Changes

==Bakumatsu Period==

==Bakumatsu Period==

Following the opening of [[Hakodate]], [[Yokohama]], and Nagasaki as [[treaty ports]] in [[1860]], Tsushima reported, with shogunate permission, to the Joseon Court that the realm had begun to trade with the Westerners, but that the Sô were still dedicated to the traditional relationship with the Korean Court, and to the ban on [[Christianity]]. Though no Korean embassy had come to Japan since 1811, and none all the way to Edo in nearly a century, the envoys proposed one such mission, in celebration of [[Tokugawa Iemochi]] becoming [[shogun]] in [[1858]], as part of showing the domain's dedication to the relationship. The shogunate, however, encouraged the domain to delay any such mission until [[1866]]. In the end, no mission was ever dispatched.<ref name=hellyer207>Hellyer, 207-.</ref>

Following the opening of [[Hakodate]], [[Yokohama]], and Nagasaki as [[treaty ports]] in [[1860]], Tsushima reported, with shogunate permission, to the Joseon Court that the realm had begun to trade with the Westerners, but that the Sô were still dedicated to the traditional relationship with the Korean Court, and to the ban on [[Christianity]]. Though no Korean embassy had come to Japan since 1811, and none all the way to Edo in nearly a century, the envoys proposed one such mission, in celebration of [[Tokugawa Iemochi]] becoming [[shogun]] in [[1858]], as part of showing the domain's dedication to the relationship. The shogunate, however, encouraged the domain to delay any such mission until [[1866]]. In the end, no mission was ever dispatched.<ref name=hellyer207>Hellyer, 207-216.</ref>

Meanwhile, facing continued financial difficulties and fears about Western incursions, the Sô proposed to the shogunate in [[1859]] something they and their advisors had been considering for some time: they suggested that the shogunate take over direct control of Tsushima Island, and grant the Sô a fief elsewhere in the realm, while continuing to employ the Sô as agents or intermediaries in relations with Korea.<ref name=hellyer207/> This ultimately did not take place, and the Sô remained lords of Tsushima until the [[abolition of the han]] in [[1871]].

Meanwhile, facing continued financial difficulties and fears about Western incursions, the Sô proposed to the shogunate in [[1859]] something they and their advisors had been considering for some time: they suggested that the shogunate take over direct control of Tsushima Island, and grant the Sô a fief elsewhere in the realm, while continuing to employ the Sô as agents or intermediaries in relations with Korea.<ref name=hellyer207/> This ultimately did not take place, and the Sô remained lords of Tsushima until the [[abolition of the han]] in [[1871]].

Some of the Western powers began to eye Tsushima as an ideal place for naval bases or other operations. One particularly significant and worrying incident of Western incursion took place in [[1861]], when the Russian corvette ''[[Posadnik]]'', under the command of a Captain Birilev, anchored at Asô Bay, a major inlet on the island. After six tense months, and the ineffective interventions of both shogunate officials and two ships of the British Royal Navy, Birilev was finally convinced to leave the island when orders from Russian naval command & from the Russian consul in [[Hakodate]] arrived commanding him to do so. Throughout the process, Tsushima officials continued to petition for the shogunate to take over responsibility for Tsushima and its defense, and to relocate the Sô to another fief. At the recommendation of magistrate of foreign affairs [[Nonoyama Kanehiro]], the shogunate denied the domain's request once again.

Some of the Western powers began to eye Tsushima as an ideal place for naval bases or other operations. One particularly significant and worrying incident of Western incursion took place in [[1861]], when the Russian corvette ''[[Posadnik]]'', under the command of a Captain Birilev, anchored at Asô Bay, a major inlet on the island. After six tense months, and the ineffective interventions of both shogunate officials and two ships of the British Royal Navy, Birilev was finally convinced to leave the island when orders from Russian naval command & from the Russian consul in [[Hakodate]] arrived commanding him to do so. Throughout the process, Tsushima officials continued to petition for the shogunate to take over responsibility for Tsushima and its defense, and to relocate the Sô to another fief. At the recommendation of magistrate of foreign affairs [[Nonoyama Kanehiro]], the shogunate denied the domain's request once again.<ref name=hellyer207/>

==Meiji Period==

==Meiji Period==