) in Hitoyoshi Manor conquered Taraki Manor, and unified Kuma Caounty, the largest county in Higo Province.  In 1460, he was approved of ruling Yatsushiro and Ashikita Counties by Kikuchi Tamekuni (1430-1488), the provincial guardian samurai in Higo Province.

How, or where, did Strauss perceive the world?

I watched the film 2001: A Space Odyssey on TV. The last scene is always impressive with the introduction of Also sprach Zarathustra. The tune matches the sight in which Dave, who is now almost like an extraterrestrial, looks down upon the earth. Then, I wonder, what kind of idea or sight Richard Strauss had in his mind as he composed the tone poem.