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Over a span of 260 years, from 630 to 894, Japanese embassies to Tang China (ken-Tō shi) played a vital role in importing Tang governance and culture to Japan, significantly shaping the political and cultural landscape of an emerging Japanese state with codes of law (ritsuryō). However, the seventeenth embassy during the Jōwa period, fraught with turmoil, marked the final mission to Tang China. Alongside disasters and significant loss of life during the voyage, mysteries persist around Vice-ambassador Ono no Takamura’s refusal to board the ship, the government's insistence on the mission, and the objectives behind dispatching this mission to China.
In this volume, Professor Saeki Arikiyo traces the journey from departure to return, focusing on the individuals involved and the prevailing trends of the era. Drawing upon a rich tapestry of historical sources, including records from Shoku Nihon kōki and the accompanying monk Ennin’s Nit-Tō guhō junrei kōki, Arikiyo delves into the arduous journey of this final mission and unravels the intricate motives of the embassy personnel and their encounters in Tang China, offering a comprehensive examination of a transformative chapter in ancient Japanese diplomatic history.
Saeki Arikiyo (1925–2005) was a distinguished Japanese historian renowned for his expertise in early Japanese history and its connections with mainland East Asia. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Tokyo and served as professor at Hokkaido University and Seijo University. Saeki’s significant contributions were honored with the Japan Academy Prize in 1984 and the Orders of the Sacred Treasure in 1995. His notable works include Nihon kodai shizoku no kenkyū (Research on ancient Japanese clans, 1985), Ennin (1989), Enchin (1990), Yamataikoku eno michi (The road to Yamatai Kingdom, 2000), and Treatise on the People of Wa in the Chronicle of the Kingdom of Wei: The World’s Earliest Written Text on Japan (2018).
Joshua A. Fogel is Canada Research Chair Professor in modern Chinese history at York University. Trained initially in Chinese history, he developed an abiding interest in Japanese history and has published many important works on Japanese historiography and Sino-Japanese relations. His most recent translated work, Literature and History in the Shi ji of Sima Qian, was published by The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press in 2025.
Translator’s Introduction
Preface: The Mysteries of the Jōwa Embassy to China
Introductory Chapter: Ono no Takamura Refuses to Board Ship
Chapter 1: The Jōwa Embassy
Chapter 2: The Embassy Crosses the Sea
Chapter 3: The Embassy in Tang China
Chapter 4: The Embassy and East Asia in the Ninth Century
Concluding Chapter: The End of Embassies to Tang China
Afterword
Timeline of Embassy Missions Dispatched in the Tang Period