1. Tributary Relationships with the Emishi People
To show their obedience and receive assurances for their safety, the Emishi people regularly came with tributes to ancient defensive fortifications in the Tohoku region. In response, the governors and other officials from the fortifications provided them with rolls of cloth and rice as gifts and held banquets to entertain the tributary visitors.
2. Wooden Tablet for “Food for Banquets with Northern Barbarians” and Large Storehouses
A wooden tablet was discovered here with an indication for “food for banquets with northern barbarians.” The food arrived at Akita Fort for the banquets to entertain the northern barbarians. Akita was the northernmost outpost, and all the Emishi people north of it, those of Watarishima (Hokkaido), for example, visited Akita Fort for tributary exchanges. An exceptionally large number of storehouses stood in the western part of Akita Fort, the Yakeyama district. Akita Fort needed them to manage food stock, probably because it received the tributary visits of the Emishi people from areas that were larger than those of other fortifications.
3. Trade with the North
Interactions and trade with northern people started in the seventh century, several decades before the construction of Akita Fort. The first step was the northern expedition by Abe-no-Hirafu in 658. The office that controlled the ports in Watarishima and Tsugaru was probably located in Akita. The ancient Japanese state was keen to explore the northern sea routes. After Akita Fort was established, Emishi missions visited from a large area from northern Akita to Hokkaido. They were received at banquets, submitted tributes, and accepted gifts in return. The tributary relations were trade relations in practice, and they became more frequent over time. Missions from the Ashihase communities of the Okhotsk, north of Hokkaido, may have visited Akita Fort. Northern people brought with them horses, fur (bear, seal, and fur seal), hawk feathers, kelp sheets, and other precious items, which were often taken on to the capital in Nara or Kyoto. In the central part of Hokkaido, excavations have revealed many pieces of pottery produced in Akita, proving that people there exchanged and traded with Akita Fort. Akita Fort was the center of northern trade.
