Kakuta Haruo---Decoding Japan---

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Location: Sakai, Osaka, Japan

Friday, November 02, 2018

A Legendary Tragic Story in Ohara, Kyoto

Long long ago, there used to live a pretty girl in Ohara, named Otsu.
One day, when the lord of Wakasa Province was heading for Kyoto through Ohara, She caught his eye, and was called over to his domain.  She spent days, feeling as if she were dreaming.  Before long, however, she got ill.  The lord transferred his affections for her to another woman, and returned Otsu to her home village.  She was overwhelmed with sorrow, and threw herself into Jogo-ga-fuchi Deep Water in the upper stream of Takano-gawa River in Ohara.  Immediately, her pretty figure turned into a large snake.
Days passed by, and the lord was passing through Ohara again on his way to Kyoto.  When he and his suite were passing over Hanajiri Bridge across the lower stream of Takano-gawa River, the large snake made an attack on the party.  One of the lord’s samurais, Matsuda Gendayu, killed the serpent with a slash of the sword.
The villagers buried the serpent’s head in Otsu-no-mori Forest, and its tail in Hanajiri-no-mori Forest.
Today, the morning haze in Ohara, which is believed to be the incarnation of the serpent, forms around Hanajiri-no-mori Forest, developing and trailing up toward Otsu-no-mori Forest, searching for its head.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

The Birthplace of a Legendary Tragic Story in Ohara, Kyoto


Hanajiri-np-mori Forest is near Hanajiri-bashi Bus Stop by Hanajiri-bashi Bridge.  The forest has a branch shrine of Ebumi Shrine.
Once, when the lord of Wakasa Province was heading for Kyoto through Ohara, a pretty village girl named Otsu caught his eye, and was called over to his domain.  She spent days, feeling as if she were dreaming.  Before long, however, she got ill.  The lord transferred his affections for her to another woman, and returned Otsu to her home village.
Days passed by, and the lord was passing through Ohara again on his way to Kyoto.  When he and his suite were passing over Hanajiri Bridge across Takano-gawa River, Otsu burst into the procession out of sorrow and jealousy, with her untied hair flying like a snake.  Matsuda Gendayu, one of the lord’s samurais, killed her with a slash of the sword for her rude misconduct.  She was beheaded, with her body buried in Hanajiri-no-mori Forest.

Saturday, September 29, 2018

The Dream of Constructing the Canal between the Sea of Japan and the Pacific through Lake Biwa

     The Tsuruga Port along the Sea of Japan was the nearest port to Lake Biwa, while the Shiotsu Port was at the northernmost tip of Lake Biwa and accordingly the nearest port to the Sea of Japan.  The Fukasaka Pass between the two ports was just at an altitude of 370 meters.
     Taira Shigemori (1137-1179), Tadamori’s grandson, planed to construct a canal between the two ports and started to cut a tunnel under the Fukasaka Pass.  They faced a big rock, and tried to crack it, only to find stonemasons suddenly had sharp stomachaches.
     At the end of the Warring States Period, Otani Yoshitsugu (1558-1600), the lord of Tsuruga Castle under the Toyotomi Regime, also had an idea to build a canal between the two ports.
     Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, Kawamura Zuiken (1617-1699), a political entrepreneur businessman, had another plan to build a canal.
     In 1816, the Obama Domain under the Tokugawa Shogunate constructed a 2.7-meter-wide canal from Tsuga Port for 6 kilometers.
     In 1890, Kyoto Prefecture under the Meiji Restoration Government constructed a tunnel canal between Lake Biwa and Kyoto.  Then there came a railroad days, and we have never seen canals between the Sea of Japan and Lake Biwa completed.  But the repeated ideas of digging tunnel canal under the Fukasaka Pass suggests how profitable the transportation between the two waters.  What if the Taira Regime at the end of Ancient Japan had lasted longer to finish construct the one?

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Ideha Fortress and Akita Fortress; or There and Back Again?

      In 709, Ideha County, which was changed to Dewa later by the end of the 12th century, was established at the northern end of Koshi Province.  Ideha Fortress was supposedly built around that time at the estuary of Mogami River.  Ideha County was separated from Koshi Province and was promoted to province in 712.  In 733, Ideha Fortress was relocated north, or advanced, to Akita at the estuary of Omono River at about 100 kilometers from its original place.  To the north of Akita, there lay Emishi lands.  About 50 kilometers north of Akita, there was Nushiro Port, which was later pronounced Noshiro, at the estuary of Yoneshiro River.  And about another 100 kilometers north of Nushiro Port, there lay Tosa Port at the estuary of Iwaki River.  The two ports might have been visited by Abe Hirafu in the 7th century on his way to attack the Mishihase people, who were assumed to be sea people.
     In 727, the King of Balhae, Da Muye (?-737), launched off a delegation of 24 envoys led by Gao Len-i.  The delegation arrived in the land of Emishi in Northern Japan by misfortune.  16 envoys, including Gao Len-i, were killed by Emishi.  The other 8 escaped under the provisional leadership of Gao Je-deog, and reached Ideha Province.
     It occurred 6 years before the advance of Japanese power to Akita.  The envoys found either the estuary of Omono River, that of Yoneshiro River, where Nushiro Port was located, or that of Iwaki River, where Tosa Port flourished centuries later.  In those areas, at that time, Japanese and Emishi powers were clashing head-on.  The envoys might have been unfortunately mistaken for Japanese sea forces, and were attacked.  The surviving envoys left Japan next year, with the information that the archipelago was divided into the north, which was sparsely populated and less advanced than the south, and the south, which was densely populated and less advanced than Balhae and which were willing to offer many products of fabric as presents.
     In 739, Balhae sent another delegation to Japan.  This time again, they got plenty of products of fabric in exchange for hides.   Those pieces of information from the 2 delegations might have interested especially the Tiei tribe.  In 746, over 1,100 Balhae and Tiei people arrived in Ideha Province.  The number implied it was rather a big migration to be just envoys.  After getting some clothes and food as they might have expected, they were deported.  They left Ideha Province.  But to where?  They might have continued to sail north.  First, they might have invaded the estuary of Yoneshiro River, outnumbered the local Emishi people, and occupied Nushiro Port.  And then some of them might have continued to sail further north, reached the estuary of Iwaki River, outnumbered the local Emishi people, and occupied or built Tosa Port there.  With the knowledge of navigation, it might have been they who also built 2 ports to wait for better winds.  One was in Onga between Akita and Nushiro, and the other was in Fukaura between Nushiro and Tosa.  Those ports made the navigation across the Sea of Japan safer and more secure.
     Ideha Fortress in Akita came to be called Akita Castle by 761.  The Akita area at the time was sparsely populated, and no large-scale villages were found.  The fortress was in the front line.  A kind of farmer-soldiers were sent to the area mainly from Koshi and Shinano Provinces, and a kind of a small “castle town” was formed by the fortress.  The villagers consisted of immigrant farmer-soldiers and “subordinate Emishi”, who had surrendered themselves to Japan.
     In 771, 325 people took 17 separate ships and unusually sailed against south winds to Japan from Balhae in June (in August by Gregorian Calendar).  They arrived at Nushiro Port in "barbarian lands" of Ideha Province.  It is “surprising” that such a big fleet at the time orderly sailed, yet orderly strayed north, and orderly arrived at a port town in “barbarian lands.”  It was more than likely not a coincidence. In calculation, about 20 people were on board a ship on average.  If about 40 people were abroad on an envoy ship as usual, many of the other 16 ships could have been smaller, just as small as fishing boats.
     The Japanese central government might have been doubtful about their behaviors and intention, and moved (some of?) the envoys to Hitachi Province along the Pacific Ocean.  Later, the government allowed 40 of them to come to the capital city. 
     There used to be the Three Kingdoms Period in the Korea Peninsula since the 1stcentury BC till the 7thcentury.  The Three Kingdoms consisted of Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje.
     According to Nihon Shoki (the Chronicle of Japan), in 601, a Silla spy was caught and sent to Kozuke Province.  In 666, more than 2,000 Baekje people were transferred to the Eastern Provinces.  In 684, 23 Baekje men and women were transferred to Musashi Province.  In 687, 56 Goguryeo people were transferred to Hitachi Province.  14 Silla people were transferred to Shimotsuke Province, and 22 were transferred to Musashi Province.  In 689, Silla people were transferred to Shimotsuke Province.  In 690, 12 Silla people were transferred to Musashi Province, and some others were transferred to Shimotsuke Province.  In 716, 1799 Goguryeo people, who had lived in Suruga, Sagami, Kai, Kazusa, Shimousa, Hitachi and Shimotsuke Provinces, were transferred to Musashi Province, and Koguryeo County was set up there.  In 758, 32 priests, 2 nuns, 19 men and 21 women, who were all from Silla, were transferred to Musashi Province, and Silla County was set up.  In 760,naturalized 131 Silla people were transferred to Musashi Province.  So, all in all, transferring suspicious foreign people to the northern Kanto area was not unusual at the time.
     Let's take a different perspective on the issue.  They might have avoided the winter when winds and waves were too hard for small fishing boats, although they had to row.  The envoy ship led the other fishing boats so as that they could get to the sparsely populated area safely.  Another 285 people stayed in Nushiro Port to engage in fishing and smuggling, and inhabited there, probably with their senior colleagues who had arrived there about a generation before.  It was a deliberate and coordinated migration plan to add human resources to their colony port towns.
     In 779, 359 people of Balhae and Tiei came to Japan, "yearning for the virtuous influence of Japan.  The central government didn’t allow them to come to the capital.  As their ships were broken, the government gave them 9 ships, and they left the Japanese territory.
     The areas around Akita Castle became unstable for some reason or other, and at last in 780, Abe Yakamaro (?-?), a general in Akita Castle, reported to Emperor Konin (709-781) that the castle should be abandoned, which meant to retreat about 100 kilometers south again.
     Why did the Akita area become unstable?  Some Emishi people had surrendered themselves to Japan because it offered them a good deal.  They had to swear obedience and offer local special products to Japan.  In return, they were exempted from taxes and were given food and clothes.  That must have looked more like a contract or trade to them.  What if someone else had offered a better deal?  Did those “subordinate Emishi” keep loyal to Japan, or just cancel one contract and make another with that “someone”?  If there were some that were smuggling tiger and leopard hides, they might have been better-off than provincial officers, and could have been more powerful.

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Emishi and Mishihase; people who used to live north to Japan

——Looking for the Roots of Ando Pirates (1)-----

     In December, 543, the Koshi provincial government reported to the central government of Japan, “Some Mishihase people were staying at the seashore of Cape Minabe in northern Sado Island, living aboard a ship.  They catch fishes to eat in the spring and summer.  The islanders said they were foreigners, and didn’t dare to approach them.  Before long, Mishihase people robbed Wumu village in eastern Sado Island, and moved on to Sunakawa Inlet.  The inlet is such a bitter place that local islanders usually stay away from there.  The Mishihase people drank dirty water there, and half of them died.  The corpses were piled up in a cave.  Local people call the place Mishihase Curve.”

     Ancient Japanese people seemed to have classified northern people into Emishi and Mishihase.  As they allocated Chinese characters of Sushen, an ancient half-legendary tribe in the Amur River basin in an ancient Chinese history book, for Mishihase, they might have assumed Mishihase to be from the river basin.  According to Sado islanders’ account, Mishihase sounded to be fishing people, while Emishi were basically hunting people.

     There might have been more intrusions by Mishihase.  Abe Hirafu (?-?), the governor of Koshi Province, commanded 180 ships and attacked Mishihase in 658.  After the attack, he offered the central government 2 alive bears and 70 bear hides.  In 659, he attacked Mishihase and offered the central government 49 captives.  In 660, the central government finally dispatched Abe Hirafu so that he should command 200 ships and attack Mishihase.  He ordered Emishi people in Mutsu Province to board the ships, and got to the southern riverbank of a large river.  At that time, 1,000 Emishi people in Watari-jima were encamped on the other riverbank.  2 of them proceeded and shouted out, “Many of Mishihase’s ships and soldiers coming.  They are going to kill us.  We’d like to cross the river and work for you.”  Abe sent a ship and asked the two where the enemy was hiding their ships and how many ships they had.  The two pointed at a place and said, “More than 20 ships.”  Abe sent a messenger to the enemy, but they denied coming.  They also refused Abe’s appeasement policies, and held the fortress in Herobe Island.  They were defeated by Abe, and killed their own wives and children in the island.  Abe offered the central government 50 captives.

     Abe Hirafu employed either appeasement policies or hard-liner policies depending on his opponent’s moves.  His appeasement policies worked for Emishi, but not for Mishihase. In 630, the Tang Dynasty had conquered Turkic people in north of China, and had directly come into contact with Mohe tribes, who were living in the Amur River basin.  In the middle of the 7th century, when Abe Hirafu intruded Mishihase, the Tang Dynasty started invading Goguryeo in the northern part of Korea Peninsula.  For Mishihase, whether they were a part of Mohe tribes or those with the Okhotsk culture who inhabited in northern Hokkaido, Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin Island, Tang China might have seemed to be a bigger and more attractive market.

Friday, July 13, 2018

Balhae's Pseudo-Mission to Japan and their Intentions

     Balhae’s 11th mission to Japan was a very weird one.  It is not clear if it was really an official mission.  The letter which was brought to Japan by them was evaluated by the inspector dispatched by the central government to be too “rude” to accept.  And the leader, Go Yang-pil (?-?), was regarded as an “embezzling” ambassador.

     Shoku Nihongi, the second of imperially commissioned Japanese history texts, wrote on September 14, 779 (October 31 in 779 by Gregorian Calendar):  “359 people of Balhae and Tiei came to Japan, yearning for the virtuous influence.  They are staying in Dewa Province.  According to precedents, the provincial government should supply them.  However, the envoys are too low-ranking to be provided presents.  After dispatching a messenger and holding a party for them, they should be deported.  If their ships have been damaged, they should be gotten fixed.  The delay of the deportation will not be allowed.”

     Not everything went smoothly.  Shoku Nihongi wrote on November 9 (December 25 by Gregorian Calendar):  “The inspector of the Balhae people should not allow them to come to Kyoto since the letter submitted by Go Yang-pil, an embezzling ambassador, was too rude.  Since they haven’t come via Dazai-fu and have craftily asked for convenience, they should be given an official warning not to repeat that again.”

      Without the Internet, the correspondence between Dewa Province and Kyoto must have taken tens of days, but Shoku Nihongi continued to write on the next day:  “The inspector has brought a message:  Tiei officers argued Seol-chabg into taking a lower seat.  They seem to be insulting him.

     "The Prime Minister decided:  Go Seo-chang, a Balhae translator, has far crossed blue waves and have frequently come to Japan.  What he says and thinks are loyal and diligent, and he has been given the 12th ranking.  He is taking a lower seat to the Tiei officers.  Not out of favoritism, but the difference of rankings should be clarified and order should be maintained.”

     The country Balhae consisted of the remains of Goguryeo and Mohe tribes.  Although Balhae imported a national system from Tang Dynasty, there might have been tribal societies with powerful families ruling them, and Tiei people is presumed to be one of 8 Mohe tribes.  It is not clear whether Go Yang-pil belonged to Balhae people of Tiei people, but i’s no wonder local powerful families were more powerful than central officials such as a translator.

     What were Tiei people like?  We have no idea, but back in 746, more than a generation before the 11th mission’s arrival in Japan, over 1,100 Balhae and Tiei people arrived at Dewa Province, "yearning for the virtuous influence of Japan."  After getting some clothes and food, they were deported.

     Looking at their haughty and arrogant behavior against a weak intelligentsia, Tiei people didn’t seem to be seeking ethical influence.  Then, what were they yearning for?

     By 746, Balhae had sent 2 missions to Japan.  Each time they got plenty of fabric products in exchange for hides.  According to the witness of Silla people, Mohe people were wearing fur clothes.  Fabric clothes must have been precious there.  1,100 was a big migration, not to mention it as a great migration, which failed because of the strong anti-immigration policy of the Japanese central and provincial governments.

     Before 779, however, Japan sent 2 naturalized Japanese officers whose ancestors had been refugees after the collapse of Goguryeo to Balhae.  That might have raised Tiei people’s expectations for their acceptance to Japan.  More aggressively, they might have expected to build a colony city somewhere in Dewa Province or somewhere further north, where the governance of the central government was still fragile.

     The migration from the northern coast of the Sea of Japan was not impossible nor improbable.  Oga City in Akita Prefecture has Akagami Shrine, which has passed down a migration-related legend.  Long, Long ago, Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty brought 5 ogres to the village.  To drive them out, villagers made a promise with the ogres.  If ogres were to build one thousand stone steps to Akagami Shrine within a night, the villagers would marry their daughters to the ogres.  If not, the ogres should leave the village.  When the ogres finished building 999 stone steps, a villager copied crows of a rooster.  The ogres kept their promise and left the village.  If it had really happened when Wu was ruling China, it should have happened in the first century B.C., 4 centuries before the first kingdom of Japan was born.  It is quite improbable that the legend has been handed down since such old days.  At the beginning of the 8th century, Dewa Fortress was built in today’s Yamagata Prefecture.  In 733, it was removed further north to today’s Akita Prefecture to suppress Emishi people living there.  Japanese shrines should have been built after the middle of the 8th century there.  Anyway, I would have accepted the ogres who had been competent enough to build 999 stone steps in such a short time, and who had had such good manners to keep promises.

     A legend at Iwase village in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture says Balhae people, Jeong Yeong and Seo Beom, sailed from the continent with garlic as food.  Garlic was planted here, and since then it has become the special product.”  The legend tells us nothing about whether Jeong and Seo inhabited in Japan or returned home.

     
     Did all the 1,100 Balhae and Tiei people in 746 really leave Dewa Province?  Did all of them actually returned to their homeland?  Did all the 359 Balhae and Tiei people in 779 really leave Echizen, or Japan?

     There used to be Tosa Port at the northern end of Honshu Island along the Sea of Japan.  In the 12th century, it suddenly flourished, and prospered from 13th to 15th centuries.  During the time, ceramics were imported from China and Korea to the port town.  Its ruler the Ando Family was said to have organized sea forces, or pirates.

     The first step to be pirates in Japan used to be to plunder flotsam and driftage, which used to be regarded totally legal in Ancient Japan.  The second step might have been to force the shipwreck to take place and to plunder flotsam and driftage.  The third step could have been, under the threat of shipwreck, to have sailors offer sacrifices to nearby shrines, praying for safe voyages.  In the middle of the 15th century, however, the Ando Family lost to the Nanbu Family in Mutsu Province, the Andos were said to flee to Ezo-ga-shima Island, today’s Hokkaido.

     Archaeological discoveries tell us as early as 7000 to 5500 years ago, people in the area which became Tosa Port later were already trading jade from today’s Niigata prefecture and volcanic glass from today’s Hokkaido.  More archaeological discoveries and more study on folk legends along the Sea of Japan may reveal interesting borderless human moves across the sea.

Friday, July 06, 2018

Balhae's 9th Mission to Japan and Specialties of Japan

     Balhae’s 8th mission to Japan was told by the Japanese central government that Balhae’s future missions should enter Japan via Dazai-fu, the Japanese regional government in Kyushu Island which also functioned as the gateway to Japan and as a kind of the foreign ministry.

     Balhae’s 9th mission to Japan left Balhae from Toho-po Port, the westernmost port on Balhae’s coast of the Sea of Japan, in accordance with the request, heading for Tsushima Island off Dazai-fu.  However, 46 of the mission members reached Kaga County, Echizen Province, on December 22, 776 (on February 8 in 777 by Gregorian Calendar).  The ship had been wrecked, 30 drowned persons were washed ashore in Enuma and Kaga Counties, Echizen Province, and 111 were missing.  Probably out of pity, Emperor Konin (709-781) gave more presents besides usual textile goods to meet the request of the ambassador, Sa Do-mong (?-?): 400 grams of gold, 400 grams of mercury, a can of strained aralia sap, a can of camellia oil, 4 pearl rosaries, and 10 betel palm fans.

     We can find strained aralia sap, camellia oil, and pearls in the lists of presents to emperors of Tang Dynasty.  Sa might have asked for more precious presents, taking advantage of the tragic accident.  Favorably interpreted, he badly needed them to cover the survivors’ annuity.  Anyway, his request made the mission the only case where other presents than textile goods were documented.

     The Japanese central government built ships for them, and sent them back to Balhae.  Unluckily, the ships got drifted to further east, and arrived at the eastern border area of Balhae.  Anyway, the mission’s experience gave a lesson to the Japanese central government, and, although they didn’t withdraw their request, they admitted, in a tacit manner, Balhae’s future missions to get to Echizen, Echigo, or even Dewa Provinces.

Friday, June 29, 2018

Noto; a Japanese Envoy Ship to Balhae

     Noto was built in Fukura Port in Noto Province by the spring or the early summer of 762.  The ship sailed back and forth across the Sea of Japan twice.
     First, in the spring or the early summer of 762, Noto set sail from Fukura Port for Balhae with Koma Oyama (?-762), the 6th ambassador of Japan to Balhae, on board.
     On its return trip, Noto had Wang Sin-bog (?-?), Balhae’s ambassador, and 22 other Balhae envoys on board as well as Koma and other Japanese envoys.  Noto sailed back to Sariyoku Port in Kaga County, Echizen Province on October 1 in 762 (or October 26 by the Gregorian calendar).  Tragically, Koma died of a disease at the port.  Surprisingly, Wang was the first civil officer as Balhae’s ambassador.  On January 7 in 763 (or February 27 by the Gregorian calendar), Emperor Junnin (733-765) held an official welcome party while Tang music played.  The Tang dynasty was ruling China, which was the most advanced country in East Asia, and Tang music was the most classic music at the time.  The Emperor had another informal party 10 days later with ethnic flavor.  They played Tibetan, Vietnamese, Eastern (Japanese), Southern (Japanese), and other kinds of music.  In addition, the Emperor had female trainees of the Imperial Music and Dance School sing and dance in front of them, or maybe with them.  Fujiwara Nakamaro (706-764) threw his own private party for the mission members, without knowing he would be driven off from his position and would be killed along with his family next year.  Those luxurious and gorgeous parties had nothing to do with Noto and its crews at all.  Noto was just patiently waiting for the spring to come, when south winds start blowing to send them to Balhae, with snow having closed in all around at Fukura Port.
     In the early summer of 763, Noto left Japan to sail Balhae’s emboys back to their home country.  In Noto’s surprise, no Japanese officers were on board other than Japanese sailors.  After letting Wang and other envoys off along today’s Posyet Bay in Russia, Noto waited for 2 passengers to come from the capital: one was Ko Uchiyumi (?-?), who had mastered phonetics in Balhae, and the other was Kai-yu (?-?), who was a Japanese Buddhist priest who had studied in China.  Ko’s case proved that Japanese people could study something more advanced even in Balhae.  Kai-yu used Balhae as an alternative route from China to Japan.
     September found the passengers at last.  Ko was with his wife, his young son, his baby and the baby’s wet nurse, and Kai-yu was with an “upasaka”; a mysterious man who could survive with having just a very small portion of food every few days.  They were just additional burdens to Noto and its crews.  Having neither Japanese officers nor those of Balhae meant having no capital to bribe local officials to take good care of Noto and its crews.  Although the typhoon season was approaching, Noto and its crews had better set sail for Japan.
     The area which is called Primorsky today never had a typhoon, so Noto’s departure was safe and smooth.  On the day of Noto’s arrival in Japan or on the day before, however, a typhoon came about.  Waves washed a helmsman, and oarsmen away.  Noto was trying hard to keep itself intact, but the captain argued with other sailors and decided to throw 3 females and an upasaka into the rough and wild sea because of their superstition that the god of the sea was angry with those passengers.  Superstition was just superstition.  Noto was at the mercy of winds and waves over 10 more days, and got washed ashore on Oki Island, an island province in the Sea of Japan.
     After its return to Japan, Noto was awarded with the 12th ranking in Japanese aristocratic order and with a beautifully decorated crown for its contribution.  The captain, Itaburi Kamakatsu (?-?), was arrested and imprisoned.  In 764, Fujiwara Nakamaro plotted a counter-coup against the retired Empress Koken, who herself had done a successful coup, and her henchmen in vain.  He was killed, and his henchmen were put into prison.  The prison being crowded, Itaburi was transferred to Omi Province.  What Itaburi had done aboard Noto in the storm has been passed down to today by the transfer document although the original police document has been lost.
     How many days or even years did Noto survive?  Superstitious people might not have dared to destroy it.  They must have left it dilapidating, decaying, and rotting over the years until the memories of the hell Noto had witnessed were dissolved like chips of wood and were concealed under the scattered documents about this incident.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Balhae's 4th Mission to Japan and Trading in the Form of Presents

     Balhae's 4th Mission to Japan gives us an inhumane example of the trade between Japan and Balhae, or even the triangular trade among Japan, Balhae, and Tang China.

     On December 16, 755, General An Lucian (705-757) finally declared himself emperor, and openly rebelled against the Tang Dynasty of China.  On November 18, 763, Tufan, or the Tibetan Empire, invaded Changan, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and they stayed there for 15 days.  All in all, in the middle of the 8th century, Tang China was just in chaos.

     In those days, precisely in 752, Fujiwara Kiyokawa (?-?) sailed across the East China Sea to Tang China as an ambassador of Japan.  Next year, he tried to sail back to Japan, only to get shipwrecked as was often the case.  The Japanese central government didn’t know whether he was alive or not.  Tang China was getting in disorder day by day.

     It was Yang Seung-gyeong (?-?), the ambassador of Balhae’s 4th mission to Japan, who brought the information of Kiyokawa’s survival.  Yang had been an officer in the westernmost region of Balhae, a good position to get inside stories of the chaotic society of Tang China.  Obtaining the information, the Japanese central government organized a kind of rescue team.  Ko Gendo (?-?), or Go Jeon-do, who was a naturalized Japanese from Goguryeo, was appointed as an ambassador of the mission.  Yang took Ko to Tang China by way of the Sea of Japan and Balhae, and helped Ko to meet Kiyokawa.  The Tang government, however, didn’t let Kiyokawa go home, ostensibly worrying for the deteriorating public security and the safety of Kiyokawa on his way back to Japan.  Ko came back empty-handed via the East China Sea.  The Tang government might not have been worried over the safety of Ko.

     Yes, Balhae worked as an alternative route to Tang China.  But what I want to talk about here is not about that but about the presents Yang had gotten in Japan for his contribution.

     While Yang Seung-gyeong was staying in Japan, on January 27 in 759 (or March 2 in 759 by the Gregorian calendar), Fujiwara Nakamaro (706-764), who was a prime minister at the time and who was Fujiwara Kiyokawa’s father-in-law, threw a big party for Yang.  On the occasion, Emperor Junnin (733-765) gave Yang personal presents: 300 bunches of cotton and female musicians of the Imperial Court.

     According to the Old Book of Tang, one of 24 orthodox history books of China, Balhae presented 11 Japanese female musicians to the Tang Dynasty in 777.  It is unknown whether the 11 musicians were those who had been presented to Yang or another present from Japan sent by way of Balhae to Tang China.  Anyway, there might have been the slave traffic between Japan and Balhae, or even the triangular slave traffic among the 3 counties, officially in the form of presents.  Could there have been the smuggling of slaves?

     In 777, Ono Iwane (?-778) led the Japanese 16th envoy to the Tang Dynasty as an acting ambassador, reached Yang Prefecture in Tang China across the East China Sea, and got to Changan in 778.  Despite all the attempts, Kiyokawa had died by the time.  He had a daughter, Kijo (?-?), or Xiniang, by his Chinese wife.  Kijo, accompanying Iwane, left Tang China.  The ship got wrecked, and iwane died as was often the case. Kijo clung to the bow, and was washed ashore on Naga-jima Island in Amakusa County, Hizen Province.

Friday, June 22, 2018

Balhae Missions and their Impacts on Japan

     Nobody in Ancient Japan moved as widely, broadly, and internationally as Heguri Hironari did.  He visited 3 countries and traveled from the southernmost tip of Tang Empire to the easternmost.  His checkered fate made him a person of international knowledge, and promoted him to be the 9th ranking in the Japanese aristocratic ranking system, the highest ranking those who were not a member of royal families or the central powerful clans could move up to.

     Balhae’s first 2 missions indicated a framework of the bilateral relations of Japan and Balhae.  The framework had 3 vectors.

     First, as the 2 wooden strips, which included 2 phrases "Balhae mission" and “trading”, unearthed in the residence vestige of Prince Nagaya (684-729) In 1988 imply, Balhae high-ranking officials gave presents to Japanese high-ranking officials, which were recognized “trading” in the Japanese side.  The Japanese central government gave presents to Balhae officials as the record about Balhae’s second mission showed.  It is yet to be revealed what whey were recognized as in Balhae society, but if they were recognized as personal presents, they might have been shared or “traded” with other Balhae people.

     Second, the Balhae route could work as an alternative route to Tang-Japan direct route across the East China Sea, which caused many shipwrecks.

     Third, Balhae was more advanced than Japan so that some made-in-China knowledge could be acquired more handily in Balhae.

     Balhae sent 34 missions to Japan until 919, and Japan sent 15 missions to Balhae until 811.  Balhae sent hides and got silk and cotton.  A couple of centuries later, in 1114, Taira Tadamori (1096-1153) was appointed as a provincial officer in Echizen Province.  Tsuruga County in the province was supposed to be one of ports of call for the Balhae missions, and actually was said to be a port of call for Sung-Chinese traders.  In North-Eastern Asia, the Jurchen people got independent from the Liao Dynasty, and destroyed the dynasty in 1125.  They also invaded the Sung Dynasty in 1127.  Under such an international political conditions, did Sung-Chinese traders really visited Tsuruga Port to trade with Japan?  There might have been some self-proclaimed Sung traders who traded or smuggled between the continent and Japan across the Sea of Japan.

     Later during the Warring States Period in Japan, which lasted since 1467 till 1568, there arouse Lake Pirates in the Lake of Biwa, which used to be a major part of a water transport route between the Sea of Japan and Kyoto.  Seafoods from the Sea of Japan were not enough to turn people into pirates.  There must have been some precious goods which were landed in Tsuruga and other ports along the Sea of Japan, and were transported via the lake.

Friday, June 15, 2018

Balhae's Second Mission to Japan

     In Balhae, the third son of Dae Muye (?-737), Heum-mu (?-793), succeeded his father to the throne in 737.  Heum-mu dispatched Seo Yo-deog as an emissary and I Zhen-mong as a vice emissary to Japan in 739.  The delegation had another mission to accompany the missing delegation members to Tang Dynasty China back to Japan.

     When a delegation was sent out to Tang Dynasty China in 733, Heguri Hironari (?-753) was a member of the delegation as the third third emissary or the third officer.  In 734, the delegation set sail from Suzhou on board 4 ships for Japan.  The first ship sailed back to Tanegashima Island.  The second ship drifted ashore in Fujian.  The third ship, which Hironari was on board with 114 other members and crews, washed ashore in the Kingdom of Champa, which lasted from 192 to 1832 in the middle part of Vietnam.  The fourth ship was lost.

     Those days, East Asia was under political and military tension.  In 720’s, Dae Munye, a younger brother of Muye, went into exile in Tang Empire.  In 732, Balhae’s navies attacked Dengzhou (a port town along the northern coast of the Shandong Peninsula).  In 733, Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) dispatched Munye to Youzhou, the northernmost and easternmost part of Tang Empire, to organize armies and attack Balhae in retaliation, and also ordered the king of Silla to attack Balhae, both of which didn’t work well.

     When the third ship that Heguri Hironari was on board washed ashore in the Kingdom of Champa, they were surrounded by soldiers.  A few were killed on the spot, a few others escaped into a jangle, and the others were captured.  About 90 of the captured died of malaria.  Masahiro and 3 crews survived.

     Let’s read the report by Heguri Hironari (?-753), which was handed in to the Japanese central government after his return to Japan.

     “We, Heguri Hironari and others, first accompanied the emissary, Tajihi Hironari, and entered Tang in 733.  By October in 734, we finished our mission, retired from the capital, and were returning to Japan.  Our 4 ships set sail simultaneously from Suzhou.

     "Soon a stormy wind raged, and we lost sight of each other.  Our ship drifted ashore in Champa with 115 people on board.  Bandits came about and surrounded us.  A few of us were killed and a few others fled.  More than 90 people were arrested, and many of them came down with malaria and died.  Hironari and 3 others escaped from the death, and were granted an audience with the King of Champa.  Although we were supplied with food, we were still interned in a building uncomfortable to live in.

     “In 735, we came across a Champa person who was familiar with Qinzhou (in Guangxi, China).  We secretly got on board his ship, left Champa, and reached back the Tang Empire.  We could go back to the capital by the agency of Abe Nakamaro, a Japanese student in the Tang Empire.  We asked to go back to Japan by way of Balhae. The Emperor permitted it, gave us a ship and food, and let us leave.

     “In March, 738, we left Dengzhou.  In May, we got to the border of Balhae.  The Balhae King, Dae Heum-mu, happened to be sending their envoy to Japan to visit our Imperial Court.  We left Balhae at the same time.  Crossing the Sea of Japan, one of Balhae’s ships was capsized by waves.  The emissary, Seo Yo-deog, and 40 others were drowned.  The envoy reached Dewa Province with Hironari and others.”

     Let’s read the royal letter from Dae Heum-mu (?-793), to Emperor Shomu (701-756) next:

     “Our mountains and rivers are separated from yours too far to view your land.  As we hear of your manners and morality, our respect you has just increased.  On bended knees, we presume Your Majesty the Emperor to be of sacredness, wisdom, and virtue, which spread large and wide.  Your Majesty’s leaves grow thick and wide, and luster covers all the nation.  We don’t deserve it, but succeeded to the throne and ruled in vain.  We have eased the tension, shown our tolerance, and established amity with every neighboring country.

     “This time, your messenger to a country, Hironari and others, missed winds and tides to be adrift.  They counted on us.  We thought to reward them, and to release them back next spring.  The messenger and others excessively begged to move forward and return this year.  Their petition was grave and the amity with your country is not minor.  Accordingly, we let them leave as soon as we prepared travel-related materials.  We appoint Seo Yo-deog and others as our mission, and have them accompany Hironari and others to your country.  In addition, we present 7 tiger hides, 7 bear hides, 6 leopard hides, 18 kilograms of ginseng, and 12 litters of honey.  Please accept them when they arrive.”

     After the death of Dae Muye in 737, his third son, Heum-mu (?-793), was trying relaxing the tensions between Balhae and Tang Empire.  He accepted the appointment as a king of “Balhae County” and sent delegation to Tang Empire almost every year.  The delegation in 738 brought Heguri Hironari to Balhae.  He made good use of the opportunity to send a mission to Japan without arising suspicion among Tang Empire.  He indebted Japan and successfully realized his skillful balanced diplomacy in East Asia.

     The mission left Balhae on board 2 ships.  One of the two, which the ambassador, Seo Yo-deog was on board, was wrecked, and whether all the presents arrived in Japan or not was not recorded.  The central government of Japan entertained the vice-ambassador, Gi Zhen-mong, and others.  In the ceremony on New Year’s Day (February 6 in 739 by the Gregorian calendar), they provided a Silla language translator and 2 beautiful attendants wearing long pleated trousers and holding large fan-shaped shades, which meant they treated the vice-ambassodor as if he had been a king or a noble from the Korean Peninsula.  The government presented Gi Zhen-mong with 20 rolls of silk fabric made in Mino Province, 10 rolls of silk fabric, 50 rolls of silk strings, and 200 bunches of cotton.  They also presented Balhae with 30 rolls of silk fabric made in Mino Province, 30 rolls of silk fabric, 150 rolls of silk strings, and 300 bunches of cotton, and the late Seo Yo-deog with 175 rolls of cotton fabric.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Sending Back Balhae's First Mission

     On February 16 in 728 (April 3 by the Gregorian calendar), the Japanese central government designated Hiketa Mushimaro (?-?) to accompany Balhae’s first mission back to their homeland.  On April 16 (June 2 by the Gregorian calendar), the mission members bade farewell to the Emperor, and were entrusted with an Imperial letter and presents.  The letter was very short and simple:

     “We respect the King of Balhae County and write.  Your letter informed us that you had redeemed the land of your ancestors and would like to restore the former amity with us.  We appreciate that.  Please assume justice and cherish morals.  Control your borderlands and do not give up your traffic although blue waves separate us.

     “As we take the opportunity to send back your mission led by Gao Je-deog, we are sending you a letter and presents; 10 rolls of dyed silk, 10 rolls of patterned silk, 10 rolls of silk, 100 rolls of cotton strings, and 200 bunches of cotton.

     "We dispatch an envoy to send your mission back to your country.  It has finally become summer, and we hope the trip will be safe and smooth.”

     If the mission members left Kyoto on the day, they had to wait another 2 months in some port along the Sea of Japan.  Hiketa Mushimaro departed from Kyoto on June 5 (July 20 by the Gregorian calendar).  It was not recorded from which port they set sail, but it might have been somewhere between Tsuruga and Noto.

     8 members of Balhae’s mission and 62 Japanese including Hiketa, some mission members, crews, and rowers might have set sail on the south wind.  It is estimated that they boarded 2 ships, which might have been built somewhere in Otsu Province.

     The Japanese mission members accompanied Gao Je-deog and other Balhae’s mission members to the capital of Balhae.  They were granted an audience with the king, Muye.  In 730, they left Balhae, and arrived at Kyoto on August 29 (October 19 by the Gregorian calendar) after the 820-day-long trip.

     Shoso-in, the treasure house of Todai-ji Temple, has kept tax books of Otsu Province.  The entry dated February 6 in 731 wrote that about 1,000 litter of rice had been provided for the mission in Kaga County.

     The mission members visited the Imperial Court on September 2 (October 21 by the Gregorian calendar), and offered the presents from Balhae to the Emperor.  The Emperor had the presents offered to the tombs of 6 past emperors and to famous gods in some provinces.  He even had some presents offered to the grave of Fujiwara Fuhito (659-720).  He might have shown respect to the Fujiwara Clan, who had been ruling the central government since Fuhito’s days, and who would keep ruling for about 3 centuries.

     We can conceive a couple of reasons why their stay in Balhae became such a long one. As premises, the records concerned about them had no details, nothing particular, or no accusation against their “delay”, which means that their long stay had nothing disastrous or tragic as Balhae's first mission to Japan did, and that the central government had anticipated it would be a long one even before their departure.

     First, as you know, Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty lasted from 630 till 838 for 12 to 20 times.  The number of times depend on what necessary conditions you think the missions should have.  Anyway, Japan learned a lot through the envoys.  The central government might have wanted the mission members to study about various advanced knowledge and skills.  The difference of the length of 2 countries’ sovereign diplomatic documents might have suggested their learning attainment levels of Chinese proficiency.

     Second, the mission members might have had a mission impossible to  spy the front lines against the Tang Dynasty and Silla, to investigate the inside information of the enemies.  It is, however, doubtful if Balhae let them spy even agains their common enemies.  Military secrets are military secrets.

     Third, as the tragic disaster of Balhae’s first mission suggested, The rout and navigation between Balhae and Japan was not built up yet, they might have missed a seasonal chance or two for a few minor mishaps.

     Fourth, the mission members were entertained with such a warm hospitality that they forgot how many days were passing as Urashima-taro did.

Friday, May 18, 2018

The Japanese First Encounter with the Balhae's Mission (3)

      The prewar imperial historical view in Japan wanted Muye's intension to be to pay tribute to Japan.  Obviously, it wasn’t.  He valued the proprieties, but was seeking for the equal diplomatic relations.

     The Japanese central government conferred Gao Je-deog and 7 others Japanese ranks with formal clothes correspondent to the ranks.  They held a grand party with Japanese high-ranking officials attending.  As entertainment for the party, they held archery completion between the Balhae mission members and Japanese archers, and performed gagaku, the ceremonial music and dances of the Imperial Court of Japan.

     Although main and major members were killed by Emishi, the mission brought the letter and presents to Kyoto.  The 8 survivors might have been looking after their ship while the others landed.

     It has been proved that they brought local products other than fur.  In 1988, the residence vestige of Prince Nagaya (684-729) was excavated.  They found thin wooden strips dated from 715 to 729.  In 729,  Prince Nagaya was cornered into suicide.  2 of the wooden strips had the Chinese characters for the "Balhae mission" and “trading”.  As Balhae’s first mission arrived in Japan in 729, and the second arrived in 739, the “trading” mentioned in the strips should have been carried out by the first mission.  They did trading as well as giving presents to the Emperor of Japan.

Sunday, May 13, 2018

The Japanese First Encounter with the Balhae's Mission (2)

     The Japanese central government issued the 8 surviving mission members with formal attire, headgear, and shoes so that they could attend the imperial new year ceremony at the Imperial Palace on January 3 in 728 (February 21 in the same year by the Gregorian calendar).  On 17 (March 8 by the Gregorian calendar), the members had a formal audience with the Emperor, and presented the letter from the King of Balhae, Muye, and 300 head of marten fur.  The letter said:

     “Muye shows respect.  We have different mountains and rivers, and different lands.  However, as we have heard about your manners and moral senses on hearsay, our admiration and honor has just increased.

     “As we look back in admiration, your great king founded Japan, accepting his fate.  The thick leaves shine under the sun light, and the truck has survived for 100 generations.

     "Muye has faced other nations, has ruled all the tribes, has recovered the former territories of Gogureyeo, and has preserved the manners and customs of Buyeo.

     “However, we are separated far away.  The sea is large and wide, and we haven’t communicated each other.  Asking each other’s fortune has ceased.  We hope to establish our friendship.  We wish to follow the previous courses, and to send missions to each other from today on.

     “Please accept our sending General Gao Len-i, Vice General Deog Ju, Vice-General Sa Hang, and 21 other members, and presenting our letter and 300 head of marten fur.  However humble our local products might be, we present them to show our sincerity.  We feel ashamed to send the fur which might not be rare, and which might meet contemptuous laughs.

     “Timely, we shall hand over our contacts to the next, and appreciate our neighboring friendship forever."

Friday, May 11, 2018

The Japanese First Encounter with the Balhae's Mission (1)

     On September 21 in 727 (on October 14 in the same year by the Gregorian calendar), 8 unfamiliar foreigners drifted ashore in Dewa Province.  They were the survivors of the 24 mission members led by Gao Len-i, who had been launched off by the King of Balhae, Muye.  The mission had been washed away to the land of Emishi in Northern Japan by misfortune.  16 members, including Gao Len-i, had been killed by Emishi.  The 8 escaped under the provisional leadership of Gao Je-deog.  The first encounter of Balhae people and Japanese people was such a tragically dramatic one.

     The Dewa Provincial government sent a swift messenger to the central government.  The central government, in turn, sent an inspector and an interpreter in rush to Dewa Province along with winter clothes etc.

     The inspector brought the 8 mission members to Kyoto on December 20 in 727 (on February 8 in 728 by the Gregorian calendar).

Sunday, May 06, 2018

The Ambivalence about Kobe Motomachi Shopping Street

On TripAdvisor, Kobe Motomachi Shopping Street is ranked #40 out of 762 attractions in Kobe.  66 travelers have posted their reviews about the street in English.  Along the street, however, only 2 attractions are listed on TripAdvisor; Kobe Fugetsudo Museum, which is ranked #119 out of 762 attractions in Kobe and which have had only 1 review in English, and Gallery Miyake,#412, which has no review in any language.  Even Motomachitaki Park, which is listed on Google Map, isn’t listed on TripAdvisor.  
Not all the restaurants along the street are listed.  Only a few of them have reviews.  Some reviewers of the shopping street itself sound to have just strolled through it, regretting that they found fewer people as they walked to the west end of the street.
If the shopping mall wants to attract more people into walking through the street and into more shopping, they have to list all the attractions and restaurants along the street, and even have to post the first reviews in English for themselves.

Saturday, May 05, 2018

Gogureyeo's Missions across the Sea of Japan before Balhae’s

     Nihonshoki. the Chronicles of Japan, whose editing was finished in 720, recorded the diplomatic relations with Goguryeo, whose ruling in the northern half of Korea Peninsula lasted from 37 BC till 668 AD, as follows:

     In 570, “Goguryeo’s mission suffered the hardships of winds and waves, and drifted ashore at Koshi Province.”  (Ancient Koshi Province used to cover today’s Fukui, Ishikawa, Toyama, and Niigata Prefectures.)
     In 572, “Goguryeo’s mission arrived at Koshi Province, and presented a crow-feathered letter to the Emperor.”  (What a crow-feathered letter was is unknown.)
     In 573, “Goguryeo’s mission arrived at Koshi Province.  We repatriated them with our reply mission.”
     In 574, "Goguryeo’s mission arrived at Koshi Province.”
     In 595, “A Goguryeo’s priest, Hyeja, arrived and resided in Japan.”  (Hyeja later became a teacher of Shotoku Taishi (574-622).)
     In 610, “The Goguryeo King presented priests, Damjing and Beobjeong.”  (They brought the arts of paper making and those of making Chinese ink sticks.)
     In 615, “A Goguryeo’s priest, Hyeja, returned home.”
     In 618, “The Goguryeo King, in commemoration of the victory against Zui Dynasty China, presented captives, music instruments, catapult rocks, camels, and etc.”
     In 625, “The Goguryeo King presented a priest, Hyegwan.”
     In 660, "Goguryeo’s mission arrived at Tsukushi Province.”
     In 662, “Goguryeo complained of the menace of Tang Dynasty China.”
     In 668, “Goryeo, sent a mission through the route of Koshi, and presented national products."

Friday, May 04, 2018

Community-Based English Learning is needed.

     My wife and I parked our car in the Naka-no-hashi Car Park, and visited the grave of my father in Mt. Koya.  After the visit, we visited Oku-no-in Temple and strolled along the street in the graveyard, watching the graves of historic figures.  We walked out of the graveyard from Ichi-no-hashi, and felt like having a cup of coffee or something to take a rest.  First, we found Komi Cafe, but it was full of travelers from abroad.  We kept walking, and found a Japanese sweet shop entirely vacant.
     What was the difference between two shops?  In Komi Cafe, a staff was sitting in front of the cafe, appealing they can serve in English, with signs and menus in English in front of the shop.  On the other hand, the sweet shop had no signs or menus in English.  As we has yummy Japanese sweets with a cup of aromatic tea, some foreign travelers looked into the shop and just passed by, shaking their heads.
     Later, when we were having lunch at a Japanese restaurant after visiting Kongo-bu-ji Temple and Danjo-Garan, there came in five young foreign travelers, who had troubles communicating with the staffs how and what to order.  I gave them some help. 
     The Koya-cho municipal government should provide a kind of English adult education to support the staffs working in the area to learn some useful English phrases so that they can serve visitors from abroad friendly and efficiently, as the area is attracting so many sightseers from abroad, who are contributing the tax revenues.

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Community-Based English Learning

     I started teaching English in Osaka Prefectural Higashi-Mozu Senior High School a month ago.  For a month, I have been wondering how I can motivate my students to study English.  In the mean time, as I have commuted from Doto Bus Stop to the school on foot, I found a mysterious pyramid-like mound half covered with countless tiles in the middle of a park.  One day, on my way to a convenience store in the morning, I dropped in at the park, and walked around the mound out of curiosity.  And I posted my curious experience on a travel review site, with full of enigmatic words.  On another day, on my way back to the bus stop, I found a sign in front of a temple, which accounted for the history of the temple, Ono-ji Temple, and the nearby mound, which turned out to be the ruins of an ancient Buddhism pagoda, Doto.
     The travel review site informed me that Doto is currently ranked #43 out of 156 things to do in Sakai City.  If I post its reviews in English again, with a properly explanatory manner this time, I may be able to promote the pagoda, and attract inbound tourists to it.  I would like to let my students witness Western backpackers looking up to Doto, and Asian travelers strolling around Doto, pulling their suitcases behind themselves.  I would like my students to see learning and using English matters.
     To inform about the surrounding area, I have already listed Ono-ji Temple, to which Doto used to belong, and Doto Shrine on the travel review site, which are currently ranked #141, and #142 accordingly.  I have to wait another three months to post the next review about Doto, observing the rules of the travel review site.

Friday, April 27, 2018

Taira Tadamori (1096-1153) and Pirates in Kyushu

     In the 12th century, the trade between Japan and the Sung Dynasty China came to a turning point.  In 1126, the Jingling Incident broke out:  Jurchen tribes occupied the northern half of China and established the Jin Dynasty.  The Sung Dynasty fled to the south, and ruled the southern half of China.  The incident brought 2 aftermaths to the southern half, or to the South-Sung society.

     First, after the occupation by Jurchen, thousands of imperial family members, bureaucrats, and even ordinary people were brought to the Jurchen homeland on foot.  Men were either bartered as slaves for horses or had to make their own living by cultivating fields.  Women, including imperial princesses, were either offered for public bidding or kept in a “laundry hall” as prostitutes.  Many of those who could escape the abduction fled to the south.  Accordingly, the forest resources in the south were exhausted to build palaces and houses, and woods were exported from Suo and other Provinces in Japan.

     Second, those from the north were not used to the subtropical climates in the south.  Diseases and epidemics broke out frequently, and that had medicine developed.  The development enabled the society to export the new medication to Japan, where, in the summertime, it was as hot as in the subtropics.

     For those 2 reasons, the trade between Japan and the Sung-Dynasty China became brisk and robust, and so did the piracy in the West Sea in Japan.  The pirates there were local powerful families.  Some of them acquired the privilege as priests or as royal or sacred purveyors, and did some unlawful deals as well as legal jobs to send tax rice and as such to Kyoto.  In worst cases, some of them even did some looting and homicide.

     On April 8, 1135, it was debated in the Imperial Court who they should dispatch to hunt down those pirates in the West; Taira Tadamori (1096-1153), or Minamoto Tameyoshi (1096-1156).  They preferred Tadamori’s maneuvering ability to the violent power of Tameyoshi and his men.  As early as in August, Tadamori returned to Kyoto in triumph, with Hidaka Zen Priest and 80 other pirates arrested.  His swift triumph caused a rumor that those arrested were not pirates but were framed as pirates.  They might have been, at least, those who were newly organized under Tadamori.

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Balhae, Who Opened the Second International Door of Japan in Tsuruga, Echizen Province

     The Ancient Korea Peninsula was divided into three kingdoms; Baekje, Silla and Goguryeo.  Goguryeo was destroyed by the alliance of Silla and the Tang-Dynasty China.  Dae Jo-yeong (?-719), a former general of Goguryeo, turned away the Tang armies in Tianmenling, and later founded Balhae. Balhae looked to Japan, the enemy of their enemies, and sent missions through the Sea of Japan.  The central government of Japan built Matsubara Guesthouse in Tsuruga, Echizen Province.  The guesthouse is presumed to have been somewhere around today's Kehi-no-Matsubara in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture, but its remains yet to be found.

     The missions sailed south to Japan on the northernly wind in winter, and went back to Bale on the southernly wind in summer.  They brought marten, which made a boom among noble people in Kyoto.  And ginseng brought by them was precious medicine.  Balhae was destroyed by Kihtan in 926, but Sung-Dynasty Chinese merchants kept visiting Tsuruga even Tadamori’s days.  It might be doubtful that they were all really the Sung-Dynasty citizens, but it is certain that they were from the continent.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Taira Tadamori (1096-1153) and Pirates along the Seto Inland Sea

     In March, 1129, Cloistered Emperor Shirakawa’s office and the office responsible for police and judicial duties under the Imperial Court ordered Taira Tadamori (1096-1153) to hunt down and kill pirates around the Seto Inland Sea.  The order of the cloistered emperor office said, “These days, savage bandits are more and more rampant along the sea lane.  They sail tens of ships and crest millions of waves.  Some kill or abduct travelers to and from Kyoto, and others ruin or rob public and private cargos.  Evil deeds have piled, and hardly a day passes without violence.  That is because provincial officers are afraid of their savagery and are reluctant to hunt them down.”  Mysteriously enough, however, no records of such large-scale piracy at the time can be found.  Anyway, it was at that time that Tadamori brought the Nomi-no-umi area under his control and renamed it Tada-no-umi (Tada Sea).

     Later in the Warring States Period, Kobayakawa Hirohira (1416-1473), the 10th head of the family, had 2 sons.  The elder, Takahira (1452-1499), became the 11th head of the family, and the younger, Korekage (?-?), started Nomi Family.  Korekage picked up the older name of the area for his family name.  Later, Nomi Masakatsu (?-?) was adopted to the Ura Family.  His son, Munekatsu (1527-1592), succeeded to the headship of the Ura Family, but preferred to be called Nomi Munekatsu.  The name “Nomi” might have been a brandname around the area.

      Nomi Munekatsu (1527-1592) commanded his sea forces in the area.  The most remarkable contribution he made to his master, the Mori Clan, was that he mediated between the clan and Murakami Pirates.  Murakami Pirates were composed of In-no-shima Murakami Family, No-shima Murakami Family, and Kuru-shima Murakami Family from North to South.  Each family’s headquarters was based in In-no-shima Island, No-shima Island, and Kuru-shima Island respectively.  Munekatsu’s daughter was married to Murakami Yoshisuke (?-1596), who was the 7th head of In-no-shima Murakami Family, the northernmost one, that is, geopolitically the closest family to Nomi's.  Obviously, the sea people under the brandname of “Nomi” were pirates, or more euphemistically sea samurais.

     Let’s get back to Tadamori’s time.  Tadamori used the first Chinese character of his first name to rename the sea, Tada-no-umi.  He also used the second Chinese character to name a port in O-Mishima Island across Tada-no-umi.  The port, Mori Port, is still used as a fishing port even today.  The island, which used to be respected as a god’s island, had, and still has, O-Yamazumi Shrine, which is the head shrine of 402 branch shrines at the minimum, and 897 of those at the maximum, and which used to be one of the most powerful shrines among the sea people along the Seto Inland Sea.  The fact that Tadamori  could “suppress” the area in such a short time might mean he could have got along with the sea people in the area somehow or other, maybe, as a matter of course, taking advantage of the authority of Cloistered Emperor Shirakawa.  Tadamori must have had the same DNA as his father did.

Saturday, April 07, 2018

Taira Tadamori (1096-1153) and Pirates in Echizen Province

     Taira Tadamori (1096-1153) was appointed as a provincial officer in Echizen Province in 1114.  Tsuruga County in the province used to be one of ports of call for Song-Chinese traders.  There, a murder case occurred.  A priest of Hie Shrine was captured as a suspect, and transferred under guard to the Kyoto office responsible for police and judicial duties.  He was, however, recaptured by priests of Enryaku-ji Temple.  The office captured the temple priests, and then other temple priests made a direct and rather violent petition to the Imperial Court.  Enryaku-ji Temple was the headquarters of the Tendai Sect of Buddhism, and Hie Shrine was believed to be a guardian god of the sect.  A conflict of interests concerning the trade with the continent might have underlain the violent incident. It is widely believed Tadamori learned what huge profits he could rake in through trading with China.

Friday, April 06, 2018

Taira Tadamori’s Family Line (6)

      How swift Masamori’s victory was! He must have had certain know-how to make local powerful families come over to him, other than just militarily destroying them.  In 1113, Masamori was appointed as a provincila officer in Bizen Province along the Seto Inland Sea.  In 1114, he was accused of hiding 5 robbers from Kyushu in his residence in Kyoto.  In the same year, he hired 9 pirates.  In 1118, another royal order was issued to him to hunt down and kill Taira Naozumi (?-?) in Fujitsu Manor in Hizen Province, Kyushu Island.  Masamori dispatched his followers, most of whom were powerful family members from Kyushu and Shikoku Islands.  Masamori had successfully built connections in the area, or along the sea lane between Kyoto and the continent, or China.  In 1120, he was appointed as a provincial officer in Sanuki Province, Shikoku Island.

     Masamori’s son, Tadamori (1096-1153), made a splendid debut.  He was named as a holy dancer in a non-regular festival of Kamo Shrine on November 14, 1119.  Fujiwara Sanesuke (957-1046) wrote about that in his journal, “His costume was so gorgeous that it made his walk brilliant and spectacular.  Every move of his dance surprised audience.  It was infinitely superior performance.”  Taking Japanese production level at the time into consideration, his costume should have been made in China.

     Tadamori made a good start in his career, taking advantage of achievements and accomplishments of his father, and exploiting rare imported goods which might have been obtained through the pirate network his father had built along the Seto Inland Sea.

Monday, April 02, 2018

Taira Tadamori’s Family Line (5)---The Revolt of Minamoto Yoshichika (2)---


 
 
     The trend of local powerful families around Sanin-do Region in Western Japan along the Sea of Japan to follow Yoshichika frightened the central political circles. They might have been afraid of having an Otenmon Conspiracy in 866 again, which had been caused by the power games between the Silla connections and the Tang connections. Or they might have been scared of a second Fujiwara Sumitomo (?-941), the first pirate king in Japan. Or someone else might have wanted to be a second Sumitomo for himself, replacing Yoshichika.

     A royal order was issued to Taira Masamori to hunt down and kill Minamoto Yoshichika on December 19, 1107. He was given a station bell which enabled him to procure manpower and horses at stations on his way. His troops raised three battle cries in front of Yoshichika’s residence in Kyoto (which was, surprisingly enough, still owned by Yoshichika), and cut down (only) the gateposts as rituals. He left Kyoto on the day, went to Harima Province, went north through Mimasaka Province to Inaba Province, went west through Hoki Province, and got to Izumo Privince on January 6, 1108. His speedy military advance suggests he met no enemies nor battles on his way.
 
     Yoshichika held fort in Kumoto, the second easternmost port along the northern shore of the Shimane Peninsula in Izumo Province. Even today, you can find a cave in which Yoshichika shut himself up according to legend. Masamori attacked the port across hills and by sea. The victory was reported to Kyoto as early as on 19, informing that Masamori had beheaded Yoshichika and 5 others, and that he would return to Kyoto in the first ten days of the next month.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Taira Tadamori’s Family Line (4)---The Revolt of Minamoto Yoshichika (1)---




    Minamoto Yoshichika (?-1108) infested Kyushu Island together with Takashina Motozane (?-?), who was his father-in-law and was a provincial officer in Higo Province, and others.  Cloistered Emperor Shiwakawa (1053-1129) dispatched an official, and Yoshichika's father, Yoshiie (1039-1106), sent his right-hand man, Fujiwara Sukemichi (?-?).  Sukemichi, however, took Yoshichika's side and killed the official.  On December 28, 1102, it was ordered that Yoshichika should be exiled to Oki Province, an island province off Izumo Province in the Sea of Japan.  It was not recorded who arrested Yoshichika or who transported him.  His next appearance was in 1107.  He killed a provincial agent officer and officials in Izumo Province, and captured tax products accumulated in the provincial government office.  Moreover, some local powerful families were rumored to side with Yoshichika.
 


     Let me present my hypothesis.  Yoshichika could have been trying to trade with the Liao Dynasty illegally, which had damaged Dazai-fu's, it means Oe Masafusa's, rights and interests severely, which had caused Masafusa's excessive response to Yoshichika's violent manner, and which made Yoshichika so influencial in Kyushu.  The cloistered emperor's governance was staying in business on the balance among central powerful clans and the central middle-ranking families who belonged to the "zuryo" class.  They might have mediated between Oe and Minamoto in a narrow sense, or maintained the equilibrium at large, and the compromise might have been that Yoshichika should retreat to Oki Province, where he could continue the illegal trade with the Liao Dynasty, however inconvenient the place might be.  Yoshichika voluntarily moved to Oki, or to Izumo at the very least, or at the worst.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Taira Tadamori’s Family Line (3)



     In 1101, Oe Masafusa (1041-1111), who was the officer in Dazai-fu (Kyushu Regional Government, which administered diplomatic relations and foreign trades) and who was a famed poet and scholar, accused Minamoto Yoshichika (?-1108) of his killing local people and looting their properties.  His vicious and wicked conducts were not, however, rare among those who belonged to the “zuryo” (to take over) class.  Some of them did murder and looting to get wealthier quickly and simply.  Let me pick up Taira Korehira (?-?) for example.

     Fujiwara Sanesuke (957-1046) was known for his thorough knowledge of customer and rites.  He wrote in his journal that Korehisa killed two local people in 1024, when he was a provincial officer in Hitachi Province, and that he tortured the widow into a confession that the murderer was another local person.  Sanosuke also quoted Korehira’s successor’s letter to the central government that people were starving, and that the province was sapped of vitality.  We can easily see how cruel and merciless Korehira’s violent exploitation was.

     As a scholar, Masafusa might not have been so violent as Yoshichika or Korehira, but he wrote several self-recommendations to be appointed as a provincial officer.  In the application dated April 2, 996, he wrote, “If you say an old scholar who loves poetry should not ride on a vehicle, I would say Bai Ju-yi (a famous Chinese poet) was an officer in Suzhou.  If you say a poor gentleman who loves calligraphy should not serve the colors, I would say Zhu May-chen was a general governor in Guiji.”  Even Masafusa recognized being a provincial officer as a way to be wealthy.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Taira Tadamori’s Family Line (2)



     Taira Korehira (?-?) made a provincial officer in Shimotsuke, Ise, Kozuki, and Hitachi Provinces.  He belonged to the “zuryo” (to take over) class, not to the local-powerful-family class.  He must have his residences in Kyoto and in the northern part of Ise Province, where he managed his manors.  He gathered rice and other products in the residence in Ise Province, accumulated some of them there, and sent some others to Kyoto.  In Kyoto, with the wealth he sent in, he built connections in the central bureaucracy.  With the connections, he was successfully appointed as a provincial officer, and accumulated another amount of wealth in the province.  That was what “zuryo” did.

     His son, Masanori (?-?), made a provincial officer in Hitachi, Dewa, and Echizen Provinces; Masanori’s son, Masahira (?-?), only in Dewa Province.  He was appointed as the provincial officer in 1099.  The “zuryo” class in general made a downfall in the 12th century, but the family didn’t.  Masahira’s son, Masamori (?-1121?), made a brilliant comeback.  He suppressed the revolt by Minamoto Yoshichika (?-1108).

     Prior to the revolt, Fujiwara Korefusa (1030-1096), an officer of Dazai-fu (Kyushu Regional Government), and Fujiwara Atsusuke (?-?), a provincial officer in Tsushima Province, conspired to privately trade with the Liao Dynasty in northern China.  The trade was illegal because Japan had its diplomatic relation with the Song Dynasty but not with the Liao Dynasty.  The both two got a demotion as a penalty.

     In 1099, Emperor Horikawa changed his regnal year names due to a big earth quake and a plague.  Sometime at the time, Yoshichika was appointed as a provincial officer in Tsushima Province.

Friday, March 23, 2018

Taira Tadamori's Family Line (1)

     Taira Sadamori (?-989) was fighting around the northern part of the Kanto Plain against Taira Masakado (?-940), who corresponded in the East to Fujiwara Sumitomo (?-941) in the West, the first pirate king in Japan.  After Masakado’s defeat and death, Sadamori was promoted to make a provincial officer in Tanba and Mutsu Provinces.  He seems never to have worked in Ise Province.

     Somehow or other, his son, Korehisa (?-?), was fighting in 998 against Taira Munenori (?-1011), whose grandfather was a younger brother of Sadamori’s father, over “kami-no-kori” (literally gods’ counties).  There used to be 6 gods’ counties in Ise Province, and 3 of them were located in the northern part, where both Korehisa and Munemori were based.  The counties' taxes were spent to support Ise Shrine.  The fight lasted for 2 generations, and finally Muneyori’s son, Munetsune (?-?), was arrested at Yokokawa in Mt. Hiei in 1021 officially by the police and judicial chief but virtually by Korehira’s son, Masamori (?-?).

     During the fight, probably to make his position better, Munetsune donated Masuda Manor in Kuwana County, Ise Province, in 1013 to Fujiwara Yorimichi (992-1074), who was the eldest son of Michinaga (966-1027), the most powerful man in Japan at the time.  Even after his arrest, he donated a navy blue lapis lazuli salvia jar to Todai-ji Temple.  The jar, which is still kept in Shoso-in, is presumed to have been made at Fergana in Turkistan and might have been brought by sea to Masuda Manor, where a base of the sea people who were active around Ise Bay was located.

     Even in the 12th century, we can find a document about a lawsuit between Kume Tametoki, a low-ranking official, and Kuwana Kanbe, a low-ranking shrine priest, over port tolls in the manor.  Later during the Warring States Period in Japan, the northern part of Ise Province produced the Mukai Family, a pirate samurai family, who made the sea force magistrate of Tokugawa Shogunate.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

The Most Powerful Manor Restriction Ordinance Ever



     Unlike other emperors in the later Ancient Japan, the maternal grandfather of Emperor Go-Sanjo (1034-1073) was not a member of the Fujiwara Clan.  So the emperor took a bold stance against the clan, whose chief at the time was Fujiwara Yorimichi (992-1074).

     In 1069, he issued his hard-line manor restriction ordinance, and, at the same time, established a central manor registry office to put the ordinance into practice in a rigid and centralized manner.  Unlike previous ordinances, the ordinance included detailed rules which prohibited:

     1.  To exchange fertile state-owned rice paddy fields for manor rice paddy fields of inferior quality.
     2.  To count state-owned rice paddy fields among manor rice paddy fields even when they were cultivated by manor farmers.
     3.  To classify state-owned rice paddy fields allocated for the maintenance of religious institutions into their manor rice paddy fields.

     We can easily guess how central powerful clans and the central powerful religious institutions had eroded state-owned rice paddy fields.

     The ordinance and its measures seem to have been very effective.  Yorimichi’s grandson, Moromichi (1062-1099) lamented in his journal their loss of Doi Manor in Kozuke Province.  Iwashimizu-Hachiman-gu Shrine still keeps an official document dated September 5, 1072, with the signature of Oe Masafusa (1041-1111), a famed poet and scholar at the time.  The document was issued to the shrine, informing that 13 out of their 34 manors were to be confiscated.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

The History of Ineffective Manor Regulation Ordinances



     Ironically enough, the first manor restriction ordinance in 902 spread the idea and concept of land ownership across the nation.  That is, it was largely recognized that you could own a manor if you had a written certification, or if you had equivalent authority.

     In 985, Emperor Kazan (968-1008) had to issue another manor restriction ordinance to have provincial officers to inspect manors which had been developed and approved after 902 and to confiscate illegal ones.  However, it was central powerful clans who were to operate policies and to work out measures.  The clan members were owners of manors, and provincial officers, who belonged to middle-ranking noble families, tend to accept manor applications as part of their job hunting, especially at the end of their terms of offices.

     In 1040, Emperor Go-Suzaku (1009-1045) issued another manor restriction ordinance.  On the pretext of the renewal of the Imperial Palace, all the manors that had been newly approved by the incumbent provincial officers were confiscated.

     In 1045, Emperor Go-Reizen (1025-1068) issued another manor restriction ordinance.  This time, new countermeasures were taken against provincial officers’ job hunting.  He threatened in bravado to confiscate manors which had been approved by the previous provincial officers, to dismiss provincial officers who disobeyed the rule, and never to appoint them as provincial officers again.  His ideas were very lovely, but he couldn’t stop the number of manors from increasing.  The previous provincial officers, the incumbent provincial officers, and even would-be provincial officers all belonged to one class, the “zuryo” class.  State-owned rice paddy fields were, rather, being eroded.  The emperor issued another manor restriction ordinance in 1055, only in vain.  Some manors even came to just orally claim to belong to the Fujiwara Clan.

Sunday, March 18, 2018

The Rise and the Downfall of the “Take-over” Class

     Under the ancient centralized government, certain amount of rice paddy field was allotted to an adult for cultivation during their life time .  The allotment was conducted every 6 years since the end of the 7th century.  Due to the public unrest, Emperor Kanmu (737-806) extended the allotment circle to 12 years to maintain the system.  The last allotment was carried out by Emperor Daigo (885-930) in 902.

     Through the 9th and 10th centuries, there emerged a “zuryo” (literally to take over) class among central middle-ranking noble families.  Unlike central powerful clan members, who preferred to stay in Kyoto, they actually left Kyoto for their assignment provinces.  The 11th century witnessed the golden age of the “take-over” class.  Their power basis were gradually undermined by local powerful families, and, at the beginning of the 12 century, they began falling.  Their power struggles against the central high-ranking powerful clans and the central powerful religious institutions were taken over by central middle-ranking military families, who succeeded in organizing local powerful families under them.  We can guess what the “take-over” class's power struggles were like through a series of manor restriction ordinances.

     On March 13, 902, the first manor restriction ordinance was issued by Emperor Daigo.  He incorporated royal rice paddy fields which had been developed since his coronation in 897 into state-owned ones.  He prohibited local people from donating their rice paddy fields to central powerful clans or central religious institutions, and also banned central powerful clans and central powerful religious institutions from illegally enclosing wilderness.  The ordinance required manor owners to keep their official written certificates, and gave provincial officers authority to accept the application of newly developed manors, which strengthened provincial governments’ supervision over rice paddy fields in their provinces.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

The Localization of Japanese Ancient Centralized Governance


     At the beginning of the Japanese Ancient Centralized Government era, in the 7th century, provincial officers’ jobs were to impose and deepen the governance into every corner of Japan.  The government was also busy sending subjugation armies to the South and to the North and extending the governance outward.  The governance was a top-down management.

     In the 8th and 9th centuries, provincial officers started proposing their ideas.  The tendency was basically upward.

     In the 23 years from 782 to 805, 7.4 percents of laws were made in the central government on the basis of the proposals by provincial officers; in the 4 years from 806 to 809, 11.6 percents; in the 14 years from 810 to 823, 18.4 percents; in the 10 years from 824 to 833, 25.7 percents; in the 14 years from 834 to 847, 24.8 percents; in the 3 years from 848 to 850, 45.0 percents; in the 3 years from 851 to 853, 27.8 percents; in the 3 years from 854 to 856, 33.3 percents; in the 2 years from 857 to 858, 0.0 percent; in the 18 years from 859 to 876, 34.4 percents; in the 8 years from 877 to 884, 49.0 percents; in the 4 years from 885 to 888, 9.5 percents; in the 9 years from 889 to 897, 32.2 percents; and in the 3 years from 898 to 900, 31.6 percents respectively.

     The 2 years from 857 to 858 was at the end of Emperor Montoku’s days.  In 855, the insurrections among Northern people broke out, and, in 857, those among Tsushima Island did in the South.  Fujiwara Yoshifusa (804-872), Montoku’s uncle, made a regent in the central government, the first non-royal regent ever.  Some scholars today even argue that the emperor was assassinated by Yoshifusa.  The governance was being severely shaken externally and internally.

     In 887, a megathrust earthquake broke out in July.  Tokai earthquakes, Tonankai earthquakes, and Nankai earthquakes broke out in linkage.  As many as 30 provinces were severely and extensively damaged.

     Without those exceptions, the localization of the governance was on a rising note.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Taira Tadamori (1096-1153), the Second Pirate King in Japan



     It is highly probable that the Tachibana Family in the Ota Manor area had been living there ever since the 9th century, when the Tachibana Clan used to be still thriving in the central government.

     Let me get back to Tadamori’s time, the first half of the 12th century.  Was the Tachibana Family exceptionally preserving and persistent in Bingo Province?  That was highly improbable.  Then, what was Tadamori’s “easy” suppression of pirates like?

     On April 8, 1135, Tadamori was appointed as the commander to pursue and subdue pirates along the Seto Inland Sea.  In August, he took 70 pirates to Kyoto in triumph.  On August 19, a rumor that he had just brought his followers was documented.  Actually, no such big execution was recorded.  Tadamori might have organized pirates to be a pirate king.

     The first pirate king in Japan, Fujiwara Sumitomo (?-941), robbed provincial governments of tax rice, and tried to plunder Dazaifu, where the Kyushu regional government office is located, of goods imported from China.  Tadamori, instead of robbery, contracted to send tax to Kyoto.  Instead of plunder, he opened illegal channels which were tolerated and condoned.

     We will see what the contract was like next time.