Donkeys in Japan

[Judith Vitale]

Dear colleagues,

This is a question for animal historians.

The diplomatic exchange of animals between Japan and foreign visitors took place regularly: elephants, lions, or donkeys. But what happened to them after their arrival in Japan:

A colleague of mine is working on the history of donkeys and is intrigued by the fact that the Tokugawa elite seemed clueless about donkeys, mules, and hinnies – although these animals were abundant in North China and crucial to economic life there.

A description of donkeys (ロバ) is in the Kasshi yawa by Matsura Seizan (甲子夜話 卷之二 蘭人獻上驢馬の事). Based on it, a Japanese friend suggests that the Japanese evaluated horses (and oxen) as more suitable for transport. But mules and donkeys can carry large loads. Might it have to do with notions of purity?

References to the life of donkeys in Japan or ideas on why the Tokugawa elite did not care for donkeys are greatly appreciated.

Many thanks, Judith Vitale

[Thomas D. Conlan]

Dear Judith,

This is an interesting question. Even in ancient times, some donkeys were imported into Japan (one even came from Baekje), but they were never popular. I think that it may be linked to Japan’s climate. Donkeys thrive in arid hot areas while Japan is damp and much colder. There, horses do better. 

The following study is informative:

Emily Haddy et al. Shelter seeking behaviour of healthy donkeys and mules in a hot climate, Applied Animal Behaviour Science (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2019.104898 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159119301601?via%3Dihub  

In addition, donkeys are considerably slower than horses, so that is another negative. And horses are herd animals, while donkeys are not. So lots of negatives in the Japanese context that have nothing to do with notions of defilement. 

Best wishes,

Tom Conlan

 

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[Ross Bender]

I found 4 mentions of mules 騾  in the Rikkokushi: They all seem to have come from Silla. Note that in 732 Silla also presented two donkeys 驢. 

《天武天皇八年（六七九）十月甲子【十七】》◆甲子。新羅遣阿〓［冫＋食］金項那。沙〓［冫＋食］薩累生朝貢也。調物。金・銀・鉄・鼎。錦・絹・布。皮。馬。狗。騾。駱駝之類十余種。亦別献物。天皇。々后。太子。貢金・銀・刀・旗之類各有数。

《朱鳥元年（六八六）四月四月戊子【十九】》◆戊子。新羅進調従筑紫貢上。細馬一疋。騾一頭。犬二狗。鏤金器。及金・銀。霞錦。綾羅。虎豹皮。及薬物之類。并百余種。亦智祥。健勲等別献物。金・銀。霞錦。綾羅。金器。屏風。鞍皮。絹布。薬物之類。各六十余種。別献皇后。皇太子。及諸親王等。之物。各有数。

《養老三年（七一九）閏七月癸亥【丁巳朔七】》○閏七月癸亥。新羅使人等。献調物并騾馬牡牝各一疋。

《天平四年（七三二）五月壬子【十一】》○壬子。新羅使金長孫等〓人入京。
《天平四年（七三二）五月庚申【十九】》○庚申。金長孫等拝朝。進種々財物。并鸚鵡一口。〓〓一口。蜀狗一口。猟狗一口。驢二頭。騾二頭。仍奏請来朝年期。

There are 8 mentions of donkeys, including the one Tom Conlan noted from Baekje - this is in Nihon Shoki:

《推古天皇七年（五九九）九月癸亥朔》秋九月癸亥朔。百済貢駱駝一疋。驢一疋。羊二頭。白雉一隻。

Ross Bender

On Sat, Oct 21, 2023 at 9:09 AM Ross Bender <rosslyn...@gmail.com> wrote:

From Shoku Nihongi:

《養老三年（七一九）五月乙未【七】》○乙未。新羅貢調使級飡金長言等卌人来朝。

Yōrō 3.5.7 (May 30, 719)

The Silla tribute-bearing envoy Kim Jangeon with forty members of his mission arrived at court.

《養老三年（七一九）閏七月癸亥【丁巳朔七】》○閏七月癸亥。新羅使人等。献調物并騾馬牡牝各一疋。

Yōrō 3.INT7.7 (August 26, 719)

The Silla envoys presented tribute goods including one male and one female mule.

This is during the reign of Female Emperor Genshō. For more on the intercourse with Silla see my chapter "Imperial Assumptions: Japan's Relations with Silla and Balhae in the Eighth Century," in my book Imperial Rule: Essays on Ancient Japan (2022)

amazon.com/Imperial-Rule-Essays-Ancient-Japan/dp/B0BPGPMY3W/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BC10O5GLKTK6&keywords=Imperial+Rule%3A+Essays+on+ancient+japan&qid=1697893641&s=books&sprefix=imperial+rule+essays+on+ancient+japan%2Cstripbooks%2C2424&sr=1-1

Ross Bender

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[Ross Bender]

From Shoku Nihongi:

《養老三年（七一九）五月乙未【七】》○乙未。新羅貢調使級飡金長言等卌人来朝。

Yōrō 3.5.7 (May 30, 719)

The Silla tribute-bearing envoy Kim Jangeon with forty members of his mission arrived at court.

《養老三年（七一九）閏七月癸亥【丁巳朔七】》○閏七月癸亥。新羅使人等。献調物并騾馬牡牝各一疋。

Yōrō 3.INT7.7 (August 26, 719)

The Silla envoys presented tribute goods including one male and one female mule.

This is during the reign of Female Emperor Genshō. For more on the intercourse with Silla see my chapter "Imperial Assumptions: Japan's Relations with Silla and Balhae in the Eighth Century," in my book Imperial Rule: Essays on Ancient Japan (2022)

amazon.com/Imperial-Rule-Essays-Ancient-Japan/dp/B0BPGPMY3W/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BC10O5GLKTK6&keywords=Imperial+Rule%3A+Essays+on+ancient+japan&qid=1697893641&s=books&sprefix=imperial+rule+essays+on+ancient+japan%2Cstripbooks%2C2424&sr=1-1

Ross Bender

On Sat, Oct 21, 2023 at 8:23 AM Thomas D. Conlan <tco...@princeton.edu> wrote:

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[William Farris]

Dear Judith:

           Thanks for a good question.

            As your question points out, there is a difference between a donkey, a mule, and a hinny.  It has to do with breeding.  While the donkey is a descendant of the African ass, a mule is produced by the mating of a female horse and a male donkey. A hinny (I believe) is the product of a male horse and female donkey.

           Therein lies the answer to your question.  In previous emails, I have asserted that the Japanese do not use castration and have little in the way of a livestock tradition.  Since donkeys and especially mules require mating, I would argue that the reason for so little interest in mules and donkeys relates to Japanese breeding traditions (or lack thereof).

          By the way, when I was touring Dunhuang, I ate donkey intestines.  Tough with little taste!

Wayne Farris

--

[David Ramey]

From the standpoint of an equine veterinarian...

There's certainly some truth to the idea that donkeys don't tolerate cold as well as horses do, since their hair coats hardly change over the seasons.

I think that some of it might be pragmatic.  Horses are more versatile.  Even though donkeys can carry loads, they're not speedy.  The typical "donkey seat" riding (over the back of the donkey) is not suitable for any sort of fast riding (e.g., mail transport, war).  Horses can carry and plow as well as a donkey.

Some of it might be aesthetic - horses certainly have a more refined look.  It's hard to imagine a well-equipped samurai peering over around the ears of a donkey, I think.

Lastly, some of it might relate to the fact that it was difficult to keep equids of any sort in Japan.  Only about 20% of the land is arable, so there's not much room to grow hay.  Even if donkeys might offer some advantages in terms of size and hardiness, you can only keep so many equids on the island, I think.

David Ramey, DVM

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www.RameyEquine.com

[Cort, Louise]

And yet the rider (scholar?) on a donkey is a beloved motif on early 17 c Mino ware, https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1963.10/. Derived from motifs on Chinese blue-and-white porcelain.

Louise

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Subject: Re: [PMJS] Donkeys in Japan

 

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[Judith Vitale]

Dear Tom, Wayne, and colleagues,

Many thanks for sharing literary and art historical sources on donkeys, as well as veterinarian and environmental knowledge. I take the liberty of listing my colleague's response and follow-up questions below.

Many thanks again and best wishes,

Judith

The last post of all, by Louise Cort, is interesting for me, as it indicates that Chinese ideas were penetrating Japan through copies of artefacts, and thus perhaps also through texts. I wonder whether there are other examples.

I would particularly love to know more about the reception of Chinese agricultural manuals in Japan, given that 'mules' (usually hinnies in the Chinese context) were so important to North China since Han times.

Wayne Farris' point about the lack of a breeding tradition is a good one, at least for mules and hinnies. Producing these hybrids, being contra naturam, does usually require some active human participation, including hobbling or tying up the female animal. Indeed, modern animal activists denounce this as 'animal rape'. However, this doesn't apply to donkeys, who quite happily reproduce on their own, as in the huge feral populations in Australia.

The Korean connection is helpful to see that there were repeated introductions. Uniquely in world history, to my knowledge, Korean aristocrats rode donkeys, whereas horses were for commoners. So Korean elite men did proudly peek through those long donkey ears.

Environment factors must be considered. But one of the largest donkey populations per human head of population in the world (plus mules and hinnies) emerged in Ireland. That said, this probably only happened from the 18C. Donkeys are mainly browsers rather than grazers, so they don't compete much for grass.

Finally, this might be a query for another thread: have historians of Japan commented on the fact that water buffaloes as draught animals were limited to the Ryukyu Islands (again, cross-breeding cattle with buffaloes is not possible)?

Am 22.10.2023 um 15:46 schrieb 'Cort, Louise' via PMJS: Listserv <pm...@googlegroups.com>:

And yet the rider (scholar?) on a donkey is a beloved motif on early 17 c Mino ware,https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1963.10/. Derived from motifs on Chinese blue-and-white porcelain.

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[Melissa Ann Kaul]



Dear Judith, dear colleagues,

Since Japanese encyclopedias of the Edo period (which were all influenced by Li Shizhen's Chinese Bencao Gangmu 本草綱目) make up a large part of my research, I took a moment today to look up the entries on donkeys in Terajima Ryôan's Wakan Sansai Zue 和漢三才図会　and Kaibara Ekken's Yamato Honzō 大和本草. 

I noticed that in his entry, Terajima only quoted the text from the Bencao Gangmu and did not add his own commentary to this quotation. To me, this is an indication that he was unaware of the donkey as a species in Japan. Ekken, who listed only Japanese species in his encyclopedia, mentioned the "海驢" and claimed that they were found in northern Japan (now Aomori and Hokkaido). 

I have attached both entries, maybe they will help.

Best wishes,

Melissa

————————-

Melissa Ann Kaul, 
Research Assistant
University of Zurich
Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies
Phone: +41 44 634 31 88

Von meinem iPhone gesendet

Am 24.10.2023 um 20:42 schrieb 'Judith Vitale' via PMJS: Listserv <pm...@googlegroups.com>:



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