Do you know what the biggest booty Japan stole from North Korea is?

The biggest loot Japan stole from North Korea

The author of this article, Wang Hao (Kuaizaifeng), tells you the rare, interesting and true history of China and Japan

As for the Wanli Korean War 400 years ago, young people from both countries today can look at it easily. I accidentally saw a piece of information on a Japanese online discussion board. What impressions did the Japanese have of this war?

1. At that time, Japan had the largest military power in the world. The world's leading firearms, outstanding generals, and battle-hardened soldiers; (This answer is the most common. It seems that most Japanese are still obsessed with Japan's military power to this day)

2. Battle of Odawara After the war, Hideyoshi has become a strategic idiot; (blame Hideyoshi)

3. The navy is too weak, because Hideyoshi issued the "Pirate Prohibition Order" and destroyed his power; (blame Hideyoshi)

4. Tokugawa Ieyasu and Date Masamune hid at home and were lazy and did not participate in the war; (blame the old fox Ieyasu for preserving his strength)

5. Lack of experience in foreign wars, especially regarding guerrilla warfare and As for siege warfare, there is also the disposal of occupied areas; (terrible summary)

6. It can be regarded as an unjust war. If the logistics cannot keep up, the Japanese army will be defeated sooner or later. (Finally someone understands)

The most interesting answer is this: The war broke out like this - Toyotomi ran to North Korea to grab the porcelain bowl, and a fight broke out. Emperor Wanli considered North Korea's I couldn’t throw away the ginseng, so I ran over to help North Korea fight it...

This is a joke, but it is also somewhat true. In fact, this war was indeed called the "Ceramic War" by later generations.

Because the Japanese took away a large number of Korean potters, Japan has beautiful tea bowls since then. This is the greatest spoil of the seven-year bloody war.

1. Why do the Japanese love Korean potters?

Because the Japanese love to drink tea, but they cannot make good tea sets.

Picture: The Japanese "tea ceremony" culture continues to this day.

Since the Southern Song Dynasty, the Japanese monk Rongxi who came to China brought high-quality tea from Zhejiang to Japan for large-scale planting. The Japanese have been crazy about this supreme drink from the "Tang". As the "Ancestor of Tea". To drink tea, you naturally need tea sets, and high-quality tea sets such as Chinese celadon tea bowls and Tenmoku tea bowls were introduced to Japan.

In ancient times, Japanese nobles liked to hold tea parties. A high-quality tea bowl was a symbol of status and nobility. Several famous tea bowls from the Warring States Period, such as the Nine-Nine-Fat Eggplant, Yaobian Tenmoku Tea Bowl, "Oil Drop" Tenmoku Tea Bowl, Mishima Bucket, Matsuya Kamen Tea Bowl, and Aoito Tea Bowl, are all worth a fortune, even up to tens of thousands of koku. , equivalent to the annual income of a small local daimyo!

Picture: Ninety-nine eggplants, made in the Han Dynasty and made in the Tang Dynasty. After being introduced to Japan from China, they were known as the first famous product in the Warring States Period. Murata Shuguang, the founder of the Japanese tea ceremony, bought it at a high price of ninety-nine guan, hence the name. Eggplant is a type of tea served in Japan.

Picture: Yaobian Tenmoku tea bowl, a masterpiece of Chinese Song Dynasty porcelain, became a national treasure after being spread to Japan.

Everyone wants a good tea bowl. Oda Nobunaga, the overlord of the Warring States Period, was a fanatical tea set lover. He has done two things in his life: 1. Conquering the world; 2. Collecting tea sets. He unswervingly and enthusiastically used various means to obtain "famous things". The more valuable and belonging to others, the more he wanted to snatch them away. Later Japanese historians even gave him a term for this behavior: It's called "Famous Things Hunting".

However, other Japanese who had awesome teapots were unwilling to hand it over obediently.

When Nobunaga’s subordinate Araki Murashige rebelled, he abandoned his wife and young subordinates and fled with only a few beloved tea sets. The last family member was executed, and he shaved his head and became a tea man alone;

The castle of the daimyo Matsunagahide was surrounded by Nobunaga's army, and Nobunaga ordered him to hand over the world-famous "Koten Meihei Spider Cauldron" (a flat teapot that looks like a lying spider) He was spared his life, but Matsunaga Hide, who loved him dearly, was reluctant to let him go. In the end, he burned himself to death holding his beloved "Spider Cauldron" in his arms.

Picture: Matsunagahide in "Nobunaga's Ambition" would rather die than hand over his beloved tea set.

This is exactly what it is: life is precious, and the price of a city owner is even higher. If it is a tea set, both can be thrown away.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, whom we are familiar with, inherited the legacy of his master, Nobunaga, and was particularly fond of tea sets. In the several grand tea parties he held in his later years, he used the most expensive tea sets in the world, which won him infinite glory.

2. The North Korean prisoner Li Shenping became the Japanese Tao Zu

After chatting about the tea bowl story for a long time, I forgot to mention: the above-mentioned several top-quality tea bowls, except for the "Spider Cauldron", Others are all made in China and North Korea.

It goes without saying that China is the kingdom of porcelain. Influenced by China, the level of ceramics in ancient Korea was also very high, especially the celadon and white porcelain craftsmanship, which was far above Japan.

The island nation of Japan already lacks porcelain clay resources and lacks guidance from China. It was not until the Kamakura period that the potter Toshiro Keimasa, sent by the general, went to China and finally learned a complete set of ceramics from Tianmu Mountain in Zhejiang. With the advanced craftsmanship, Japan now has more decent porcelain. However, compared with the top ceramic craftsmanship in China and North Korea, it still looks rough.

Until a person appears.

North Korean prisoner Li Shenping.

Li Shenping was a famous potter in Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. In 1598, Nabeshima Naomo, the leader of the invading Saga Domain, abducted Li Shenping to Japan as a "treasure" from Korea. In 1616, Li Shenping discovered porcelain clay in Mount Arita in northwest Kyushu, and opened a pottery kiln in the Tengu Valley of Kamishiro River, finally successfully firing blue and white porcelain and white porcelain.

Picture: The "Toyama Shrine" dedicated to Li Shenping in Arita Town, Nishimatsuura County, Japan. Li Shenping was dressed in white and looked depressed.

Li Shenping is revered as "Tao Zu" by the Japanese.

In addition to Li Shenping, there are also a large number of potters abducted from the Korean Peninsula and scattered to various places around Kyushu to make pottery. The most famous ones are Arita ware, Satsuma ware, Karatsu ware, Ueno ware, and Takatori ware. etc.

It is no exaggeration to say that the blood and sweat of Korean prisoners created today's ceramic industry in Japan.

Picture: Shen Shouguan, a contemporary famous Satsuma-yaki craftsman, whose ancestors were captive Korean potters, has always insisted on using the Korean surname.

Because of their skills, the living conditions of Korean potters and other technical personnel are relatively better. The Japanese usually arrange them in closed villages, which can preserve Korean folk customs, but other captives are not so Lucky for you.

During the Wanli Korean War, the Japanese army plundered a large number of people from North Korea, including children, conservatively estimated to be tens of thousands. Most of them were engaged in hard work such as transporting stones, repairing cities, and building buildings. The worst ones were reduced to slaves and untouchables, and were even sold as commodities to Europe.

Abroad, there is a North Korean prisoner who is the most famous.

Antonio Corea.

Picture: Portrait of Antonio Gauri.

According to research by Professor Cui Guan of Korea University, after the Imjin Japanese Rebellion, a large-scale slave trade was conducted between Japanese princes and Portuguese merchants at the slave market in Omura, Nagasaki. At that time, Italian traveler Francesco Carletti mentioned in the records that among the countless Koreans who were sold as the cheapest commodity to all over the world, the only person who has left his name to this day and is praised by future generations is the only one who was sold to Antonio Corea of ??Italy. It is speculated that the "Man in Hanbok" in the painting by the famous painter Rubens may be the painting with Antonio as the model.