Sulfur and the Otomo Clan (3)

     The second list in 1383, of course, included Yufuin, under which 9 villages were added as a supplementary note; Namiyanagi, Shukuri, Tsukahara, Aragane, Amama, Araki, Yamasaki, Ishimatsu, and Sadatsune.

     Shukuri, Tsukahara, Araki, Yamasaki, Ishimatsu, and Sadatsune all lie in Yufuin Valley.  Aragane and Amama are further north-west upstream of Tsukahara, and the road through the 3 villages leads to Moji over a mountain pass via Ajimu and Usa in Buzen Province.  The increase of the number of villages in the list might mean the strengthening direct control of the Otomo Clan over the area as well as the better knowledge of the area.

     During those 2 decades, in 1364, Otomo Ujitoki (?-1368) was fighting for the Northern Court against the Southern Court.  In 1374, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) strictly ordered Shimazu Ujihisa (1328-1387) to offer sulfur.  Both of them were fighting for the Northern Court, and Yoshimitsu might have given the Otomo Clan the same order.  In 1379 and in 1380, Prince Kaneyoshi (1329-1383), a commander of chief in the Southern Court, offered sulfur to Ming.  In 1383, Otomo Chikashige (?-1418) was fighting for the Northern Court against the Southern Court and his elder brother, Ujitsugu (?-1401).  And, in 1392, Yoshimitsu finally dissolved the Southern Court, and unified the two courts.

     China pulled a large amount of sulfur from Japan.  Japanese national hegemons at the time pushed a large quantity of sulfur to China to obtain political gains, certain statuses in East Asia Tribute System, and to obtains certain economic gains, trade margins.  The push worked as pulls on Japanese local hegemons.  The local hegemons tried to procure sulfur from volcanoes in their domains.  Thus, the exportation and production of sulfur became institutionalized and structured as a munition industry, whether the concerned local people realized the transformation process or not.