The flea market in Osaka is not very large, sowhat reminiscent of street vendor zones in second- or third-tier cities back ho.
But that’s quite normal, as large Japanese cities generally have many second-hand stores, so the good second-hand items usually end up in those stores, leaving the street markets with very cheap rchandise with low profit margins.
So most vendors just set up small stalls here to sell, which keeps costs down.
Chen Yiyang and ihe chatted while casually browsing around.
Since the place isn’t big, even without intentionally searching, Chen Yiyang soon found the spot where there was a tip to find hidden treasures.
It was a small stall selling second-hand clothes, laden with inconspicuous Japanese traditional clothing of not much craftsmanship.
Chen Yiyang curiously browsed through so of the items at the stall, among which were quite a few handmade kimonos that looked about thirty to forty years old.
"What, are you planning to give a second-hand kimono?" ihe joked beside him.
"If I were to gift you sothing, it would surely be a cheongsam from our country," Chen Yiyang replied offhandedly.
"Great, I’m taking you seriously. Make sure to have a cheongsam made and sent to quickly when you return ho."
"But first, I need to take so precise asurents of your body tonight to ensure the cheongsam fits perfectly."
"Don’t worry." ihe leaned her head closer to Chen Yiyang’s ear and, breathing out gently, said, "I’ll make sure you asure every inch tonight, so the data you gather is accurate."
Chen Yiyang was feeling quite flustered by ihe’s teasing.
But their interaction seed to annoy the Osaka vendor in front of them, who was fed up with their display of affection and coughed several tis to remind them.
The people of Osaka are famously hot-tempered and arguntative, and Chen Yiyang did not want to provoke this Osaka uncle’s ire.
So he quickly asked ihe to use Japanese to inquire about that inconspicuous kasaya in the corner of the stall.
"The asking price is 20,000 yen," ihe replied.
"Then I’ll take it." Chen Yiyang, finding the price reasonable, took out his money and bought it.
Under normal circumstances, he would have haggled with this Osaka uncle.
But given the previous happenings, the Osaka uncle was already looking quite displeased.
If he’d angered the vendor more, Chen Yiyang feared the uncle might refuse to sell him the item.
However, after Chen Yiyang paid cash for the kasaya and turned to leave, the Osaka uncle muttered a few words.
Curious, Chen Yiyang asked ihe what the uncle had said.
"He said you seem to really need a kasaya to abstain from female distractions, or else you might be drained dry."
"But aren’t Japanese monks allowed to marry, as far as I rember?"
"Traditional monks still cannot marry. It was during the iji Restoration that a law was passed allowing monks to marry to support Shintoism."
"So, except for so traditional sects, other Japanese monks can marry," ihe explained to Chen Yiyang.
"I see," Chen Yiyang nodded.
Returning to the hotel, Chen Yiyang was figuring out an excuse to brush off ihe for so rest.
But then ihe received a call saying there was so company business to address, so she left first.
Alone, Chen Yiyang took out the kasaya he had just bought to admire.
That’s when he discovered four Chinese characters forming a poem stitched on the kasaya: "Mountains and rivers on different paths, the sa moon and wind connect us. Sent to Buddha’s children, let’s bond for future relations."
This poem felt sowhat familiar.
Chen Yiyang thought about it and called a historian he knew back ho.
"These aren’t poems, they’re gathas, chants in Buddhist scriptures."
The expert, upon seeing the photo Chen Yiyang sent, promptly replied, "If this kasaya of yours is indeed nearly a thousand years old, then it has significant historical value."
"What significant value?" Chen Yiyang asked curiously.
"Do you know about the Tang Dynasty envoys to Japan?"
"Yes, I studied it in middle school," Chen Yiyang had yet to forget what he learned back then.
"Before Japan began large-scale dispatching of envoys to the Tang Dynasty, a notable event took place known as the Battle of Baixiang Port."
The expert explained to Chen Yiyang, "Back then, Huaxia’s Tang Dynasty, in terms of culture and technology, was way ahead of surrounding nations. So small countries around the Tang Dynasty sent students to learn there.
But at that ti, Japan was quite unwilling to submit to the Great Tang’s dominance. They allied with Baekje and sent troops to Korea, hoping to use Korea as a springboard to expand their power.
Then, the Great Tang sent their navy to engage Japan at Baixiang Port in the Korean Peninsula.
In this naval battle, though the Tang navy was outnumbered, their soldiers’ level of skill and the advanced design of their warships far surpassed that of the Japanese and Baekje combined fleet.
Ultimately, the Tang army won four consecutive battles, burning over four hundred of the combined fleet’s warships, halting Japan’s expansion into the Korean Peninsula.
It was because of this battle that Japan initiated a full-scale endeavor to learn from the Tang Dynasty and started sending envoys there.
However, at that ti, the Tang Dynasty still had intentions of restricting military technology, so Japan’s envoys could only study the classics and literature in the Tang Dynasty, not technology.
To counter this, the Japanese Nagaya no Ookimi commissioned the making of over a thousand kasayas, with these four gathas embroidered on them, hoping to indirectly attract talented individuals with technology to Japan.
One of these kasayas was brought by two Japanese monks to the renowned Monk Jianzhen.
Monk Jianzhen was deeply moved at the ti and made several attempts to bring large quantities of plant seeds, traditional dicine, culture, and calligraphy knowledge to Japan.
The Tang Dynasty governnt made several attempts to stop him, but in the end, Monk Jianzhen succeeded.
So, if the kasaya in your possession is indeed one of those commissioned during the Tang Dynasty by Nagaya no Ookimi, it’s highly collectible, essentially the sa style as the one Monk Jianzhen had back then."
"That indeed has collectible value," Chen Yiyang was also learning for the first ti that there was such a significant prelude to Japan’s envoy missions to the Tang Dynasty.
With the Battle of Baixiang Port known now, he finally understood the events’ underlying logic.
Those textbook oversimplifications can be detrintal.
He was always puzzled back in school about why the Tang Dynasty governnt didn’t allow Jianzhen to travel east, and now he realized the reason behind it.
Regardless, this kasaya was truly a remarkable item, worthy of Chen Yiyang’s collection.
Chen Yiyang planned to take the kasaya back ho, placing it in his villa in Lin’an.
Previously, it was all about bringing back Huaxia’s cultural relics from Japan, but now he’s found a precious item from Japan itself.
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