Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan

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Immigrants, Princes, and High Officials Jun 16, 2025

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This episode we are covering the end of the reign of Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou. We cover the events in the Chronicles, including the death of Nakatomi no Kamatari, the creation of the Fujiwara family, the destruction of Goguryeo, and the continued development of the Baekje refugees. For more, check out the podcast blog at: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-128 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is episode 128: Immigrants, Princes, and High Officials. There was a pall over the house, despite the visiting royal retinue creating something of a stir,. While craftspeople were still hard at work repairing damage from the lightning strike only a few months earlier, that wasn't the reason for the low spirits. Rather, the house was worried for their patriarch, the Naidaijin, Nakatomi no Kamatari. He had fallen ill, and despite all the pleas to the kami and the Buddhas , it seemed the end might be near. And so even the sovereign himself had come. Kamatari was not just a loyal official, but a close friend of the sovereign, someone who had been there since the beginning. And so we can imagine how Naka no Oe felt. He may have been the sovereign of Yamato, but he was still a human being, visiting his friend of some 30 or so years, knowing that for all of the power that he held, there was nothing he could do against the ravages of time and disease. The year is 668—Naka no Oe has moved the capital to Ohotsu, on the banks of Lake Biwa, and has formally assumed the throne. This episode we are going to cover the last several years of Naka no Oe's reign. In contrast to last week's dive into Yamato science, this week is going to be a bit of a grab bag, looking at what was going on in Yamato and talking about what was recorded in the Chronicles. And for the most part, the entries for the rest of the year 668 are fairly normal, and yet there are some oddities… For instance, in the fourth month we are told that Baekje sent Mitosapu and others to offer tribute. And any other time that would be just a normal thing. Except that at this point in history, Baekje was about as going a concern as a parrot in a Monty Python sketch. So if the Kingdom of Baekje was no longer a thing, who was it that was sending the tribute? Most likely it was the Baekje communities in exile living in the archipelago. Remember how many of them had settled around Biwa and in 666, two thousand Baekje people were settled somewhere in the East. These immigrants were still being supported by the Yamato government, who were basically subsidizing their settlement for the first three years, during which time they would be expected to make it into a permanent settlement. Based on the way the Chronicles talk about it, these early Baekje communities sound like they were maintaining a kind of kingdom in exile. With many immigrants from Baekje living together in proximity, they were likely keeping their own groups, with their own language and traditions, at least for now. It would be interesting to know if there were specific Baekje settlements that have been identified through the archaeological record. That said, we definitely see Baekje's mark on the archipelago: Physically, there are the Baekje style castles, and various temples following Baekje style layouts. Of course there were also continental building styles, but some of that was shared across multiple cultures at this point, and one should consider how much Baekje influence might have been found in things that we later see as Japanese. Additionally, Baekje nobles were involved in the court, often given court rank based in part on their rank in Baekje, though it wasn't quite equivalent. Still, in time, some of the nobles would trace their lineages back to Baekje nobles and princes. Speaking of princes and Baekje, on the fifth day of the fifth month of 668 —a day that would come to be known as Ayame no hi, or Tango no Sekku, one of the major days of court ceremony—Naka no Oe went out hunting on the moor of Kamafu, known today as Gamou district, near Kanzaki, where 400 Baekje people had been settled. He was out there with the Crown Prince, his younger brother, aka Prince Ohoama, and all the other princes and ministers. A grand outing. A month later, however, tragedy struck. One "Prince Ise" and his younger brother died on consecutive days. While this was undoubtedly a blow to the court, the interesting thing for our purposes – which also highlights the challenge of interpreting the Chronicles is that we aren't exactly sure who this is referring to. It's not the first time we've seen this title: we first see a "Prince Ise" show up around 650, during the presentation of the white pheasant that ushered in the Hakuho era, but we later see that that individual had passed away in 661. We also see the name show up less than 20 years later in the Chronicles for another prince, so this can't be the same. So this is clearly a position or title for a prince, but it isn't clear if it was passed down or inherited. One possibility is that "Prince Ise" or "Prince of Ise" was a title for one of the royal sons. IAt this point in the narrative, Naka no Oe had three sons. Prince Takeru had passed away at the age of 8, but he also had Prince Kawajima, Prince Shiki, and Prince Iga, aka Prince Ohotomo, all sons of "palace women". We know, though, that these princes show up later, so I don't think the so-called Prince Ise was one of them. Perhaps another line? The term "Prince" might also refer to something other than a royal son. You see, English translators have often been somewhat cavalier with the way we tend to render titles. The English term "Prince" has been used for "Hiko", "Miko", or "Ou" (which was probably pronounced "Miko" in many of these cases). And in English, we often think of "Prince" as the son of a king, but "Prince" can also be an independent ruler of a principality, or may just refer to a person with power in a monarchic state. Even the term "king" is not unambiguous—early European accounts of Japan during the Warring States period often refer to the various daimyou as "kings", given the often absolute dominion with which they apparently ruled their particular domains. At this time, the term "Miko" (also pronounced "ouji", or "koushi", or even "sume-miko") seems rather unambiguously to refer to a "royal prince", from the lineage of the sovereign. The term "Ou", which also seems to be read as "Miko" in some cases, is also the term for "King" and probably more broadly fits the concept of a "prince" as a ruler. However, in this case, it seems to be equal to the term "Miko", and may have been used almost interchangeably for a time, though later it would be used to refer to members of princely rank who were not directly related to a reigning sovereign—the grandchildren and so forth of royal princes who did not go on to inherit. In this case, I think the best we can say for certain is that Prince Ise—or the Prince of Ise—was someone important enough to be included in the chronicles – but who he was, exactly, will remain a mystery for now. The following month, the 7th month, was chock full of activities. First of all, Goguryeo sent envoys by way of Koshi—meaning they landed on the Japan Sea side, probably around Tsuruga. While this may just have been closer, I suspect it meant they avoided any Tang entanglements traveling through the Bohai sea. They did run into a spot of trouble, however, as the winds and waves prevented their return. Koshi also shows up as presenting some strange gifts to the court: burning earth and burning water. There is some thought that maybe this is something like coal or natural oil deposits. We are also told that in this month, Prince Kurikuma was appointed the governor of Tsukushi. Kurikuma no Ou appears to have been the grandson—or possibly great-grandson—of the sovereign, Nunakura, aka Bidatsu Tennou. The position Kurikuma was given was important, of course, overseeing the Dazai, which meant overseeing anyone traveling to the archipelago from the continent. This would be a relatively short-lived appointment—this time. He would be re-appointed about three years later, which would prove important, as he would be governor there during some particularly momentous events. Stories appear to have continued about him in the Nagasaki region, and various families traced their lineage back to him. Also in that month, we are told that Afumi, home of the new capital, practiced military exercises—likely in preparation in case of a future Tang or Silla invasion. Recall we discussed in Episode 126 how the choice of Afumi as a capital site might have been related to its defensibility in the event of such an invasion. At the same time, the court entertained Emishi envoys, and the toneri, by royal command, held banquets in various places. There is also mention of a shore-pavillion, presumably at Lake Biwa, where fish of various kinds came, covering the water. Interestingly enough, there is another story of a "shore pavilion", likely the same one, in the Fujiwara Family Record, the Toushi Kaden. We are told that Prince Ohoama – Naka no Oe's younger brother spiked a large spear through a plank of wood in some kind of feat of strength. This apparently shocked Naka no Oe, who saw it aa kind of threat—perhaps seeing that his five-years younger brother was still hale and healthy. Granted, Naka no Oe was only in his 40s, but his brother Ohoama was in his later 30s. We are also told that at this time, in 668, Naka no Oe was apparently not doing so well, with people wondering if he would be with them much longer. The Toshi Kaden account seems rather surprising in that it claims Naka no Oe was so shocked by this proof of his brother's vitality that he wanted to have him put to death, suggesting to me that he felt that Ohoama might be a threat to him and his rule. Ultimately, though, he was talked out of this by his old friend, Nakatomi no Kamatari – the one whom he had plotted with to overthrow the Soga, and whose relationship was initiated by an interaction on the kemari field, as we discussed in Episode 106. Speaking of whom: Nakatomi no Kamatari was still Naijin, the Inner or Interior Minister, and so quite prominent in the administration. In the 9th month, as a Silla envoy was visiting the court, Kamatari sent Buddhist priests Hoben and Shinpitsu to present a ship to the Prime Minister of Silla, which was given to the Silla envoy and his companions, and three days later, Fuse no Omi no Mimimaro was sent with a ship meant for the King of Silla as well. This incident is also recounted in the Toshi Kaden. In this case it says that the people, hearing about the gifts to Silla, were quite upset. After all, it stands to reason: Yamato was still smarting from their defeat at the hands of Tang and Silla forces, and building up defenses in case of an attack. They'd also taken in a number of Baekje nobles and families, who may have also had some influence on the court. We are told that Kamatari himself excused all of this by stating that "All under heaven must be the sovereign's land. The guests within its borders must be the sovereign's servants." In this case, all under heaven, or "Tenka", is a common phrase used to describe a monarch's sovereignty over everything in the land. And so, while Silla envoys were in Yamato as guests, they also fell under similar rules, and as such were considered, at least by Yamato, as the sovereign's servants and thus worthy of gifts. The Silla envoys stayed for over a month. They finally departed by the 11th month of 668, carrying even more gifts, including silk and leather for the King and various private gifts for the ambassadors themselves. The court even sent Chimori no Omi no Maro and Kishi no Woshibi back with the envoy as Yamato envoys to the Silla court. This all tells us that just as the Tang were working to woo Yamato, Silla was likely doing so as well. And while Yamato might still begrudge the destruction of Baekje, they also had to face the political reality that Baekje was probably not going to be reinstated again—especially not while the Tang government was occupying the peninsula. So making nice with both Tang and Silla was prudent. Furthermore, though they had been visited by Goguryeo envoys earlier that year, Yamato may have had some inkling that Goguryeo was not in the most powerful position. Ever since the death of Yeon Gaesomun, the Goguryeo court had been involved in infighting—as well as fighting their external enemies. One of Gaesomun's sons had been exiled and had gone over to the Tang, no doubt providing intelligence as well as some amount of legitimacy. What they may not have known was that as Yamato was hosting the Silla envoys, a new assault by the Tang-Silla alliance was advancing on Pyongyang and setting siege to the city. The Nihon Shoki records that in the 10th month of 668 Duke Ying, the Tang commander-in-chief, destroyed Goguryeo. This would dramatically change the international political landscape. Tang and Silla had been triumphant—Yamato's allies on the peninsula had been defeated, and what we know as the "Three Kingdoms" period of the Korean peninsula was over. However, the situation was still fluid. The peninsula was not unified by any sense of the imagination. The Tang empire had their strategic positions from which they controlled parts of the peninsula and from which they had been supplying the war effort against Goguryeo. They also likely had to occupy areas to ensure that nobody rose up and tried to reconstitute the defeated kingdoms. In fact, there would be continued attempts to revive Goguryeo, as might be indicated in the name we use: by the 5th century, the country was actually using the name "Goryeo", a shortened form of "Goguryeo", but we continue to refer to it as "Goguryeo" to distinguish it from the country of the same name that would be established in 918, laying claim to that ancient Goguryeo identity. A bit of spoilers, but "Goryeo" is where we would eventually get the name that we know the region by, today: "Korea". In the Nihon Shoki it is referred to as "Gaori". But none of that could have been known at the time. Instead, there was no doubt some exuberance on the side of both Silla and Tang, but that would settle into something of unease. With Baekje and Goguryeo destroyed, Silla may have thought that Tang would leave, allowing them to solidify their hold and manage those territories as an ally. If this is what they thought, though, I'm not sure they had run it by the Tang empire just yet. In the Yamato court, there appear to have been separate factions: a pro-Tang faction, and also a pro-Silla faction. We have to assume, based on the actions in the record at this time, that this was a ongoing debate. The last thing I'll note for the year 668 is attempted theft. The Buddhist priest Dougyou stole Kusanagi, the famous sword forming part of the imperial regalia, and escaped with it. Kusanagi, you may recall, was the royal sword. It was named "Kusanagi" or "grass cutter" because it is said that when Prince Yamato Takeru was subduing the eastern lands, he was surrounded in a field that had been set on fire, and he used Kusanagi to create a firebreak by cutting down all of the grass around him. The sword was given to him by Yamato Hime, the Ise Princess at the time, and it was thought to have been first found by the god Susanowo inside of the legendary Yamata no Orochi. We talked abou…

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Time and Direction in Ancient Yamato Jun 01, 2025

Show notes

This episode we look at time and direction and the influence of geomancy--theories of Yin and Yang and a little bit of how people viewed the world through that lens. For more, check out the blog page: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-127 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is episode 127: Time and Direction in Ancient Yamato Officers of the court stood in the pavilion. The soft trill of water could be heard trickling from one reservoir to the next. They watched closely, as the figure of a court official, one hand out, pointing at a measuring stick, slowly rose along with the water. Eventually, the figure's outstretched arm indicated a line with a single character next to it. On cue, one of the officials began to beat the large drum that was nearby. The rhythm was slow, but deliberate, and the sound was loud, echoing out to the mountains and back, showering the nearby palaces in a layer of sound. Across the palace, people briefly paused, took note of the number of strokes, and by that they knew the time of day. Without giving it much more thought, they then went about their business. This episode we find ourselves partway through the reign of Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou—his formal reign started in 668, but he had been pretty much running things since the death of Takara Hime in 661 and, arguably, for much longer than that. 668, however, saw Naka no Oe ascend the throne in his new palace of Otsu no Miya, officially making him the sovereign. And although 645 is the year Naka no Oe and others had started the Taika Reforms, it's not wrong to say that that 668 and the start of Naka no Oe's official reign, brief as it would be, that he finally had the ability to bring it all together and set it into stone. We've talked about many of these reforms before on the podcast, but a lot of them were associated with the continued push to incorporate continental concepts into Yamato society, covering everything from court ranks to how to organize agricultural production. Of course, there was also Buddhism, which we've covered numerous times, but there were other concepts coming across as well, including ideas about history and writing, as well as ancient STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This included architects, and new ways of constructing buildings. And it also meant ways of seeing the world, including things like directions and time. And this is what I want to focus on this episode, taking a break from the primary narrative to spend some time on what we might call Yamato concepts of science, especially how they thought about the structure of reality organization of time and the universe – their cosmology, as it were. After all, to better understand the reasoning and motives of people, it is helpful to try and understand how they saw the world, not just for translation—understanding what it means when an entry says something like the "Hour of the Horse" on an "Elder Wood" day—but also for understanding how things actually worked in their eyes. For instance, the idea of "auspicious" and "inauspicious" times and directions is something that most listeners probably don't incorporate much into their daily lives, but the Chroniclers and the people of Yamato absolutely did, so understanding concepts like this can sometimes be the key to unlocking why historical people may have taken the actions that they did. In particular, we'll talk about things like yin and yang, five elements, ten stems and twelve earthly branches, and what all this meant for the Yamato ideas of organizing time and space. A large part of Yamato cosmology is tied to something called Onmyoudou, literally the Way of Yin and Yang, which in the organization of the Ritsuryo state fell under a particular ministry, known as the Onmyo-ryo. If you've heard of Onmyoudou before, you likely have heard about the "Onmyouji", practitioners who studied the flow of yin and yang—and who could reportedly do miraculous things with that. A 10th century Onmyoji, the famous Abe no Seimei, is perhaps the most well-known, with numerous stories about his exploits, which were then turned into a fantastical series of stories by the award-winning author, Baku Yumemakura. Those were then turned into Manga, movies, and more. Abe no Seimei is like Japan's Merlin, or Gandalf, at least in the stories. Back to the organization we mentioned, the Onmyou-ryou was responsible for Yin-Yang theory, or Onmyou-dou, which included divination, as well as astronomy, or Tenmon-dou, and calendar making, or reki-dou. While some of this was based on straight up natural observances, a lot of it was explained through older concepts of Yin and Yang theory. Today, you might encounter a lot of this in the theories around Feng Shui, and this can also be referred to as "geomancy", or earth divination. To give a broad overview of Onbmyoudou and its origins, it is part of a large corpus of concepts focused around a concept of energy known as qi or ki—which forms the basis for a lot of Chinese and Japanese cosmology, or their concept of how the world worked. Much of this is tied up in concepts that are modernly broadly called "Daoist" or associated with so-called Daoist practices. That term can be a bit misleading, as strictly speaking, Daoism refers to the teachings of the legendary philosopher Laozi, in his book, the Dao De Jing, as well as works attributed to later authors, like the Zhuangzi. There is some controversy as to when and to what extent this strict Daoism came to Japan. However, in the broader sense, the category of "Daoist " practices includes an entire panoply of various folk practices, including concepts of Yin and Yang – and in the archipelago, many of these concepts were imported with the various books that people had acquired on the mainland, even if they weren't strictly tied to Daoist religious practice. For example, there were aspects that were borrowed by various Shinto shrines, and others formalized into ritual practices under the new government. And of course many of these became linked to various Buddhist teachings and practices, as well. But what did this actually look like in concept and practice for practitioners of Onmyoudo in Japan? Let's start with the idea of yin and yang. One of the earliest references comes from the Zhou Yi, the Zhou Book of Changes, the core of what we also know as the Yijing, the Book of Changes. Here we see the idea that the universe began with a single force that split into two, and those two forces make up all of creation in one way or another. Yin and Yang, or In and You—or even Onmyou—refer to these forces, which are characterized as shadow and light, moon and sun, female and male, cold and hot, etc. So these forces are opposites, but it should be noted that they are not necessarily good or evil. After all, too cold is just as bad as too hot. Likewise too much darkness is as blinding as too much light. As most people have seen, yin and yang are often depicted as a circle divided into two comma shapes, with a smaller circle in each. One side is white with a black circle and the other is black with a white circle. This is the "Tai Chi" diagram, but the diagram itself doesn't seem to have been depicted like this prior to the 11th century, at least that we are aware. But the concepts are much older. Now if you've heard of the Yijing, where it came from is something of a mystery. One theory is that it started as a written account of folk wisdom, and may have even given instructions for things like when to plant and when to harvest, based on changes in various heavenly phenomena. But overall it is organized into 64 chapters, each associated with a particular hexagram. Start with a line, that can either be a full line – representing yang – or a broken line representing yin. Stack three of these on top of one another and you get a trigram. If you chart out every single possible combination of yin and yang lines, you get 8 unique trigrams, sometimes referred to as the baqua. Stack two trigrams atop one another and you get a hexagram, a combination of 6 lines that can have 8 by 8 or 64 unique variants. It's theorized that the Yijing resulted from taking all of the collected sayings or aphorisms and bits of advice and cataloguing and dividing them into 64 chapters, each one associated with a given hexagram. Going further, each line of the hexagram is associated with particular line in Yijing, and various meanings are ascribed to it and its association. It's a complex and fascinating system and I don't have time to go into it fully, but I would note that this was used as a form of divination—yarrow stalks or other means of random lot drawing that gives you a binary outcome – zero or one, yin or yang – could be used to determine the six lines of any given hexagram. This, in turn, would reference a chapter in the Yijing which was then interpreted as a sign as to how to read a given situation that you might find yourself in. What's really important to understanding the worldview of the time is this idea, represented by the hexagrams in the Yijing, that you can encompass everything about the universe by making and cataloging different amounts and arrangements of yin and yang. It's a science, as it were – a systematic approach to understanding the differences in the world by breaking it into component parts. And if this seems preposterous, consider this: today we understand that all things are made up of tiny atoms. And these atoms are all made up of the same material—protons, neutrons, and electrons. And yet, how those atomic particles combine create atoms with wildly different qualities. And how those atoms then combine into molecules and so on and so forth describe how we explain everything around us. So is it really so far-fetched? I'm not saying that we should suddenly start to figure out the measurements of yin and yang in everything, but if we want to understand how the people of the time saw their world, it may be helpful to hold an open mindand understand the assumptions that they were working from and where they came from. As human beings, we naturally look for connections in the world around us, and this was no exception. People would observe facts, know how that it worked, and often then would back into the reason for it. This is a tale told across cultures, and we still see it, today. At the same time, we've developed structured approaches to test out our theories, empirically. So for the moment, let's leave the trigrams and hexagrams, and talk about another idea that also gained traction as people were trying to figure out how the world worked. This was the five elements theory also known as Wuxing, or Gogyou, in Japanese. The five elements in this case are Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth. Some may notice that these, along with the sun and the moon, are used in Japanese for the days of the week: Nichi (sun), getsu (moon), ka (fire), sui (water), moku (wood), kin (metal), do (earth). Buddhists, by the way, also had an elemental system with only four elements, Fire, Water, Air, and Earth, possibly connected with some Greek influence, and brought along with Buddhist practice. For now, however, let's focus on the five elements. The idea in wuxing is similar to that of yin and yang in that everything in creation is made up of these five elements in some degree and configuration. Furthermore, there are creation and destruction cycles. So fire creates ash, or earth. Earth gives birth to metal. Metal creates water—look at a cold piece of metal in a warm environment and see how the water droplets form on it, and imagine what that looks like without understanding humidity and how there could be water vapor in the air. And then water creates wood, or plants—any farmer could tell you that without water the plants die. And wood is where we get fire from. Of course, the reverse cycle is the opposite. Fire eats the wood. Wood drinks up the water. Water rusts metal. Metal tools plough the earth. And Earth can be used to douse fire. Finally, there is another cycle of weakening. ,. Because fire heats and weakens metal, metal chops down wood, the trees roots break up rocks, the earth soaks up water, and water likewise puts out or weakens fire. So the theory went, if these elements make up all matter, these relationships continue on a more complex scale in everything. So if something was thought to contain a lot of "fire" element, then it would be potentially helpful if you needed "Earth" but destructive or at least weakening to metal and wood. Properly accounting for these elements was important to achieve the results you were looking for, whatever that may be. These were the kinds of things that were incorporated into traditional medicine practices, but also applied to auguries or divination about things like where and how to build a building. Even today, Shrines will sell calendars that help people know the prominence of certain elements, and some folk remedies may look to balance elements, much as medieval European medicine was often designed to balance the four humors that ancient physicians believed were present in the human body. The chart of these five elements and their relationships is something you may have seen. It is a five pointed star, often inside of a circle. Of course this is also similar to a western pentagram, though typically drawn with the point of the star up, but it has nothing to do with Christian values or Satan, or anything similar. Rather, it is just a way to represent these five elements, and you'll see it frequently in reference to Onmyoudou. The elements were used to categorize many different areas into groupings of five. This includes grouping the various directions into five directions. Of course, you may be wondering about that, since most societies usually mark four cardinal directions, and in this case, they did the same, but added the fifth as "center". And so you get things like the north is water. It is related to cool, or cold weather. It is represented with the color black. To the south, opposite of the north, is fire. It is hot, and the color is red. Of course, this probably doesn't take a huge leap to see the connections they drew: since these civilizations are in the northern hemisphere, the farther north you go, the colder it gets, and the farther south you travel, the warmer it gets, generally speaking, at least until you reach the equator. Meanwhile, the west was related to metal, and the color white, while the east was related to woods and forests, and the color…. Blue. Alright, that last one, in particular, probably doesn't make sense to a lot of us. After all, we likely associate blue with water, and wood, or trees, would be associated with brown or, possibly, green. Well, in this case, it goes beyond that. The north is water, but it is also associated with darkness—shorter days in the winter, and things like that Sothe association of north with black makes sense, but many also look at the ocean and don't necessarily see it as "blue", or dark or even black, like Homer's famous "wine-dark sea". Furthermore, although they have a word for it (midori), "green" was not a primary color in Japan, instead considered more of a shade of "aoi", or blue. Even today they refer to a "green" traffic light as an "aoi shingo, not "midori" shingo. So if you asked someone in the Asuka period to describe the wooded hills and fields, they would have likely used "aoi". And of course, we are missing the fifth element. In the center we have the element earth and the color yellow. A lot of these different concepts were…

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New Beginnings May 16, 2025

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This episode we are looking at the early years of the official reign of Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tenno, including the building of a brand new capital on the shores of Lake Biwa. For more information, see: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-126 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is episode 126: New Beginnings The local farmers couldn't help but talk. There was so much construction, but it wasn't entirely clear what was being built. The land between the mountains and the lake had been neatly groomed fields, but now that the government workmen had moved in, all of those fields were being cleared. This new construction was much larger than anything that people had seen before. Rocks were coming in from far flung quarries, and local kilns were being set up to create tiles, while woodcutters were sent into the forests to bring logs to the site. There were various stories about what was going on—a new provincial government office, or perhaps a new temple, but perhaps the most outlandish was that this was going to be some kind of royal palace. The sovereign himself was taking in interest in this little slice of Afumi, and he was going to abandon the Home Territories of Yamato and bring his entire court to the shores of Lake Biwa. What a far-fetched story! …Wasn't it? Last episode we recapped a lot of the history of Prince Naka no Oe and how he had come to this point: the Isshi Incident, the Taika reforms, as well as the reigns of his uncle, Prince Karu, aka Koutoku Tennou, and his mother, Takara Hime, aka Saimei Tennou. With Takara Hime's death, Naka no Oe was now – finally, as he might have thought -- running things officially. He had prosecuted the war in Baekje, and with that loss, he had turned his focus back to the archipelago. He now had refugees to settle, and defenses to set up. And then there were the embassies that would be coming, in an apparent attempt to normalize relations post-conflict. That could only go so far, however, given that Tang and Silla had simply turned their war efforts against Goguryeo. So one imagines that any diplomatic discussions were held with the understanding that the international order was still in flux. And so we arrive in the 8th month of 665, as some of the first defensive castles were being erected. That same month, Tamna—the kingdom on the modern island of Jeju—sent ambassadors to the Yamato court. The diplomatic ties between Yamato and Tamna were a relatively recent occurrence, but with Baekje gone, one wonders if Yamato wasn't feeling out a new alliance on the continent. That said, Tamna does not appear to have been a major player on the international stage. They had been a tributary of Baekje, and may have even been one of the last holdouts of the proto-Japonic language for a long time. Indeed, a 15th century Joseon history records a foundation myth of Tamna that emphasizes close early ties with the Japanese archipelago. The following month saw another visit by Tang ambassadors, only a year after Guo Wucong had come to the court. Guo Wucong had been wined and dined, and things seem to have gone well, as this time he returned, but he wasn't the one leading the embassy this time. That honor went to Liu Degao, sub-prefect of Yizhou, among his many titles. Yizhou is the same location where the previous missions from Yamato to the Tang court had made landfall. Presumably, Liu Degao would have had experience with the embassies that passed through Yizhou, so he seems a logical choice to be sent over to the archipelago. This seems like an escalation, with a more titled ambassador leading the party. It is possible that the Tang were trying to not only reset their relationship with Yamato, but also attempt to woo them to their side. The Tang likely knew that if they defeated Goguryeo, then they would have another problem to work out: The alliance with Silla. At the moment both Tang and Silla were in a partnership of convenience, but the Tang empire didn't get where it was by just giving up territory. And Silla was, itself, ambitious. It would be in the Tang dynasty's best interest to have Yamato on its side in case Silla became a problem. At the very least, the Tang court could have just been trying to make sure that Yamato would stay out of any continental entanglements, such as by supporting Goguryeo. Within the Yamato court, it is unclear which way, exactly, they were leaning at this point. The court was clearly building defensive positions—fortresses and more. At the same time, there were likely those who welcomed any return to stable relations with the Tang. After all, there were still Wa in Chang'an and elsewhere, and there was still a hunger in the archipelago for the books and other goods that the Silk Road could provide. On the other hand, they may have felt more at home with Goguryeo, or even Silla. The bonds with the Korean peninsula were older and likely stronger. And, as long as the Tang Empire was busy with other states, then perhaps they would be too preoccupied to attack Yamato. Liu Degao and his entourage had arrived at Tsushima on the 28th day of the 7th month. They would have been put up there for a time, and entertained. If this embassy followed later conventions, they would have likely pulled into a harbor, like the one near Kofunakoshi. This is a narrow spot between the two parts of Tsushima, where we know that in the 9th century, ships from the Tang empire would stop, register goods and people, and likely have them transferred to Japanese ships. All of the checking and cataloging would happen at nearby Bairinji temple. Even if they didn't have to transport everything to another ship, it is likely that they would held at Tsushima for a while for security purposes. Tsushima was ideal, both for its distance, halfway between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago, but also for its shape, with numerous places that ships could sit at anchor in secluded bays away from any weather or rough seas that could otherwise cause problems. We don't know exactly what the Tang embassy's stay was like, but we know that they were at Tsushima for roughly two months, which was probably the time it took to get a message to the Yamato court and back. We know how long it was because we learn that it is on the 20th day of the 9th month that they finally made landfall at Tsukushi, or Kyushu, and two days later they forwarded a letter-case to the Yamato court. Two months later, we know they were at the court, as there was a banquet held for Liu Degao on the 13th day of the 11th month, and then a month after that, Liu Degao and the rest of the mission were presented gifts, after which they left and returned to the Tang court. We are also told that Mori no Kimi no Ohoishi, along with Sakahibe no Muraji no Iwashiki and Kimi no Kishi no Harima all went to the Tang court that same month, no doubt traveling with Degao and Wucong. On the first month of the following year, Neungnu of Goguryeo was sent to the Yamato court to offer tribute. On the same day, the 11th day of the first month, Tamna also sent someone identified as Prince Siyeo to offer presents. Immediately, I'm wondering about the way that this is presented. Both of these states – Goguryeo and Tamna - were allies of the former Baekje kingdom. I have to wonder how the Goguryeo ships made their way—did they come down the western side of the peninsula, through the Bohai sea, and thus past possible Tang patrols between their peninsular and continental territories, or did they head through the East Sea, aka the Japan Sea, where they would have to pass by the coast of Silla, whom they were also not on great terms with? The fact that both missions are mentioned at the same time suggests that maybe the Goguryeo embassy sailed down to Tamna, on Jeju Island, and then the two groups made their way over to Yamato together from there. Other things about this entry to note is that the Chroniclers use different terms for these visits to the Yamato court. Goguryeo uses a term that Aston translates as "offering tribute" while Tamna uses a different term indicating that they were "offering presents". This may be as simple as the difference in the various relationships between the polities, as viewed by the Chroniclers. After all, there was a long relationship between Yamato and Goguryeo, which was considered one of the three Han, or Samhan. Whether true or not, I could certainly see the Chroniclers feeling that Goguryeo was in a subordinate relationship with Yamato. Tamna, on the other hand, was a more recent addition to the Yamato diplomatic sphere. As such, it would be understandable, to me if the Chroniclers still saw it as a more independent entity. It also may hint at different messages being communicated. As far as we can tell, Tamna wasn't under direct threat by the Tang empire—though they may have been feeling a little bit of heat, given the fall of Baekje and the Tang empire's new outpost on the peninsula. Goguryeo, however, was under more direct threat, and had been in conflict with the Tang for years. On top of that, based on what we can tell, it seems that Yeong Gaesomun, the despot who had been ruling Goguryeo and helping it defend against the Tang, had just passed away. It may have been that the Goguryeo court was seeking support against Tang and Silla, as they were in a moment of instability, themselves. As such, "Tribute" might indicate that they were more formally petitioning Yamato for support. Goguryeo envoy Neungnu left about 5 months later, on the 4th day of the 6th month but then another envoy, this time Minister Eulsyang Oemchu, arrived a little more than four months later. Much like with the Tang, this feels like Goguryeo was upping the ante, sending higher ranking officials to negotiate with Yamato. That lends some credence to the theory that there was something of a bidding war going on for Yamato's involvement in international affairs. For Yamato, however, it would seem that getting involved in continental affairs was hardly something they were itching to do. Instead, they continued their moves to fortify. In local events, we know that on the 11th day of the 10th month of 665, while the Liu Degao delegation was still in Yamato, there was a great "review", by which they seem to mean a sutra reading, at Uji. It is unclear just where this was held, as I haven't found reference to any particular temple. However, it does indicate that there was activity in the area. Uji is probably most popular, today, for its role as a setting in the Tale of Genji. There indeed numerous reminders there of the Heian period, including the hall of Ujigami Shrine, and the famous Hou-ou-do, or Phoenix Hall, of the Byoudouin. In 1053, Fujiwara Yorimichi inherited the villa from his father, Fujiwara Michinaga, and he converted it into a Pure Land temple. Michinaga is thought to have been one of the people on whom Murasaki Shikibu based the character of the Shining Prince, Hikaru Genji. That's all too late for this moment in the Chronicles, of course., but we do have earlier references to Uji as a place, as well as in various names. It seems to have been part of the territory of the Hata, who controlled much of the area of modern Kyoto and environs. There is a temple, Houjouin, also known as Hashidera, which claims to date back to the 7th century, and may have been the site of the above-mentioned sutra reading in 665. According to the Temple's own legend, it was built around 604, when Hata no Kawakatsu built the famous Uji bridge, or Hashi, on the orders of Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi. Other sources give the date as 646. The temple was rebuilt in the 13th century, and as far as I can tell, nothing remains of the original temple, but it is possible that it was the site of this review. The next non-Diplomatic record of the Chronicles is from the 3rd month in 666. The Crown Prince went to the house of Saheki no Komaro no Muraji, paying a sympathy call as Saheki appears to have passed away after having been gravely ill. Saheki no Komaro no Muraji was one of those who had helped Naka no Oe in the Isshi Incident. He had been introduced to the plot by Nakatomi no Kamatari, and then critical in the literal execution at the court. He later led forces against Furubito no Oe, assuming that "Sahekibe no Komaro" is the same as "Saheki no Muraji no Komaro". There is also a relative, possibly his son, Takunaha, who was one of the Yamato court's overseas envoys. Thus, one can understand that he had some importance to the Royal family, and we can probably assume that he had been involved in much more. The Crown Prince, we are told, lamented him on account of his loyal service from the very beginning. One of the confusing things in this part of the Chronicle is the term "Crown Prince". It doesn't help that the Chroniclers were pulling from different records, and sometimes using anachronistic titles for individuals. Naka no Oe had been known as the Crown Prince since the time of Takara Hime, whether he actually was or not. Now he was in charge of the government, but it isn't clear that he had been formally invested as tennou. More than that, there is mention of an investiture in either 667 or 668, several years after his quote-unquote "reign" had begun. This makes some sense. After all, when Takara Hime passed away, there was a foreign war to prosecute, and that probably took a fair bit of resources. Plus, Naka no Oe had been running things for a while before that, or so we are told. It would make sense if things just kept on going as they had been, and they held the actual investiture when they got around to it. We also know that he was busy with building projects: not just for the defense of the archipelago, but even a new capital and a new palace. We'll talk about it a bit more, later, but suffice it to say that he may have been taking his time and gathering everything together. All of this makes the Chronicles themselves somewhat confusing. They throw around the terms "Crown Prince" and "Sovereign"—well, "Sumera no Mikoto"—almost interchangeably. Meanwhile, they've also stated that the Crown Prince was Prince Ohoama, Naka no Oe's younger brother. Based on my read of things, I believe we can distinguish between the two by whether or not it specifically calls them out as just "Crown Prince", or "Crown Prince, younger brother to the sovereign". The latter is clearly Prince Ohoama, and the first is most likely Naka no Oe. After all, in this instance, why would Prince Ohoama be the one so struck by the death of Saheki no Muraji? Based on the story the Chronicles have told us, wouldn't it make more sense that it was Naka no Oe lamenting the death of one who had helped put him on the throne, rather than sending his brother? So keep that in mind as we go through the narrative. I'll try to point out whom I believe they are speaking about, at least until we reach the point where Naka no Oe actually is invested. Getting back to the Chronicles, in the 7th month of the year 666, some four months after the illness and death of Saheki no Komaro no Muraji, another disaster struck—this time a natural disaster. Great floods were reported—how widespread we aren't told. This is often a problem in a land with many mountains that often gets large rains. It is especially problematic when much of your agriculture is based on being just at or below the level of the rivers and streams so that it can be flooded on purpose. We are told that the government remitted the land-taxes and commuted taxes that year, likely as a form of disaster relief to those affected by the flooding. In 666, we are also told a story that actually links…

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The Sovereign of Heavenly Wisdom May 01, 2025

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Following the death of Takara Hime, and the war on the Korean peninsula, Naka no Ōe was taking hold--or perhaps keeping hold--of the reins of government. He wasn't finished with his changes to the government. He also had a new threat--the Tang Empire. They had destroyed Yamato's ally, Baekje, and defeated the Yamato forces on the peninsula. While the Tang then turned their attention to Goguryeo, Yamato could easily be next. The Tang had a foothold on the Korean peninsula, so they had a place to gather and launch a fleet, should they wish to bring Yamato into their empire. For more, especially to follow along with some of the names in this episode, check out our blogpost at https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-125 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is episode 125: The Sovereign of Heavenly Wisdom The people of Baekje looked around at the strange and unfamiliar land. They had fled a wartorn country, and they were happy to be alive, but refugee status was hardly a walk in the park. Fortunately, they still knew how to farm the land, even if their homeland was hundreds of miles away, across the sea, and occupied by hostile forces. Here, at least, was a land where they could make a home for themselves. Some of them had to wonder whether this was really permanent. Was their situation just temporary until their kingdom was restored? Or were they truly the last people of Baekje, and what would that mean? Either way, it would mean nothing if they didn't work the land and provide for their families. And so, as with displaced people everywhere, they made the best of the situation. They had been given land to work, and that was more than they could have asked for. They might never return to Baekje, but perhaps they could keep a little of it alive for themselves and their descendants. Greetings, everyone, and welcome back. Last episode we talked about the downfall of Baekje and the defeat of the Yamato forces at the battle of Hakusukinoe, also known as the Battle of Baekgang, in 663. And yet, something else happened as well: the sovereign, Takara Hime, aka Saimei Tennou, died as the Yamato forces were setting out. Immediately Prince Naka no Oe took the reins of government. He would be known to later generations as Tenji Tennou, with Tenji meaning something like "Heavenly Wisdom". Now Prince Naka no Oe has been in the forefront of many of our episodes so far, so I'd like to start this episode out with a recap of what we've heard about him so far, as all of this is important to remind ourselves of the complex political situation. I'm going to be dropping – and recapping – a lot of names, but I'll have many of the key individuals listed on the podcast website for folks who want to follow along. I would note that this episode is going to be a summary, with some extrapolation by me regarding what was actually happening. Just remember that history, as we've seen time and again, is often more messy and chaotic than we like, and people are more complex than just being purely good or evil. People rarely make their way to the top of any social hierarchy purely through their good deeds. To start with, let's go back to before the year 645, when Naka no Oe instigated a coup against Soga no Iruka and Soga no Emishi. In the Isshi Incident, covered in Episode 106, Naka no Oe had Soga no Iruka murdered in court, in front of his mother, Takara Hime, when she sat on the throne the first time. And yet, though he could have taken the throne when she abdicated in apparent shock, he didn't. Instead, he took the role of "Crown Prince", but this wasn't him just sitting back. In fact, evidence suggests that he used that position to keep a strong hand on the tiller of the ship of state. Prior to the Isshi Incident of 645, the rule of the Yamato sovereign had been eroded by noble court families. These families, originally set up to serve the court and its administration, had come to dominate the political structures of the court. The main branch of the Soga family, in particular, had found its way to power through a series of astute political marriages and the support of a new, foreign religion: Buddhism. Soga no Iname, Emishi's grandfather, had married his daughters to the sovereigns, and thus created closer ties between the Soga and the royal line. He also helped ensure that the offspring of those marriages would be the ones to take over as future sovereigns. Soga no Iname, himself took the position of Oho-omi, the Great Omi, or the Great Minister, the head of the other ministerial families. As Prime Minister, he held great sway over the day-to-day running of the court, and execution of much of the administration. Much of this was covered in previous episodes, but especially episodes 88, 90, 91, 92, 95, 98, 99, and 103. Soga no Umako, who succeeded his father as Oho-omi, was joined in his effort to administer the government by his grand-nephew, Prince Umayado, also known as Shotoku Taishi, son of Tachibana no Toyohi, aka Youmei Tennou, and thus grandson of Umako's sister, Kitashi-hime, and the sovereign known as Kimmei Tennou. Umayado's aunt, sister to Tachibana no Toyohi, was Kashikiya Hime, or Suiko Tennou. The three of them: Soga no Umako, Prince Umayado, and Kashikiya Hime, together oversaw the development of Yamato and the spread of Buddhism. Buddhism was also controversial at first, but they turned it into another source of ritual power for the state—ritual power that Soga no Umako, Prince Umayado, and even Kashikiya Hime were able to harvest for their own use. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince, Umayado, died before Kashikiya hime, suddenly leaving open the question of who would take the throne. Soga no Umako himself, passed away two years before Kashikiya Hime. When she in turn passed away, there was another struggle for the throne, this time between the descendants of Crown Prince Umayado and Soga no Umako. Eventually, Soga no Umako's son and heir, Soga no Emishi, made sure that a more pliant sovereign, Prince Tamura, would take the throne, and Prince Umayado's own son, Prince Yamashiro no Oe, was cut out of the succession. Soga no Emishi, serving as prime minister, effectively ran things much as his father had. When Tamura diedhis queen, Takara Hime, took the throne, rather than passing it back to Umayado's line—no doubt with Emishi's blessing. He was careful, however, not to provoke direct action against Yamashiro no Oe, possibly due to the reverence in which Yamashiro's father, Prince Umayado, aka the Buddhist Saint Shotoku Taishi, was held. Meanwhile, Emishi appears to have been cultivating his grandson by way of Prince Tamura, Furubito no Oe, to eventually succeed to the throne, trying to duplicate what his own father Umako and even grandfather had been able to accomplish. Soga no Emishi's son, Soga no Iruka, was not quite so temperate, however. Who would have thought that growing up at the top of the social hierarchy might make one feel a bit arrogant and entitled? When Soga no Emishi was ill, Soga no Iruka took over as Prime Minister, and he didn't just stand back. He decided that he needed to take out Furubito no Oe's competition, and so he went after Yamashiro no Oe and had him killed. Unfortunately for him, he apparently went too far. There were already those who were not happy with the Soga family's close hold on power—or perhaps more appropriately, this particular line of the Soga family. This kind of behavior allowed a group of discontented royals and nobility to gain support. According to the popular story recounted in the Nihon Shoki, the primary seed of resistance started with a game of kickball, or kemari. Nakatomi no Kamako, aka Nakatomi no Kamatari, was the scion of his house, which was dedicated to the worship of the traditional kami of Yamato. The Nakatomi were ritualists: in charge of chanting ritual prayers, or norito, during court ceremony. This meant that their powerbase was directly challenged by the increasing role of Buddhism, one of the Soga patriarchs' key influences on the political system. Kamatari was feeling out the politics of the court, and seemed to be seeking the support of royal family members who could help challenge the powerful Soga ministers. He found that support in two places. First, in Prince Karu, brother to Takara Hime, the current sovereign, who had been on the throne ever since her husband, Tamura, had passed away. And then there was the Prince Katsuraki, better known to us, today, as Prince Naka no Oe. A game of kemari, where a group of players tried to keep a ball in the air as long as they could, using only their feet, was a chance to get close to the Prince. When Naka no Oe's shoe flew off in the middle of the match, Kamatari ran over to retrieve it. As he offered the shoe back to its owner, they got to talking, and one of the most impactful bromances in Yamato history was born. The two ended up studying together. The unification of the Yellow River and Yangzi basin regions under the Sui and Tang, and the expansion of the Silk Road, had repercussions felt all the way across the straits in Yamato. Naka no Oe and Kamatari were both avid students and were absorbing all that the continent had to throw at them about philosophy and good governance. As is so often the case, it seems like idealistic students were the fertile ground for revolutionary new thoughts. There were problems implementing their vision, however. Although the Nihon Shoki claims that Naka no Oe was the Crown Prince, that honor was probably given to Prince Furubito no Oe, who would have no doubt perpetuated the existing power structures at court. This is something that the Chroniclers, or perhaps those before them, glossed over and may have even tried to retconned, to help bolster the case that Naka no Oe was actually working for the common good and not just involved in a naked power grab for himself. There is also the question as to where Yamashiro no Oe had stood in the succession, as he likely had a fair number of supporters. With the destruction of Yamashiro no Oe's family, however, the balance of power shifted. Although Soga no Emishi had long been an influential member of the court, and not solely because of his role as Prime Minister, Soga no Iruka was relatively new to power. Yamashiro no Oe's family, in turn, likely had a fair number of supporters, and even neutral parties may have been turned off by Iruka's violent methods to suppress an opponent who had already been defeated politically. Naka no Oe and Kamatari seem to have seized on this discontent againt the Soga, but they needed at least one other conspirator. They achieved this by offering a marriage alliance with Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa no Maro, a lesser member of the Soga household, whose own immediate family had been supporters of Yamashiro no Oe, and so likely had plenty of grievances with his cousins. Naka no Oe married Ishikawa no Maro's daughter, Wochi no Iratsume, also known as Chinu no Iratsume. Together, these three—Naka no Oe, Kamatari, and Ishikawa no Maro—brought others into their plot, and finally, in 645, they struck. Soga no Iruka was killed at court, in front of a shocked Takara Hime and Prince Furubito no Oe. By the way, this is another thing that suggests to me that Furubito no Oe was the Crown Prince, because why was he front and center at the ceremony, while Naka no Oe was able to skulk around at the edges, tending to things like the guards? After the assassination at the court – the Isshi Incident -- Naka no Oe gathered forces and went after Soga no Emishi, since they knew they couldn't leave him alive. With both Soga no Emishi and Soga no Iruka dead, and Takara Hime having abdicated the throne in shock at what had just occurred, Naka no Oe could have taken the throne for himself. However, in what was probably a rather astute move on his part, he chose not to. He recognized that Furubito no Oe's claim to the throne was possibly stronger, and those who had supported the Soga would not doubt push for him to take the throne. And so, instead, he pushed for his uncle, Prince Karu, to ascend as sovereign. Karu was Takara Hime's brother, and they could use Confucian logic regarding deference to one's elders to support him. Plus, Karu's hands weren't directly bloodied by the recent conflict. As for Prince Furubito, he saw the way that the winds were blowing. To avoid being another casualty, he retired from the world, taking the vows of a Buddhist monk. However, there were still supporters who were trying to put him on the throne and eventually he would be killed, to avoid being used as a rallying point. Prince Karu, known as Jomei Tennou, ruled for around a decade. During that time, Naka no Oe and his reformers helped to cultivate a new image of the state as a bureaucratic monarchy. Naka no Oe was designated the Crown Prince, and Nakatomi no Kamatari was made the "Inner Prime Minister", or Naidaijin. Ishikawa no Maro was made the minister of the Right, while Abe no Uchimaro was made Minister of the Left, and they ran much of the bureaucracy, but the Naidaijin was a role more directly attached to the royal household, and likely meant that Kamatari was outside of their jurisdiction, falling into a position directly supporting Naka no Oe. They instituted Tang style rank systems, and set up divisions of the entire archipelago. They appointed governors of the various countries, now seen as provinces, and made them report up to various ministers, and eventually the sovereign. After all, if you were going to manage everything, you needed to first and foremost collect the data. This period is known as the Taika, or Great Change, period, and the reforms are known as the Taika reforms, discussed in episode 108. They even built a large government complex in the form of the Toyosaki Palace, in Naniwa, though this may have been a bit much—for more, check out episodes 112 and 113. Years into the project, though, things seem to have soured, a bit. Rumors and slander turned Kamatari against his ally, Ishikawa no Maro, resulting in the death of Ishikawa no Maro and much of his family. Naka no Oe and other members of the royal family eventually abandoned the Naniwa palace complex, leaving now-Emperor Karu and the government officials there to run the day-to-day administration, while much of the court made its way back to the Asuka area. Karu would later pass away, but the throne still did not pass to Crown Prince Naka no Oe, despite his title. Instead, the throne went back to Takara Hime. This was her second reign, and one of only two split reigns like this that we know of. The Chroniclers, who were creating posthumous titles for the sovereigns, gave her two names—Kogyoku Tennou for her reign up to 645, and then Saimei Tennou for her second reign starting in 655. During her latter reign, Naka no Oe continued to wield power as the Crown Prince, and the Chroniclers don't really get into why she came back into power. It may be that Naka no Oe, in his role as Crown Prince, had more freedom: although the sovereign is purportedly the person in power, that position can also be limiting. There are specific things which the sovereign is supposed to do, rituals in which they are expected to partake. In addition, there were restrictions on who was allowed into the inner sanctum of the palace, and thus limits on who could interact with the sovereign, and how. That meant that any sovereign was reliant on intermediaries to know what was going on in their state and to carry out their orders. As Crown Prince, Naka no Oe may have had more flexibility to do the things he wanted to do, and he could always leverage the sovereign's authority. When Baekje was destroyed, and Yamato decid…

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The Battle of Hakusukinoe Apr 16, 2025

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This episode is a bit long--we are talking about the last elements of the reign of Takara Hime, the fall of Baekje, and the attempt to restore the kingdom, which culminated in the Battle of Hakusukinoe, aka the Battle of Baekgang. For more, check out our blog at https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-124 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is Episode 124: The Battle of Haku-suki-no-e. Echi no Takutsu looked out from where he stood on the deck of his ship. The horizon seemed to bob up and down, but he knew that was just an illusion caused by the waves. And upon those waves, hundreds of Yamato ships floated, ready to do battle. As a veteran of this and other wars, Takutsu was used to surveying flotillas of ships, and yet, none of his years of experience had quite had this kind of impact upon him. Yamato's ally, Baekje, had fallen in battle to the combined might of the Tang and Silla forces, and now they were assisting a band of rebels who were trying to once again restore their kingdom. Silla was, of course, an all too common adversary for the Yamato court, but the Tang: now that was another matter. The Tang dynasty had only grown in the four and a half decades since it was founded. They had destroyed their enemies and continued to expand. They had defeated the Gokturks and expanded into the heart of Eurasia. Even in cases like Goguryeo, who had so far managed to hold out against their attacks, it was clear that they had an effect. The Tang dynasty was the superpower of its day, and for whatever airs Yamato may have put on, they were still a backwater in comparison. And yet, on this day, that backwater seemed, by all rights, to have the upper hand. In response to the destruction of Baekje, Yamato had marshalled all of their forces. Their boats greatly outnumbered those of their opponents, and if they could defeat the Tang navy, then they could make landfall and connect with the remaining Baekje forces attempting to restore their kingdom. And so here they were, at the mouth of the Baengma River, also known as the Baekgang, or, in Japanese, the Haku-suki-no-e. The Tang forces were bottled up, and the greater Yamato forces seemed poised to take them out. The only problem was that the river mouth narrowed quickly, so that only a few ships could attack at any given time. Still, with overwhelming numbers, Echi no Takutsu and his fellow soldiers expected that they would still be able to overcome their enemies and place their allies back in control of their territory. With confidence in their victory, the Yamato ships sailed forward, prepared to crush their enemies, and restore Baekje… Greetings, everyone, and welcome back. As you may have figured out we are still in the later half of the 7th century. During the last episode we talked about the embassy to the Tang dynasty court that got delayed—placed under house arrest for a year—because the Tang dynasty was conducting their special military operations over on the Korean peninsula. That was in the year 660. Specifically, the Tang were working in conjunction with Silla to destroy the Kingdom of Baekje, and they even returned to the Tang capital with prisoners, including the royal family and many high-ranking nobles. That they didn't want the ambassadors leaving, and presumably informing Baekje on their way back, would seem to speak to the strong ties between Baekje and Yamato. After all, several times in the Nihon Shoki we have seen where the Baekje royal line was endangered and a prince that had been living at the Yamato court was brought across the strait with Yamato support to place them back on the throne. This episode, we are going to look a little closer at what happened on the peninsula and what happened when news of the event reached the Yamato court. This would culminate in one of the most famous naval battles in east Asia—certainly one of the most famous in Japanese history. It is recorded in records from various sides, so unlike many of the raids on Silla, and other conflicts on the peninsula, we have multiple accounts documenting it, and if the Japanese account is to be believed than it may have been among the largest naval conflicts in the world at that time. So let me take you through what the Chronicles have to say up until the battle and then we can talk about what happened and a little bit about what it would mean for Yamato in the years to come. We'll start a bit before the conflict, while Baekje was still going strong. The Chronicles are filled with portents and omens, and of course, they already knew what had happened. Still, let's talk about some of what they mentioned leading up to the battle, as well as some of the remaining accounts demonstrating the cross-strait exchanges. We'll start in 655, the year after Takara Hime had assumed the throne, being given the name Saimei Tennou by the Chroniclers. On the first day of the 5th month we are told that a "man of Tang" was seen riding a dragon in the sky. He is described as wearing a broad hat of blue—or green—oiled cloth. He rode fast from the peak of Mt. Katsuraki and disappeared on Mt. Ikoma. At noon he galloped over the pines of Sumiyoshi and disappeared into the west. This is obviously a fantastical story, but let's talk about what we can. It is hard not to see in this some of the importance that the Tang dynasty would play in this reign, especially given the fact that this occurred in the first year after Takara hime had ascended the throne. It would seem to have been meant here as an omen. I have not seen specific comments about this, though I'm sure someone has looked into it. But for me, I am struck by the fact this person was, first and foremost, identifiable as Tang, likely meaning because of his clothing. And he was riding a dragon. Dragons were known in Japan, but not quite as popular in folklore as they are shown to be on the mainland. The Dragon was the imperial symbol of the Tang and other dynasties. Japan had its own stories of dragon kings and other such things, but in this case I can't imagine that the connection with the imperial throne would be ignored. The hat is also interesting. The color is listed as "blue" though Aston translates this as "green". The term "aoi" was used for any color on the spectrum from blue to green. In fact, it is still the case that the "green" light on a Japanese traffic signal is still referred to as "blue". There were more specific colors, but the word "midori" would have been more like a specific word, like "teal", "cerulean", or "aquamarine", rather than a core color like we would use blue, yellow, or, in this case, green. The fact that it was made of oiled stuff suggests to me that it was waterproofed. It is noted specifically with the character for "kasa", which typically refers to a wide brimmed hat used to keep the rain off. I suspect that in this case it was the kind of hat that we often see on Tang dynasty figurines of riders. They often have a tall, wide-brimmed hat, often with drape of sheer fabric around the edge. This kind of hat would eventually be popular in Japan amongst traveling noblewomen, as it helped keep them out of the sun and away from the bugs and, well, it also acted as a barrier between the them and the rest of the world. The versions seen on the Tang figurines are usually somewhat short, probably just enough to obscure the face, and may have helped to cut down on glare. These often aren't obviously oiled, but that certainly could have been the case, and that may have been another method of protecting travelers from anything that nature could throw at them. It does seem a very particular image. The course of the rider is somewhat interesting. From Katsuraki, on the southwestern edge of the Nara basin, north to Mt. Ikoma. Then west to Sumiyoshi and off to the far west—in other words, back to the Tang dynasty. Sumiyoshi is also of particular interest. The pines of Sumiyoshi are a particular poetic trope, or utamakura. They help to conjure famous imagery of a place, and so it is hardly surprising that they would be found in this context. In this case I suspect that is the main reason they are mentioned. However, Sumiyoshi also has its own importance. Sumiyoshi was once on the seashore, and Sumiyoshi was a common shrine for travelers to pray at for safe travels. In fact, there are Sumiyoshi shrines across the archipelago that all are tied back to the Sumiyoshi in the modern Ohosaka area, and they often found near the shore as places where travelers could pray for safe passage before they headed off on the sea. And so it would make sense that the rider would head off over Sumiyoshi and to the west, much as the various ambassadors would travel off to the west. There may be more to it, but I suspect that this was either referencing the growing links between Yamato and the Tang, or perhaps simply referring to the various kentoushi—the ambassadors who crossed the seas to the Tang court and brought back so much to the archipelago. The next obvious omen seems to come in 657. In this case it was a white fox seen in the land of Iwami. It was mentioned in the same record as when ambassadors Adzumi no Tsuratari and Tsu no Kutsuma came back from the Western Seas via Baekje. It isn't clear that the two are connected, though. Perhaps there is something I'm missing. It is notable that this seems to be the only mention of Iwami that I could find, at least doing a quick search for the characters in the electronic version of the text. Iwami is the land to the west of Izumo, on the western end of modern Shimane prefecture, and the western end of the San'in-do, along the northern edge of western Honshu. It is a mountainous region on the edge of the Japan Sea, the Nihonkai. We've talked about many of the other accounts after that, until the following year, 658. We have a note about a south-pointing chariot, which we'll discuss in a later episode, but that was clearly another connection to continental technologies. After that we have an account from Izumo. Huge numbers of dead fish were washing ashore, up to three feet, or roughly a meter, deep. The fish were apparently the size of a pufferfish, with beaks like a sparrow and thorny scales, several inches long. I wonder if, by the description, they could be referring to triggerfish or parrotfish, which are found in the Japan Sea. Fish kills, or mass die-offs, are unfortunate events that occasionally happen for a variety of reasons. The most common is actually asphyxiation—algae blooms or other such events that eat up the oxygen, causing fish to die off in an area. Fish kills might also happen because of disease, undersea quakes, and other factors. Of course, to anyone in Izumo, this would have been a terribly random event. I can't tell whether or not it was an omen, but it certainly could have been. If so, I doubt it would have been a very good one. The strange fish that were brought up were called "sparrow fish" by the locals. They believed they were sparrows that had gone to the ocean and turned into fish. Immediately after that, in the Chronicle, we get a somewhat odd entry in that it seems out of place. We are told that Baekje had sent to Japan requesting aid. Tang and Silla had teamed up and captured King Wicha, his queen, and the heir to the throne. It is probably notable that this is written as "one book says". Also, recall that dates were still somewhat problematic at this time. They were based on the regnal years of the monarch or the dates according to the sexagesimal cycle, either of which could have been off, particularly at this time, in different sources. I suspect that the fact that they mention it as "one book says" indicates that even the compilers of the Nihon Shoki weren't quite sure that this was in the right spot, but it was an account of what did eventually happen—just not until two years later. This position is bolstered by the fact that the next account talks about how Azumi no Muarji no Tsuratari had returned from what was apparently another trip to the Western Seas and Baekje, just a year after the previous. Again, this could be the same expedition, with accounts misplacing the dates, or with dates according to when he left and others when he arrived back. Still, it brings us yet another omen. Apparently, around this point, Baekje had been successful against Silla. This is a good reminder that Baekje was not exactly an innocent bystander in everything that had happened. King Wicha was rather famous in his own day, seen as a paragon of courage, largely because he was taking the fight to Silla, often allying with Goguryeo to block Silla from their access to the Tang and others. Silla, who had been adopting Tang culture and style, and even claimed some distant descent from ethnic Han immigrants during the time of the Han commandries on the peninsula, were still able to forge close ties with the Tang, who seemed to preference them over Baekje and Goguryeo. This may have been part of the general diplomatic game of the Middle Kingdom going back to the Han times, where they would often look to ally with those states beyond the immediate border states, so that those on their immediate border would have to defend themselves on two fronts. This was likely more aimed at Goguryeo than Baekje, at least initially, but the alliance meant that Baekje, whom the Tang regularly chastised for their actions against Silla, was also in the crosshairs. However, up through 658, it seems Baekje's actions were largely successful. Both the Baekje and Silla annals mention attacks by Baekje against the country of Silla in the following year, which otherwise correlate with the record in the Nihon Shoki. Here we should remember that the author of the Samguk Sagi, which preserved these records, was writing centuries later, and had a clear pro-Silla bias. There are several years missing from the Baekje annals at this time, but the idea that Baekje was attacking Silla is hardly controversial. In the Silla Annals, in 659, we also get word that Silla sent envoys to the Tang court protesting Baekje's aggression and asking the Tang court for aid. Aid that would soon come, unbeknownst to others—even Silla wasn't quite sure until they showed up. And this is likely why the Nihon Shoki records a strange incident in Baekje, where a horse, of its own accord, started circling the Golden Hall of a Buddhist temple in the Baekje capital, continuing day and night, and stopping only to graze. In some regions, walking around a sacred temple or stupa was considered a particular form of prayer, and perhaps the horse knew something and was trying to make merit. In the text we are told explicitly what this meant: the downfall of Baekje was nigh, and it would fall in the coming year, 660. In a similar fashion, the Baekje annals, and the Samguk Yusa, likely pulling from the same sources, go through a series of omens, from birds to fish, to various ghosts, all saying that Baekje was about to fall. The annals at this point paint Wicha as consumed with the material world and debauchery, likely a largely later indictment to add a moral explanation to the events that would soon occur. In Yamato, there were other omens as well. Things were not entirely well in the Yamato capital. Remember, this was Takara Hime's second reign, and her son was fully grown, himself, so she was no spring chicken. On the 13th day of the 7th month of the year 659, she had the ministers expound the Urabon sutra in all the temples in Asuka and had a requital made to the ancestors for 7 generations. We are also told that in that same year, the Miyatsuko of Izumo was made to repair the Itsuki god's shrine. I have to wonder if these were to help…

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Embassy Interrupted Apr 01, 2025

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This episode we will discuss various embassies to and from Yamato during the reign of Takara Hime, with a particular focus on the embassy of 659, which occured at a particularly eventful time and happened to be extremely well-recorded fro the period by Iki no Hakatoko, who was apparently on the mission to the Tang court itself. For more, check out our blog post at: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-123 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is episode 123: Embassy Interrupted. Iki no Hakatoko sat in his room, gazing out at the city. It was truly an amazing place, filled with all kinds of people from around the world. And yet, still, after 9 months of confinement, the place felt small. Sure, there he hadwere visits from ranking nobles and dignitaries, but even the most lenient of house arrests was still house arrest. But that didn't mean that he had nothing to do. There were books and more that he had access to—many that had not yet made it to the archipelago, and some of which he no doubt hoped he could bring back with him. And of course, there was paper, brush, and ink. And then there were the experiences he and others had acquired on this mission to the Great Tang. From the very beginning the missionit washad been plagued with disaster when they lost half of their ships and company mission to rogue winds on the open seas. Now they were trapped because the Emperor himself wouldn't let them return home. They had experienced and seen so much, and that provided ample material for one to catalogue. As the seasons changed, and rumors arrived that perhaps his situation would also something would change soon, Iki no Hakatoko spread out the paper on the desk in front of him, dipped his brush in the ink, and began to write. He wrote down notes about his experiences, and what had befallen him and the others. He had no idea who It is unclear whom he thought might read it, and if he was intending this to be an official or personal record, but he wrote it down anyway. Hakatoko He couldn't have known then that his words would eventually be captured in a much larger work, chronicling the entire history of Yamato from its very creation, nor that his would be one of the oldest such personal accounts records to be handed down. His Itwords wwould only survive in fragments—or perhaps his writing was simply that terse—but his words they would be preserved, in a format that was still being read over a thousand years later. Last episode we finished up the story of Xuanzang and his Journey to the West—which is to say the Western Regions -- , and thence on to India, or Tianzhu, where he walked in the footsteps of the historical Buddha, studied the scriptures at the feet of venerable teachers, such as Silabadhra at the Great Monastery of Nalanda, and eventually wound up bringingbrought back hundreds of manuscripts to Chang'an to , which he and others be translated and disseminated, impacting Buddhist thought across East Asia. HisXuanzang's travels lasted from around 629 to 645, and he was still teaching in Chang'an in the 650s when various student-monks from Yamato arrived to study and learn from him, eventually bringing back his teachings to the archipelago as part of the Faxiang, or Hossou, school of Buddhism. Before that we talked about the visitors from "Tukhara" and "Sha'e" recorded in the Chronicles. As we noted, these peopley were morest likely from the Ryukyuan islands, and the names may have been conflated with distant lands overseas – but regardless, . Whether or not it was a mistake, this it does seem to indicated that Yamato had at least an inkling of the wider world, introduced through the continental literature that they had been importing, if not the direct interactions with individuals from the Korean peninsula and the Tang court. This episode, we're going to talk about some of the relations between Yamato and the continent, including the various embassies sent back and forth, as well as one especially detailed embassy from Yamato to the Tang Court that found itself in a bit of a pickle. After all, what did you do, back in those days, when you were and ambassador, and your country suddenly went to war? We'll talk about that and what happened. To reorient ourselves in time, we're in the reign of Takara Hime, called aka Kyogoku Tennou during her first reign, who had reascended to the throne in 655, following the death of her brother, Prince Karu. The Chroniclers would dub her Saimei Tennou in her second run on the throne. From the very beginning of her second reign, Takara Hime was entertaining foreign envoys. In 654, the Three Han of the Korean Peninsula—Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla—all sent ambassadors to express their condolence on the death of her brother, and presumably to witness her ascension. And in the 8th month of her reign, Kawabe no Maro no Omi, along with others, returned from Chang'an. He Kawabe no Maro no Omi had been the Chief Ambassador to the Tang on an embassy sent , traveling there in the 2nd month of the previous year. Originally he had been He was under the command of the controlling envoy, Takamuku no Obito no Kuromaro, but Kuromaro who unfortunately died in Chang'an and so Kawabe no Mari no Omi took over his role. That same year, 655, we know that there were about 100 persons recorded in Yamato from Baekje, along with envoys of Goguryeo and Silla. These are likely the same ones we mentioned back in episode 117 when 150 Baekje envoys were present at court along with multiple members of the Emishi. Silla, for their part, had sent to Yamato a special hostage , whom we know as something like "Mimu", along with skilled workmen. Unfortunately, we are told that Mimu fell ill and died. The Chronicles are pretty sparse on what this meant, but I can't imagine it was great. After all, the whole idea of sending a hostage to another nation was as a pledge of good behavior – the idea being that the hostage was the idea that they werewas valuable enough that the sending nation wouldn't do anything too rash. The flip side of that is if the hostage died, Of course, if they perished, the hosting country lost any leverage—and presumably the sending nation would be none too pleased. That said, people getting sick and passing away was hardly a hostile action, and likely just considered an unfortunate situation. The following year, in 656, we see that Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla again all sent ambassadords were all sent to offer "tribute". The Chronicles mention that dark purple curtains were drawn around the palace site to entertain the ambassadors—likely referring to the new palace site at Asuka no Wokamoto, which probably was not yet fully built out, yet. We are given the name of the Goguryeo ambassador, Talsa, and associate ambassador, Ilchi, in the 8th month, Talsa and Ilichi, with 81 total members in the Goguryeo retinueof the embassy. In seeming response, Yamato sent an embassy was sent to Goguryeo with the likes of Kashiwade no Omi no Hatsumi as the Chief Ambassador and Sakahibe no Muraji no Iwasuki as the Associate Ambassador. Other names mentioned include We also see the likes of Inugami no Shiromaro, Kawachi no Fumi no Obito—no personal name is given—and Ohokura no Maro. We also see thea note in the Chronicles that Yamato ambassadors to the quote-unquote "Western Sea"—which seems to refer to the Tang court, but could possibly refer to anything from the Korean Peninsula west—returned in that same year. The two are named as Saheki no Muraji no Takunaha and Oyamashita no Naniha no Kishi no Kunikatsu. These are both families that were clearly involved in cross-strait relations , based on how they are frequently referenced in the Chronicles as being associated with various overseas missions. but However, we don't seem to have clear evidence of them when these particular individualsy leavingft on this mission. "Kunikatsu" mightay refer to an earlier ambassador to Baekje, but the names are different, so that is largely just speculation. In any case, Uupon their return, they are said to have brought with them a parrot. This wasn't the first parrot the court had seen—that feathery traveler had arrived in 647, or at least that is the first parrotinstance we have in the written record -- . Aand that one came from Silla as part of that embassy's gifts. Continuing on, in 657, The following year there was another group of ambassadors returned coming from the "Western Seas", in this case coming back from—or through—Baekje. Thisese wasere Adzumi no Muraji no Tsuratari and Tsu no Omi no Kutsuma. The presents they brought back were, of all things: one camel and two donkeys. And can you imagine bringing a camel back across the sea at this point? Even if they were using the larger ships based on continental designs, it still must have been something else to put up with a camel and donkeys onboard, animals that are not exactly known for their easy-going and compliant nature. Speaking of boats, we should probably touch on what we *think* they were usinghas been going on here. I say *think* because we only get glimpses of the various boats being used in the archipelago, whether from mentions in or around Yamato, archaeology, or artistic depictions, many of which came from later periods., and wSo while it is generally assumed that they the Yamato were using Tang style vessels by the 8th and 9th century, there does not appear to be clear evidence of exactly what kind of boats were being used during the early earlier periods of contact. A quick note on boat technology and navigation: while travel between the Japanese archipelago and the Korean Peninsula, and up the Yellow Sea, wasn't safe, it would have been possible with the vessels of the time. Japan sits on the continental shelf, meaning that to the east where the shelf gives way to the Pacific Ocean with the Phillippine Sea to the south, the waters are much, much deeper than they are to the west. In deep waters, waves are not necessarily affected by the ocean floor, meaning they can build up much more energy and require different kinds of technology to sail. In shallower areas, such as the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea or the Korean Straits to the west of the archipelago, there's more drag that dampens out the wave effect – it's not that these areas are uniformly shallow and calm, but they are calmer and easier to navigate in general. Our oldest example of boats in the archipelago of any kind are dugout canoes, . These are logs that are hollowed out and shaped. , and tThese appear to be what Jomon era populations used to cross to the archipelago and travel between the various islands. Though they may be considered primitive, without many of the later innovations that would increase stability and seaworthiness—something I'll touch on more a bit later—, they were clearly effective enough to populate the islands of the Ryukyuan chain and even get people and livestock, in the form of pigs, down to the Hachijo islands south of modern Tokyo. So they weren't ineffective. Deep waters mean that the waves are not necessarily affected by the ocean floor. Once it hits shallower water, there is more drag that affects larger waves. This means that there can be more energy in these ocean waves. That usually means that shallower areas tend to be more calm and easier to navigate—though there are other things that can affect that as well. We probably should note, however, that Japan sits on the edge of the continental shelf. To the west, the seas are deep, but not nearly as deep as they are to the east, where continental shelf gives way to the Pacific ocean, with the Philippine Sea to the south. These are much deeper waters than those of the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, or the Korean Straits. The Sea of Japan does have some depth to it, but even then it doesn't compare in both size and depth. Deep waters mean that the waves are not necessarily affected by the ocean floor. Once it hits shallower water, there is more drag that affects larger waves. This means that there can be more energy in these ocean waves. That usually means that shallower areas tend to be more calm and easier to navigate—though there are other things that can affect that as well. All this to say that travel between the Japanese archipelago and the Korean Peninsula, and up the Yellow Sea, were all things that were likely much easier to navigate with the vessels available at the time, but that doesn't mean that it was safe. Later, we see a different type of vessel appear: . This is a built vessel, made of multiple hewn pieces of wood. The examples that we see show a rather square front and back that rise up, sometimes dramatically, . There are with various protrusions on either side. We see examples of this shape , and we've seen examples in haniwa from about the 6th century, and we have some corresponding wooden pieces found around the Korean peninsula that pretty closely match the haniwa boat shapesuggest similar boats were in use there as well, . Nnot surprising given the cultural connections. These boats do not show examples of sails, and were likely crewed by rowers. Descriptions of some suggest that they might be adorned with branches, jewels, mirrors, and other such things for formal occasions to identify some boats as special -- , and we even have one record of the rowers in ceremonial garb with deer antlers. But none of this suggests more than one basic boat typevery different types of boats. In the areas of the Yellow and Yangzi rivers, area of modern China, particularly in the modern PRC, the boats we see are a little different. They tend to be flat bottomed boats, possible evolved from which appear to have been designed from rafts or similar . These vessels would have evolved out of those used to transport goods and people up and down the Yellow and Yangzi rivers and their tributaries. These boats y had developed sails, but still the boats wwere n'ot necessarily the most stable on the open ocean. Larger boats could perhaps make their way through some of the waves, and were no doubt used throughout the Yellow Sea and similar regions. However, for going farther abroad, we are told thatcourt chronicles note that there were other boats that were preferred: . These are sometimes called the Kun'lun-po, or Boats of the Kunlun, or the Boats of the Dark-skinned people. A quick dive here into how this name came to be. Originally, "Kunlun" appears to refer to a mythical mountain range, the Kunlun-shan, which may have originated in the Shan-hai-jing, the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and so may not have referred to anything specific terrestrial mountain range, ally. Italthough the term would later attach be used to describe to the mountain chain that forms the northern edge of the Tibetan plateau, on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin. However, at some point, it seems that "Kunlun" came to refer to people -- . Sspecifically, it came to refer to people of dark complexion, with curly hair. There are Tang era depictions of such people, but their origin is not exactly known: it might . It is thought that it may have have equally referred to dark-skinned individuals of African descent, or possibly referring to some of the dark-skinned people who lived in the southern seas—people like the Andamanese living on the islands west of modern Thailand or some of the people of the Malay peninsula, for example. It is these latter groups that likely were the origin, then, of the "Kun'lun-po", referring to the ships of the south, such as those of Malay and AsutronesianAustronesian origin. We know that from the period of at least the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and even into the early Tang, these f…

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Journey to the West, Part 3 Mar 16, 2025

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This episode we will finish up the travels of Xuanzang, who circumnavigated the Indian subcontinent while he was there, spending over a decade and a half travelings, visiting important Buddhist pilgrimage sites, and studying at the feet of learned monks of India, and in particular at Nalanda monastery--a true center of learning from this period. For more, check out our blogpost page: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-122 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua and this is episode 122: Journey to the West, Part 3 The courtyard at Nalanda was quiet. Although hundreds of people were crowded in, trying to hear what was being said, they were all doing their best to be silent and still. Only the wind or an errant bird dared speak up. The master's voice may not have been what it once was—he was definitely getting on in years—but Silabhadra's mind was as sharp as ever. At the front of the crowd was a relatively young face from a far off land. Xuanzang had made it to the greatest center of learning in the world, and he had been accepted as a student of perhaps the greatest sage of his era. Here he was, receiving lessons on some of the deepest teachings of the Mahayana Buddhist sect, the very thing he had come to learn and bring home. As he watched and listened with rapt attention, the ancient teacher began to speak…. For the last two episodes, and continuing with this one, we have been covering the travels of the monk Xuanzang in the early 7th century, starting around 629 and concluding in 645. Born during the Sui dynasty, Xuanzang felt that the translations of the Buddhist sutras available in China were insufficient—many of them had been made long ago, and often were translations of translations. Xuanzang decided to travel to India in the hopes of getting copies in the original language to provide more accurate translations of the sutras, particularly the Mahayana sutras. His own accounts of his journeys, even if drawn from his memory years afterwards, provide some of our most detailed contemporary evidence of the Silk Road and the people and places along the way. After he returned, he got to work on his translations, and became quite famous. Several of the Japanese students of Buddhism who traveled to the Tang dynasty in the 650s studied under him directly and brought his teachings back to Japan with them. His school of "Faxiang" Buddhism became known in Japan as the Hosso sect, and was quite popular during the 7th and 8th centuries. Xuanzang himself, known as Genjou in Japan, would continue to be venerated as an important monk in the history of Buddhism, and his travels would eventually be popularized in fantastic ways across East Asia. Over the last couple of episodes we talked about Xuanzang's illegal and harrowing departure from the Tang empire, where he had to sneak across the border into the deserts of the Western Regions. We then covered his time traveling from Gaochang, to Suyab, and down to Balkh, in modern Afghanistan. This was all territory under the at least nominal control of the Gokturk empire. From Balkh he traveled to Bamyan, and then on to Kapisa, north of modern Kabul, Afghanistan. However, after Kapisa, Xuanzang was finally entering into the northern territories of what he knew as "India", or "Tianzhu". Here I would note that I'm using "India" to refer not to a single country, but to the entirety of the Indian subcontinent, and all of the various kingdoms there -- including areas now part of the modern countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The Sinitic characters used to denote this region are pronounced, today, as "Tianzhu", with a rough meaning of "Center of Heaven", but it is likely that these characters were originally pronounced in such a way that the name likely came from terms like "Sindhu" or "Induka". This is related to the name of the Sindh or Indus river, from which India gets its name. Xuanzang's "Record of the Western Regions" notes that the proper pronunciation of the land should be "Indu". In Japan, this term was transmitted through the Sinitic characters, or kanji, and pronounced as "Tenjiku". Since it featured so prominently in the stories of the life of the Buddha and many of the Buddhist sutras, Tenjiku was known to the people of the Japanese archipelago as a far off place that was both real and fantastical. In the 12th century, over a thousand stories were captured for the "Konjaku Monogatarishu", or the "Collection of Tales Old and New", which is divided up into tales from Japan, China, and India. In the famous 9th or 10th century story, "Taketori Monogatari", or the "Bamboo-Cutter's Tale", about princess Kaguya hime, one of the tasks the princess sets to her suitors is to go to India to find the begging bowl of the Buddha. Records like those produced by Xuanzang and his fellow monks, along with the stories in the sutras, likely provided the majority of what people in the Japanese archipelago knew about India, at least to begin with. Xuanzang talks about the land of India as being divided into five distinct parts—roughly the north, south, east, west, and center. He notes that three sides face the sea and that the Snow Mountains—aka the Himalayas—are in the north. It is, he says, "Wide in the north and narrow in the south, in the shape of a crescent moon". Certainly the "Wide in the north and narrow in the south" fit the subcontinent accurately enough, and it is largely surrounded by the waters of what we know as the Indian Ocean to the west, the east, and the south. The note about the Crescent Moon might be driven by Xuanzang's understanding of a false etymology for the term "Indus", which he claims comes from the word for "moon". Rather, this term appears to refer to the Indus River, also known as the Sindh or Sindhus, which comes from an ancient word meaning something like "River" or "Stream". Xuanzang also notes that the people of the land were divided into castes, with the Brahman caste at the top of the social hierarchy. The land was further divided into approximately 70 different countries, according to his accounts. This is known broadly as the Early Medieval period, in India, in which the region was divided into different kingdoms and empires that rose and fell across the subcontinent, with a total size roughly equivalent to that covered by the countries of the modern European Union. Just like Europe, there were many different polities and different languages spoken across the land – but just as Latin was the common language in Europe, due to its use in Christianity, Sanskrit was the scholarly and religious language in much of India, and could also be used as a bridge language. Presumably, Xuanzang understood Sanskrit to some extent as a Buddhist monk. And, just a quick note, all of this was before the introduction of Islam, though there were other religions also practiced throughout the subcontinent, but Xuanzang was primarily focused on his Buddhist studies. Xuanzang describes India as having three distinct seasons—The hot season, the rainy season, and the cold season, in that order. Each of these were four month long periods. Even today, the cycle of the monsoon rains is a major impact on the life of people in South Asia. During the rainy season, the monks themselves would retreat back to their monasteries and cease their wanderings about the countryside. This tradition, called "Vassa", is still a central practice in many Theravada Buddhist societies such as Thailand and Laos today, where they likewise experience this kind of intensely wet monsoon season. Xuanzang goes on to give an in depth analysis of the people and customs of the Indian subcontinent, as he traveled from country to country. So, as we've done before, we'll follow his lead in describing the different locations he visited. The first country of India that Xuanzang came to was the country of Lampa, or Lamapaka, thought to be modern Laghman province in Afghanistan. At the time it was a dependency of Kapisa. The Snow Mountains, likely meaning the Hindu Kush, the western edge of the Himalayas, lay at its north, while the "Black Mountains" surrounded it on the other three sides. Xuanzang mentions how the people of Lampa grow non-glutinous rice—likely something similar to basmati rice, which is more prevalent in South Asian cuisine, as compared to glutinous rice like more often used in East Asia. From Lampa he headed to Nagarahara, likely referring to a site near the Kabul River associated with the ruins of a stupa called Nagara Gundi, about 4 kilometers west of modern Jalalabad, Afghanistan. This was another vassal city-state of Kapisa. They were still Mahayana Buddhists, but there were other religions as well, which Xuanzang refers to as "heretical", though I'm not entirely sure how that is meant in this context. He does say that many of the stupas were dilapidated and in poor condition. Xuanzang was now entering areas where he likely believed the historical Buddha had once walked. In fact, Lampa was perhaps the extent of historical Buddha's travels, according to the stories and the sutras, though this seems unlikely to have been true. The most plausible locations for the Historical Buddha's pilgrimages were along the Ganges river, which was on the other side of the subcontinent, flowing east towards modern Kolkatta and the Bengal Bay. However, as Buddhism spread, so, too, did stories of the Buddha's travels. And so, as far as Xuanzang was concerned, he was following in the footsteps of the Buddha. Speaking of which, at Nagarahara, Xuanzang mentions "footprints" of the Buddha. This is a Buddhist tradition found in many places. Xuanzang claims that the Tathagatha, the Englightened One, or the Buddha, would fly, because when he walked the land itself shook. Footprint shapes in rock could be said to be evidence of the Buddha's travels. Today, in many Buddhist areas you can find footprints carved into rock conforming to stories about the Buddha, such as all the toes being of the same length, or other various signs. These may have started out as natural depressions in the rock, or pieces of artwork, but they were believed by many to be the actual point at which the Buddha himself touched down. There are famous examples of these footprints in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and China. Of course there are also traditions of creating images of the footprint as an object of worship. Images of footprints, similar to images of the Great Wheel of the Law, may have been some of the earliest images for veneration, as images of the Buddha himself did not appear until much later in the tradition. One of the oldest such footprints in Japan is at Yakushiji temple, and dated to 753. It was created based on a rubbing brought back by an envoy to the Tang court, while they were in Chang'an. Like Buddha footprints, there are many other images and stories that show up multiple times in different places, even in Xuanzang's own narrative. For example, in Nagarahara Xuanzang also shares a story of a cave, where an image of the Buddha could be just barely made out on the wall – maybe maybe an old carving that had just worn away, or maybe an image that was deliberately placed in the darkness as a metaphor for finding the Buddha—finding enlightenment. This is not an uncommon theme in Buddhism as a whole. In any case, the story around this image was that it had been placed there to subdue a naga. Now a naga is a mythical snake-like being, and we are told that this particular naga was the reincarnation of a man who had invoked a curse on the nearby kingdom, then threw himself from a cliff in order to become a naga and sow destruction. As the story went, the man was indeed reborn, but before he could bring destruction, the Buddha showed up and subdued him, convincing him that this was not right. And so the naga agreed to stay in the cave, where the Buddha left an image—a shadow—to remind the naga any time that its thoughts might turn to destruction. Later in his travels, at a place name Kausambi, Xuanzang mentions another cave where the Buddha had subdued a venomous dragon and left his shadow on the cave wall. Allowing for the possibility that the Buddha just had a particular M.O. when dealing with destructive beings, we should also consider the possibility that the story developed in one region—probably closer to the early center of Buddhism, and then traveled outward, such that it was later adopted and adapted to local traditions. From Nagarahara, Xuanzang continued to the country of Gandhara and its capital city of Purushapura, aka modern Peshwar. This kingdom was also under vassalage to the Kapisan king. Here and elsewhere in the journey, Xuanzang notes not only evidence of the historical Buddha, but also monasteries and stupas purported to have been built by King Kanishka and King Asoka. These were important figures who were held in high regard for spreading Buddhism during their reign. Continuing through the region of Gandhara, he also passed through Udakhand and the city of Salatura, known as the birthplace of the ancient Sanskrit grammarian, Daksiputra Panini, author of the Astadhyayi [Aestudjayi]. This work is the oldest surviving description of classical Sanskrit, and used grammatical and other concepts that wouldn't be introduced into Western linguistics for eons. Daksiputra Panini thrived around the 5th or 4th century BCE, but was likely one of the reasons that Sanskrit continued to be used as a language of scholarship and learning even as it died out of usage as the day to day language of the common people. His works and legacy would have been invaluable to translators like Xuanzang in understanding and translating from Sanskrit. Xuanzang continued on his journey to Kashmira, situated in the Kashmir Valley. This valley sits between the modern states of Pakistan and India, and its ownership is actively disputed by each. It is the namesake of the famous cashmere wool—wool from the winter coats of a type of goat that was bred in the mountainous regions. The winter coat would be made of soft, downy fibers and would naturally fall out in the spring, which the goatherds harvested and made into an extremely fine wool. In the 7th century and earlier, however, the region was known not as much for its wool, but as a center for Hindu and Buddhist studies. Xuanzang ended up spending two years in Kashmira studying with teachers there. Eventually, though, he continued on, passing through the country of Rajpura, and continuing on to Takka and the city of Sakala—modern day Sialkot in the Punjab region of modern Pakistan. Leaving Sakala, he was traveling with a group when suddenly disaster struck and they were accosted by a group of bandits. They took the clothes and money of Xuanzang and those with him and then they drove the group into a dry pond in an attempt to corral them while they figured out what they would do—presumably meaning kill them all. Fortunately for the group, there was a water drain at the southern edge of the pond large enough for one man to pass through. Xuanzang and one other went through the gap and they were able to escape to a nearby village. Once they got there, they told the people what had happened, and the villagers quickly gathered weapons and ran out to confront the brigands, who saw a large group coming and ran away. Thus they were able to rescue the rest of Xuanzang's traveling companions. Xuanzang's companions were devastated, having lost all of their possessions. However, Xuanzang comforted them. After all, they still had their lives. By this time, Xuanzang had certainly seen his fa…

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Journey to the West, Part 2 Mar 01, 2025

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This episode we continue to follow the monk Xuanzang on his path along the silk road. From Gaochang, he traveled through the Tarim Basin, up over the Tianshan Mountains, to the heart of the Western Gokturk Qaghanate. From there, he traveled south, through the region of Transoxania to Bactria and the land of Tukhara. He pushed on into the Hindu Kush, witnessing the stone Buddha statues of Bamiyan, and eventually made his way to the land of Kapisa, near modern Kabul, Afghanistan. From there he would prepare to enter the Indian subcontinent: the home of the historical Buddha. For more discussion and some photos of the areas along this journey, check out our podcast blog at https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-121 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 121: Journey to the West, Part 2 The cold winds blew through the travelers' doubled up clothing and thick furs. Cold, wet ground meant that even two sets of boots were not necessarily enough after several days. The frozen mist would often obscure everything except for the path immediately in front, hiding the peaks and making the sky a uniform white. In many places, the path would be blocked by rock, ice, or snow—the remnants of an avalanche, which could easily take an unsuspecting traveler. And there was the elevation. Hiking through the mountains, it was easy enough to reach heights of a mile or higher, and for those not accustomed to that elevation the thin air could take a surprising toll, especially if you were pushing yourself. And the road was no less kind to the animals that would be hauling said travelers and their gear. And yet, this was the path that Xuanzang had agreed to. He would continue to push through, despite the various deprivations that he would be subjected to. No doubt he often wondered if it was worth it. Then again, returning was just as dangerous a trip, so why not push on? Last episode we introduced the monk Xuanzang, who traveled the Silk Road to India in the 7th century and returned to China. He brought back numerous sutras to translate, and ended up founding a new school, known as the Faxian school—or the Hossou school in Japan. As we mentioned last time, Xuanzang during his lifetime met with students from the archipelago when they visited the continent. The records of his travels—including his biography and travelogue—are some of the best information we have on what life was like on the silk road around this time. In the last episode, we talked about Xuanzang: how he set out on his travels, his illegal departure from the Tang empire, and his perilous journey across the desert, ending up in Gaochang. There, King Qu Wentai had tried to get him to stay, but he was determined to head out. This episode we are going to cover his trip to Agni, Kucha, and Baluka—modern Aksu—and up to the Western Gokturk Qaghanate's capital of Suyab. From there, we'll follow his footsteps through the Turkic controlled regions of Transoxania and into Tukhara, in modern Afghanistan. Finally, we'll cover the last parts of his journey before he reached the start of his goal: India. From Gaochang, Xuanzang continued on, through the towns he names as Wuban and Dujin, and into the country of Agni—known today as the area of Yanqi—which may also have been known as Wuqi. The route was well-enough known, but it wasn't necessarily safe. At one point, Xuanzang's caravan met with bandits, whom they were fortunately able to pay off. The following night they encamped on a river bank with some merchants who also happened to be traveling the road. The merchants, though, got up at midnight and headed out, hoping to get to the city early so that they could be the first ones to the market. They only made it a few miles down the road, however, before they encountered more bandits, who slaughtered them and took their goods. The following day, Xuanzang and his retinue came upon the merchants' remains lying in the road and saw the aftermath of the massacre. This was an unforgiving land, and the road was truly dangerous, even for those who traveled it regularly. And yet Xuanzang was planning to travel its entire length until he reached India. So with little alternative, they carried on to the royal city of Agni. Agni, or Yanqi, sits on the southwestern edge of the basin, west of Bositeng lake, on the border between the Turfan basin and the larger Tarim Basin. The name is thought to be a Tocharian—or Turfanian—name for the city, which is also known as Karashr. According to the biography by Huili, Xuanzang and his party didn't stay long in Agni. Apparently Agni and Gaochang were not exactly on friendly terms, and even though the King of Agni and his ministers reportedly came out to greet Xuanzang and welcome him to their city, they refused to provide any horses. They spent a single night and moved on. That said, Agni still made an impression on Xuanzang. He noted how the capital was surrounded by hills on four sides, making it naturally defensible. As for the people, he praises them as honest and straightforward. They wore clothing of felt and hemp cloth, and cut their hair short, without hats or any kind of headwear. Even the climate was pleasant, at least for the short time he was there. He also notes that they used a script based on India—likely referring to the Brahmic script, which we find in the Tarim basin. However, as for the local lord, the King of Agni, he is a little less charitable. Xuanzang claimed he was brave but "lacked resourcefulness" and he was a bit of a braggart. Furthermore, the country had "no guiding principles or discipline and government orders are imperfect and not seriously implemented." He also mentioned the state of Buddhism in the country, noting that they were followers of Sarvastivada school, a Theravada sect popular along the Silk Road at the time. Xuanzang was apparently not too pleased with the fact that they were not strict vegetarians, including the "three kinds of pure meat". From Agni, Xuanzang continued southwest, heading for the kingdom of Kucha. He seems to have bypassed the nearby kingdom of Korla, south of Agni, and headed some 60 or 70 miles, climbing over a ridge and crossing two large rivers, and then proceeding another 200 miles or so to the land of Kucha. Kucha was a kingdom with over one hundred monasteries and five thousand monks following a form of Theravada Buddhism. Here, Xuanzang was welcomed in by the king, Suvarnadeva, described as having red hair and blue eyes. While Xuanzang was staying in Kucha, it is suspected that he probably visited the nearby Kizil grotto and the Buddhist caves, there, which include a painting of King Suvarnadeva's father, King Suvarnapuspa, and his three sons. You can still visit Kucha and the Kizil grottos today, although getting there is quite a trek, to be sure. The ancient Kuchean capital is mostly ruins, but in the Kizil caves, protected from the outside elements, you can find vivid paintings ranging from roughly the 4th to the 8th century, when the site was abandoned. Hundreds of caves were painted, and many still demonstrate vibrant colors. The arid conditions protect them from mold and mildew, while the cave itself reduces the natural bleaching effect of sunlight. The paintings are in numerous styles, and were commissioned by various individuals and groups over the years. They also give us some inkling of how vibrant the city and similar structures must have been, back when the Kuchean kingdom was in its heyday. The people of Kucha are still something of a mystery. We know that at least some of them spoke an Indo-European language, related to a language found in Agni, and both of these languages are often called Tocharian, which we discussed last episode. Xuanzang himself noted that they used Indian writing, possibly referring to the Brahmi script, or perhaps the fact that they seem to have used Sanskrit for official purposes, such as the inscription on the cave painting at Kizil giving the name of King Suvarnapuspa. The Kucheans also were clothed in ornamental garments of silk and embroidery. They kept their hair cut, wearing a flowing covering over their heads—and we see some of that in the paintings. Xuanzang also notes that though we may think of this area as a desert, it was a place where rice and grains, as well as fruit like grapes, pomegranates, plums, pears, peaches, and almonds were grown. Even today, modern Xinjiang grows some absolutely fantastic fruit, including grapes, which are often dried into raisins. Another point of interest for Xuanzang may have been that Kucha is known as the hometown of none other than Kumarajiva. We first mentioned Kumarajiva back in episode 84. Kumarajiva was one of the first people we know of who translated many of the sutras from India that were then more widely disseminated throughout the Yellow River and Yangzi river basins. His father was from India and his mother was a Kuchean princess. In the middle of the 4th century, when he was still quite young, he traveled to India and back with his mother on a Buddhist pilgrimage. Later he would start a massive translation project in Chang'an. His translations are credited with revolutionizing Chinese Buddhism. Xuanzang was initially welcomed by the king, his ministers, and the revered monk, Moksagupta. They were accompanied by several thousand monks who set up tents outside the eastern gate, with portable Buddha images, which they worshipped, and then Xuanzang was taken to monastery after monastery until sunset. At one of the monasteries, in the southeast of the city, there were several tens of monks who originally came from Gaochang, and since Xuanzang had come from there, they invited him to stay with them. The next day he met and feasted with the King, politely declining any meat, and then went to the monastery in the northwest to meet with the famous monk: Moksagupta. Moksagupta himself had made the journey to India, and had spent 20 years there himself. It seems like this would have been the perfect person for Xuanzang to talk to about his plans, but instead, the two butted heads. Moksagupta seems to have seen Xuanzang's Mahayana faith as heretical. He saw no reason for Xuanzang to travel all the way to India when he had all the sutras that anyone needed there in Kucha, along with Moksagupta himself. Xuanzang's response seems to have been the Tang dynasty Buddhist version of "Okay, Boomer", and then he went ahead and tore apart Moksagupta's understanding of his own sutras—or so Xuanzang relayed to his biographers. We don't exactly have Moksagupta's side, and, let's face it, Xuanzang and his biographers are not necessarily reliable narrators. After all, they followed Mahayana teachings, which they considered the "Greater Vehicle", and they referred to the Theravada teachings as the "Hinayana" or "Lesser Vehicle". Meanwhile, Theravada Buddhists likely saw many of the Mahayana texts as extraneous, even heretical, not believing them to actually be the teachings of the Buddha. It must have been winter time, as the passes through the mountains on the road ahead were still closed, and so Xuanzang stayed in Kucha, spending his time sightseeing and meeting with various people. He even went back to see Moksagupta, but the older monk shunned him, and would get up and exit the room rather than engaging with him, so they had no more conversations. Eventually, Xuanzang continued on his way west, following along the northern rim of the Tarim basin. Two days out from Kucha, disaster struck. Some two thousand or so Turkish bandits suddenly appeared—I doubt Xuanzang was counting, so it may have been more or less. I imagine that memories of what had happened to the merchants near Agni must have gone through Xuanzang's mind. Fortunately, for him, they were fighting over loot that they had pillaged from various travelers, and since they couldn't share it equally, they fell to fighting each other and eventually dispersed. He travelled for almost 200 miles after that, stopping only for a night at the Kingdom of Baluka, aka Gumo—the modern city of Aksu. This was another Theravada Buddhist kingdom. Xuanzang noted tens of Buddhist temples, and over 1000 Buddhist monks. The country was not large—about 200 miles east to west and 100 miles north to south. For reference that means it was probably comparable in size with Kyushu, in terms of overall area, or maybe the size of Denmark—excluding Greenland—or maybe the US state of Maryland. Xuanzang described the country as similar to Kucha in just about every way, including the written language and law, but the spoken language was different, though we don't get many more details. From Baluka, he crossed northward through the Tianshan mountains, which are classified as an extension of the Pamirs known as the Ice Mountains. Had he continued southwest, he would have hit Kashgar and crossed over between the Pamir and Tian Shan ranges into the Ferghana valley, but instead he turned north. We don't know exactly why he took this perilous option, but the route that may have been popular at the time as it was one of the most direct routes to the seat of the Western Gokturk Empire, which he was currently traveling through. The Tian Shan mountains were a dangerous journey. Avalanches could block the road—or worse. Xuanzang describes the permanent ice fields—indeed, it is the ice fields and glaciers of the Tian Shan that melt in the summer and provide the oasis towns of the Tarim Basin with water, even to this day. In Xuanzang's day, those glaciers were likely even more prevalent than today, especially as they have been recorded as rapidly disappearing since 1961. And where you weren't on snow and ice, the ground was probably wet and damp from the melt. To keep warm, you would wear shoes over your shoes, along with heavy fur coats, all designed to reduce exposure. Xuanzang claims that 3 or 4 of every 10 people didn't survive the crossing—and that horses and oxen fared even worse. Even if these numbers are an exaggeration, the message is clear: This was a dangerous journey. After about seven days, Xuanzang came out of the mountains to the "Great Pure Lake", the "Da Qing Hai", also known as the Hot Sea or the Salt Sea, which likely refers to Issyk Kul. The salt content, along with the great volume of water it possesses, means that the lake rarely freezes over, which is likely why it is seen as "hot" since it doesn't freeze when the fresh water nearby does. This lake is the second largest mountain lake in the world, and the second deepest saltwater lake. Traveling past the lake, he continued to Suyab, near modern Tokmok, in Kyrgyzstan, just west of the modern capital of Bishkek. This was an old Sogdian settlement, and had since become the capital of the Western Gokturks. Sogdians—like Xuanzang's guide, Vandak—were integral to the Gokturk kingdom. Their language was the lingua franca of the Silk Road, and at the time of the Gokturk Khaganate, it was also the official court language, and so when Xuanzang appeared at the court of the Great Khagan of the Western Gokturks, it was likely the language of diplomacy. When we think of Turkic people, many in the English speaking world think of Turkiye, and perhaps of the mighty Ottoman empire. Some may think of Turkmenistan, Kazhakstan, Kyrgyzstan, or Uzbekistan, among others. And of course, there are the Uyghur people in Xinjiang. All of these people claim roots in the ancestral Turkic homeland in the Altai mountains, which sit largely in western Mongolia, north of China's Xinjiang region. Much like the Xiongnu and the Mongols, they were pastoral nomads, moving their herds across the steppes, often covering great distances. They would regularly mo…

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Journey to theWest, Part 1 Feb 16, 2025

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This episode we kick off a series of episodes following the famous monk Xuanzang, aka the Tripitaka Master of the Law, Sanzang Fashi. Known in Japanese as Genjo, and founder of the Faxiang school of Yogacara Buddhism, also known as the Hosso school, it was brought back to the archipelago by students who studied with the master at his temple north of the Tang capital of Chang'an. He was particularly famous for his travels across the Silk Road to India and back--a trip that would last 16 years and result in him bringing back numerous copies of sutras from the land of the Buddha, kicking off a massive translation work. It also would see his recollections recorded as the Record of the Western Regions, which, along with his biography based on the stories he told those working with him, give us some of the best contemporary information of the various places along the Silk Road in the 7th century. Part 1 focuses on Xuanzang's journey out of the Tang empire, braving the desert, and somehow, against the odds, making it to the country of Gaochang. For more, check out the blogpost page: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-120 Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 120: Journey to the West, Part 1 The monks from far off Yamato were enthralled. They had journeyed across the waves on a foreign vessel, traversed a greater distance than they probably thought possible growing up in the archipelago, and had finally arrived at the capital of the Great Tang Empire, Chang'an. They had then been sent north, to a temple where they met others from Yamato. They had come to study the Law, the Dharma, with some of the most famous teachers of the Tang dynasty, and there were few more famous than the Tripitaka Master Genjou himself. Everyone in the monastery knew his story—he had traveled all the way to India, the birthplace of the Buddha, and returned with copies of the sutras in Sanskrit, which he and the other monks were translating. In between sessions of meditation, sutra readings, and various lectures, the students would gather round the feet of the master as he recounted his journeys. The stories themselves were fantastic stories, telling of far off cities and people. There were stories of bandits, and meetings with kings. The students must have thought about how it mirrored what they, themselves, had gone through—their own Journey to the West. Last episode we talked about Tukara and what that mysterious placename might mean—and where it could be referring to. For that we traveled all the way to the end of the Silk Road. In this episode and continuing into the next, we are going to travel that same road with a different perspective, as we take a look at one of the most famous travelers of the Silk Road: the monk Xuanzang, or Genjou in Japanese. And as I hinted at in the introduction, if you're at all familiar with the famous Journey to the West, well, this and the following episodes will explore the actual history behind that story, and how intertwined it is with the history of the archipelago. For those who don't know, Xuanzang was a monk, born Chen Hui near present-day Luoyang in Henan. He is known by many names, but one of his most famous comes from the title "Sanzang Fashi", aka "Tripitaka Master of the Law", from which we get the simplified name in some English sources of just "Tripitaka". Sanzang, or "Tripitaka", literally translates to "Three baskets" or "Three storehouses", referring to the Buddhist canon. It is quite fitting, given Xuanzang's incredibly famous Journey to the Western Regions and, eventually, to India, where he journeyed to obtain the most accurate version of the Buddhist scriptures to ensure that they had the most accurate versions. On his journey, Xuanzang apparently took detailed records of the trip, and his "Records of the Western Regions" provides a lot of what we know of the towns and cultures that existed there back in the 7th century – even if not all of it was experienced firsthand and may have come through translators and second or third-hand sources. In addition, Xuanzang's biography and travelogue add a lot more information to his journey, even if they weren't necessarily written by him, but instead by his fellow monks based on his recitations to them combined with various records that they had access to at the time. As such, it isn't always the most reliable, but it is still highly detailed and informative. Xuanzang would return to China and teach for many years, translating the works that he had brought back, and founding a new school of Yogachara Buddhism, known as Faxiang in Chinese, but "Hossou" in Japan. The Hossou school was particularly popular in the 8th and 9th centuries, having been transmitted by Yamato students who had actually studied at the feet of the venerable teacher. These included the monk Doushou, who travelled over to the continent in 653. In 658, there are two others who came over, named Chitatsu and Chiitsu. They had travelled to the Tang court in the 7th month of that year, where they are said to have received instruction from none other than Xuanzang himself. If this indeed was in 658, it would have been only 6 years before Xuanzang's death. Their journey had almost not happened. The year previous, in 657, envoys were sent to Silla to ask that state to escort Chitatsu to the Tang court, along with Hashibito no Muraji no Mimumaya and Yozami no Muraji no Wakugo, but Silla refused. They must have relented, however, as they apparently were escorting at least the monks a year or so later. Chitatsu and Chiitsu would eventually return to Yamato, as would Doushou. Doushou is also said to have been introduced to a student of the second patriarch of the Chan, or Zen school as well. He would return to teach at Gango-ji, the later incarnation of Asukadera, spreading the Hossou teachings from master Xuanzang. In fact, Xuanzang's impact would be felt across Asia, and much of the Buddhist world. He would continue to be known in Japan and in the area of China, Korea, and beyond. Japanese translations of his journeys were made between the 8th and 10th centuries from texts that had come from Xuanzang's own monastery. Nine centuries after his death, during the Ming Dynasty, Xuanzang would be further immortalized in a wildly popular novel: Journey to the West. The "Journey to the West" is an incredibly fantastical retelling of Xuanzang's story. In it, Xuanzang is sent on his task by none other than the Buddha himself, who also provides three flawed traveling companions. There is Zhu Bajie, aka "Piggy"—a half human half pig who is known for his gluttony and lust. Then there is Sha Wujing, aka "Sandy"—a man with a red beard and blue skin who lived in a river of quicksand. Despite a rather frightful backstory, he was often the straight man in the story. And then there is the famous Sun Wukong, aka "Monkey", the most famous of the three and often more famous than Xuanzang himself. In fact, one of the most famous English versions of the story is just called "Monkey", an abridged telling of the story in English by Arthur Waley in 1942. "Journey to the West" is perhaps the most popular novel in all of Asia. It has spawned countless retellings, including numerous movies and tv series. The character of "Monkey" has further spun off into all sorts of media. Of course, his addition was all part of the novel, but nonetheless, that novel had an historical basis, which is where we really want to explore. Because for all of the magic and fantasy of the Ming novel, the real story is almost as fascinating without it. We are told that Xuanzang was born as Chen Hui—or possibly Chen Yi—on the 6th of April in 602 CE in Chenliu, near present-day Luoyang. Growing up, he was fascinated by religious books. He joined the Jingtu monastery and at the age of thirteen he was ordained as a novice monk. However, he lived in rather "interesting times", and as the Sui dynasty fell, he fled the chaos to Chengdu, in Sichuan, where he was fully ordained by the age of 20. Xuanzang was inspired reading about the 4th century monk Faxian, whom we mentioned back in Episode 84. Faxian had visited India and brought back many of the earliest scriptures to be widely translated into Chinese. However, Xuanzang was concerned, as Faxian had been, that the knowledge of the Chinese Buddhist establishment was still incomplete. There were still works that they knew about but didn't have, and there were competing Buddhist theories in different translations of the texts. He thought that if he could go find untranslated versions of the texts then he could resolve some of the issues and further build out the corpus of Buddhist knowledge. Around the age 25 or 27, he began his journey. The exact date is either 627 or 629, based on the version that one reads. That has some importance for the events that his story tells, as some of the individuals whom he is said to have met are said to have died by 627 CE, meaning that either the dates of the journey are wrong or the dates we have in other sources are wrong. As you can imagine, that's rather important for an accurate history, but not so much for our purposes, as I think that we can still trust the broad brush strokes which paint an image of what the Silk Road was like at the time. For context, back in Yamato, this was around the time that Kashikiya Hime—aka Suiko Tenno—passed away, and Prince Tamura was placed on the throne, passing over Prince Yamashiro no Oe, the son of the late Crown Prince, Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi. Whoever was on the throne, Soga no Emishi was actually running things, and the Soga family were heavily involved in the establishment of Buddhism in the archipelago. This is relatively around the time of Episode 103. When Xuanzang took off to the West, his intentions may have been pure, but truth be told, he was breaking the law. Tang Taizong had come to power in 626, and the routes along the Tarim Basin were under the control of the Gokturks, whom the Tang were fighting with. As such, travel to the Western Regions was strictly controlled. Xuanzang and several companions had all petitioned Emperor Taizong for permission to leave, but the Emperor never replied. So Xuanzang did not have permission to leave—but he decided to head out, anyway. His companions, however, lost their nerve, and so he set out alone. Of course, he didn't simply set off for the West. At first he went city to city, staying at local Buddhist monasteries and sharing his teachings. To all intents and purposes, this probably seemed like normal behavior for a monk, traveling from monastery to monastery, but it was actually taking him towards the western border. And it was going well until he reached Liangzhou—known today as Wuwei. Li Daliang, governor of Liangzhou, enforced the prohibition that "common" people were not permitted to go to the regions of the western tribes. Word had spread about Xuanzang, and when the governor caught wind of what was going on, he called Xuanzang into an audience to find out what he was planning to do. Xuanzang was honest and told him he was going to the West to search for the Dharma, but the governor ordered him to return to Chang'an instead. Fortunately, there was a Buddhist teacher, Huiwei, who heard about all of this this and decided to help Xuanzang. He had two of his own disciples escort Xuanzang to the west. Since the governor had told him not to go, this was illegal, and so they traveled by night and hid during the day until they reached Guazhou. In Guazhou, the governor, Dugu Da, was quite pleased to meet with Xuanzang, and either hadn't heard about the order for him to return to Chang'an or didn't care. From there, Xuanzang's path was largely obstructed by the deep and fast-flowing Hulu river. They would have to travel to its upper reaches, where they could go through Yumenguan--Yumen Pass--which was the only safe way to cross, making it a key to the Western regions. Beyond Yumenguan there were five watchtowers, roughly 30 miles apart. These watchtowers likely had means to signal back and forth, thus keeping an eye on the people coming and going from Yumen Pass. Beyond that was the desert of Yiwu, also known as Hami. Xuanzang was not only worried about what this meant, his horse died, leaving him on foot. He contemplated this in silence for a month. Before he continued, though, a warrant arrived for his arrest. They inquired with a local prefect, who happened to be a pious Buddhist. He showed it to Xuanzang, and then ended up tearing up the document, and urged Xuanzang to leave as quickly as possible. Yumenguan lies roughly 80-90 kilometers—roughly 50 miles or so—from the town of Dunhuang, the last major outpost before leaving for the Western Regions. Dunhuang had a thriving Buddhist community, and the paintings in the Mogao caves are absolutely stunning, even today—one of the most well-preserved of such collections, spanning the 4th to the 14th century. However, at this point, Xuanzang was a wanted man, and stopping in at Dunhuang might very well have curtailed his journey before it had even begun. Instead, he would likely need to find a way to sneak across the border without alerting anyone and then, somehow, sneak past five watchtowers, each 30 miles or so apart, with no water except what he could carry or steal at each point. At this point, one of Xuanzang's escorts had traveled on to Dunhuang, and only one remained, but Xuanzang wasn't sure his remaining companion was up to the strain of the journey, and he dismissed him, deciding to travel on alone. He bought a horse, and he fortunately found a guide--a "Hu" person named "Shi Pantuo". "Hu" is a generic term often translated simply as "foreigner" or "barbarian" from the western lands, and the name "Shi" referred to Sogdians from Tashkent. The Sogdians were a people of Persian descent living in central Eurasia, between the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers. That latter was also known as the Oxus river, hence another name for the region: Transoxiana. Sogdiana appears as early as the 6th century BCE as a member of the Achaemenid Empire, and the region was annexed by Alexander the Great in 328 BCE. It continued to change hands under a succession of empires. The Sogdian city-states themselves were centered around the city of Samarkand, and while they did not build an empire themselves, the Sogdians nonetheless had a huge impact on cultures in both the east and the west. Sogdians became famous as traders along the silk roads, and they built tight knit communities in multiple cities along the route. Families kept in touch over long distances, setting up vast trading networks. In fact, there were even Sogdian communities living in Chang'an and elsewhere in the Tang Empire. The Sogdian An Lushan would eventually rise through the ranks of the Tang dynasty court—but that was almost a century after Xuanzang's travels. There are many material items that the Sogdians helped move across the silk road, but perhaps one of the most striking things were a style of patterned textiles. Sassanid Persia was known for its silk textiles, often woven in images surrounded by a border of pearl-shapes: Small circles in a circular pattern around a central figure, often duplicated due to the way the fabrics were woven. This pearl-roundel pattern was especially taken up by the Sogdians, and their fashion sense made it popular across Eurasia. Large pearl roundel designs were used on caftans, popular throughout the Gokturk qaghanate, and the Tang court would eventually pick up the fashion of these foreigners—gener…

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The Question of "Tukara" Feb 01, 2025

Show notes

This episode we are taking a trip down the Silk Road--or perhaps even the Spice Road--as we investigate references in this reign to individuals from "Tukara" who seem to have arrived in Yamato and stayed for a while. For photos and more, see our podcast webpage: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-119 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. This is episode 119: The Question of "Tukara" Traveling upon the ocean was never exactly safe. Squalls and storms could arise at any time, and there was always a chance that high winds and high waves could capsize a vessel. Most people who found themselves at the mercy of the ocean could do little but hold on and hope that they could ride out whatever adverse conditions they met with. Many ships were lost without any explanation or understanding of what happened to them. They simply left the port and never came back home. And so when the people saw the boat pulling up on the shores of Himuka, on the island of Tsukushi, they no doubt empathized with the voyagers' plight. The crew looked bedraggled, and their clothing was unfamiliar. There were both men and women, and this didn't look like your average fishing party. If anything was clear it was this: These folk weren't from around here. The locals brought out water and food. Meanwhile, runners were sent with a message: foreigners had arrived from a distant place. They then waited to see what the government was going to do. We are still in the second reign of Takara Hime, aka Saimei Tenno. Last episode we talked about the palaces constructed in Asuka, as well as some of the stone works that have been found from the period, and which appear to be referenced in the Nihon Shoki—at least tangentially. The episodes before that, we looked at the expeditions the court sent to the far north of Honshu and even past Honshu to Hokkaido. This episode we'll again be looking past the main islands of the archipelago to lands beyond. Specifically, we are going to focus on particularly intriguing references to people from a place called "Tukara". We'll talk about some of the ideas about where that might be, even if they're a bit far-fetched. That's because Tukara touches on the state of the larger world that Yamato was a part of, given its situation on the far eastern edge of what we know today as the Silk Road. And is this just an excuse for me to take a detour into some of the more interesting things going on outside the archipelago? No comment. The first mention of a man from Tukara actually comes at the end of the reign of Karu, aka Koutoku Tennou. We are told that in the fourth month of 654 two men and two women of "Tukara" and one woman of "Sha'e" were driven by a storm to Hiuga. Then, three years later, the story apparently picks up again, though possibly referring to a different group of people. On the 3rd day of the 7th month of 657, so during the second reign of Takara Hime, we now hear about two men and four women of the Land of Tukara—no mention of Sha'e—who drifted to Tsukushi, aka Kyushu. The Chronicles mention that these wayfarers first drifted to the island of Amami, and we'll talk about that in a bit, but let's get these puzzle pieces on the table, first. After those six people show up, the court sent for them by post-horse. They must have arrived by the 15th of that same month, because we are told that a model of Mt. Sumi was erected and they—the people from Tukara—were entertained, although there is another account that says they were from "Tora". The next mention is the 10th day of the 3rd month of 659, when a Man of Tukara and his wife, again woman of Sha'e, arrived. Then, on the 16th day of the 7th month of 660, we are told that the man of Tukara, Kenzuhashi Tatsuna, desired to return home and asked for an escort. He planned to pay his respects at the Great Country, i.e. the Tang court, and so he left his wife behind, taking tens of men with him. All of these entries might refer to people regularly reaching Yamato from the south, from a place called "Tukara". Alternately, this is a single event whose story has gotten distributed over several years, as we've seen happen before with the Chronicles. . One of the oddities of these entries is that the terms used are not consistent. "Tukara" is spelled at least two different ways, suggesting that it wasn't a common placename like Silla or Baekje, or even the Mishihase. That does seem to suggest that the Chronicles were phonetically trying to find kanji, or the Sinitic characters, to match with the name they were hearing. I would also note that "Tukara" is given the status of a "kuni"—a land, country, or state—while "sha'e", where some of the women are said to come from, is just that, "Sha'e". As for the name of at least one person from Tokara, Kenzuhashi Tatsuna, that certainly sounds like someone trying to fit a non-Japanese name into the orthography of the time. "Tatsuna" seems plausibly Japanese, but "Kenzuhashi" doesn't fit quite as well into the naming structures we've seen to this point. The location of "Tukara" and "Sha'e" are not clear in any way, and as such there has been a lot of speculation about them. While today there are placenames that fit those characters, whether or not these were the places being referenced at the time is hard to say. I'll actually start with "Sha'e", which Aston translates as Shravasti, the capital of the ancient Indian kingdom of Kosala, in modern Uttar Pradesh. It is also where the Buddha, Siddartha Gautama, is said to have lived most of his life after his enlightenment. In Japanese this is "Sha'e-jou", and like many Buddhist terms it likely comes through Sanskrit to Middle Chinese to Japanese. One—or possibly two—women from Shravasti making the journey to Yamato in the company of a man (or men) from Tukara seems quite the feat. But then, where is "Tukara"? Well, we have at least three possible locations that I've seen bandied about. I'll address them from the most distant to the closest option. These three options were Tokharistan, Dvaravati, and the Tokara islands. We'll start with Tokharistan on the far end of the Silk Road. And to start, let's define what that "Silk Road" means. We've talked in past episodes about the "Western Regions", past the Han-controlled territories of the Yellow River. The ancient Tang capital of Chang'an was built near to the home of the Qin dynasty, and even today you can go and see both the Tang tombs and the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi and his terracotta warriors, all within a short distance of Xi'an, the modern city built on the site of Chang'an. That city sits on a tributary of the Yellow River, but the main branch turns north around the border of modern Henan and the similarly sounding provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi. Following it upstream, the river heads north into modern Mongolia, turns west, and then heads south again, creating what is known as the Ordos loop. Inside is the Ordos plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin. Continuing to follow the Yellow river south, on the western edge of the Ordos, you travel through Ningxia and Gansu—home of the Hexi, or Gansu, Corridor. That route eventually takes to Yumenguan, the Jade Gate, and Dunhuang. From there roads head north or south along the edge of the Taklamakan desert in the Tarim basin. The southern route travels along the edge of the Tibetan plateau, while the northern route traversed various oasis cities through Turpan, Kucha, to the city of Kashgar. Both routes made their way across the Pamirs and the Hindu Kush into South Asia. We've brought up the Tarim Basin and the Silk Road a few times. This is the path that Buddhism appears to have taken to get to the Yellow River Basin and eventually to the Korean Peninsula and eastward to the Japanese archipelago. But I want to go a bit more into detail on things here, as there is an interesting side note about "Tukara" that I personally find rather fascinating, and thought this would be a fun time to share. Back in Episode 79 we talked about how the Tarim basin used to be the home to a vast inland sea, which was fed by the meltwater from the Tianshan and Kunlun mountains. This sea eventually dwindled, though it was still large enough to be known to the Tang as the Puchang Sea. Today it has largely dried up, and it is mostly just the salt marshes of Lop Nur that remain. Evidence for this larger sea, however, can be observed in some of the burials found around the Tarim basin. These burials include the use of boat-shaped structures—a rather curious feature to be found out in the middle of the desert. And it is the desert that was left behind as the waters receded that is key to much of what we know about life in the Tarim basin, as it has proven to be quite excellent at preserving organic material. This includes bodies, which dried out and naturally turned into mummies, including not only the wool clothing they were wearing, but also features such as hair and even decoration. These "Tarim mummies", as they have been collectively called, date from as early as 2100 BCE all the way up through the period of time we're currently talking about, and have been found in several desert sites: Xiaohe, the earliest yet discovered; Loulan, near Lop Nur on the east of the Tarim Basin, dating from around 1800 BCE; Cherchen, on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, dating from roughly 1000 BCE; and too many others to go into in huge detail. The intriguing thing about these burials is that many of them don't have features typically associated with people of ethnic Han—which is to say traditional Chinese—ancestry, nor do they necessarily have the features associated with the Xiongnu and other steppe nomads. In addition they have colorful clothing made from wool and leather, with vivid designs. Some bodies near Hami, just east of the basin, were reported to have blonde to light brown hair, and their cloth showed radically different patterns from that found at Cherchen and Loulan, with patterns that could reasonably be compared with the plaids now common in places like Scotland and Ireland, and previously found in the Hallstadt salt mine in Central Europe from around 3500 BCE, from which it is thought the Celtic people may have originated. At the same time that people—largely Westerners— were studying these mummies, another discovery in the Tarim basin was also making waves. This was the discovery of a brand new language. Actually, it was two languages—or possibly two dialects of a language—in many manuscripts, preserved in Kucha and Turpan. Once again, the dry desert conditions proved invaluable to maintain these manuscripts, which date from between the late 4th or early 5th century to the 8th century. They are written with a Brahmic script, similar to that used for Sanskrit, which appears in the Tarim Basin l by about the 2nd century, and we were able to translate them because many of the texts were copies of Buddhist scripture, which greatly helped scholars in deciphering the languages. These two languages were fascinating because they represented an as-yet undiscovered branch of the Indo-European language family. Furthermore, when compared to other Indo-European languages, they did not show nearly as much similarity with their neighbors as with languages on the far western end of the Indo-European language family. That is to say they were thought to be closer to Celtic and Italic languages than something like Indo-Iranian. And now for a quick diversion within the diversion: "Centum" and "Satem" are general divisions of the Indo-European language families that was once thought to indicate a geographic divide in the languages. At its most basic, as Indo-European words changed over time, a labiovelar sound, something like "kw", tended to evolve in one of two ways. In the Celtic and Italic languages, the "kw" went to a hard "k" sound, as represented in the classical pronunciation of the Latin word for 100: Centum. That same word, in the Avestan language—of the Indo-Iranian tree—is pronounced as "Satem", with an "S" sound. So, you can look at Indo-European languages and divide them generally into "centum" languages, which preserve the hard "k", or "Satem" languages that preserve the S. With me so far? Getting back to these two newly-found languages in the Tarim Basin, the weird thing is that they were "Centum" languages. Most Centum languages are from pretty far away, though: they are generally found in western Europe or around the Mediterranean, as opposed to the Satem languages, such as Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Armernian, or even Baltic Slavic languages, which are much closer to the Tarim Basin. So if the theory were true that the "Centum" family of Indo-European languages developed in the West and "Satem" languages developed in the East, then that would seem to indicate that a group of a "Centum" speaking people must have migrated eastward, through the various Satem speaking people, and settled in the Tarim Basin many thousands of years ago. And what evidence do we have of people who look very different from the modern population, living in the Tarim Basin area long before, and wearing clothing similar to what we associated with the progenitors of the Celts? For many, it seemed to be somewhat obvious, if still incredible, that the speakers of this language were likely the descendants of the mummies who, in the terminology of the time, had been identified as being of Caucasoid ancestry. A theory developed that these people were an offshoot of a group called the Yamnaya culture, which may have arisen around modern Ukraine as an admixture between the European Hunter Gatherers and the Caucasian Hunter Gatherers, around 3300-2600 BCE. This was challenged in 2021 when a genetic study was performed on some of the mummies in the Tarim basin, as well as several from the Dzungarian basin, to the northeast. That study suggested that the people of the Dzungarian basin had genetic ties to the people of the Afanasievo people, from Southern Siberia. The Afanasievo people are connected to the Yamnayan culture. It should be noted that there has long been a fascination in Western anthropology and related sciences with racial identification—and often not in a healthy way. As you may recall, the Ainu were identified as "Caucasoid" by some people largely because of things like the men's beards and lighter colored hair, which differ greatly from a large part of the Japanese population. However, that claim has been repeatedly refuted and debunked. And similarly, the truth is, none of these Tarim mummy burials were in a period of written anything, so we can't conclusively associated them with these fascinating Indo-European languages. There are thousands of years between the various burials and the manuscripts. These people left no notes stashed in pockets that give us their life story. And Language is not Genetics is not Culture. Any group may adopt a given language for a variety of reasons. . Still, given what we know, it is possible that the ancient people of the Tarim basin spoke some form of "Proto-Kuchean", but it is just as likely that this language was brought in by people from Dzungaria at some point. So why does all this matter to us? Well, remember how we were talking about someone from Tukara? The Kuchean language, at least, is referred to in an ancient Turkic source as belonging to "Twgry", which led several scholars to draw a…

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