Changes

Unlike missions from the Ryûkyû Kingdom, which had long engaged in relations with the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma province]] but had never had particularly extensive relations with previous shogunates, the Korean missions can be seen as a new form within a longer history of Korean-Japanese relations, stretching back centuries. The Korean kingdom of [[Goryeo]] sent numerous missions to the [[Ashikaga shogunate]] and to the ''[[Kyushu tandai|Kyûshû tandai]]'' in the 14th century seeking aid in suppressing the pirate/raider gangs known as ''[[wako|wakô]]'', albeit with little success. The Joseon Dynasty, founded in [[1392]], established formal relations with the Ashikaga shogunate beginning in [[1404]], and some sixty missions were sent from Japan to Korea in the next century and a half; the Korean missions sent in return were known at that time as ''hôheishi'' (報聘使, K: ''bobingsa'', lit. "information mission") or ''kaireishi'' (回礼使, K: ''hoe lǐsa'', lit. "returning gratitude/etiquette mission").<ref name=okayama53>''Chôsen tsûshinshi to Okayama'', Okayama Prefectural Museum, 2007, 53.</ref>

Unlike missions from the Ryûkyû Kingdom, which had long engaged in relations with the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma province]] but had never had particularly extensive relations with previous shogunates, the Korean missions can be seen as a new form within a longer history of Korean-Japanese relations, stretching back centuries. The Korean kingdom of [[Goryeo]] sent numerous missions to the [[Ashikaga shogunate]] and to the ''[[Kyushu tandai|Kyûshû tandai]]'' in the 14th century seeking aid in suppressing the pirate/raider gangs known as ''[[wako|wakô]]'', albeit with little success. The Joseon Dynasty, founded in [[1392]], established formal relations with the Ashikaga shogunate beginning in [[1404]], and some sixty missions were sent from Japan to Korea in the next century and a half; the Korean missions sent in return were known at that time as ''hôheishi'' (報聘使, K: ''bobingsa'', lit. "information mission") or ''kaireishi'' (回礼使, K: ''hoe lǐsa'', lit. "returning gratitude/etiquette mission").<ref name=okayama53>''Chôsen tsûshinshi to Okayama'', Okayama Prefectural Museum, 2007, 53.</ref>

The first mission to be called a ''tsûshinshi'' (K: ''t'ongsingsa'') took place in [[1429]], and was sent from Korea to celebrate the succession of [[Ashikaga Yoshinori]] to the position of shogun, in the wake of the death of [[Ashikaga Yoshimochi]] the previous year. Between that time until the outbreak of the [[Onin War|Ônin War]] in [[1467]], Korea dispatched another five ''tsûshinshi'', three of which arrived in [[Kyoto]]. At some point in the late 15th or 16th century, missions from Korea stopped, but missions from the Ashikaga to Korea continued.<ref name=okayama53/>

The first mission to be called a ''tsûshinshi'' (K: ''t'ongsingsa'') took place in [[1429]], and was sent from Korea to celebrate the succession of [[Ashikaga Yoshinori]] to the position of shogun, in the wake of the death of [[Ashikaga Yoshimochi]] the previous year. Between that time until the outbreak of the [[Onin War|Ônin War]] in [[1467]], Korea dispatched another five ''tsûshinshi'', three of which arrived in [[Kyoto]]. At some point in the late 15th or 16th century, missions from Korea stopped, but missions from the Ashikaga to Korea continued.<ref name=okayama53/> In total, Joseon sent at least ten embassies to Kyoto in the period from 1392 to [[1443]]; according to Kenneth Robinson, none traveled to Kyoto again after that until [[1590]].<ref>Kenneth Robinson, “An Island’s Place in History: Tsushima in Japan and in Choson, 1392–1592,” ''Korean Studies'' 30 (2006), 50.</ref>

In [[1587]], Toyotomi Hideyoshi named the [[So clan|Sô clan]] of [[Tsushima province|Tsushima]] to be in charge of demanding [[tribute]] from the Joseon court, and to play a leadership role in preparing for Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea (and of the [[Ming Dynasty]]). After Tsushima sent a formal request to the Joseon Court, Korea dispatched a new mission in [[1590]]; led by [[Huang Yungil]], the mission was housed at [[Daitoku-ji]] and met with Hideyoshi at his [[Jurakudai]] mansion in Kyoto, where they delivered a formal letter (''kokusho'') from their king. After Hideyoshi took this as a sign of subordination, however, and Korea declined to send further missions, Hideyoshi launched the first of his invasions of Korea in [[1592]].<ref name=okayama53/>

In [[1587]], Toyotomi Hideyoshi named the [[So clan|Sô clan]] of [[Tsushima province|Tsushima]] to be in charge of demanding [[tribute]] from the Joseon court, and to play a leadership role in preparing for Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea (and of the [[Ming Dynasty]]). After Tsushima sent a formal request to the Joseon Court, Korea dispatched a new mission in [[1590]]; led by [[Huang Yungil]], the mission was housed at [[Daitoku-ji]] and met with Hideyoshi at his [[Jurakudai]] mansion in Kyoto, where they delivered a formal letter (''kokusho'') from their king. After Hideyoshi took this as a sign of subordination, however, and Korea declined to send further missions, Hideyoshi launched the first of his invasions of Korea in [[1592]].<ref name=okayama53/>

*1844 - The shogunate requests, via Tsushima, that Korea send a mission in [[1846]], but this is ultimately cancelled.

*1844 - The shogunate requests, via Tsushima, that Korea send a mission in [[1846]], but this is ultimately cancelled.

*1847 - The shogunate decides that the next Korean embassy will be received in Osaka, rather than coming all the way to Edo, and that it will be postponed until [[1856]]. This embassy also ultimately never takes place.<ref name=koyo100/>

*1847 - The shogunate decides that the next Korean embassy will be received in Osaka, rather than coming all the way to Edo, and that it will be postponed until [[1856]]. This embassy also ultimately never takes place.<ref name=koyo100/>

==References==

==References==

*Anne Walthall, "Hiding the shoguns: Secrecy and the nature of political authority in Tokugawa Japan," in Bernard Scheid and Mark Teeuwen (eds.) ''The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion'', Routledge (2006), 341-344.  

*Anne Walthall, "Hiding the shoguns: Secrecy and the nature of political authority in Tokugawa Japan," in Bernard Scheid and Mark Teeuwen (eds.) ''The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion'', Routledge (2006), 341-344.  

*Gallery labels, Taichôrô, Fukuzen-ji, Tomonoura, Hiroshima pref.

*Gallery labels, Taichôrô, Fukuzen-ji, Tomonoura, Hiroshima pref.

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[[Category:Edo Period]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]

[[Category:Diplomats]]

[[Category:Diplomats]]