Gishiwajinden Tour: Tsushima
A view looking out into Sobuaso Bay from Mt. Eboshi. It emphasizes the mountainous terrain and the main bays, islands, and inlets that both made this a poor island for farming and yet a tremendous home for pirates, smugglers, and others who made their living from the sea. Photo by author.
Continuing on our journey along the path mentioned in the Gishiwajinden - the Wa section of the Weizhi. We are now in Tsushima. A border island between the archipelago and the peninsula.
This is the first island attacked by the Mongol invasion, and the last one passed by Japanese raiders headed to the Korean peninsula. It was visited by missions from Tang China, the Joseon Kingdom, and others. It is a rocky, mountainous place, wholly unsuited to the style of agriculture brought over in the Yayoi period, and yet it continued to support a population based on the sea—whether fishing or trading or… other activities.
In the flora and fauna you can see bits of the peninsula, from the wild leopard cat to species of birds and more. Ancient assemblages of artifacts similarly show a duality about them, demonstrating its position in between various cultural spheres.
Today it is perhaps not on everyone’s bucket list, but it is certainly a short stop from Korea, or just a short flight from Kyushu, and it has its own local charms.
References
Conlan, Thomas. (2001). In little need of divine intervention : Takezaki Suenaga's scrolls of the Mongol invasions of Japan. Ithaca, N.Y. :East Asia Program, Cornell University,
Aston, W. G. (1972). Nihongi, chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN0-80480984-4