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The question of the extent to which regional ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]'', particularly in Kyushu, supported and enabled ''wakô'' activity is a contentious one, and one of the chief issues involved in the subject of ''wakô''. Arano asserts that the regional ''daimyô'' must have provided tacit consent, if not outright invitations, for these Chinese merchants to engage in such activities within their domains; the Chinese smugglers had similar relationships with local officials in China.<ref name=arano188/>
The question of the extent to which regional ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]'', particularly in Kyushu, supported and enabled ''wakô'' activity is a contentious one, and one of the chief issues involved in the subject of ''wakô''. Arano asserts that the regional ''daimyô'' must have provided tacit consent, if not outright invitations, for these Chinese merchants to engage in such activities within their domains; the Chinese smugglers had similar relationships with local officials in China.<ref name=arano188/>
The later years of the reign of the [[Jiajing Emperor]] of Ming (1521-1567) saw a peak in ''wakô'' activity, which subsided when, in 1567, the Ming Court lifted the bans on Chinese trade and interaction in Southeast Asia<ref name=arano189>Arano. p189.</ref>, thus allowing many so-called "''wakô''" to become legitimate traders and seafarers in the eyes of the Chinese authorities. Many smugglers still engaging in activities deemed illicit, such as trade with Japan, moved their bases at this time to Taiwan or the Philippines.<ref name=arano189/>
The later years of the reign of the Ming [[Jiajing Emperor]] (1521-1567) saw a peak in ''wakô'' activity, which subsided when, in 1567, the Ming Court lifted the bans on Chinese trade and interaction in Southeast Asia<ref name=arano189>Arano. p189.</ref>, thus allowing many so-called "''wakô''" to become legitimate traders and seafarers in the eyes of the Chinese authorities. Many smugglers still engaging in activities deemed illicit, such as trade with Japan, moved their bases at this time to Taiwan or the Philippines.<ref name=arano189/>
[[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] helped further weaken the ''wakô'' with a [[1588]] edict banning piracy. Hideyoshi established a definition of "Japanese waters," and declared that force could not be used to settle disputes within those boundaries; further, this edict severely weakened the ability of provincial ''daimyô'' to support, benefit from, or otherwise directly associate with pirates, i.e. the ''wakô''.<ref name=arano190>Arano. p190.</ref>
The imposition of [[kaikin|maritime restrictions]] in the 1630s dealt a major blow to the ''wakô''. All but three ports<ref>Plus the more land-based "port" of access in [[Matsumae]] for interactions and trade with [[Ainu]].</ref> were closed to foreign trade, and Japanese were forbidden from leaving the country or returning. ''Wakô'' activity still continued among Japanese, and others, based overseas, who traded (or raided) in China, Korea, and Southeast Asia, as well as among, presumably, some small number of smugglers who continued to engage in illegal operations along the Kyushu coast. Following the fall of the Ming dynasty in [[1644]], Ming loyalists continued to fight against the [[Manchus|Manchu]] conquest for forty years; these loyalists, and others associated with them, may have been at times referred to as ''wakô'' in Qing documents.
It was only with the turn of the 18th century that the ''wakô'' phenomenon really petered out and came to an end. The Tokugawa shogunate solidified its control over Japan - including, to the extent it ever would, over the Kyushu ''daimyô'' who allowed or encouraged ''wakô'' activities in earlier times. Meanwhile, greater European presence and activity in the region (though not in Japan itself) brought a degree of stability.<ref name=arano190/>
==References==
==References==
*Arano Yasunori. "The Formation of a Japanocentric World Order." ''International Journal of Asian Studies'' 2:2 (2005). pp185-216.
*Arano Yasunori. "The Formation of a Japanocentric World Order." ''International Journal of Asian Studies'' 2:2 (2005). pp185-216.
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[[Category:Muromachi Period]]
[[Category:Criminals, Bandits, and Pirates]]
