At this point, Japan's Hokkaido side plot came to an end for the time being.
This side plot began with the internal strife of the Muromachi Shogunate, and the replacement of three shoguns in a single year, then led from the great Kyoto merchant Morino Kiyoshi to the Kakizaki Clan of Ezo Land in Hokkaido—that is, the predecessor of the Matsumae Domain. And the head of the Kakizaki Clan at this time was likewise the founder of the Matsumae Domain, a figure who had a major influence on the development of Ezo Land: Takeda Nobuhiro.
After that came the negotiations between Morino Kiyoshi and Takeda Nobuhiro, the Zheyang Ship brought to Sakai Port, and the trade of the far north being drawn out. This portion of the content would, in the not-too-distant future, have an enormous impact, even changing the course of the Americas, so foreshadowing had to be planted in advance.
Likewise, this late Muromachi period was probably the last era in Japanese history to revere Tang style, speak in Tang diction, and compose Tang poetry. Waka and haiku had not yet matured, while the cultural imprint left behind by the Tang and Song dynasties was still deeply engraved in the hearts of the Japanese people.
It could be said that the Japanese culture of this era still belonged to a part of Celestial Empire culture, comprehensively imitating the customs of the Tang people, and filled with reverence and longing for the eras of Tang and Song. Later still, when the Edo period arrived, the new Wagoku culture would, upon the foundation of Celestial Empire culture, thoroughly grow out its own branch.
Thus, the reason for writing this portion of the content was nominally to write about Japan, but in reality it was also to depict those traces left