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Summary
Travel is an act for human beings to visit new places and experience different cultures and histories. Through travel, people can actually feel historical events and people’s lives by visiting historical places and cultural heritage sites, and can gain a deeper understanding of history and broaden their own perspectives.
Kaidou wo yuku vol.13 Iki?Tsushima.
In the previous article, I discussed Kukai, the Shikoku pilgrimage and the pilgrimage to Santiago in Spain. In this article, located between the peninsula and Japan, Iki and Tsushima have been a route for iron transportation since ancient times, and have been the stage for historical exchanges between people and cultures of Japan and Korea, with mysterious aspects in mythology and folklore.
The trip begins at Fukuoka Airport. From there, we fly to Iki Island, visit the tombs of the Tangut Gods and the envoys of Shinra, in Inzuji-ura, read the report on the Hara-no-Tsuji ruins, and consider the route of the iron influx. Climb up to Gaku-no-Tsuji and reflect on the history of Iki as exploited by the Hirado clan. Stay overnight in Gonoura, go to Katsumoto fishing port by the Kokubunji ruins, visit the tomb of Kawai Sora, meet the hidden Buddha at the Shinpoji ruins, which used to be a reception center for Korean envoys, stop by the Karakami ruins, and take the Gonoura ferry to Itsukuhara in Tsushima, 2 hours at sea.
After 2 hours at sea, we arrived at Itsukubaru, Tsushima, and stayed overnight in Itsukubaru. He described the difference in character between the two islands, saying that despite being neighboring islands, the Iki and Tsushima people do not get along well. In Tsushima, he talks about the Korean envoys to Japan, with Amemori Hoshu and Shin Weihan as salt, and continues north along the North-South Highway. Passing the village of Nakauchi, he continues along Asaya Bay to Ofunakoshi, Manganetsedo, and Kofunakoshi, then visits the Umigami Shrine in Motosaka, the Treasure House with the Shilla Buddha, the Tenjin Takuto Tamotama Shrine on Tendozan, and ends his journey at Chiharamakizan and Sasuna.
Iki Island is a remote island belonging to Nagasaki Prefecture, located between Kyushu and Tsushima. Like Tsushima, it is located between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula, and since ancient times has been used as a transit point between the Korean Peninsula and Kyushu. While Tsushima, which will be discussed later, is an island of mountains, Iki Island has a lot of flat land, and agriculture as well as fishing has thrived here.
For this reason, traces of continued human habitation have remained on Iki Island since the Jomon Period in various parts of the island, and ancient burial mounds are also extant, making the island a place where human influence on the natural environment has been strong since ancient times. The history book of the Three Kingdoms Period in China, “Wei Zhi Wajinden” also describes that there was a country under the rule of the Yamatai Kingdom.
In the Yamato period, Iki Province was established as an ordinance-regulating state, and Iki Kokubunji Temple was located in the center of the island near megalithic stone chamber burial mounds such as Oninokutsu Tumulus and Sasazuka Tumulus.
In 1019, during the Heian period (794-1185), bandits believed to be from the Manchu tribe attacked the Koryo coast and also appeared in Tsushima and Iki. At that time, Fujiwara no Ritada, the provincial governor of Iki, fought and died in a battle with the bandits. After a series of plundering, they moved to Kitakyushu, where they were subdued by Fujiwara no Takaie (Tonoi no Iko).
In the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Iki was invaded twice (Genko) by the Mongol Empire and its vassal state, the Goryeo Dynasty, as described in “Road to Karatsu, Hirado, Sasebo, and Nagasaki.” Although more than 100 warriors, including Taira no Kage Takashi, then Iki’s guardian, fought back, they were destroyed by the overwhelming military power difference and Iki was occupied, suffering great damage. Iki was occupied and suffered great damage. In addition, following the reverse landing by the Japanese forces in Hakata Bay, and due to the effects of a typhoon, the Yuan forces retreated from Iki Island.
Later, from the Middle Ages to the Edo period, it was incorporated into the Hirado clan ruled by the Hirado Matsuura clan, which was descended from the Matsuura party as described in “On the Road to Karatsu, Hirado, Sasebo, and Nagasaki“.
In “On the Road to Karatsu, Hirado, Sasebo, and Nagasaki,” we will fly from Fukuoka Airport to Iki Island and visit the tombs of the Chinese Gods of Inzuji-ura and the envoys to the island.
Next, we climbed up to the viewing platform at the Tsuji of Mt. and looked back on the history of Iki, which was exploited by the Hirado clan.
After staying overnight in Gonoura, going to Katsumoto fishing port by the Kokubun-ji ruins, visiting the tomb of Kawai Sora, meeting the hidden Buddha at the Shinpoji ruins, which used to be a reception center for Korean envoys, and stopping at the Karakami ruins, we will take the Gonoura ferry to Itsukubaru, Tsushima, a 2-hour trip by sea.
Tsushima is located between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula and belongs to Nagasaki Prefecture. Because of its geographical proximity to the Korean Peninsula, cultural relics from the Eurasian continent and the Japanese archipelago have come and gone since ancient times, and the island has served as a window for Japan to engage in cultural and economic exchange with the continent.
The shape of Tsushima is long and narrow, measuring 82 km from north to south and 18 km from east to west, and with an area of approximately 700 km2, it is the 10th largest island in Japan after Sado Island and Amami Oshima (Awaji Island is next after Tsushima).
With the exception of a portion of the east coast and a portion of the west coast of Shimo-jima, almost the entire island is covered by a rias coastline, with a total coastline length of 915 km. In particular, Asaya Bay is cut into the center of the main island from the west, and Miura Bay and Oroshika Bay cut into the island from the east, forming a multi-island sea. The natural coastline of Asaya Bay is known to be the longest in Japan, and there are other small bays in various locations, many of which are used as fishing ports. Cliffs can often be seen, some of which have an elevation difference of up to 100 meters. Compared to the aforementioned Iki Island, the area of arable land is much smaller.
The main island used to be a single island, but in 1672 the Ofunakoshi Seto and in 1900 the Manganoseki Seto were opened as canals in the part of the isthmus, and some people call them Kamishima and Shimoshima. In contrast, the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) is of the opinion that “Tsushima is Tsushima, whether there is a moat cut or not, and is recognized as one island,” and when referring to the north and south of the island, it has been customary since ancient times to call the north “Kami-agata” and the south “Shimo-agata”.
Historically, like Iki Island, it played an important role as one of the relay points connecting the Korean Peninsula and Kyushu, and is mentioned as one of the 30 or so countries that belonged to the Yamataikoku in “Wei Zhi Wajinden,” a Chinese history book of the Three Kingdoms period. In addition, the Sui Dynasty envoys to China around 600 and the Tang Dynasty envoys around 630 used Iki and Tsushima as landmarks or ports of call along their routes.
At that time, the Korean Peninsula consisted of three states: Koguryo, Baekje, and Silla. Baekje, located at the southernmost tip of the peninsula, had close relations with Japan and played a role in introducing continental culture to Japan, including the introduction of Buddhism. Koguryo, located in the north, was threatened by the invasion of Chinese powers (Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty) and was finally conquered by the Tang Dynasty around 670.
In response to these trends, Silla showed its loyalty to the Tang Dynasty and asked for assistance, and in 660, the combined forces of the Tang and Silla destroyed Baekje.
At this time, many Baekje people traveled to Japan, taking on the role of transmitting the culture of the continent, and also working to influence the Yamato Imperial Court to restore Baekje. As a result, in 663, a battle took place at the Baekchon River (near the mouth of the present-day Geum River) between the Tang/Silla allied forces and the Japanese/Baekje allied forces, and the Japanese/Baekje allied forces suffered a crushing defeat due to a fire gauge and the time difference between low tides.
After the Battle of Hakumuragang, communication between Japan and the Korean peninsula was cut off, and Japan began to prepare for invasion from the continent by posting defenders on Tsushima and constructing a border fortification. These defenders were recruited mainly from the eastern provinces of Japan, and the Manyoshu (Anthology of Myriad Leaves) contains a number of poems written about them.
My wife is in love with me, and I see her shadow in the water I drink, and I shall never forget her (Wakawabu Minamimaro)
My wife seems to miss me very much. I even see her shadow in the water I try to drink, and I will never forget her.
I will leave my crying children clinging to the hem of my karakoromo (Chinese robe), and they will come to me, motherless.
I left the crying children clinging to the robe (to go out as defenders), without a mother.
Furthermore, like Iki Island, Tsushima was devastated by the Toui Incursion and the Genko Incursion.
After the Meiji Restoration, Tsushima was fortified as a frontline island and four gun batteries were built.
Furthermore, the naval battle with the Russian Baltic Fleet, a turning point in the Russo-Japanese War as described in Ryotaro Shiba’s “Clouds over the Hill,” took place in the waters off the eastern coast of Tsushima, with mineboats sailing from Tsushima’s port and Russian soldiers from the decimated Russian fleet washing up on the shore and saving their lives.
It is said that people living in Tsushima at that time could hear the sound of shells from the Battle of the Sea of Japan.
In the next article, we will discuss our trip to New York, USA.
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