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 population there, and whose influence on Japanese history has been central.  There is a personal side as well.  I was born in Sendai where my family originated. It is located in the Tohoku region, the northeastern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan where it is believed the Emishi had lived. Early on through family and personal experiences I was made aware that differences among the Japanese existed: that they are not a homogeneous people. 

 

 I was fascinated by the almost mirror reverse image to the United States, because the people who were conquered by the Japanese and whose culture was destroyed, the Emishi/ Ezo in Honshu, and the Ainu of Hokkaido, were groups of related people who resembled Caucasians.  This was mirror 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 populations in the far corner of Japan.

 

The warrior on the left (circa 700 AD) is armed with a short bow and a curved sword, and is wearing leather armor reinforced with iron.  His helmet is the typical of the period and is made from overlapping plates of iron.  He would be riding on horseback.  This man is typical of the Emishi warrior of the period who was highly mobile and an expert in horse archery.  His trousers are tucked into riding boots, the tops of which are visible.  He also has leather arm guards studded with iron. The man on the right (circa 600 AD) is wearing a "tanko" style iron cuirass, and is armed with a spear and curved sword.  He is also wearing a riveted iron helmet with an iron neck guard. His clothing and armor reflects what was commonly worn during the Kofun Age.

 

 

 

Who Were the Emishi?

This website is a spin-off from the excellent site by Suzuta Yukinori, Conquest of Emishi  (updated 2007.11.3). Suzuta Yukinori's site is indispensable for the detailed description of the military campaign waged against these people.  Where I differ is in focus: my primary aim is to seek to place these 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.  

 

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 (2006.9.19).

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).

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 2007.12.1).

   

 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 (2007.11.22).

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 2007.12.14).

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 2008.1.8).

 

Origins of the Jomon

Possible linkage between the ancient Jomon of Japan and the Australian Aborigines (2006.10.12).

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

 

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).

 

Diagrams and Sources: Two perspectives on the Emishi

(2007.2.9)

 

Kanji Terms and Interpretation

(2007.3.15) 

 

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.

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.

Kennewick Man
A 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. 

 

 

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 collected 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 claims to original research.  Any errors of interpretation or facts are entirely my responsibility.  If any of this is cited please use accepted practice for scholars--cite the reference. Any comments or suggestions are welcome and should be sent to postmaster@emishi-ezo.net.

 

Last updated: 2008.1.16  Kenjiro Hakomori