Changes

The journey from Tsushima to "mainland" Japan went via [[Ainoshima]], a small island in the [[Genkai Sea]], just north of the dual ports of [[Fukuoka]] & [[Hakata]]. More than a year in advance, [[Fukuoka han]] authorities funded and oversaw the construction of a new reception hall on the island. Villagers' homes, among other buildings, were used to house the other 350-500 Koreans, plus the lord of Tsushima and his men. The chief Buddhist temple on the island would be renovated, to serve as lodging for Fukuoka domain officials acting as hosts. Repairs were also made to harbors on the island, and at the port of Shingû; all of these efforts involved considerable corvée labor. In [[1748]], Fukuoka han deployed 443 small boats with 1,625 crew members plus another 1,174 corvée boatmen from across a number of coastal villages, to help provide transport for Fukuoka officials and supplies to Ainoshima, to mark shallows and help ensure a safe route for the Korean & Tsushima ships, and to provide enough fresh seafood to feed roughly 1,000 people (Koreans plus samurai).<ref>Arne Kalland, ''Fishing Villages in Tokugawa Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (1995), 219-220.</ref>

The journey from Tsushima to "mainland" Japan went via [[Ainoshima]], a small island in the [[Genkai Sea]], just north of the dual ports of [[Fukuoka]] & [[Hakata]]. More than a year in advance, [[Fukuoka han]] authorities funded and oversaw the construction of a new reception hall on the island. Villagers' homes, among other buildings, were used to house the other 350-500 Koreans, plus the lord of Tsushima and his men. The chief Buddhist temple on the island would be renovated, to serve as lodging for Fukuoka domain officials acting as hosts. Repairs were also made to harbors on the island, and at the port of Shingû; all of these efforts involved considerable corvée labor. In [[1748]], Fukuoka han deployed 443 small boats with 1,625 crew members plus another 1,174 corvée boatmen from across a number of coastal villages, to help provide transport for Fukuoka officials and supplies to Ainoshima, to mark shallows and help ensure a safe route for the Korean & Tsushima ships, and to provide enough fresh seafood to feed roughly 1,000 people (Koreans plus samurai).<ref>Arne Kalland, ''Fishing Villages in Tokugawa Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (1995), 219-220.</ref>

After arriving in Fukuoka, the embassies made their way east around Kyushu, through the straits at Shimonoseki, into the Inland Sea. The maritime journey through the Inland Sea was accomplished aboard a fleet of vessels, numbering as many as one hundred according to one 1821 painting; for at least a portion of this journey, the fleet was preceded by a ship flying the banners of the [[Murakami clan (Chugoku)|Murakami clan]], who in the [[Sengoku period]] had been the dominant power in these waters. The three lead Korean ambassadors each rode in separate thirty-meter-long vessels with red and gold banners, while smaller ships carried other members of the mission and their luggage.<ref>Martin Dusinberre, ''Hard Times in the Hometown: A History of Community Survival in Modern Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 23-24.</ref>

After arriving in Fukuoka, the embassies made their way east around Kyushu, through the straits at Shimonoseki (also known as Akamagaseki), into the Inland Sea. The maritime journey through the Inland Sea was accomplished aboard a fleet of vessels, numbering as many as one hundred according to one 1821 painting; for at least a portion of this journey, the fleet was preceded by a ship flying the banners of the [[Murakami clan (Chugoku)|Murakami clan]], who in the [[Sengoku period]] had been the dominant power in these waters. The three lead Korean ambassadors each rode in separate thirty-meter-long vessels with red and gold banners, while smaller ships carried other members of the mission and their luggage.<ref>Martin Dusinberre, ''Hard Times in the Hometown: A History of Community Survival in Modern Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 23-24.</ref>

At the port of [[Kaminoseki]], near the easternmost reaches of [[Choshu han|Chôshû han]], which might serve as a representative case, most of the houses along the main street, as well as a number of houses along the main street of the neighboring port of Murotsu, were made to house Tsushima or Chôshû officials accompanying the Korean missions.<ref>In 1764, for example, 36 out of the 43 homes along the main street in Kaminoseki each housed at least one official, with some of them housing as many as four or five. Dusinberre, 24-25.</ref>

At the port of [[Kaminoseki]], near the easternmost reaches of [[Choshu han|Chôshû han]], which might serve as a representative case, most of the houses along the main street, as well as a number of houses along the main street of the neighboring port of Murotsu, were made to house Tsushima or Chôshû officials accompanying the Korean missions.<ref>In 1764, for example, 36 out of the 43 homes along the main street in Kaminoseki each housed at least one official, with some of them housing as many as four or five. Dusinberre, 24-25.</ref>

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 (Tokyo)|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>

 

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 (Tokyo)|Higashi Honganji]] in [[Asakusa]].<ref>Toby, "Carnival of the Aliens," 428.</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.