Wako, 倭寇

     Piracy started in 13th century on the Japan Sea. China and the two Koreas call the pirates Wako, which means the Japanese assault. In other words, they insist that the pirates consisted of Japanese people. I'd like to make reasonable and theoretical remarks.

     Some Japanese people started piracy in 13th century to take their properties back from China and Korea. Japanese traders were frequently cheated by their customers and suffered damages. They got bent out of shape and easily resorted to the act of piracy without deep consideration. However it's the case only in the early period of "Wako" and most members of "Wako" were Chinese, who were made out to be Japanese. Japanese students are now taught that Wako was the crime of Japanese people. It is also part of the distorted history, which was made up by China and the two Koreas. I'd like to advise young Japanese people not to use the expression, "Japanese Pirates".

     By the way, I wondered if there was the same example in the world, and looked for it on the internet and found a few interesting facts.

     In the 17th, 18th and the first half of 19th century, American pirates carried out scores of raids on the Caribbean coast of Spanish territory. They were called "buccaneers". Their money stimulated and activated the economy in America (British American states and Commonwealths before independence), and their activities were useful for the resistance against Spanish forces at the same time.

     When the William & Mary College was on the verge of closure, it was the boss of the buccaneers who donated big money and rebuilt the college. This college is the alma mater of the U.S. third President, Thomas Jefferson and also one of the most prestigious univiersities in the U.S. It has a longer history than Yale University. The buccaneers were undertaking the same role as Captain Drake in England. Captain Drake is a hero in England, but in the U.S. the buccaneers are hidden away. We only know it as the name of a football team, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

     When you have a talk with Americans and the topic becomes Wako, you should say something like this: You are very lucky, because Caribbean people are mild and quiet. They never accuse Americans of piracy. Japanese people have been accused of innocent alleged piracy for a long time. It's a born burden to be located next to China and Korea which have massive inferiority complexes.

(Vocabulary)
piracy (CD・コンピュータソフトなどの) 海賊版作成, 海賊行為 (船を襲撃する) 海賊行為
copyright/patent piracy  著作権［特許］侵害
get bent out of shape  不機嫌になる、へそを曲げる、怒る
resort to sth      (やむなく) ＜手段＞に頼る, 訴える
be made out to be a Japanese  日本人に扮する
raid  (不意の) 襲撃, 急襲 (+on/against)
buccaneer　海賊　= pirate
British American states and commonwealths 英国領アメリカ諸州 〔ほとんどの州はstateだが、一部の州はcommonwealthなので。〕
be on the verge of (doing) sth   ＜…＞の［＜…＞する］寸前である
sb's alma mater  ＜人＞の母校, 出身校

Comments

[KUMO]

Sorry to be away for a long time. I've been so busy and I'll restart writing in a few days.

[Sean Myers]

Fun post, and long time no chat!
Like Jessica and you both said, the pirates/privateers are very much a part of American history- my home area was practically built on it (I live near William and Mary in Virginia). They were much more like mercenaries or raiders that had some immunities of their mother countries and much less like the pirates we see on TV. Even the black flag the "jolly roger" was more of a signal of attack (literally "no quarter", take no prisoners) than a sign of being a pirate... kind of an opposite to the white surrender flag.

It is interesting to me that the Asian countries tended to demonize rival nations much like Europe. If pirates are interesting for you, check out "Nags Head"; it's a beach area near my home that has a long and famous pirate history.

Great post! Keep having fun on your adventures,
-Sean from Word Up

[Clarance/xxnemesis/jessica]

Hi Kumo!

I am sorry that it has been a long time since I have commented on your blog. However today I have been reminded of how awesome it is to read it again.
"massive inferiority complex" is an awesome term ^^, although my dad would probably disagree with the context : P
Just another bit of history- the English pirates were also called "privateers" (rhymes with buccaneer) :O because they were pirates, but the English government tried to make them seem more legitimate/noble. I learned in history class that the queen of England used the money to lower taxes.

Have a nice day!
Jessica