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.