Kings in All but Name : The Lost History of Ouchi Rule in Japan, 1350-1569

In the sixteenth century, members of the Ouchi family were kings in all but name in much of Japan. Immensely wealthy, they controlled sea lanes stretching to Korea and China, as well as the Japanese city of Yamaguchi, which functioned as an important regional port with a growing population and a host of temples and shrines. The family was unique in claiming ethnic descent from Korean kings, and-remarkably for this time-such claims were recognized in both Korea and Japan. Their position, coupled with dominance over strategic ports and mines, allowed them to facilitate trade throughout East and Southeast Asia. They also played a key cultural role in disseminating Confucian texts, Buddhist sutras, ink paintings, and pottery, and in creating a distinctive, hybrid culture that fused Japanese, Korean, and Chinese beliefs, objects, and customs. Kings in All but Name illustrates how Japan was an ethnically diverse state from the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries, closely bound by trading ties to Korea and China. It reveals new archaeological and textual evidence proving that East Asia had integrated trading networks long before the arrival of European explorers and includes an analysis of ores and slag that shows how mining techniques improved and propelled East Asian trade. The story of the Ouchi rulers argues for the existence of a segmented polity, with one center located in Kyoto, and the other in the Ouchi city of Yamaguchi. It also contradicts the belief that Japan collapsed into centuries of turmoil and rather proves that Japan was a stable and prosperous trading state where rituals, policies, politics, and economics were interwoven and diverse. Cover Kings in All but Name Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Conventions Introduction: The Lost History of Ōuchi Rule A New Periodization of Japanese History: The Age of Yamaguchi (1477–​1551) and the Sengoku Era (1551–​68) Trade, Mining, and Sea Power The Ōuchi, Korea, and the Question of “Ethnicity” Religion and Rule Individuals and Institutions The Forgetting Early Scholarship The Structure of This Book 1. The Origins of the Ōuchi Star Cults and Myōken Three Tatara Lineages in Suō The Ōuchi Region The Struggle for Survival, 1331–​50 Conclusion 2. The Founder Ōuchi Hiroyo Origins The Conquest of Nagato Controlling the Straits of Shimonoseki Ritual Bonds of Lordship The Mines of Iwami Ties with the Court The Planned Settlement of Yamaguchi Turmoil of the 1370s 3. Ōuchi Yoshihiro and the Forging of Ōuchi Identity Quelling “Pirates” and Kyushu Enemies Enshrining Authority Yoshihiro in the Capital Crafting Ōuchi Identity The Ōei Disturbance (1399) Sakai Legacies 4. The One Who Could See Stars: The Unlikely Rule of Ōuchi Moriakira Early Life and Lordship Copper Mines and Trade Kingly Status Tripiṭaka (Buddhist Canon) Ashikaga Rapprochement Tombs, Kings, and Ōuchi Ethnicity Conflict, Korean Ties, and Trading Networks Ōuchi Administrative and Ritual Authority The Localization of a National Shrine (Usa) The Departure 5. Fraternal Succession, Expanding Trade, and Durable Administration Naming Patterns and Succession Disputes Pacifying Kyushu and Proselytizing Gods Expanding Commerce An Unexpected Death 6. Trader, Shogun, King, and God Early Life Urban Development, Commerce, and Trade Reasserting Control over Nagato Korean Ties and Ethnic Imaginations Recognition of Ōuchi Ethnicity Delegated and Personalized Authority Creating a Western Warrior Government Slouching toward War Legacies 7. Ōuchi Masahiro and the Rise of Yamaguchi Birth and Early Years The Onset of the Ōnin War Stalemate, Supply, and Naval Supremacy Yamana Kuniko’s Defense of Yamaguchi Ending the War Divinely Sanctioned Authority The Depersonalization of Administrative Practices Economic and Cultural Exchanges Recalibrating Ōuchi Ethnicity Forging the Past The Apotheosis of Ōuchi Norihiro The Yamaguchi Polity Turtle Taboos The Age of Yamaguchi 8. Yoshioki and the Apogee of Ōuchi Rule (1495–​1528) Early Years The Meiō Coup (1493) and Its Ramifications Yoshioki’s Violent Ascension Harboring a Shogun Conquering Kyoto Yoshioki as Commander Revisiting Myōken in the Capital Becoming a Courtier Cultural Patronage Administering the Capital Kyoto Currency Regulations Trade with Korea, China, and the Ryūkyūs Return to Yamaguchi Possessing the Ise Gods Transforming Yamaguchi and the Ōuchi Realm Turmoil in Iwami and Aki The Ningbo Incident Last Battles 9. The Triumphs and Tragedy of Ōuchi Yoshitaka (1528–​51) Birth and Early Years Succession Ruling as Governor General of Kyushu (Dazai Daini) Trade with Korea Tally Trade with China Increasing Copper and Silver Exports Yoshitaka’s Influential Advisers Wars in Iwami and Aki Possessing Itsukushima and Rebuilding Shrines Yoshitaka’s Ritual Supporters Consequences of Upholding Court Authority Selecting a New Heir Defending Iwami The Prosperity of Yamaguchi Turmoil in Kyoto The Revolt Conclusion 10. The Collapse Ōtomo Hachirō Appeals to Ōuchi Ethnicity The Pliant Ruler Christianity and the Portuguese in Yamaguchi Becoming Ōuchi Yoshinaga Turmoil The Itsukushima Defeat Prayers, Defeat, and Death Ruin Epilogue: Legacies Ōuchi Nostalgia Ōuchi Teruhiro’s Gambit Post-​Ōuchi Trade Disruptions Rewriting and Reordering the Past Fading Ōuchi Identity Bibliography Index