The Otomo Clan and their Diplomacy

      The Otomo Clan fell at the end of the Warring State Period, and their records and documents have not been preserved as well as the Shimazu Clan’s have.  We should make speculation from their scattered records and documents about where and how they procured their sulfur.

     The Otomo Clan moved from Eastern Japan to Bungo Province at the end of the 13th century.  We can find 2 documents left which imply how the clan’s control over sulfur progressed.  The 2 documents are the lists of the territories and the businesses which were under the direct control of the clan, or, more precisely, of the head family of the clan.  One document was recorded under Otomo Ujitoki (?-1368) in 1364, another was recorded under his second son, Chikayo (?-1418), in 1383.  There are listed the family’s estate, surrounding territories, important ports and stages, etc.

     The first list in 1364 included, oddly enough, a mountainous valley, Yufuin, along with other rich paddy field areas and port towns.  Under the Yufuin entry, 3 villages were added as a supplementary note; Namiyanagi, Shukuri, and Tsukahara.

     Namiyanagi lies north upstream of Yufuin Valley at the west foot of Mt. Yufu-dake.  The mountain is at an altitude of 1583 meters.  Tsukahara is further north-west upstream in the highlands surrounded by Mt. Yufu-dake, Mt. Tsurumi-dake (1374 meters), and Mt. Garan-dake (1045 meters).  The 3 mountains are active volcanoes.  Especially Mt. Garan-dake emits gasses and vapor even today, and is also known as Mt. Io, literally Mt. Sulfur.  You can find natural crystalized sulfur around the crater.

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

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

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

     China pulled a large amount of sulfur from Japan.  Japanese national hegemons at the time pushed a large quantity of sulfur to China to obtain political gains, certain statuses in East Asia Tribute System, and to obtain certain economic gains, trade margins.  The push worked as pulls on Japanese local hegemons.  The local hegemons tried to procure sulfur from volcanoes in their domains.  Thus, the exportation and production of sulfur became institutionalized and structured as a munition industry, and Yoshishige was busy establishing diplomatic relations with countries in the Asian Continent.

     In 1567, Yoshishige wrote a letter to Bishop Carneiro in Macao, requesting him to forbid exporting niter to the Mori Clan, who had overthrown the Ouchi Clan, so that the Otomo Clan could beat the Mori Clan to spread Christianity to the Mori Clan’s domain, and to have the captain-major there sell 120 kilograms of niter to his clan annually, promising to pay 4 kilograms of silver or more for the niter.

     The Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo, keeps the Shimazu Clan texts, which include a letter from the atom Clan.  The letter starts, “This time, we sent out a ship to Nanman (today’s Cambodia),” and mentions Sorin.  The letter was sent from a vassal of Yoshishige to a vassal of the Shimazu Clan, who ruled Satsuma Province, today’s Kagoshima.  It is supposed to have been written in 1573.

     Yoshishige seemed to have established diplomatic relations with the kings of Khmer, whose capital was located at Longvek, which was also visited by Portuguese.

     According to the letter, the ship sent out by the Otomo Clan was wrecked in Shimizu’s territory.  The Otomo’s side asked the Shimazu’s side about the ship, but received no reply, so demanded the immediate return of the ship.

     In 1578, a Khmer king tried to present copper guns and elephants to Yoshishige, but the ship with the presents aboard was captured and interned by the Shimazu Clan.  In 1579, Shimazu Yoshihisa (1533-1611) sent a letter and presents to the king instead (in return?).