黒潮と日本人の遭遇史 （第一部） 中世のころまでの和書と近世までの漢籍にもとづく論考

Abstract

Since ancient times the Japanese had encountered the Kuroshio frequently. For instance some records about long-distance driftings along the south coast of Japan or across the East China Sea are found in Nihon Shoki (Official Record of Japan before 697), Shoku Nihongi (Official Record of Japan from 697 to 806) and Todai Wajo Tosei Den (Biography of Ganjin, an outstanding Chinese Buddhist). In the seventh and eights centuries, some ships of the Japanese envoy to China in the Tang Dynasty crossed the Kuroshio in the East China Sea, despite frequent incidents of ship wrecks. In the Momoyama and early Edo periods (1592-1635) the Shuinsen, Japanese ships with the Shogunate license for foreign trade, crossed the Kuroshio east of Taiwan bound for Luzon. Nevertheless, no mention of the Kuroshio was found in these periods. Since records of no mention of the Kuroshio in maritime literatures in old days will be helpful in this kind of study in the future, efforts are made to list a detailed bibliography. Finally, studies on terms "Rakusei" and "Biryo", the Chinese equivalents of "Kuroshio", are made on the basis of Chinese classics. The term "Rakusei" was cited in Japanese books in the Edo period, but the term "Biryo" was too legendary to be used in Japan as indicating the Kuroshio, although Needham et al. (1971) made extensively a historical study on "Biryo".