Illustrated Ming Dynasty Sources about Japanese Wakō Pirates on the Example of “Wakō Zukan” (“Illustrated Scroll of Japanese Pirates”)

Wakō, which is literally translated as “Japanese pirates”, were pirates who came from different ethnic groups and raided the coastal territories of China and Korea from the 13th to the 16th centuries. The activity of pirates on the Korean Peninsula declined in the 15th century and moved to the coastal provinces of China, where it peaked in the middle of the 16th century and was significant enough to influence the works of art of the Ming period (1368–1644). The first half of the article describes the two main stages of the development of the “Japanese piracy” and includes key events and factors that influenced the rise and decline in piratical activity. The second part of the article explores what historical event is depicted in the “Wakō Zukan” (“Illustrated Scroll of Japanese Pirates”). In order to achieve this objective, the picture was divided into several scenes and described, the result of which is presented in a table. In addition, the article examines four existing theories and assesses the degree of their consistency. In order to better understand the origin of the scroll and its contents, two more scrolls were used, namely: the “Kōwa Zukan” (“Illustrated Scroll of Resistance to Japanese Pirates”) and the “Heiwa Zukan” (“Illustrated Scroll of the Pacification of Japanese Pirates”). “Kōwa Zukan” was also divided into several episodes and a comparative analysis was made, the results of which are reflected in the table mentioned above. This interdisciplinary research will be of interest not only for scholars studying piracy as a historical phenomenon, but also for a wide range of specialists studying the history and art of the Eastern countries, as well as international relations in the Asia-Pacific region.

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