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The institution was established in [[1443]], alongside the establishment of special privileges for the [[So clan|Sô samurai clan]] of Tsushima as the preeminent Japanese with whom the Koreans would engage in trade and diplomacy (as intermediaries representing the shogun). In [[1512]], following a naval clash in [[1510]] between Sô and Joseon ships in which the former were supporting a Japanese traders' and fishermen's protest, Tsushima's representatives in Korea were restricted to the ''Wakan'' while in Korea.

The institution was established in [[1443]], alongside the establishment of special privileges for the [[So clan|Sô samurai clan]] of Tsushima as the preeminent Japanese with whom the Koreans would engage in trade and diplomacy (as intermediaries representing the shogun). In [[1512]], following a naval clash in [[1510]] between Sô and Joseon ships in which the former were supporting a Japanese traders' and fishermen's protest, Tsushima's representatives in Korea were restricted to the ''Wakan'' while in Korea.

Relations between Korea and Japan shut down entirely as a result of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi|Toyotomi Hideyoshi's]] [[Korean Invasions|invasions of Korea]] in the 1590s, but were later restored. The walled complex, at that time large enough to house roughly 500 Japanese officials and merchants, reopened in [[1607]]. Official trade took place in the course of ritual diplomatic interactions, as the representatives of the Sô clan, as vassals of the Korean king, received formal seals reaffirming their trade monopoly, and exchanged [[tribute]] goods for gifts. Goods presented to the king by the Sô often included pepper, alum, and sappanwood obtained from Southeast Asia via [[Nagasaki]], as well as water buffalo horn, copper, and tin. In return, they received ginseng and considerable amounts of cotton; from the mid-17th century onwards, the Sô also received roughly 8300 ''[[koku]]'' of rice annually, an important source of food for both samurai officials and commoners & peasants of the domain, which only produced itself about 20,000 ''koku''. The more significant portion of trade for the Japanese, however, was private trade, conducted by merchants from Tsushima engaging with officially authorized Korean merchants at a particular designated market just outside the ''Wakan''. The overall size of this trade was limited by the Korean authorities to a certain number of ships a year (initially 50, reduced to 25 after 1512), and to only certain market days each month, but still constituted a significant volume of trade. The chief goods the Japanese sought in Korea were ginseng, and Chinese silks.

Relations between Korea and Japan shut down entirely as a result of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi|Toyotomi Hideyoshi's]] [[Korean Invasions|invasions of Korea]] in the 1590s, but were later restored. The walled complex, at that time large enough to house roughly 500 Japanese officials and merchants, reopened in [[1607]]. It was later moved to a larger compound in Ch'oryang (at Pusan Harbor) in the late 17th century; at any given time roughly 500 to 1000 men were in residence at the ''Wakan'' from that time forward.<ref>Hellyer, 43.</ref>

 

Official trade took place in the course of ritual diplomatic interactions, as the representatives of the Sô clan, as vassals of the Korean king, received formal seals reaffirming their trade monopoly, and exchanged [[tribute]] goods for gifts. Goods presented to the king by the Sô often included pepper, alum, and sappanwood obtained from Southeast Asia via [[Nagasaki]], as well as water buffalo horn, copper, and tin. In return, they received ginseng and considerable amounts of cotton; from the mid-17th century onwards, the Sô also received roughly 8300 ''[[koku]]'' of rice annually, an important source of food for both samurai officials and commoners & peasants of the domain, which only produced itself about 20,000 ''koku''. The more significant portion of trade for the Japanese, however, was private trade, conducted by merchants from Tsushima engaging with officially authorized Korean merchants at a particular designated market just outside the ''Wakan''. The overall size of this trade was limited by the Korean authorities to a certain number of ships a year (initially 50, reduced to 25 after 1512), and to only certain market days each month, but still constituted a significant volume of trade. The chief goods the Japanese sought in Korea were ginseng, and Chinese silks.

 

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