Changes

Each mission was led by a civil official, usually of the third rank (in the Korean court hierarchy), and consisted of roughly 500 Koreans,<ref>The smallest Korea mission consisted of roughly 300 people. Lillehoj. p102.</ref> and roughly 1500 Japanese escorts from [[Tsushima han]], the [[han|domain]] which managed Japan-Korea relations in this period. From [[1655]] onwards, all of the missions were sent, nominally, to congratulate a new shogun on his succession; unlike was the case with the Ryûkyû Kingdom, Korea did not send missions upon the succession of their own kings in order to request any sort of ritual acknowledgement or recognition of their new king.

Each mission was led by a civil official, usually of the third rank (in the Korean court hierarchy), and consisted of roughly 500 Koreans,<ref>The smallest Korea mission consisted of roughly 300 people. Lillehoj. p102.</ref> and roughly 1500 Japanese escorts from [[Tsushima han]], the [[han|domain]] which managed Japan-Korea relations in this period. From [[1655]] onwards, all of the missions were sent, nominally, to congratulate a new shogun on his succession; unlike was the case with the Ryûkyû Kingdom, Korea did not send missions upon the succession of their own kings in order to request any sort of ritual acknowledgement or recognition of their new king.

All but the last mission traveled to Edo, going via Tsushima, through the [[Inland Sea]] to [[Osaka]], and then overland from there; the 1811 mission only journeyed as far as Tsushima. From 1607 until [[1682]], the Koreans were lodged at the temple of [[Honsei-ji]] in the Bakurochô neighborhood of Edo; the temple burned down in the [[Oshichi fire]] of 1682, and from then on Korean embassies stayed at the [[Higashi Honganji (Asakusa)|Higashi Honganji]] in [[Asakusa]].<ref>Toby, Ronald. "Carnival of the Aliens: Korean Embassies in Edo-Period Art and Popular Culture." ''[[Monumenta Nipponica]]'' 41:4 (1986). pp415-456.</ref>

All but the last mission traveled to Edo, going via Tsushima, through the [[Inland Sea]] to [[Osaka]], and then overland from there; the 1811 mission only journeyed as far as Tsushima. From 1607 until [[1682]], the Koreans were lodged at the temple of [[Honsei-ji]] in the Bakurochô neighborhood of Edo; the temple burned down in the [[Oshichi fire]] of 1682, and from then on Korean embassies stayed at the [[Higashi Honganji (Asakusa)|Higashi Honganji]] in [[Asakusa]].<ref>Toby, Ronald. "Carnival of the Aliens: Korean Embassies in Edo-Period Art and Popular Culture." ''[[Monumenta Nipponica]]'' 41:4 (1986). p428.</ref>

The lead envoy (''seishi'') on such missions wore a robe decorated with ''[[kirin]]''. Formal letters from the King of Korea were carried in a special chest, by a number of Korean officials; this was in contrast to the [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo]], in which a secretary (''shokanshi'') carried formal letters on his person. Even the open-sided palanquin of the lead envoy himself (making him more visible for onlookers)<ref>Toby, 433.</ref> was carried by Japanese porters, showing the great esteem accorded these communiques. The streets were prepared ahead of time by having the streets swept, and water sprinkled to settle the dust. During the procession, men with long bamboo poles helped push the crowds out of the way, to make room for the procession to pass down the road. While many paradegoers simply stood or sat on the side of the road, others set up viewing booths, complete with [[tatami]] and sliding screen (''[[fusuma]]'') paintings.

The lead envoy (''seishi'') on such missions wore a robe decorated with ''[[kirin]]''. Formal letters from the King of Korea were carried in a special chest, by a number of Korean officials; this was in contrast to the [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo]], in which a secretary (''shokanshi'') carried formal letters on his person. Even the open-sided palanquin of the lead envoy himself (making him more visible for onlookers)<ref>Toby, 433.</ref> was carried by Japanese porters, showing the great esteem accorded these communiques. The streets were prepared ahead of time by having the streets swept, and water sprinkled to settle the dust. During the procession, men with long bamboo poles helped push the crowds out of the way, to make room for the procession to pass down the road. While many paradegoers simply stood or sat on the side of the road, others set up viewing booths, complete with [[tatami]] and sliding screen (''[[fusuma]]'') paintings.