contributor
26,975
edits
Changes
From SamuraiWiki
Jump to navigationJump to searchno edit summary
Yamakawa was the first port on mainland [[Kyushu]] where [[Francis Xavier]] made landfall in [[1549]]; it is also said to have been the place where the [[Satsuma sweet potato]] (''Satsuma imo'') was first introduced. Markers commemorating these two events can still be found at the harbor today.
Yamakawa was the first port on mainland [[Kyushu]] where [[Francis Xavier]] made landfall in [[1549]]; it is also said to have been the place where the [[Satsuma sweet potato]] (''Satsuma imo'') was first introduced. Markers commemorating these two events can still be found at the harbor today.
Yamakawa was also the port from which [[Satsuma han]] forces departed in [[1609]] for their [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]]. Following this invasion, as was also the case previously, ships from the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] regularly stopped at Yamakawa on their way to and from [[Kagoshima]]. Port offices known as ''bansho'' performed cargo inspections and collected taxes.
Yamakawa was also the port from which [[Satsuma han]] forces departed in [[1609]] for their [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]]. Following this invasion, as was also the case previously, ships from the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] regularly stopped at Yamakawa on their way to and from [[Kagoshima]]. Port offices known as ''bansho'' performed cargo inspections and collected taxes. Over the course of time, a number of Ryukyuans who passed through the port happened to die there, and while gravestones from that time remain, a new monument was erected in 2009 in their memory; another monument nearby commemorates those who died in the [[Satsuma Rebellion]] of [[1877]]. Various Yamakawa-[[Okinawa prefecture|Okinawa]] partnership or friendship events have been held regularly in the modern era. The connection between Yamakawa and Ryûkyû is also seen in the 62 ''[[ishiganto|ishigantô]]'' located throughout the town; though also found elsewhere throughout Kyushu, these are originally a Ryukyuan talisman against evil spirits.
The Buddhist temple of Seiryû-ji in Yamakawa was a major center of [[Satsunan school]] [[Neo-Confucianism]], and the temple played a significant role in translating and drafting communications in Chinese related to trade matters. Today, the temple no longer survives, but a portion of its graveyard has been maintained, as is the case at many former temples in [[Kagoshima prefecture]]. Hirakiki Shrine is another notable site in the city, and maintains a collection of ''hengaku'' plaques bearing the calligraphy of Ryukyuan scholar-officials.<ref>''Yomigaeru Ryûkyû geinô Edo nobori'' よみがえる琉球芸能江戸上り, DVD documentary, 2011.</ref>
One corner of the town was known as ''Tôjinmachi'', and contained the homes of a number of Chinese, Ryukyuan, and Southeast Asian traders, and establishments involved in the trade with these and other (e.g. European) ships which came to the port, prior to the [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa shogunate's]] imposition of [[kaikin|maritime restrictions]] in the 1630s.
Yamakawa remained a major port into the [[Bakumatsu]] era, if not later, and was one of a number of key ports throughout the archipelago to be equipped with coastal defenses. The American ship ''[[Morrison]]'', for example, was driven away from Yamakawa with cannon fire in [[1837]].
Yamakawa remained a major port into the [[Bakumatsu]] era, if not later, and was one of a number of key ports throughout the archipelago to be equipped with coastal defenses. The American ship ''[[Morrison]]'', for example, was driven away from Yamakawa with cannon fire in [[1837]].
==References==
==References==
*"Ibusuki shi Yamakawa o aruku" 指宿市山川を歩く, ''Momoto'' モモト 14 (April 2013), n.p.
*"Ibusuki shi Yamakawa o aruku" 指宿市山川を歩く, ''Momoto'' モモト 14 (April 2013), n.p.
<references/>
[[Category:Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Cities and Towns]]
