In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Chinese Yuan Dynasty fell and the Ming Dynasty was established, the Goryeo Dynasty of the Joseon Dynasty fell, the Lee Dynasty appeared, a powerful dynasty appeared in Ryukyu, the Kamakura shogunate collapsed in Japan, and the Muromachi shogunate was established after the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
During this period, wokou activities were rampant from the Korean Peninsula to the coast of China, which had a great impact on international relations in East Asia.
Wokou is a Korean and Chinese term for Japanese people who rob property and kill people, and is an invention of the Koreans. In 1350, the term "Wokou" began to appear in Korean historical records. According to the History of Goryeo, in that year the Wokou attacked The Fortress of The Korean Peninsula.
Since then, wokou have plundered property on the coast of the Korean Peninsula every year, mainly grain and other daily necessities, with a scale of more than 3,000 people and more than 400 ships.
The "History of Goryeo" records that the Japanese Fuji Jingguang led his henchmen to demand grain from the Goryeo government. The Goryeo government prepared a banquet and wanted to booby-trap Fuji Jingguang. But the plan leaked, Ando Jingguang fled to the sea, and the North Korean government killed only 3 henchmen. Fuji Jingguang was very angry and began to kill people, regardless of men, women and children, and the coastal states of Jeolla and Gyeongsang were in a state of neglect.
In 1392, the Lee Dynasty of Joseon was established, and the Wokou began to diverge and deteriorate, and by the 15th century, the Wokou on the Korean Peninsula were gradually declining.
Keno Tanaka, a Japanese who wrote a book called "Wokou", said that the main reason for the emergence of the Wokou was that Japan and Goryeo did not establish formal diplomatic relations; the grain and slaves that the Wokou needed most were easily obtained along the Korean coast; the Mongol invasion caused the Japanese to venture overseas; and the Mongols attacked Goryeo and Korea could not defend against the Wokou.
Wokou is scouting
Wokou were mainly concentrated in Tsushima, Iki, and Hizen Matsuura, where the terrain was harsh and the soil was poor, unsuitable for farming, difficult to be self-sufficient, and most of the living resources needed to be obtained from overseas. It was mainly nobles, samurai, merchants, and ronin who had lost the Korean War in Japan, who used these three places as bases to plunder the Korean Peninsula. In Goryeo, untouchables and slaves such as "Hezhi" and "Talented People", many of whom were in the company of wokou, dressed up as Japanese and robbed.
The Lee Dynasty of Joseon sent a letter to Japan demanding the prohibition of the Wokou, and Japan also took some measures, and the Joseon Dynasty again surrendered to the Wokou, and the submissive Wokou were given land, and the chief was given an official position.
As a result, wokou turned to the coast of China.
The Chieftain of the Wokou
The trade relationship between the Ming Dynasty and Japan, the Ming Dynasty government issued trade certificates, the trade certificates stipulated the size and number of ships, after coming to the Ming Dynasty, the two sides compared the trade certificates with the base, which is called the survey trade.
The specific practice is: "Kanhefu" is generally issued by the Ming Dynasty Ceremonial Department on behalf of the Emperor, and the Kanhe between the Ming Dynasty and Japan is composed of the words "Day" and "Ben", the Ming Dynasty holds the "Day" font name, and Japan holds the "Ben" character number. There are also two copies of the "Nichi" and "Ben" bottom volumes, which are stored in the Ming Dynasty Ceremonial Department, the Municipal Shipping Department, which is in charge of foreign trade, and the Japanese shogunate. After the Japanese ship arrived in China, it showed that the "Ben" brand name was compatible with the Chinese "Japanese" brand name, and after verification, it was allowed to trade. After the transaction was completed, the "Ben" brand name was reclaimed by the Ming Dynasty. The "kanjue" writing of personnel, goods, and other related contents is similar to the introduction letter that is now stamped with the "riding seal".
The Ming Dynasty awarded kanjutsu to Japan six times during the years of Yongle, Xuande, Jingtai, Chenghua, Hongzhi, and Zhengde.
The Japanese envoys of Kanhebun chose many Zen monks from Kyoto to serve as Zen monks, and held the "King of Japan", the shogun of Muromachi, to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (annex). The Kanhe ship originally set sail from Hyogo, but due to the wind direction, it set sail from Naryuraura in Goto in the spring and from Odoura on Hizen Oshima in the autumn, and the docking place was Ningbo, Zhejiang, and was welcomed by the Zhejiang Municipal Shipping Division, and went to Beijing after permission.
The Japanese shogunate contributed to the Ming Dynasty in the form of tribute, and the Ming Dynasty exempted the Japanese shogunate missions from customs duties, provided the envoys and their entourage free of charge, and returned expensive rewards. Trade between Japan and the Ming Dynasty made huge profits five or six times higher than the value of the tribute.
Wokou looted property
The Japanese Muromachi shogunate used the Kanhe trade to monopolize copper money imported from China and control the lifeblood of the economy. The Japanese people also demanded trade in China, but the Ming government did not issue trade certificates, so many Japanese came to the Ming Dynasty to smuggle and rob by the way.
The commodity economy of the Ming Dynasty developed, and many merchants wanted to sell their goods to Japan and Korea, but the government did not issue trade certificates, so smuggling arose, in order to hide the eyes and ears of the people, disguised as Wokou, and also robbed the coast.
There were not many real Japanese Wokou along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, but more Chinese disguised Wokou, and the two converged, led by the Japanese.
The Wokou are essentially pirate groups.