Emishi

 This site is dedicated to bringing together research from both sides of the Pacific about the Emishi people.  The focus is on interpreting the research, and to remember the Emishi as a vital and important group whose people, though long gone, have changed the Japanese population, and whose influence on its history has been central.  There is a personal side as well.  I was born in Sendai located in the northeastern part of Honshu where the Emishi had lived.   My imagination was captured as a youth back in 1984 when my mother and I took a train from Sendai out to Taga to view the remains of the castle there.  As I walked around the site where the castle once stood there was a heavy summer rainstorm as I imagined the Emishi attacking the Japanese garrison stationed there many centuries ago.   The Emishi were defending their land against the Japanese. 

 

 I was struck by the mirror reverse image to the United States, because the people who were conquered by the Japanese, and whose culture was almost extinguished, the Emishi and Ezo of Honshu were people who resembled Caucasians.  This was reverse of the American experience where descendants of an Asian group of Paleolithic hunters, the Native Americans, were systematically exploited and destroyed by Caucasian settlers from Europe.  As we shall see in the following pages this is a superficial resemblance, yet, even 19th century Europeans were startled to find people who looked so different from the surrounding East Asian population in the far northern corner of Japan. Japan's population is not homogeneous now and was less so in the past.

 

In the battle near the town of Subuse (in present day Iwate prefecture) fought in AD 789 the main force of eight-hundred Emishi attacked the Imperial Army of two-thousand soldiers that were making their way up the east side of the Kitakami river.  They were pursuing another Emishi group who had earlier attacked them in the front and lead them into this trap.   The main force proceeded to attack the Imperial army from the rear and east sides pinning them against the river.  The earlier group of Emishi were reinforced and joined the main force in the attack from the front.  The Imperial Army was effectively surrounded.  Panic turned into a rout as the imperial forces threw down their weapons and took off their armor to try and escape across the Kitakami river.  Most of the deaths were from drowning. The Emishi army was made up of bands of horseman who used bows to attack the enemy from a distance, and then used warabite-tou swords in close hand to hand combat (the banner pictured is conjectural based on continental Asian types) . _¹

 

1. Conquest of  Emishi

This website started out on the excellent site by Suzuta Yukinori, Conquest of Emishi .  Suzuta Yukinori's site is indispensable for the detailed description of the military campaign the ancient Japanese state waged against the Emishi.  Unfortunately, Yukinori's original site is no longer available, so I have created a mirror of his site here (updated 2009.1.3). 

 

2. Who Were the Emishi?

 My primary aim is to seek to place the Emishi people in the broader framework of early Japanese history.  The interest in early Japan has been hightened by recent discoveries that a related people to the Emishi (and the Jomon) most likely made their way across the Bering Sea land bridge during the height of the Ice Age creating controversies even on this side of the Pacific in the form of Kennewick Man (updated 2007.12.6).

 

 3. Jomon Culture and the Emishi
The connection between the Latest Jomon and Epi-Jomon cultures and the Emishi is an extremely important link that connects the historical period to the culture that came before (revised 2007.12.1).

 

4. Evidence of Epi-Jomon Migration and Lifestyle
Evidence is mounting that the Epi-Jomon culture in Hokkaido and the Tohoku may point directly to the Emishi people (2007.11.30).

 

5. The Treatment of Natives in the Nihon Shoki: the case of western Japan

Before the Tohoku Emishi were conquered there were the Jomon peoples of western Japan who were known collectively as Tsuchigumo. They were not just mistreated but were destroyed by the Japanese.  If we can accept the accuracy of the records their treatment starkly differs from how the Emishi were treated (revised 2009.1.1).

 

6. The early Yamato state and the eastern Emishi
The Japanese expansion into the Kanto and eastern Japan encountered numerous native tribes of Emishi who were gradually integrated as subjects of the Yamato empire. This process occured in parallel with the expansion of Kofun culture into the region (2009.10.24).  

 

 7. The Emishi, Kofun Culture and the Expansion of Yamato

The Kofun culture in the Tohoku is examined along with the Emishi people. Both agriculture and the development of centralized states took place in the Tohoku before the Yamato conquest of the Emishi (revised 2009.10.24).

 The central aspect of Emishi culture was the horse archer, and most scholars of Japan see this culture as both a challenge to the early Japanese state, and in influencing its transformation through the warrior culture.  A major scholar of Tohoku history Takahashi Tomio looks at this culture and why it did not continue among the later Ainu (revised 2009.10.25). 

10. Emishi Fushu and Ifu
Here I will look at two differing perspectives regarding the Emishi allies, the fushu and ifu.  This discussion is key in understanding the nature of  the Emishi and the way they were seen by the Yamato court (revised 2009.9.26).

Latest findings suggest that much of eastern Japan was like northeast Japan in terms of its ethnic make-up in ancient times.  This population was quite different from modern Japan (revised 2009.9.12).

  

12. Population of the Sendai Plain: the Yamoto burials

New information from the Yamoto yoko-ana burial site gives a  snapshot of the population of one area of the Sendai plain during the seventh through ninth centuries (2008.11.27).

  

14. The Moving Frontier: From Emishi to Ezo

The clash between Yamato and the Northern cultures of Northeast Asia took place in Japan (revised 2007.12.7).

 

 15. Emishi Culture and Identity

Cultural differences identified whether one belonged to the Japanese or Emishi, or the Japanese or Ainu later in history.  Sometimes these boundaries were crossed over with unexpected results (revised 2009.4.12).

 

16. Origins of the Jomon

  Possible linkage between the ancient Jomon of Japan and the Australian Aborigines (edited 2009.9.13).

 

17. Contemporary Illustrations of Emishi
Rare illustrations from some of the oldest sources (revised 2007.12.29).

 

Appendix 1: Diagrams and Sources: Two perspectives on the Emishi

(revised 2009.9.15)  

Appendix 2: Kanji Terms and Interpretation
(2007.3.15) 

 

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OUTSIDE LINKS

Field Museum of Natural History: Ainu Origins

This site is possibly the best for understanding this time period, and has excellent maps that I will link to in my pages where relevant. In particular it outlines the emergence of the Satsumon culture in Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan, about the same time that wars between the Yamato Japanese and the Emishi people were occurring in the Tohoku or northeastern Honshu, the main island of Japan.

Islands of the Spirit:

One of the best informational sites put out by PBS's Nova program that links the Ainu with the Jomon.

First Americans from National Geographic:

The newest evidence recently uncovered  (from 2007) suggest that the first Americans may have had a genetic relationship with the Jomon .

Kennewick Man: 

An interview of James Chatters showing the possible links between the Jomon and Ancient America, particularly in regard to Kennewick man.

The Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People:

One of the best overall sites about the Ainu.  The multimedia presentation is perhaps one of the best on the web, and the research that went into the site is second to none

Iwate Prefecture:

Pertinent information is on this page summarizing the archeology of the time period.  I have not seen revisions here on this site, but the information here is still regarded as accurate.

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References and footnotes: 

1.  Sasama Yoshihiko. Nihon no Bugu Kachiu jiten (Tokyo: Tsukasa sei-han, 1981).  Drawings of ancient armor by the author on this website are for the most part modeled on this work, though any discrepancies of interpretation (as these are applied to the Emishi) are of course my own. The Emishi are depicted with riding boots widespread among continental and Nara (and Heian) cavalry of  this time period with wide legged trousers; however, it is not certain whether the Emishi wore boots.  The other interpretation is that they may have worn common footwear made of woven straw which would have been easier to maintain (see above Emishi fushu and ifu).

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About the Author and a Disclaimer: I started a Phd. program at the University of Chicago in the field of Medieval Japanese History, but did not finish.   I also have an MA in Japanese history from Northwestern University.  This site is mainly to introduce readers to the work of scholars who have done research on the Emishi, and make no claim to original research.  Any errors of interpretation or facts are entirely my responsibility.  If any of this is used please cite the reference. Any comments or suggestions are welcome and should be sent to postmaster@emishi-ezo.net.

 

Last revision: 2010.5.29  Kenjiro Hakomori