Changes

Japan obtained a variety of goods from Korea during this period, either through tribute or the associated trade, or other gifts, including rice, textiles, ceramics, mother-of-pearl inlays, books, documents such as Buddhist [[sutras]], Buddhist sculptures, and temple bells. However, the greatest bulk of the trade was for [[ginseng]], which comprised 27% of the Korean goods flowing into Japan, and which at times created monetary and trade deficit issues for the Japanese.<ref>Schottenhammer. pp56-57.</ref>

Japan obtained a variety of goods from Korea during this period, either through tribute or the associated trade, or other gifts, including rice, textiles, ceramics, mother-of-pearl inlays, books, documents such as Buddhist [[sutras]], Buddhist sculptures, and temple bells. However, the greatest bulk of the trade was for [[ginseng]], which comprised 27% of the Korean goods flowing into Japan, and which at times created monetary and trade deficit issues for the Japanese.<ref>Schottenhammer. pp56-57.</ref>

==Logistics & Ritual Performance==

==Logistics & Ritual Performance==

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 missions sailed Korean ships from [[Pusan]] to Tsushima, and then rode on Japanese ships, accompanied by the lord of Tsushima 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 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 tiny island of [[Ainoshima]], located in the [[Genkai Sea]] just north of the dual ports of [[Fukuoka]] and [[Hakata]], serves as illustrative of the expenses and preparations involved in receiving a Korean mission at any one of these stopover points. 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 tiny island of [[Ainoshima]], located in the [[Genkai Sea]] just north of the dual ports of [[Fukuoka]] and [[Hakata]], serves as illustrative of the expenses and preparations involved in receiving a Korean mission at any one of these stopover points. 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, 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> These lead ships, usually numbering four, were ''[[yakata bune]]'' commissioned by the shogunate, from regional ''daimyô'', for this purpose.<ref name=sato/>

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> As they made their way through the Inland Sea, the mission stopped at port-towns such as [[Tomonoura]], [[Ushimado]], [[Murotsu]], and [[Hyogo no tsu|Hyôgo no tsu]], where they were provided formal receptions, food, and lodgings, as the Ryukyuan missions did as well.<ref name=ethnic447>Nam-lin Hur, “Choson Korean Officials in the Land of Tokugawa Japan: Ethnic Perceptions in the 1719 Korean Embassy,” ''Korea Observer'' 38:3 (2007): 447.</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> As they made their way through the Inland Sea, the mission stopped at port-towns such as [[Kamagari]], [[Tomonoura]], [[Ushimado]], [[Murotsu]], and [[Hyogo no tsu|Hyôgo no tsu]], where they were provided formal receptions, food, and lodgings, as the Ryukyuan missions did as well.<ref name=ethnic447>Nam-lin Hur, “Choson Korean Officials in the Land of Tokugawa Japan: Ethnic Perceptions in the 1719 Korean Embassy,” ''Korea Observer'' 38:3 (2007): 447.</ref>

After traveling through the Inland Sea by ship to Osaka, the embassy was lodged in the city's branch temple of [[Nishi Honganji]], which boasted a massive compound more than capable of hosting all thousand-something members of the Korean & Tsushima retinues.<ref name=ethnic447/> From there, they then rode luxurious private riverboats (lent by the ''daimyô'' of the eastern Inland Sea area for this purpose in partial fulfillment of their corvée obligations)<ref>Toby identifies the boats in one depiction of such a Korean riverboat procession as belonging to the lords of [[Kuwana han|Kuwana]], [[Tosa han|Tosa]], [[Uwajima han|Uwajima]], and [[Usuki han|Usuki domains]]. ("Carnival of the Aliens," 440n51.) This is in contrast to the Ryukyuan missions' riverboats, which were provided by western ''daimyô'', including [[Choshu han|Chôshû]], [[Fukuoka han|Fukuoka]], [[Hiroshima han|Hiroshima]], [[Kokura han|Kokura]], and [[Kumamoto han]] (as seen in a 1710 handscroll, ''Chûzan-ô raichô zu'', National Archives of Japan).</ref> up the river to Fushimi, and thence from Kyoto, set out overland. Between Kyoto and Nagoya they took a combination of various highways which, in aggregate, came to be known as the ''[[Chosenjin kaido|Chôsenjin kaidô]]'' (“Koreans’ Highway”). This took them through [[Hikone]], Ôgaki, and several other towns bypassed by the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]]. From [[Nagoya|Nagoya’s]] [[Miya-juku]] the rest of the way to Edo, they took the Tôkaidô.<ref name=carnival420/>

After traveling through the Inland Sea by ship to Osaka, the embassy was lodged in the city's branch temple of [[Nishi Honganji]], which boasted a massive compound more than capable of hosting all thousand-something members of the Korean & Tsushima retinues.<ref name=ethnic447/> From there, they then rode seven luxurious private riverboats (''[[kawa gozabune]]'' lent by the ''daimyô'' of the eastern Inland Sea area for this purpose in partial fulfillment of their [[corvee|corvée]] obligations)<ref>Toby identifies the boats in one depiction of such a Korean riverboat procession as belonging to the lords of [[Kuwana han|Kuwana]], [[Tosa han|Tosa]], [[Uwajima han|Uwajima]], and [[Usuki han|Usuki domains]]. ("Carnival of the Aliens," 440n51.) This is in contrast to the Ryukyuan missions' riverboats, which were provided by western ''daimyô'', including [[Choshu han|Chôshû]], [[Fukuoka han|Fukuoka]], [[Hiroshima han|Hiroshima]], [[Kokura han|Kokura]], and [[Kumamoto han]] (as seen in a 1710 handscroll, ''Chûzan-ô raichô zu'', National Archives of Japan).</ref> up the river to Fushimi, and thence from Kyoto, set out overland. Roughly one hundred members of the mission were left behind in Osaka to guard the ocean-going vessels.<ref name=sato/> Between Kyoto and Nagoya they took a combination of various highways which, in aggregate, came to be known as the ''[[Chosenjin kaido|Chôsenjin kaidô]]'' (“Koreans’ Highway”). This took them through [[Hikone]], Ôgaki, and several other towns bypassed by the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]]. From [[Nagoya|Nagoya’s]] [[Miya-juku]] the rest of the way to Edo, they took the Tôkaidô.<ref name=carnival420/> Pontoon bridges (''funabashi'', lit. "boat bridges") were thrown across the [[Tenryu River|Tenryûgawa]], [[Fuji River|Fujigawa]], and the [[Tone River|Tonegawa]] for the Koreans to cross over those places. Shoguns were the only other travelers for whom such bridges were constructed; ''daimyô'' on ''sankin kôtai'' journeys, as well as Ryukyuan embassies, generally had to make use of ferry boats. The journey from Kyoto to Edo took about one month, with the Korean mission being subsumed within a far larger group of some 2,500 people in total.<ref name=sato/>

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>

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 Korean envoys would then pass through the several anterooms, each also filled with ''daimyô'' and other retainers, and made their way to a wooden veranda outside of the audience chamber. In total, between the various rooms, all ''daimyô'' in the city were supposed to be present.<ref>Hellyer, 44.</ref> They remained there while their formal missive from the king of Korea was passed forward, eventually being placed on the [[tatami]] just below the upper ''dan''. The Korean envoys bowed and withdrew, and then the master of ceremonies moved the letter to a small alcove behind the shogun's seat. The leaders of the Korean mission (Lead Envoy, Vice Envoy, and Secretary<ref>J: ''seishi'' 正使, ''fukushi'' 副使, ''shokanshi'' 書簡使</ref>) then approached, one at a time, in order of their status, coming as far as the second tatami mat below the edge of the middle ''dan'' (i.e. sitting in the lower ''dan''), and paid their formal respects, before withdrawing once again.

The Korean envoys would then pass through the several anterooms, each also filled with ''daimyô'' and other retainers, and made their way to a wooden veranda outside of the audience chamber. In total, between the various rooms, all ''daimyô'' in the city were supposed to be present.<ref>Hellyer, 44.</ref> They remained there while their formal missive from the king of Korea was passed forward, eventually being placed on the [[tatami]] just below the upper ''dan''. The Korean envoys bowed and withdrew, and then the master of ceremonies moved the letter to a small alcove behind the shogun's seat. The leaders of the Korean mission (Lead Envoy, Vice Envoy, and Secretary<ref>J: ''seishi'' 正使, ''fukushi'' 副使, ''shokanshi'' 書簡使</ref>) then approached, one at a time, in order of their status, coming as far as the second tatami mat below the edge of the middle ''dan'' (i.e. sitting in the lower ''dan''), and paid their formal respects, before withdrawing once again.

Finally, the formal gifts offered by the envoys to the shogun were arranged for display in the garden, and the blinds separating the three ''dan'' were lowered; when the envoys returned to the audience chamber, two layers of blinds would separate them from the shogun. The three leaders of the mission ventured into the ''ôhiroma'', and withdrew, three more times: first, to offer personal greetings, then to partake of a drink, and finally to partake of some food. The Lead Envoy alone was permitted to advance to the middle ''dan'' for the drink of [[sake|saké]], but only at that time.

Finally, the formal gifts offered by the envoys to the shogun were arranged for display in the garden. These generally included fine [[silk]]s, [[ginseng]], [[ramie]] textiles, [[tigers|tiger]] and fox furs, sharkskins, [[paper]], brushes, wax, [[sumi|inkstones]], and the like.<ref name=sato/> The blinds separating the three ''dan'' were lowered; when the envoys returned to the audience chamber, two layers of blinds would separate them from the shogun. The three leaders of the mission ventured into the ''ôhiroma'', and withdrew, three more times: first, to offer personal greetings, then to partake of a drink, and finally to partake of some food. The Lead Envoy alone was permitted to advance to the middle ''dan'' for the drink of [[sake|saké]], but only at that time.

Discussions between the shogun and the envoys were conducted through a series of intermediaries, with the shogun speaking to the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'', who passed the message to the lord of [[Tsushima han]], who in turn told the Korean language interpreters, who in turn communicated the shogun's words to the Korean envoys. The audience lasted several hours in total, and while the ''daimyô'' and other officials of middling and high-rank were permitted to withdraw from the ''Ôhiroma'' while the banquet was being prepared, those in the ''san-no-ma'' and ''yon-no-ma'' (third and fourth antechambers) were obliged to remain in place throughout the event.

Discussions between the shogun and the envoys were conducted through a series of intermediaries, with the shogun speaking to the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'', who passed the message to the lord of [[Tsushima han]], who in turn told the Korean language interpreters, who in turn communicated the shogun's words to the Korean envoys. The audience lasted several hours in total, and while the ''daimyô'' and other officials of middling and high-rank were permitted to withdraw from the ''Ôhiroma'' while the banquet was being prepared, those in the ''san-no-ma'' and ''yon-no-ma'' (third and fourth antechambers) were obliged to remain in place throughout the event.

==Decline and End of Missions==

==Decline and End of Missions==