CHAPTER ONE

Hakata and Dazaifu: Crossroads, Boundaries, and Identity Formation in Ancient Kyushu1

Bruce L. Batten

Introduction

During ’s (710–784 CE) and Heian (794–1185) periods, north- ern Kyushu played a historical role second in importance only to that of the Kinai region of west-central . The Kinai was the centre of the early Japanese state, symbolized by the grand and populous capitals of Heijō-kyō (Nara) and Heian-kyō (). was the gate- way where Japan came into direct contact with foreign countries such as the Sui and Tang Dynasties in and the kingdoms of Goguryeo (Koguryŏ), Baekje (Paekche), and Silla on the Korean Peninsula. Kyushu’s gateway region centred on Dazaifu, an administrative head- quarters located in modern Prefecture about thirteen kilometres southeast of Hakata Bay. Dazaifu was surrounded by a defence perimeter including several hilltop fortresses (most notably Ōno and Kii Fortresses) as well as a lengthy embankment known as the Mizuki (‘water fortress’). Also affiliated with Dazaifu was the Tsukushi Lodge (later known as the Kōrokan), a diplomatic facility on the shore of Hakata Bay. Taken as a whole, Dazaifu and its military-diplomatic infrastructure were established with the goal of regulating the movement of people, goods, and infor- mation across Japan’s international frontier. At the same time, they per- formed the role of demonstrating, and if necessary enforcing, the power of the state vis-à-vis residents of Kyushu, whom central authorities did not always regard with the greatest trust or affection.

1 This essay is reprinted with permission from Japanese Studies Association Journal 7 (2009), pp. 54–65. An earlier version also appeared in Japanese in the catalogue for a spe- cial exhibition held at Fukuoka City Museum in 2007 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the Kōrokan ruins: Bruce Batten, ‘Dazaifu/Tsukushi-no-murotsumi (Kōrokan) no seiritsu to sono rekishi teki igi’. For a more detailed study, see my Gateway to Japan: Hakata in War and Peace, 500–1300. On the history of Kyushu in general, see Andrew Cobbing, Kyushu: Gateway to Japan—A Concise History. 14 bruce l. batten

Map 1.1. Hakata Bay and vicinity in the Nara and Heian periods. (Source: Bruce L. Batten, Gateway to Japan: Hakata in War and Peace, 500–1300, p. 34.)

The founding of Dazaifu has attracted the attention of many Japanese scholars, whose research can be summarized roughly as follows. In 527, much of northern Kyushu seceded from the political federation (I hesitate to use the word ‘state’) led by the Yamato court in Kinai. The instigator of this rebellion, a local magnate named Iwai, was defeated by Yamato in the following year, and as a result, the court was able to establish a ‘crown land’, called Nanotsu Miyake, on the shores of Hakata Bay in 536. By around 600, with the establishment of diplomatic relations with Sui China, a representative of Yamato bearing the title ‘Tsukushi Dazai’ (Kyushu ) was stationed at this (literally) beachhead of royal authority, perhaps on a semi-permanent basis. Northern Kyushu assumed still greater importance after 663, when Japan was defeated by Tang and Silla in a naval engagement, the Battle of Baekchon (Paekchon) River, off