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The [[So clan|Sô samurai clan]], governors of the island since XXXX, were claimed as vassals by the kings of Joseon, as well as by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]]. During much of the medieval era, the Sô served as the chief intermediaries in Korean-Japanese diplomatic and trade relations, and under the Tokugawa, this position became even more formalized. At times in the 16th-17th centuries, the Sô also forged diplomatic documents, pretending to merely pass along communications from the shogunate, in order to either determine policy themselves, or to accrue the benefits of trade to themselves or their allies. While the Sô certainly negotiated for power against both the Joseon and Tokugawa courts, however, relations went smoothly for the most part in the 17th-19th centuries.
The [[So clan|Sô samurai clan]], governors of the island since XXXX, were claimed as vassals by the kings of Joseon, as well as by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]]. During much of the medieval era, the Sô served as the chief intermediaries in Korean-Japanese diplomatic and trade relations, and under the Tokugawa, this position became even more formalized. At times in the 16th-17th centuries, the Sô also forged diplomatic documents, pretending to merely pass along communications from the shogunate, in order to either determine policy themselves, or to accrue the benefits of trade to themselves or their allies. While the Sô certainly negotiated for power against both the Joseon and Tokugawa courts, however, relations went smoothly for the most part in the 17th-19th centuries.
Throughout the medieval and early modern periods, the Sô made extensive use of merchants and others, formally brought into the service of the Sô as ''[[goyo shonin|goyô shônin]]'', to serve as interpreters and intermediaries. While the figures actually drafting communications and/or traveling to Korea were often samurai retainers, they were also often merchants, monks, or other such figures. Sixty-two families or individuals in particular were designated at one point, the "Tsushima 62 ''shônin''." They were provided some degree of education and training in preparation for their roles as diplomatic intermediaries and interpreters, but it is said the emphasis was less on pursuing expert proficiency at language, diplomacy, or professional interpretation, and more on specifically representing Tsushima well (i.e. not causing the Sô clan to lose face), and on representing Tsushima (and by extension Japan) as a place of cultural refinement and education.
The removal of the Sô as domainal lords, and as Korean vassals, and the concordant further formalization of the incorporation of Tsushima into the territory of the Japanese nation-state in [[1869]]-[[1871]], caused considerable diplomatic tensions between Korea and Japan. The disputed status of Tsushima was resolved by the [[1876]] [[Treaty of Ganghwa]], in which Joseon formally recognized the island as Japanese territory.<ref>Hellyer, 245.</ref>
The removal of the Sô as domainal lords, and as Korean vassals, and the concordant further formalization of the incorporation of Tsushima into the territory of the Japanese nation-state in [[1869]]-[[1871]], caused considerable diplomatic tensions between Korea and Japan. The disputed status of Tsushima was resolved by the [[1876]] [[Treaty of Ganghwa]], in which Joseon formally recognized the island as Japanese territory.<ref>Hellyer, 245.</ref>