The Early Yayoi was a time of war, of clan chieftains fighting for the best lands.
And so you may think this video would be about exciting battles and strategies and such.
Well, it’s not.
Welcome to the frustration of studying this period in Japanese history.
The Yayoi had no written language.
It was a time when alliances were formed and broken.
A time of heroes and intrigue and betrayals, but we have no written records of any of it.
The only records we have are from the Chinese sources that bothered to write down things
about these “barbarians to the east.”
They mentioned wars, but didn’t care much for details.
Now, to understand the Yayoi Period, we can’t just talk about the Yayoi people by themselves.
The picture would be incomplete.
We need to talk about the elephant in the room,
an elephant named China.
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China was the high school cheerleader of ancient Asia.
I’ll explain.
First, I need to impress upon you China’s overwhelming presence.
When the Yayoi period began in 300 BC, various Chinese dynasties have been around for nearly
2000 years, supposedly.
And it was during this period that the Chinese Han Dynasty began, considered a golden age
of China.
Most modern Chinese still call themselves Han.
While the Chinese were inventing things like paper and the Pythagorean Theorem, the Yayoi
were just getting into agriculture.
Imagine you’re the ancient Greeks, and next door is the modern United States of America.
The feeling of inadequacy the Yayoi would have felt is like when you bring a baking
soda volcano to the science fair, then you see Kevin waltz in with a toaster that runs
on farts and happiness.
What the hell, Kevin?
How am I supposed to compete with that?
Well, look who’s got the last laugh now.
You’re working on cancer research, and I’m on YouTube.
The Han had plenty of contact with the Yayoi, and they wrote them down.
You know the phrase, "History is written by the victors"?
In this case, "History is written by the Chinese."
And we need to keep this in mind.
A lot of what we know of the Yayoi, outside of the archaeological evidence, is viewed
through the eyes of the Chinese.
We have records of various Yayoi kingdoms sending expeditions to China to establish
relationships and trade with the Chinese court.
Trade was done in a...unique way.
You see, the Chinese believed that their Emperor carried the Mandate of Heaven, which declares
that the Emperor had ultimate authority over Earth.
Any non-Chinese state could never be considered equal.
If a country sought a relationship with China, it did so as an inferior tributary state,
and had to pay homage to the Emperor.
The Chinese court did not trade normally with other countries, because that would imply
a fair exchange between equals, and China was NOT equal to YOU, dammit.
Therefore, they used what is called the Shady Massage Parlor system, or SMP.
I will explain.
John goes to a shady massage parlor, and gets the regular massage for $20.
Then he tips the masseuse $100, and he gets the...irregular massage.
Technically, John did not pay for the extra services.
He gave a voluntary gift of $100, and the masseuse gave him a token of appreciation
in return.
And that’s how it works at a shady massage parlor.
I know this through a friend, of course.
A friend named DESTINY, no--
So trade was done like this...a Yayoi kingdom would offer items as tribute to the Chinese
court, and the court, in its generosity, would bestow gifts and legitimacy to the Yayoi kingdom
and its leader.
This way, it’s technically not a trade between equals.
One side freely offers a tribute, the other freely offers a gift.
SMP.
Alright fine, it’s actually called the Tributary System.
The Yayoi were pretty much fine with this arrangement.
Gifts made them especially happy.
This tribute system often expanded to large trade networks.
There is evidence of a vast trade network all over Japan, including the Ryukyu Islands.
In the first century AD, there were reports of many tribal leaders in Kyushu sending tribute
missions to a Chinese outpost in the Korean peninsula.
Foreign goods entered Japan by way of Kyushu.
Then flowed from Kyushu to the rest of Japan.
In one recorded case of contact, the Han court bestowed upon the ruler of the kingdom of
Na a gold seal.
No, seal.
The inscription on it reads, roughly:
“King of the Na state of Wa (Japan), vassal of the Han.”
This seal still exists now, in a museum, and is designated a national treasure of Japan.
Now, were the Yayoi just vain and wanted to show off bling from China?
Ooh, look at my cool bell.
Oh no, it was mainly about one thing: POWER.
In high school, recognition from a cheerleader or a jock gave you status and power.
In the same way, recognition by the Chinese court granted you legitimacy and status in
the eyes of your people and the other Yayoi kingdoms.
China was the high school cheerleader of ancient Asia.
Rulers distributed these Chinese gifts to supporters, they were symbols of power and
authority.
This is not to say that China controlled the Yayoi, not at all.
The Yayoi were very much autonomous.
There were long periods where they did not have ANY contact with China.
But there was a long list of Yayoi leaders sending missions to China to gain power.
Because of these leaders, power tended to flow from the mainland to the Yayoi kingdoms
with the closest relations to China.
Power consolidated there until a kingdom called Yamatai emerged to rule over Japan.
Kinda.