Built image of Japanese pirates (Book review: Historiographical Institute The University of Tokyo ed., Egakareta Wako: 'Wakozukan' to 'Kouwazukan (Kang wo tu juan)', (Painted Japanese pirates: 'Wakozukan' and 'Kouwazukan (Kang wei tu juan)'), Tokyo: Yoshi

Submitted by 恩田重直 on Mon, 08/08/2022 - 08:00
『描かれた倭寇』
 

Wako (The Japanese pirates), probably most Japanese have a reasonable image of them. This book presents a full-colour overview of two pictorial scrolls depicting Wako.

One is in the collection of Historiographical Institute The University of Tokyo, which will be introduced in Chapter 1: "Exploring the fascination of the 'Wakozukan'". The other is in the collection of the National Museum of China, which will be taken up in Chapter 2: "Discovery of the Second 'Wakozukan': 'Kouwazukan (kang wo tu juan)'".

Although the titles of these two pictorial scrolls are different, their composition and content are very similar. Chapter 3, "Comparative Study 'Wakozukan' and 'Kowazukan'" analyses the differences between them and explores the relationship between them, showing the results of infrared photography using the latest high definition digital cameras.

The following chapter 4, "The third Wakozu-maki?: The phantom 'Heiwazukan (Ping wo tu juan)', mentions the possibility that other similar pictorial scrolls may have existed, although the whereabouts of the pictorial scrolls are now unknown. Based on the commentary of the remaining pictorial scrolls, it is pointed out that they may have been similar to the 'Kowazukan'. And the background and purpose behind the production of the three pictorial scrolls will be explained.

The final chapter, Chapter 5: "Memories of Wako: 'Taiping Anti-Japanese Drawings'", is a chapter that could be said to be an appendix, and presents drawings depicting the attack of the Wako in a town in Zhejiang Province, which are in the collection of the National Museum of China.

As such, this book is a pictorial sampler of Wako. The illustrated scroll is approximately 30 centimetres wide and more than 5 metres long, and even though it is reduced in size in this book, it is extremely useful to be able to view the whole picture on the desk at any time.

The greatest outcome of this book is the use of the latest technology to clarify characters invisible to the naked eye, and to date the contents of the illustrations. The year ''Koji 4'' was found in the 'Wakozukan' and ''Nihon Koji 3'' in the 'Kowazukan', and it was confirmed that the paintings date around 1557-1558.

It has conventionally been pointed out by Tanaka Takeo and others that the 'Wakozukan' painted Wako in the 16th century.※1 However, it has not been possible to date it so clearly. As it could not be confirmed with the naked eye, it cannot be helped. Painted historical records provide us with a visual and intuitive image of what it was like at the time, but there is also the difficulty of using them as a historical record.

By the way, Japanese history divides the Wako into the "Early Wako" of the 14th-15th century and the "Late Wako" of the 16th century. This is due to the fact that the factors and characteristics of the outbreak differ between the two. According to this division, this book is a collection of paintings of the "Late Wako".

Almost without exception, researchers on the "Late Wako", whether in Japanese or Chinese history, question the use of the term "Wako".※2 The reason is that the Japanese were not so main players in the activities of the "Late Wako" as to be called " Wako".

The composition of the Late Wako is often cited from the " Ming shi lu ", which states that the majority were Chinese, especially those from Fujian, followed by those from Zhejiang.※3 The locale of their activities also reflected this, along the coast from Zhejiang to Fujian and Guangdong in China.

However, as this book also uses this term, it is also a fact that it is still strongly used. The term Wako is used in a small number of documents of the time, so there may be aspects where it has to be used, but if it is used unknowingly, it may cause a terrible misunderstanding and should be used with the utmost caution.

Looking at the pictorial scrolls again with this in mind, we find that the composition of the personnel is completely different from that given by the written historical records. Most of the people are clearly portrayed as Japanese, with Japanese-style clothing, Japanese swords, and cropped heads. How much truth is being portrayed?

At this point, it seems as if the paintings faithfully portrayed the image brought about by the term Wako. It is not known to what extent these paintings were widespread at the time, but it may be said that the words and images complemented each other and created a solid image of Wako. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they are still carried down to the present day. If this is the case, the impact of the words and images is astonishing.

Then why did the Ming dynasty continue to use the term Wako, which did not fit the actual situation? It seems that the Ming dynasty's cleverness is hidden in this. In other words, they may have been trying to cover up the reality that they were unable to manage the maritime ruffians, mainly their own people.

It can be said that this was successful in that it created a virtual enemy without any actual reality, if by continuing to use the term Wako, many people considered Wako was a foreign enemy. On the other hand, it can also be pointed out that it postponed the resolution of the problem. The image of the term Wako, which diverges from reality, has made it difficult to understand where the problem lies, from that time to the present day.

Looking at the seas of East Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries, China's sea ban and Japan's isolation, while not completely cutting off exchange through the sea, placed considerable restrictions on it. This may be a sign that exchanges through the sea were perceived as potentially shaking the foundations of the regime, and it seems to reveal that the sea was an unmanageable place for the rulers on land. And it can be said that the problems that were put off being resolved at this time by turning their backs on the sea continue to this day.

Thus, this book makes one think about the truth behind the paintings. By the way, the 'Wakozukan', owned by Historiographical Institute The University of Tokyo, is available on the Institute's website.※4 Although you may have seen parts of the 'Wakozukan' in textbooks, why not check the whole picture again?
 

 

 

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