Posted by Notes on early trade between the Matsuura Party in Kyushu, Goryeo Korea and Ming China.
As many of you know I have been reading and doing my best to translate a lot of great books I have found in local libraries and bookstores in Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Saga.
This time round I found an interesting book which tells the early history of trade between the Matsuura Party of northern Kyushu and Goryeo Korea. These are some notes I made while reading the book.
Fall of the Yuan, Rise of the Ming.
Fall of Goryeo, Rise of Joseon
Unification of the Ryukyu.
Fall of the Kamakura, Northern and Southern Court conflicts, Muromachi Period.
Wako roamed the seas, plundering the Asian mainland and creating a problem for Chinese, Korean trade routes and trade ports.
Wako were known as Japanese pirates, but members were actually from Japan, Korea and China. In the early years most Wako were peasants and fishermen that were forced into piracy due to famine and other localized hardships. From 1350AD the number of Wako raids increased at around the same time of the Nanbokucho period in Japan and was at its peak to the beginning of the Ming period. Wako hot spots were centered around the islands of Tsushima, Iki and to the south Goto. Hirado, on the far west coast of Kyushu was a famous pirate port as was many other smaller ports scattered throughout Matsuura lands.
Trade between the Japanese, Chinese and Koreans was very different. The Koreans wanted to have a more formal relationship with official merchants and traders unlike the Chinese who were not as organised and tended to accept pirates and merchants alike. Although, I am not suggesting that this is the norm. Instability in the region was the norm rather than the exception during these times.
Towards the later parts of Yuan China authorities were faced with many problems such as high tax, famines, over work etc and people started to get restless. China became a hub for Wako recruitment and Wako raids. Although in 1368 the new Ming Dynasty tried to contain Wako raids and piracy by banning all Chinese from travelling abroad. Emperor Hongwu sent an envoy to Prince Kaneyoshi stationed at Dazaifu in Kyushu asking the royal court to help put an end to the Wako and piracy trying to re-establish formal trade routes. Kaneyoshi was the son of Emperor Go-Daigo and administered Kyushu under the name of the emperor. Unfortunately, it seems Kaneyoshi was otherwise preoccupied with the northern and southern court struggle and there was no reply that I could find.
In 1401 Ashikaga Yoshimitsu enthusiastically sent a reply to the Ming Emperor. Yoshimitsu was just as eager to rid the waters of the Wako and begin trade once again with China. In 1402 Hongwu’s fourth son became the next Ming Emperor. He continued his father’s work with Japan, and he sent a red seal to the Ashikaga acknowledging them as the ruling family of Japan which allows them to openly trade with China. Both rulers promised to rid the seas of the pirates although some people among the Japanese aristocracy criticized the Ashikaga as many believed that Japan was seen as a vassal to the Ming. Although, by the latter half of the 16th century just about all pirate activity had been stopped.
Korean diplomacy was very different than that of China. The Korean ruling authority prohibited all trade with pirates much earlier than China. They developed a diplomatic order and established an official commerce and trade system that was completely owned by the central ruling authority. Korean traders and ports had been heavily targeted by the Wako and it seems they were still afraid of the pirate traders. This may seem like a funny sentence, pirate traders? Yes, not all Wako were violent plunderers, the Matsuura used many established Wako traders for the shipping of goods around the East Asian Sea. The Korean trade system was multidimensional between, daimyo (lords), regional clans and merchants. Trade power moved away from Kyoto and Nara to Kyushu, particularly the Matsuura Party in Hirado and the So clan of Tsushima who acted as middlemen. Japanese daimyo basically did not have their own trade ships and relied on other traders on their behalf. Yi dynasty of Korea actively countered against rogue Wako operating around the Japan Sea which proved very successful and the Matsuura also proved to be up to the task.
Stu.
Let's Dive into Japanese History 
You must be logged in to post a comment.