Changes

Each mission was led by a civil official, usually of the third rank (in the Korean court hierarchy), and consisted of roughly 350-500 Koreans,<ref>The smallest Korea mission consisted of roughly 300 people. Lillehoj. p102.; Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 44.; The missions left Korea with an average of 485, leaving some of their men at Tsushima or Osaka, and entered Edo with an average of 395 men. Toby, "Carnival of the Aliens," 424.</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 350-500 Koreans,<ref>The smallest Korea mission consisted of roughly 300 people. Lillehoj. p102.; Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 44.; The missions left Korea with an average of 485, leaving some of their men at Tsushima or Osaka, and entered Edo with an average of 395 men. Toby, "Carnival of the Aliens," 424.</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.

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. The Sô clan of Tsushima played a prominent role in escorting and otherwise organizing and overseeing the embassies during their journey to and from Edo; the shogunate also appointed a pair of other ''daimyô'', typically ''[[bugyo|bugyô]]'', to serve temporarily as "Chôsen shinshi heirei yôkakari'', i.e. officials in charge of overseeing the reception of Korean embassies.

The missions sailed aboard a fleet of three Korean ships from [[Pusan]] to Tsushima, accompanied by three cargo ships, and escorted by a number of ships from Tsushima.<ref name=sato/> Leaving their Korean ships behind at Tsushima, they spent some time enjoying lavish receptions on the island, and then rode on Japanese ships from there on, accompanied by the lord of the [[So clan|Sô clan]] and 800-1500 of his men, as far as Osaka.<ref name=hur1719>Nam-Lin Hur, "A Korean Envoy Encounters Tokugawa Japan: Shin Yuhan and the Korean Embassy of 1719," ''Bunmei 21'' no. 4 (Aichi University, 2000), 61-73.</ref> They passed through stops at [[Ikishima]] and along the coasts of [[Chikuzen province|Chikuzen]] and [[Buzen province]]s (in northern Kyushu), before passing through the straits at [[Shimonoseki]] (aka Akamagaseki).<ref name=carnival420>Toby, Ronald. "Carnival of the Aliens: Korean Embassies in Edo-Period Art and Popular Culture." ''[[Monumenta Nipponica]]'' 41:4 (1986). 420n14.</ref>

The missions sailed aboard a fleet of three Korean ships from [[Pusan]] to Tsushima, accompanied by three cargo ships, and escorted by a number of ships from Tsushima.<ref name=sato/> Leaving their Korean ships behind at Tsushima, they spent some time enjoying lavish receptions on the island, and then rode on Japanese ships from there on, accompanied by the lord of the [[So clan|Sô clan]] and 800-1500 of his men, as far as Osaka.<ref name=hur1719>Nam-Lin Hur, "A Korean Envoy Encounters Tokugawa Japan: Shin Yuhan and the Korean Embassy of 1719," ''Bunmei 21'' no. 4 (Aichi University, 2000), 61-73.</ref> They passed through stops at [[Ikishima]] and along the coasts of [[Chikuzen province|Chikuzen]] and [[Buzen province]]s (in northern Kyushu), before passing through the straits at [[Shimonoseki]] (aka Akamagaseki).<ref name=carnival420>Toby, Ronald. "Carnival of the Aliens: Korean Embassies in Edo-Period Art and Popular Culture." ''[[Monumenta Nipponica]]'' 41:4 (1986). 420n14.</ref>