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The shogunate officially acknowledged Ming China as its [[suzerain]] in the 1390s, and entered into [[tribute|tributary relations]] which would continue through the 15th century. However, ''wakô'' raids occurred during this time as well. On occasion, the Japanese authorities would capture Japanese pirates and present them to the Ming authorities as proof that they were taking action, but the shogunate did not always demonstrate willingness to take action against the pirates. More to the point, despite the fact that the shogunate did not always have the ability to enforce order on the seas, to apprehend pirates, and to otherwise deal with the situation, the Ming Court seems to have been convinced that the shogunate had full power to control the raids.<ref>So. p4.</ref> This insistence on the part of the Chinese authorities would continue through the 16th century, and would prove a major obstacle to friendly relations between China and Japan.
The shogunate officially acknowledged Ming China as its [[suzerain]] in the 1390s, and entered into [[tribute|tributary relations]] which would continue through the 15th century. However, ''wakô'' raids occurred during this time as well. On occasion, the Japanese authorities would capture Japanese pirates and present them to the Ming authorities as proof that they were taking action, but the shogunate did not always demonstrate willingness to take action against the pirates. More to the point, despite the fact that the shogunate did not always have the ability to enforce order on the seas, to apprehend pirates, and to otherwise deal with the situation, the Ming Court seems to have been convinced that the shogunate had full power to control the raids.<ref>So. p4.</ref> This insistence on the part of the Chinese authorities would continue through the 16th century, and would prove a major obstacle to friendly relations between China and Japan.
''Wakô'' raids were a major problem for [[Joseon Dynasty]] Korea as well at this time, and remain a prominent issue in anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea today. Unable to secure agreements from the Ashikaga shogunate to take efforts to curb the piracy - after all, the pirates were not subjects of the shogunate, and in fact most were not even Japanese - the Joseon Court took matters into their own hands. In [[1419]], it launched a Joseon fleet of over 200 ships in an effort to destroy pirate bases on the island of [[Tsushima]]. The raids were successful, destroying many pirate ships and villages, but within a few years, the pirate activity returned. The court then turned to a different set of methods, granting titles and seals to members of certain samurai clans, including the [[Ouchi clan|Ôuchi]] of western Japan; these titles and seals conferred official permission to engage in authorized trade, in exchange for samurai assurances that they would take real steps to combat the piracy. In [[1443]], the Joseon court then entered into an arrangement with the [[So clan|Sô clan]] of Tsushima, granting the Sô an annual stipend of 200 ''[[koku]]'' of rice, official permission to send fifty trading ships to Korea each year, and permission to exact maritime fees and taxes on cargoes traveling to Korea, in exchange for the Sô ensuring that all trading ships bound for Korea from Japan were properly authorized, and taking action against those which were not (i.e. the pirates).<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 31.</ref> This marked a special relationship between the Sô and the Koreans, which would continue down to the 19th century. In the [[Edo period]], after the ''wakô'' problem had essentially come to an end, the Sô would continue to enjoy a unique position of power as the sole intermediaries effecting communication and interaction between the Joseon Court and Japan (now under the [[Tokugawa shogunate]]).
==Early 16th Century==
==Early 16th Century==
