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The Murakami of western Japan were well-known as pirates of the [[Inland Sea]] who generated income by collecting tolls and various fees on shipping. They were descended from [[Murakami Yoshihiro]] (d. [[1374]]), and were composed of three branches, each with their own base of operations. By [[1550]], two of these branches were allied to the [[Mori clan (Aki)|Môri]]. They provided the bulk of the Môri's naval power and thus were key in establishing the Môri's domination of the Inland Sea, which lasted from around 1555-1576.
The Murakami of western Japan were well-known as pirates of the [[Inland Sea]] who generated income by collecting tolls and various fees on shipping. They were descended from [[Murakami Yoshihiro]] (d. [[1374]]), and were composed of three branches, each with their own base of operations. By [[1550]], two of these branches were allied to the [[Mori clan (Aki)|Môri]]. They provided the bulk of the Môri's naval power and thus were key in establishing the Môri's domination of the Inland Sea, which lasted from around 1555-1576.
For a time in the 16th century, the Murakami dominated the Inland Sea. They charged fees for ''monmaku'' banners with their [[kamon|crest]] on it which would ensure safe passage through the region; provided escorts and guards for elites (such as foreign embassies) traveling through the Inland Sea as well as for official shogunate or daimyô embassies to China; and otherwise extorted people for protection money. As historian [[Peter Shapinsky]] puts it, "in the latter half of the sixteenth-century, neither the imperial court nor individual daimyô had much sway on the waves."<ref>Peter Shapinsky, “Envoys and Escorts: Representation and Performance among Koxinga’s Japanese Pirate Ancestors,” in ''Sea Rovers, Silver, and Samurai'', ed. by Tonio Andrade and Xing Hang. UH Press (2016), 54.</ref>
==History==
==History==
