Japanese Pirate Samurais and Warlords

Introduction

1. What were Japanese Pirates like?

Japanese pirates boarded not on tall ships as Western pirates did but on smaller fast boats, which used to be called sekibune or hayafune, (medium-sized raiding boats), and kohaya (small raiding boats) in Japanese.  They had 2 public characters.

First, Japanese pirates controlled various checkpoints at important ports, which used to be called fudaura in Japanese, along the sea, rivers, and lakes.  They collected some taxes, such as sekiyaku (checkpoint fees), uwanoriryo (on-board fees), and as such.

They put up some checkpoints forcibly in the medieval period, but they were sanctioned overtly in their society.  Levying checkpoint fees and on-board fees were claimed rightfully, however absurd they seemed to sea travelers who happened to encounter them in the sea and to be demanded taxes and fees forcibly.

There were several kinds of fees checkpoints levied.  Hobetsusen, a sail tax, was imposed according to how big each ship was.  Dabetsusen, a freight tax, was imposed on cargo.  Uwanoriryo, an on-board fee, was imposed as a piloting fee.  The pilot on a ship also saved the ship from being attacked by his fellow pirates.

In 1420, a Korean ambassador, Song Huikyeong, came to Japan as a return call for an envoy sent by Ashikaga Yoshimochi (1386-1428) the shogun at the time.  He kept a diary, Nosong-dang Ilbon Heangnok, and wrote, “We hired Tozoku (pirates in the East Seto Inland Sea) near Kamogari (today’s Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture) so as not to be attacked by Saizoku (pirates in the West Seto Inland Sea).”  This clearly shows they had uwanori system already at that time.  As time progressed, the system became an official one in the Seto Inland Sea, which was utilized even by warlords.

Second, Japanese pirates were navies who handled war boats skillfully, and sometimes fought for or against warlords.  Thus, they were also called sui-gun (sea forces) in Japanese.

The word pirates might sound as if they had acted freely on the sea. They were, on the contrary, respectable warriors on the sea, who rallied round to answer the call-outs by shogun Ashikaga or by warlords to get a fief or a local magistrate job.  In that sense, they should never be regarded as unlawful people.

2. Were Pirates Freelancers?

The area of study on the history of pirates has accumulated a number of profound researches after the Meiji Era. These years, Amino Yoshihiko argued “Seafaring People,” and Katsumata Shizuo alleged “Samurai without their Lord.”  Their arguments were widely noticed, but, after them, it seems that researches have been heavily inclined toward those to investigate specific conditions.

For instance, inquiring into the difference between the sea world and the land world is rather unproductive. In the Seto Inland Sea, the sea and the land are tightly connected, and some pirates worked as local magistrates.  The sea was a highway anyone could use.

The Seto Inland Sea is a main artery, and the surrounding coastal areas were closely related to each other, and should be recognized as one region. When those historic heroes such as Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), and/or Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) were going to unify the nation, organizing the pirates in the Seto Inland Sea became of critical importance.

Pirates integrated the coastal areas along the Seto Inland Sea reducing frictions there. As the large part of the Western Seto Inland Sea was included in Iyo Province, influential pirates including the members of the Murakami Clan regarded the Kono Clan, Iyo’s provincial guardian samurai, as their lord, and surrounding other warlords also understood the relationship.

Mori Motonari (1497-1571) wrote, “This time we send troops to Iyo in return, because Mori Takamoto (1523-1563) and all of us were saved by the Kurushima Clan.” (from the Mori Clan’s archives) He recognized that his clan’s victory over the Sue Clan in the Battle of Itsuku-shima Island in 1555, owed to the Kurushima Clan’s support, who was one of the main vassals of the Kono Clan.  That was why the Mori Clan sent troops to Iyo to help the Kono Clan in return.

Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki (1537-1597) smashed Nobunaga’s sea forces in the Battle of Kidu-gawa Estuary, and successfully sent in provisions into Osaka Hongan-ji Temple in 1576. He gave thanks to Kono Michinao (1564-1587) for the Murakami Clan’s participating in the battle.  The Kono Clan used to be regarded as the top of the pirates’ hierarchy during the Warring States Period.  That kind of recognition was still seen even in the late 16th century.

The history of pirates has been studied by investigating the conditions of powerful pirate clans, such as Murakami Clan, during the Warring States Period, when they were most active. It is more important that the Kono Clan and their distant relative, the Mori Clan, practically Kobayakawa Takakage (1533-1597), were the pirate warlords, or pirate public authorities who ruled the Seto Inland Sea at the end of the Warring States Period.

To make contrast with those warlords in East Japan who mainly fight land battles, they can be called pirate warlords. Those pirate warlords maintained their domains by securing the mastery of the sea, exploiting their pirates’ high maneuverability and well-honed mercenary wits.  For instance, Kono Michinao (1564-1587) could defend their state against the relentless attack by Chosokabe Motochika (1538-1599), a warlord in Tosa, thanks to their sea forces’ superiority.

Would-be national leaders who were conquering Western provinces were inevitable to organize their own sea forces. For example, Kuki Yoshitaka (1542-1600) fought for Nobunaga:  against Ise-Nagashima Uprising by the True Pure Land sect in 1574, in another battle of Kidu-gawa Estuary in 1578, against the Hanakuma Castle in Settsu in 1580, and etc.  He established himself as a pirate serving under Nobunaga.

Under Toyotomi regime, the Kono Clan was ruined, and the Murakami Clan was moved to Kyushu. Toyotomi’s warlords occupied Iyo and Awaji Provinces, and organized local pirates as their navies, which were sent to Korea.  Those warlords included Todo Takatora (1556-1630), Kato Yoshiaki (1563-1631), and Wakizaka Yasuharu (1554-1626).  At this stage of pirates’ history, utilizing big battleships with cannons and lots of matchlock guns.  Those battleships used to be called atake-bune in Japanese, and financing the armaments have become more indispensable than each pirate’s combat power.

The end of pirate warlords’ high days, when they sailed their sekibune or kohaya (medium-sized and small raiding boats) tactically to enemy ships and burned them down with horoku-bi-ya, earthenware explosives, had gone. Some vassals of the Murakami Clan served Toyotomi’s clans.  However, the Kuki Clan, with their building techniques of battleships, atake-bune, was taken into national leaders’ confidence.

Some historians call Murakani Takeyoshi (1533-1604) “a warlord on the sea”, “a pirate warlord”, or even “a unified regime on the sea”, who extended his power even over the East Seto Inland Sea, but that is overestimation. Although the Murakami Clan enjoyed some independency, they placed themselves as the Kono Clan’s senior vassal.  They didn’t dream of acquiring a status to work under shogun or national leader’s direct orders.

Preceding studies have analyzed each pirate, but didn’t research pirates’ power politics in coastal areas around the Seto Inland Sea under the influence of the behaviors of pirate warlords.

3. Pirates during the Warring States Period

The Kono Clan was a major pirate warlord, but sank into obscurity in the history in the shadow of the Mori Clan, one of the most powerful warlords at the end of the Warring States Period. Some successive heads of the clan were invalid or short-lived (Michinao, for example, is said to have died at the age of 24), and the clan was having power games for its leadership in itself.

However, after all, the Kono Clan was a medieval distinguished family who ruled Iyo Province. The Kono Clan’s hongan (the surname’s place) was Kono, Kazahaya Couty, Iyo Province. The clan produced Kono Michinobu (1156-1223), who played an important role in Gen-Pei Battle (battles between Minamoto Clan and Taira Clan), and who also was a grandfather of Ippen Chishin (1239-1289), a founder of the Ji Sect; also Kono Michiari (?-1311), who was reputed as a brave during the attack by Yuan Dynasty; and etc.

In Chugoku and Shikoku Regions, the Kono Clan was the only guardian samurai who could maintain their territory even after the Ouchi Clan in Suo Province was ruined. Moreover, in the end of the Warring States Period, the Kono Clan organized powerful pirate clans such as the Nojima Murakami Clan and the Kurushima Murakami Clan as senior vassals, ruled Iyo Province, and had power over the Seto Inland Sea areas.

The Kono Clan was given such high-ranking honors. For instance, the heads of the Kono Clan during the Warring States Period were allowed to use the yakata title.  The title was permitted to the members of the Ashikaga Clan, and they were treated as highly as guardian samurais. The title was also allowed to the clans who had been guardian samurais for generations and who could attain important positions in the shogunate, and to the clans who rendered distinguished service to the shogunate.  The heads of the Kono Clan also joined in shoban-shu, a member of suite or retinue, a second-high position next to shogun aides who could attend a banquet in shogun’s palace and who could accompany a shogun when he visited other families.  They were also given a public position, sakyo-no-daibu, equal to shishiki-ke who provided a chief officer in judicature prosecution police.

Muromachi Shogunate’s honoring hierarchy deeply penetrated into local samurai societies, and was meaningful for warlords in justifying their authority in the Warring States Period. The Kono Clan’s social status and authority were very high compared with those of the Chosokabe Clan, who were at war with Kono Clan.

The Kono Clan was so powerful that they had their branch families in other provinces, too. Inaba Yoshimichi (1516-1588), who had another name Iyo-no-kami Ittetsu, had a son son, Sadamichi (1546-1603), who made the first lord of Usuki Domain in Bungo Province.  Hitotsuyanagi Naosue (1553-1590), made the lord of Karuminishi Castle in Mino Province.  Hitotsuyanagi Naomori (1564-1636) made the first lord of Saijo Domain in Iyo Province.  Some other powerful lords of manors in Mino Province were had their roots in the Kono Clan.  The Yoshu Family, who were descendants of the Kono Clan’s branch family, moved to Kai Province, served the Takeda Clan, and made a direct retainer of Tokugawa Shogunate.

Recent excavations show that the Kono Clan’s main castle, Yuzuki-jo Castle, was an advanced castle on a low hill surrounded in a plain with massive-scale inner moat, outer moat, and earthen ramparts.  The remnants of its large-scale citadel were excavated, and a large quantity of relics was dug out, including high-quality imported ceramics, which show a markedly international character of the clan.

It was also important that Yuzuki-jo Castle’s surrounding areas attracted travelers and pilgrims nationwide. Its castle town, Dogo, had a nationwide famous hot spring, and had many well-known religious institutions: Ishite-ji Temple, the 51st of the 88 Kwannon Temples in Shikoku Region; Hogon-ji Temple, where Ippen Chishin (1239-1289), the founder of Ji Sect of Buddhism, was born; and Isaniwa Shrine, which was one of the oldest shrines that were listed in a law enforced in 967.

4. The Survival of Pirates

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) came into contact with the pirate society in the Seto Inland Sea around 1577, when he was ordered to conquer Harima Province by his lord Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582). Since then, he kept being committed in the areas.  He made series of expeditions to Western provinces, attacked Saika People in Kii Province, and invaded Shikoku and Kyushu Regions between 1585 and 1587.  Furthermore, he dispatched troops to Korea between 1592 and 1598.  Through the military operations, he deeply committed himself to the pirate society from the time he was a chief servant of the Oda Clan till his death after unifying and ruling Japan.

The national unification Hideyoshi pursued after taking over Nobunaga’s lines involved developing capable bureaucrats with the new sense of values in the new era, and excluding the incapable bloodline elites from Muromachi period. That was the same with the process of assuming control over the pirate society in the Seto Inland Sea.

The pirate warlords, such as the Kono and Mori Clans, had respected authority in Muromatchi period, such as Ashikaga Shogunate and guardian samurais in surrounding provinces.  The pirate warlords had to make critical decisions to face the unprecedented crises after years of fights and diplomatic negotiations against Hideyoshi, who advocated to taking over Nobunaga’s reform.

The following 5 points should be argued:

First, to describe the pirate society in the Seto Inland Sea from various points of view. Second, to reveal the fact how shrewdly and cannily Hideyoshi maneuvered the vassals of pirate warlords mainly during Nobunaga’s last years.  Third, to follow the process of the power shift from the Kono Clan to the Mori Clan in the pirate society in the Seto Inland Sea during and after the end of the Warring States Period.  Fourth, to point out the relationship between Toyotomi Regime’s so-called “prohibitions against pirates”, which were ordered several times covering larger territories each time, and the Kono Clan’s extinction and the Mori Clan’s succeeding reorganization of the Murakami Clans.  Fifth, to see the birth of the early modern nation from the maritime point of view by paying attention to the fact that Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) established surveillance networks against pirates.

I The Historical Currents in the Seto Inland Sea

1. Land Battles & Naval Battles

What did Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) think of the pirate society which even influence the movements of the warlords in Western Japan? He was born in Owari Province and experienced only the societies in Eastern Japan.  That must have limited his ability to organize pirates in the Seto Inland Sea.

In Eastern Japan, they essentially fought land battles , while navies were indispensable in Western Japan. In the West, castles used to be located by rivers, lakes, or the sea.  Even when one managed to capture a castle in a day land battle, he sometimes might have lost the castle to the night attack by his enemy pirates.

Buke Mandai Santo Kaizoku-ke Ikusa Nikki (The Diary of Militant Generations of Pirate Families in Three Islands) was written by Mishina Heiemon (?-?), a vassal of Ogasawara Tadasane (1596-1667), the lord of Kokura Domain in Buzen Province in 1663.  The book described the sea forces, Kawanouchi People, who were led by Kodama Narikata (1513-1586), a vassal of the Mori Clan, from the Warring States Period till Shoku-Ho Period (the abbreviation of Oda and Toyotomi Period).  The book has as many as 50 articles of Kawachi Keigo Oboegaki (Kawanouchi’s  Memoranda of Guarding), one of the articles is a rule in marching:

“When Mori Army marches on land, Kawauchi People should sail on the sea. We divide a fleet of 250 into 5 groups.  Following the schedule and adapting our progress to that of the army, we sail for 12-20km.  According to the order, we have contacts with the army.  As army progresses 20km a day while navy progresses 60km a day, we have three days of time.  When the navy and the army have contacts, the army uses fire on a hill which faces the sea.  And then we send a boat to get their information.”

This is a detailed rule in Mori Army and Navy that the army and the navy should progress simultaneously.  The simultaneous progress of the army and the navy could be dated back to the Warring States Period, and that seems unique in the Seto Inland Sea areas.

Hideyoshi's lord, Oda Nobunaga, didn’t have sufficient naval forces in Owari Province.  Instead, Nobunaga promoted the Kuki Clan, a pirate warlord in Shima Province, as his nave.  As Hideyoshi had no authority to command the clan to fight in the Seto Inland Sea, he had to maneuver pirates in the Seto Inland Sea by his own.

2. The East Seto Inland Sea and the West Seto Inland Sea

The Seto Inland Sea is an artery and the surrounding areas formed one big region, but we can find 2 sub-regions there at least before the modernization of Japan, especially during the Warring States Period.  The Geiyo Archipelago was the borderland, or the border waters, between the East Seto Inland Sea and the West Seto Inland Sea.  In Chugoku Region in the mainland of Japan, the border between Bicchu and Bingo Provinces almost represented the borderland, while, in Shikoku Island, Nii County, the easternmost county in Iyo Province, belonged to the East while almost all the other parts of the province belonged to the West.  The East was under the geopolitical influence of Kinai Region, which included the capital of Japan, Kyoto.  The West had a close relation with the Northern and the Eastern areas in Kyushu Region, which had special regional government in Dazai.

The East Seto Inland Sea has two large seaports, Hyogo in Settsu Province and Sakai in Izumi Province, both of which belonged to Kinai Region.  The Hosokawa Clan, which produced Shogunate aides, wielded power in those two seaports, and enjoyed close economic relationships with the cities.  Ships and boats which went west from the two ports went through the Kitan Straits or through the Akashi Strait first.  Around those straits, there used to be powerful pirates on the watch for those vessels.  Around the Kitan Straits, the Manabe Clan and the Tan’nowa Clan in Izumi Province and the Kan Clan in Awaji Province were well-known, and, around the Akashi Strait, the Ishii Clan was famous.

In the West Seto Inland Sea, Onomichi in Bingo Province and Itsukushima in Aki Province used to be famous as ports of call, and Tomo-no-ura, or the Tomo Inlet in Bingo Province were especially important since it was prosperous as a junction between the East and West Seto Inland Seas.  The port is located at the rear end of an inlet at the southern tip of the peninsular which juts out into the Sea of Hiuchi-nada.  It is a good port between a hill and Taiga Island, a tied-island which is attached to the hill with a sandbar.  The inlet is serene and a port town had been formed from the ancient time there.

The division of the East and The West had oceanographic grounds.  Tides caused currents in the Seto Inland Sea.  A sea current ran westward into the Sea of Harima-nada in the East Seto Inland Sea through the Akashi and Naruto Straits at flood tide.  Another sea current ran eastward into the Sea of Iyo-nada in the West Seto Inland Sea through the Bungo Channel at flood tide.  At low tide, the currents turned around.  So, it was not so difficult or complicated to sail either within the East or within the West.

Tomo-no-ura was located at the meeting point of the two sea currents, and ships and boats, which utilized the currents at the time, used to gather here waiting for a next current which would bring them to another sub-region of the Seto Inland Sea.  It naturally became a node of cargo distribution networks in Western Japan, and also attracted information quickly as well.

Politically speaking, Tomo-no-ura used to be a port town deeply related to Muromachi Shogunate, or the Ashikaga Clan.  For example, at the very start of the shogunate, Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358), its founder, stopped at Komatsu-dera Temple here on his way to strike back to Kyoto from Kyushu Region.  Ashikaga Tadafuyu (?-?), Takauji’s son, came down here to Ogajima Castle as a governor of Chugoku Region.

      Down during the Warring States Period, the 10th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiki (1466-1523, later renamed Yoshitane) was removed and expelled by Hosokawa Masamoto (1466-1507), but returned back to Kyoto from today’s Yamaguchi Prefecture to be re-appointed as a shogun under the support of Ouchi Yoshioki (1477-1528).  He called at the port on his way back to Kyoto.  The 15th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki (1537-1597) exiled himself here, appointed the Mori Clan as a vice-shogun, opened “Tomo Shogunate” as a base of anti-Nobunaga forces, and ordered warlords in Western Japan to work for his return to Kyoto.

These examples tell us that Tomo-no-ura used to played an important role both at the beginning and the end of Muromachi Shogunate.

3. Inland Sea Lane

In the latter half of the Warring States Period, the Murakami Clan gained power with their bases on the Geiyo Archipelago in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea.  The Murakami Clan was composed of 3 sub-clans; Nojima Murakami, Kurushima Murakami, and In’noshima Murakami.  They used to be called Santo Murakami (Three-Island Murakami) or Santo Murakami Sea Forces.

The Murakami Clan was subordinate to the Kono Clan, the Guardian Samurai of Iyo Province, and established a good relationship even with the Mori Clan.  The Murakami Clan tried to extend their power over the East Seto Inland Sea, and tried to assume the control of the Shiwaku Islands, Hitsuishi-jima Island, Yo-shima Island, Hon-jima Island, Ushi-jima Island, Hiro-shima Island, Takami-shima Island, Sanagi-shima Island, and other islands all in Sanuki Province.

The Shiwaku Islands were located in the center of Bisan Archipelago between the Sea of Harima-nada and the Sea of Hiuchi-nada.  They attracted many ships and boats, and provided boatmen to transport travelers and goods.  The Murakami Clan came to control the Shiwaku people, and became a master who organized and controlled local pirates based at straits which were difficult to pass through.

As a countermeasure against the Murakami Clan, who were extending its power into the East Seto Inland Sea, Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) issued a guarantee dated March 26, 1577, to Shiwaku Guardhouse that the Shiwaku ships could ship to Sakai.  The document seemed to show that Shiwaku Islands were under the influence of Oda Nobunaga.  Until around 1584, however, the Murakami Clan committed themselves to the islands too.  The island people seem to have been under the influence of both sides, or they were just weighing both sides against each other.

The Seto Inland Sea had the Sea of Harima-nada, the Bisan Archipelago, the Sea of Hiuchi-nada, the Geiyo Archipelago, the Sea of Itsuki-nada, the Boyo Archipelago, the Sea of Iyo-nada, and the Sea of Suo-nada from east to west.  “Nada” was a rough sea with strong winds and waves, and with rapid currents, where sailing was difficult, and each nada was separated by archipelagos from others.  Between nada, through an archipelago, there were straits with big ranges of tides.  The islands near those straits were located with important ports, and with sea castles of pirates as well.

Nojima Castle, the Nojima Murakai Clan’s main castle and stronghold, for example, controlled Hanaguri Strait, Kojin Strait, Funaori Strait.  Those are rapid straits with 10-not (about 19 km/h) currents whirling at fastest.  Kurushima Castle, the Kurushima Murakai Clan’s main castle and stronghold, controled Kurushima Strait, which hads as rapid as 12-not current at the rising tide, which caused famous Hachiman-uzu, or Hachiman Vortex.    These two areas have many marine accidents even today, and are known as dangerous sea areas with poor views, with narrow widths to sail, and with rapid currents.  Ships needed local pilots to sail through the areas safely, paying uwanori-ryo, and even those that didn't need pilots were easily found from the castles to be imposed uwanori-ryo all the same.

The Seto Inland Sea lane can date back to even before the Warring States Period.  The lane used to have 2 coastal routes and 3 offshore routes.  Aki coastal route sailed along Sanyo coast, and Iyo coastal route along Shikoku coast.  The offshore routes sailed from the west through the Sea of Itsuki-nada, Hanaguri Strait, Yuge Strait, and the Sea of Bingo-nada; through The Sea of Itsuki-nada, Funaori Strait, Miyako Strait, the Sea of Hiuchi-nada, and the Sea of Bingo-nada; or through the Sea of Itsuki-nada, Kurushima Strait, and the Sea of Bingo-nada.

4. The Excavation of Sea Castles

The Geiyo Archipelago, lying between the Seas of Hiuchi-nada and Itsuki-nada, used to be the Murakami Clan’s strongholds with their sea castles densely located there.  The studies of sea castles have progressed these years, stimulated with the outcomes of the studies of medieval mountain castles and supported by the accumulation of excavation data of sea castles themselves.  The data point out the variations of the sea castles’ locations and structures, While they also reveal their common features that they have numerous pits on shore reefs, and that they characteristic relics which include imported porcelains.

The study of the pits on shore reefs is attracting a considerable attention these days.  The pits can be found only in the 20 castles in the areas controlled by the Nojima Murakami and Kurushima Murakami Clans.  The pits can be divided into independent pits, column pits and rank pits.  The column pits lined at right angles to the seashores at regular intervals in a single line, while the rank pits run in parallel with the seashores in a row or two.  The independent pits and the column pits are supposed to have worked to support mooring posts.  However, how the rank pits were used is not specified yet.  The castles and fortresses with those pits are distributed along the offshore routes.

The sea castles here have 3 characteristic features.  First, each castle is small in size, and even the main castles are as small as the fortresses.  They had simple structures, sometimes even without forts or moats which used to be popular parts with mountain castles in the Warring States Period.  Second, when a small island was fortified, water supplies were secured on the opposite shore.  Third, the castles might have been distributed under the consideration of the clan’s networks and sea routes.  The conceptualization of the sea castle distribution will be certainly developed with the progress of the study of pirates.

Recently, the site of Nojima Castle, which is supposed to be the Nojima Murakami Clan’s headquarters, was excavated and researched by Imabari City Educational Board.  They found remains of residences and a smithy.  The discovery was reported in the Asahi (the Ehime edition) and Ehime newspapers published on February 12, 2011 and on February 17, 2011 respectively.

Nojima Island today is an uninhabited island about 850 meters around , located in middle of the strait between Oshima and Hakatajima Islands in Imabari City.  Taizakijima Island, about 260 meters around, is located south to Nojima Island.  The width of the waterway between the two islands is about 70 meters at full tide, and about 20 meters at low tide.  The whole land of both islands is the Nojima Murakami Clan’s castle, and functioned as their sea castle from the latter half of the 14th Century till 16th Century, during the Period of the Northern and Southern Courts and the Warring States Period.

According to Imabari City Educational Board, two remains of residences were found at South-East Keep in the south of Nojima Island, and at the Third Keep in the west of the island.  In South-East Keep, more than 10 remains of pillar pits with a diameter of 40 to 50 centimeters were found about 20 centimeters underground in the area of about 8 meters long from south to north and 4 meters wide from east to west.  In the Third Keep, a lot of remains of pillar pits and granite foundation stones were found about 40 centimeters underground in the area of about 8 meters long from south to north and 4 meters wide from east to west.  They were lined in order in a rectangle in the both cases.

A remain of a smithy with a diameter of about 1 meter was found about 30 centimeters underground near the Third Keep in the north-west of the island.  An unglazed earthen ventilation pipe between the bellows and furnace was found, too.  The pipe is with a diameter of about 10 centimeters and length of about 10 centimeters, and is called “haguchi” in Japanese.  Pieces of fired scrap iron and earth were found in chunks, iron flakes scattered around in the process of forging were left.  They suggest that iron weapons were made and mended in the castle.  Among the foundation stones in the Third Keep, many pieces of big pots of Bizen Ceramics were excavated.  They can be restored into huge pots with a diameter of 50 to 60 centimeters and in the height of about 1 meter.

Usually, Nojima Castle has been regarded as a fortress in rapid currents which was utilized in wartime or in an emergency only, while people were usually living at Miyakubo in Oshima.  A legend says that there used to be Miyakubo Castle or Koga-yashiki (Koga Residence) on the hills in Miyakubo.  As Miyakubo had water supply, it might have worked with Nojima jointly as a castle.

However small Nojima Island might have been, it had buildings, and many daily earthen vessels were found on the reclaimed ground in the south.  Those findings suggest that people spent their daily lives on the island.  Moreover, numerous unglazed earthenware small plates were excavated in the remains of main buildings.  The findings imply that formal samurai ceremonies similar with those carried out in the castles of land warlords might have also been held there.  Imported ceramics and Chinese coins were reported to have been excavated in 1938.  Nojima Castle can be regarded as an main castle with the supply of water from Miyakubo.

Additional characteristic feature is that many sea castles were placed with sea checkpoints side by side.  Many main sea castles along offshore routes, such as Kaminoseki Castle in Suo Province, In’noshima Murakami Clan’s Mikasaki Castle in Bingo Province along Aki coastal route, and the Nojima Murakami Clan’s Nii-Oshima Castle in Iyo Province along Iyo coastal route worked as sea checkpoints as well even after “prohibitions against pirates” issued in the 16th year of Tensho, or in 1588.  That leads us to suppose there probably had been more sea castles with sea checkpoints affixed.

5. A Mobile Base

The Manabe Clan in Izumi Province, a local pirate who was organized into Nobunaga’s Sea Forces, gives us a good example to understand how the pirate society in the Seto Inland Sea changed.

Their surname has its origin in Manabe Island in Oda County, Bichu Province.  They gained a certain social status over the Seto Inland Sea as a vassal of the Hosokawa Clan, the guardian samurai of Bichu Province in Muromachi Period.  Eventually, they gained ground even in Izumi Province and Nii and Uma Counties in Iyo Province, in both of which there used to be the Hosokawa Clan’s branch possessions.

Manabe Sadanari (1568-1656), who was later called Sin’nyu-sai, was the head of the clan during Shoku-Ho Era and the founder of the Manabe Family in Wakayama as one of chief vassals of the Kishu Tokugawa Clan.  He was recorded in the entries of Meishin-Den (Biographies of Excellent Vassals) of “The History of Nanki Tokugawa”, a collection of the Kishu Tokugawa Clan’s historical sources.

Manabe Sadanari was described in The Lord of Manabe Shin’nyu’s Thumbnail Biography as a descendant of Manabe Shiro and Goro brothers, who had shot Kahara Taro and Jiro brothers, who were popular characters in The Tale of Heike.  It is also recorded that the great great great great grandfather of Sadanari moved from Manabe Island to Tan’nowa in Izumi Province.  A round tumulus with a moat around it there is called Manabe-yama and that is all left to tell there once the clan had lived.

The document continues, “They established Manabe Checkpoint in Sen-shu, and those ships sailing from Kyushu or Shikoku toward the Capital had to pay sail taxes.”  They might have imposed sail taxes at Manabe Checkpoint in Tan’nowa on those ships which departed from Kyushu Region or Shikoku Region, probably sailed off the Tosa coast, and passed Kitan Straits.  In other words, the Manabe Clan was conducting piracy in Kitan Straits.

Meanwhile, the Hosokawa Clan in Izumi Province fell and the Miyoshi Clan rose, and the Manabe Clan followed the Miyoshi Clan accordingly.  Manabe Sadayuki (?-?), Sadanari’s grandfather, fought for the Miyoshi Clan in Shariji Battle in Settsu Province in July, 1547, and made the very first thrust among 800 samurais into the enemy lines.  In 1568, Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) entered Kyoto, and Izumi samurais including the Matsuura Clan, an active guardian samurai in the province at the time, capitulated to him.

Nobunaga antagonized Osaka Hongan-ji Temple, and paid attention to the Manabe Clan, needing to impose a blockade across Osaka Bay.  According to The Biographies of Excellent Vassals, Manabe Sadatomo (?-1576), Sadanari’s father, was stationed at Otsu Castle in Izumi Province and guarded the mouths of rivers in Osaka.  He was given lands about half as much as those of daimyo, salaries for 1,000 men, and 600 kg of monthly gunpowder.

According to the Biography of Lord Nobunaga, which was written by Ota Gyuichi (1527-1613), one of Nobunaga’s arrow shooters, Manabe Sadatomo was deployed along with other Izumi samurais such as the Numa Clan at a strategic point in Sumiyoshi in Settsu Province in May, 1535.  He was in charge of maritime defense against Osaka Hongan-ji Temple.

According to a document dated June 18 issued by Nobunaga, Sadatomo, together with Numa Den’nai etc., was ordered to guard in Osaka Bay to cut off supply routes to Osaka Hongan-ji Temple.  According to other documents, such as Hineno Document at the time, Sadatomo was carrying out naval blockades.  Sadatomo was killed in the First Battle of Kizu-gawa Estuary in July, 1576.

As we have seen above, the Manabe Clan changed their bases from Manabe Island in Bichu Province, to Tan’nowa, and to Otsu, both in Izumi Province.  They carried out military actions such as naval blockades under the orders of supreme powers such as provincial guardian samurais, warlords, or national leaders.  They also established sea checkpoints and imposed sail taxes.  Obviously, they were acting as a typical pirate samurai in the pirate society in the Seto Inland Sea.

It is worthy of attention that they were based on naval transfers, and that they moved their bases according to the changes of the political surroundings in land.  That is quite different from the behaviors of land samurais who tended to fight for their lands at the risk of their own lives.  Pirate samurai families in the Seto Inland Sea might not have minded to change their residences because they originally had had plural strongholds in plural provinces.

II The Rise and Fall of Pirates

1. Naval Battles and Guns

The fact that the Manabe Clan was given about 600 kg of gunpowder a month suggests that they had considerable number of guns and that they were actually using the guns, and it also implies how Nobunaga Navies were organized.

These years have witnessed a significant progress of the study over medieval weapons, as they came to be argued from the view point of the political history too.  Guns, representative weapons in the Warring States Period, have been argued over how they were introduced into Japan.

There are 3 main arguments.  The first argument is the most popular belief that guns were introduced by the Portuguese who drifted ashore on Tanega-shima Island in 1543.  Against the belief, Mr. Takehisa Udagawa examined remains of guns and related documents, and presented the second argument that guns’ introduction through Tanega-shima Island is just one of many cases and that mainly Wokou brought guns which they had used in Southeast Asia.  The third argument was offered by Mr. Shosuke Murai, who had elaborately and extensively researched historical documents.  According to his argument, it was Wang Zhi (?-1559), a major figure among Post-Wokou, and his Chinese junk that intentionally brought Portuguese with guns to Tanega-shima Island.

Those arguments suggest there used to be varieties of routes which introduced guns to Japan.

We are going to read a document which tells us guns were used in the Seto Inland Sea even a quarter century before the famous Nagashino Battle in 1575, in which Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), with his 3,000 guns, overpowered the then famous Takeda’s cavalry.

Bairin Shuryu (?-?), a monk in Tofuku-ji Temple in Kyoto, wrote about a sea battle with guns in his diary on September 19, 1450.

Around noon, when they were sailing off Hibi in Bizen, their ship was approached by a pirate ship.  Negotiations were carried between the two ships, and failed.  A battle was started.  Pirates shot arrows, and the ship Bairin on board fought back with guns.  The pirates ended up with many injured.

Guns with a range of about 500 meters had an advantage over arrows with a range of about 380 meters.  As longer ranges mattered in naval battles, guns must have been employed swiftly.  Warlords in Western Japan who organized navies exploited guns eagerly.  The Otomo Clan’s big gun, Kuni Kuzushi (namely Province Destroyer) was a well-known example.

Later in naval battles during the Japanese Invasion of Korea from 1592 until 1598, or the Imjin War, cannons and guns were key weapons.  Even Yi Sun-shin (1545-1598), a famous Korean navy admiral, was shot to death during the Battle of Noryang, the last naval battle at the end of the war.

2. A Drastic Change in Naval Battles

More than 2 decades after the introduction of guns to Japan, Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) was facing the pressing need to gain naval supremacy in the Seto Inland Sea to fight against the Mori Clan.  Nobunaga heavily lost to navies of the Mori and Kono Clan in the Battle of Kizu-gawa Estuary in July, 1576.  In June and November, 1578, however, he fought against navies of the Mori Clan and the Saika people again, which ended as his overwhelming victory.  We are going to compare the entries about the two naval battles from the Biography of Lord Nobunaga.

“They stopped our ships, and shot many earthenware explosives to burn the ships down.  We were heavily outnumbered, and lost veteran samurais such as Manabe Sadatomo, Numa Iga, Numa Den’nai.  Western forces won a victory in the battle, shipped military provisions into Osaka Hongan-ji Temple, and sailed their forces back to the western provinces.”

“On June 26, in the 6th year of Tensho, our ships sailed out to the Sea of Kumano-ura, sailed to Osaka.  They rowed numerous boats out of Soga, Tan’nowa and as such against our big ships off Tan’nowa.  They shot arrows and guns, and pressed attacks on us from all sides.  Kuki Yoshitaka (1542-1600), who had decorated the 7 ships like mountains, fought restrictively first, waited for the enemy boats to come closer, then fired big guns all at once, and destroyed many of the enemy boats.  Afterward, the enemy boats could hardly find ways to approach our ships, and we could easily sail to Sakai on July 17.

“On November 6, more than 600 ships and boats from western provinces advanced to Kizu areas.  Kuki Yoshitaka (1542-1600) intercepted the enemy ships and boats.  They besieged our ships, sailing southward, and fought a sea battle from 8 in the morning till around noon.  Kuki seemed to be having a hard battle at first, but, having many big guns in the 6 ships, waited for the enemy ships and boats to come closer, and fired the guns to the enemy flagship to strike it down.  They became panicked and couldn’t approach ours any more.  Kuki finally drove hundreds of the enemy ships and boats into Kizu Bay, and all the audience praised Kuki Yoshitaka for his military exploits.”

The first quotation describes how the naval battle in July, 1576 was fought.  In the battle, the navies of the Mori and Kono Clans, whose de facto main force was the Murakami Clan, surrounded Oda sea forces, threw in many earthenware explosives, and burnt down Oda’s ships and boats.  The tactics to cut off each enemy ship surrounding with small fast boats and to attack with earthenware explosives used to be common in the Seto Inland Sea battles.  An earthenware explosive was a round fire bomb.  The bomb has black powder and iron pieces or lead balls covered with earthenware, and popularly used from the Warring States Period till Shoku-Ho Era.  Later, even small rockets with 3 plumes fired with guns, cannons, or wooden cylinders came to be employed.  The explosive powder in their tips exploded when they stroke ships.

Those navies who were killed in the battle, including the Manabe Clan, were samurais in Izumi Province, and had strongholds along Osaka Bay, including Otsu in Izumi Province.  They were severely beaten by the navies of the Mori and Kono Clans, whose de facto main force was the Murakami Clan, who was a champion on the Seto Inland Sea at the time, and could not stop the enemy’s shipping military provisions into Osaka Hongan-ji Temple.

After the first battle, Nobunaga ordered the Kuki Clan, pirates in Shima Province, to build armored ships and to sail them to Osaka Bay via the Sea of Kumano-nada.  The latter quotation tells us that, in June, the armored ships encountered the besieging enemy navies from Saiga and Tan’nowa shooting arrows and guns, but defeated them with big guns.  The big guns showed their power in November as well to defeat the navies of the Mori and Kono Clans.

Just 2 years witnessed a big change in navy battles; from throwing in earthenware explosives to shooting big guns.  The armored ships were not only armored with iron plates to shield the enemy attacks of shooting arrows and guns.  The Correspondences of the Society of Jesus in Japan also reported that the ships were equipped with 3 cannons.  We may well call them battleships with heavy guns.

Kano Mitsunobu (1565-1608), a painter of the Kano school, one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting, painted Nagoya Castle in Hizen on a byobu with 6 panels in detail years later.  The castle was a base to sally forth to the Korean Peninsula.  The byobu represented armored ships as well with two-storied or three-storied donjons on top of them.

Those donjons might have been spaces for a commander, and symbols of authority and power. The ships had sails, but were usually driven with oars.  Small-sized armored ships were said to have 50 oars, while big-sizes to have more than 150 oars.  They were equivalent to ships with 75-300 of net tonnage, and were equipped with heavy guns, and were crenelated.

The structure of the armored ships suggests that they could not sail so fast.  They went to battles with small fast boats guarding them.  In terms of modern navy battles, an armored ship fought as a battleship, a medium-sized boat as a cruiser, and a small boat as a destroyer.  Navy battles were definitely changing, and surpassing in firepower was playing more decisive roles than maneuverability.

On land, Shoku-Ho castles with high stone walls, a donjon and towers were getting in all their glory.  Big ships with a high-rise building on top of them and with a lot of guns to shoot from there at enemy ships and boats are opening a new era on the sea as well.

Pirates had accumulated their own tactics as sea fighters, but lacked capital reserves to prepare themselves to face the new era with big ships and firepower.  This is the background why the champion in the Seto Inland Sea changed dramatically from pirates such as the Murakami Clan to warlords under the Toyotomi Clan with the capital strength abundant.