Gateway to Japan

by Batten, Bruce Loyd

• ISBN13: 9780824830298
• ISBN10: 0824830296
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Hawaii Pr

Summary

A thousand years ago, most visitors to Japan would have arrived by ship at Hakata Bay, the one and only authorized gateway to Japan. Hakata was the location of the Korokan, an official guest-house for foreign visitors that is currently yielding its secrets to the spades of Japanese archaeologists. Nearby was Dazaifu, the imperial capital of western Japan, surrounded by mountain fortresses and defended by an army of border guards. Over the ages, Hakata was a staging ground for Japanese troops on their way to Korea and ground zero for foreign invasions of Japan. Through the port passed a rich variety of diplomats, immigrants, raiders, and traders, both Japanese and foreign.

Author Biography

Bruce L. Batten is professor of Japanese history and director of the Center for International Studies at Obirin University in Tokyo

Table of Contents

List of Maps, Figures, and Tables	ix
Preface	xi
Introduction	1	(10)
CHAPTER 1: WAR	11	(39)
Warships on the Horizon
Early Warfare and Relations with the Continent
An East Asian "World War"
Aftermath
A Visual Tour
Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself?
CHAPTER 2: DIPLOMACY	50	(31)
Summit Meetings and Sound Bites
Japan and Silla: A Relationship Goes Sour
A Prince from Silla
At the Tsukushi Lodge
The Rest of the Story
CHAPTER 3: PIRACY	81	(24)
Korean Pirates of the Ninth Century
Interlude: Japanese Pirates and the Torching of Dazaifu
The Toi Invasion
CHAPTER 4: TRADE	105	(19)
A Chinese Junk in Hizen
From Diplomacy to Trade
Supervised Trade at the Korokan
The Dawn of a New Era
CHAPTER 5: MEDIEVAL HAKATA A FORWARD-LOOKING CONCLUSION	124	(17)
A Tour of Medieval Hakata
Japan and the Outside World
Notes	141	(22)
Works Cited	163	(14)
Index	177