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.