The Origins of the Ōuchi

Abstract This chapter discusses the Korean origins of the Ōuchi as specialists in mining and explains how they emigrated to Japan and settled in the west. It shows how different lineages settled in distinct regions and relied on rituals and religious patronage to assert their supremacy and also provides an overview of star worship, most specifically devoted to the deity Myōken, and explains how each competing lineage patronized distinctive cultic sites and destroyed those of their rivals. Finally, this chapter recounts the rise of the settlement in a place called Ōuchi by the weakest lineage of the three lineages and shows how their prospects were damaged by political turmoil in the 1330s.