Shinoridate


The site of Shinoridate in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan, is that once occupied by the Shinori Fort or Fortified Residence. This was the easternmost of the so-called "Twelve Forts of Southern Hokkaidō", built on the Oshima Peninsula by the Wajin from the fourteenth century. The site was designated a National Historic Site in 1934 and is one of the Japan Castle Foundation's Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles.

Shinori fort

Shinoridate is located some to the east of the center of Hakodate, along a stretch of coast with many good natural harbours. A short distance inland from Shinori Fishing Port, with the mouth of the Shinori River to the west, the gently sloping site overlooks the Tsugaru Strait and Shimokita Peninsula, with views also towards Mount Hakodate.
The earthworks rise to a height of on the north side and to the south and are interrupted by an opening on both the east and the west sides. The moat is wide on the north and west sides and up to deep and is crossed by two earth bridges, that to the west particularly well-preserved.
First laid out around the end of the fourteenth century, Shinoridate features in the Matsumae Domainal history Shinra no Kiroku, which tells of it being sacked by the Ainu in Chōroku 1, during Koshamain's War, and again falling to the Ainu in Eishō 9, after which its occupants, the house of Kobayashi, became subject to the Matsumae clan.
The Hakodate City Board of Education conducted excavations and surveys of the enclosure and surrounding area between 1983 and 1985, uncovering the remains of a number of buildings, palisades, a well, artefacts made of bronze, iron, stone, and wood, celadons and white porcelain from southern China, as well as domestic Suzu, Echizen, and Seto ware.
Three different intercolumnar measurements were used in the construction of the buildings, the style of the well is that found in Heian-kyō in the late Kamakura period, while many of the ceramics are typical of the early fifteenth century.
Accordingly, three main phases have been identified: the end of the fourteenth or early-fifteenth century; mid-fifteenth century; and sixteenth century or later. With the archaeological evidence pushing back the origins of the fort at least half a century before Koshamain, its construction can no longer be understood as an immediate response to the contingencies of 1457, and other explanations are required.

Shinori hoard

In July 1968, during widening work on the prefectural road that runs past the fort, a Nanbokuchō-period coin hoard was unearthed some inland from the mouth of the Shinori River, at a location above sea level. This is the largest hoard found to date in Japan in terms of the number of coins it contains.
The three large vessels excavated weighed, together with their contents,. Ninety-three different types of coin have been identified: a handful in total of early Japanese coinage of the Asuka, Nara and early Heian periods, late tenth-century Vietnamese coinage of the Đinh and Early Lê dynasties, and late eleventh-century Goryeo coinage from Korea; the bulk comprising Chinese coinage, primarily of the Song dynasty, issues ranging in date from 4 Zhu Ban Liang minted in the fifth year of Emperor Wen of Han to Hongwu Tongbao from the first year of the Hongwu Emperor, founder of the Ming dynasty. The 374,435 coins from this hoard now at the Hakodate City Museum have been designated an Important Cultural Property.
A 1999 study of 275 Japanese hoards, totalling 3,530,000 coins, found that the Chinese copper coins used in Japan in the Middle Ages were brought over in the largest number in the thirteenth century, were used primarily in commerce or for paying soldiers, and were buried largely for reasons of security, although there were also instances of ritual or votive deposits. The dating of the Shinori hoard precludes its burial as a response to Koshamain's War; instead it may relate to trade, the local Shinori or Kaga kombu featuring alongside Ezo salmon in the Nanboku-chō period text Teikin Ōrai. Produce from the area would have been traded along the Hokuriku coast to reach the markets of Kyōto and Ōsaka.
TypeDate/First mintedQuantityOrigin
14 Zhu Ban Liang 7
2Wu Zhu 39
3Huo Quan14 6
4Kaiyuan Tongbao62130,816
5Qian Yuan Zhong Bao758 1,422
6Wadōkaichin7081
7Mannen Tsūhō7601
8Jinkō Kaihō7654
9Ryūhei Eihō7962
10Fuju Shinpō8184
11Jōwa Shōhō8351
12Jōgan Eihō8701
13Engi Tsuhō9071
14Tong Zheng Yuan Bao9158
15Tian Han Yuan Bao91717
16Guang Tian Yuan Bao91817
17Qian De Yuan Bao91979
18Xian Kang Yuan Bao92519
19Da Tang Tong Bao9442
20Han Yuan Tong Bao94815
21Zhou Yuan Tong Bao95587
22Tang Guo Tong Bao959393
23Song Yuan Tong Bao9601,288
24Thái Bình Hưng Bảo9703
25Tai Ping Tong Bao9763,512
26Thiên Phúc Trấn Bảo98419
27Chun Hua Yuan Bao9903,258
28Zhi Dao Yuan Bao9955,851
29Xian Ping Yuan Bao9986,400
30Jing De Yuan Bao10048,139
31Xiang Fu Yuan Bao10089,322
32Xiang Fu Tong Bao10085,384
33Tian Xi Tong Bao10177,943
34Tian Sheng Yuan Bao102317,924
35Ming Dao Yuan Bao10321,813
36Jing You Yuan Bao10345,384
37Huang Song Tong Bao103947,031
38Qing Li Zhong Bao10451
39Qing Ning Tong Bao10551
40Zhi He Yuan Bao10544,452
41Zhi He Tong Bao10541,416
42Jia You Yuan Bao10564,478
43Jia You Tong Bao10568,729
44Zhi Ping Yuan Bao10647,002
45Zhi Ping Tong Bao10641,154
46Xian Yong Tong Bao10652
47Xi Ning Yuan Bao106834,897
48Xi Ning Zhong Bao107112
49Da Kang Tong Bao10752
50Yuan Feng Tong Bao107843,009
51Yuan You Tong Bao108633,904
52Shao Sheng Yuan Bao109414,917
53Shao Sheng Tong Bao10942
54Dong Guk Tong Bo10977
55Dong Guk Chung Bo10972
56Hae Dong Tong Bo109718
57Hae Dong Jung Bo10971
58Sam Han Tong Bo10971
59Sam Han Jung Bo10972
60Yuan Fu Tong Bao10985,721
61Sheng Song Yuan Bao110114,333
62Chong Ning Tong Bao11023
63Chong Ning Zhong Bao11022
64Da Guan Tong Bao11074,230
65Zheng He Tong Bao111115,206
66Xuan He Yuan Bao11191
67Xuan He Tong Bao11191,412
68Jianyan Tong Bao112788
69Shaoxing Yuan Bao1131149
70Shaoxing Tong Bao113116
71Zheng Long Yuan Bao1158479
72Tian Sheng Yuan Bao11583
73Longxing Yuan Bao11631
74Qiandao Yuan Bao11652
75Chunxi Yuan Bao11742,366
76Da Ding Tong Bao117822
77Shaoxi Yuan Bao1190774
78Qingyuan Tong Bao1195938
79Jiatai Tong Bao1201549
80Kaixi Tong Bao1205356
81Jiading Tong Bao12081,735
82Dasong Yuan Bao122584
83Shaoding Tong Bao1228614
84Duanping Yuan Bao123449
85Jiaxi Tong Bao1237161
86Chunyou Yuan Bao1241530
87Huangsong Yuan Bao1253285
88Kaiqing Tong Bao125920
89Jingding Yuan Bao1260475
90Xianchun Yuan Bao1265583
91Zhi Da Tong Bao1310110
92Zhi Zheng Tong Bao13413
93Hongwu Tongbao136812
12,901
Total374,435