Korean Envoys

An envoy sent by the king of the Yi dynasty of Korea to deliver a sovereign letter to the king of Japan (the person with diplomatic powers in Japan). In Japan, it is also called a Korean envoy. From 1404 (Oei 11), when Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, as the king of Japan, established equal diplomatic (neighborly) relations with Korea, the two countries basically maintained that relationship until the Meiji Restoration. This was embodied in the exchange of sovereign letters by the two countries' envoys. Since Yoshimitsu, there had been a fair amount of exchange between the two countries' envoys, but the Tokugawa Shoguns did not send envoys directly, and Korea also prohibited Japanese from entering any place other than Busan, so in the early modern period, only Korean envoys came to Japan, and sovereign letters were exchanged at the same time. In the early modern period, Korean envoys came to Japan 12 times from 1607 (Keicho 12) to 1811 (Bunka 8). The Japanese side considered all of these to be Tsushinshi, but the Korean side considered the first three to be reply-cum-return missions, intended to reply to a sovereign letter from the Tokugawa Shogun (a forgery by Tsushima Domain's So clan) and to return people abducted to Japan during the Bunroku-Keicho Invasions. This discrepancy was corrected after the Yanagawa Incident, and the following nine missions were truly Tsushinshi in both name and reality.

The envoys consisted of 300 to 500 people including the chief envoy, and traveled by sea to Osaka and overland to the east. The Japanese side paid for all the transportation, accommodation and entertainment costs for the group when they traveled within Japan, but the visit of the envoys to Japan was also a diplomatic event that placed the prestige of both countries at stake, so the entertainment was extremely extravagant, and the expenses were said to be 500,000 to 1 million ryo. From the mid-modern period onwards, it had become customary for the envoys to visit Japan every time a new Shogun was appointed, but the 12th visit was postponed due to the Tenmei Great Famine, and the place of the visit was changed to Tsushima, and it was finally carried out in 1811. After that, it was planned many times, but was postponed due to financial difficulties and external pressure, and the Meiji Restoration came without it being realized. The Korean side also sent the envoys to scout the situation in Japan, and detailed observation records were left behind for each visit, which are one of the valuable records of early modern Japan by foreigners. Furthermore, in 1711 (the first year of Shotoku), Arai Hakuseki had the title of Shogun in Korean sovereign letters changed from the previous 'Great Prince of Japan' to 'His Imperial Highness the King of Japan' and simplified the reception of envoys, but after Hakuseki's downfall everything was reverted to the original form (the Special Incident).

[Yasunori Koya May 21, 2018]

In 2017, diplomatic materials related to the Edo period Korean missions that remain in 12 prefectures in Japan and in South Korea were registered as "Records Related to the Korean Missions" in the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Memory of the World Register (a joint application by related organizations from Japan and South Korea).

[Editorial Department, May 21, 2018]

"A Study of Arai Hakuseki, by Miyazaki Michio, revised edition (1966, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "A Study of the History of Japan-Korea Relations, Part 2, by Nakamura Eiko (1969, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Shin Ui-gan, translated by Kang Jae-heon, "Kaiyuroku - Travelogue of the Korean Envoys to Japan" (1974, Heibonsha, Toyo Bunko)" ▽ "Korean Envoys in the Edo Period, edited by the Visual Culture Association (1979, Mainichi Shimbun)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

李氏(りし)朝鮮の国王が日本国王（日本の外交権者）に国書を手交するために派遣した使節。日本では朝鮮来聘使(らいへいし)ともいう。1404年（応永11）足利義満(あしかがよしみつ)が日本国王として朝鮮と対等の外交（交隣(こうりん)）関係を開いてから明治維新まで、両国は基本的にその関係を維持した。それを具体化したのが両国使節の往来による国書の交換である。義満以来かなり両国使節の往来があったが、徳川将軍は直接使節を送らず、朝鮮も釜山(ふざん)以外への日本人の入国を禁じたので、近世では朝鮮使節が来日するのみとなり、国書の交換もその際にまとめて行われた。近世の朝鮮使節は1607年（慶長12）から1811年（文化8）まで12回来日した。日本側はこれらをすべて通信使と考えたが、朝鮮側は、初めの3回は徳川将軍からの国書（対馬(つしま)藩宗(そう)氏の偽作）への回答と、文禄(ぶんろく)・慶長(けいちょう)の役で日本に拉致(らち)された被擄人(ひりょにん)の刷還(さっかん)を目的とする回答兼刷還使を名目とした。この齟齬(そご)は柳川一件(やながわいっけん)を契機に修正され、以後9回は名実ともに通信使となった。

　通信使一行は正使以下300人から500人で構成され、大坂までは海路、それ以東は陸路をとった。一行が日本国内を往来する際の交通宿泊費や饗応(きょうおう)はすべて日本側の負担であったが、通信使の来日は両国の威信をかけた外交行事でもあり、その接待は豪奢(ごうしゃ)を極め、経費は50万両とも100万両ともいわれた。近世中期以降の通信使は将軍の代替りごとに来日するのが例となっていたが、12回目は天明大飢饉(てんめいだいききん)のために延期され、行礼場所も対馬に変更されて、1811年にようやく実施された。その後はたびたび計画されながら財政難や外圧のために延期され、実現しないままに明治維新を迎えた。朝鮮側の通信使派遣には日本の国情偵察という目的もあり、来日のたびごとに詳しい観察記録が残されていて、外国人による近世日本についての貴重な記録の一つとなっている。なお1711年（正徳1）、新井白石(あらいはくせき)は、朝鮮側国書にある将軍の呼称を従来の「日本国大君(にっぽんこくたいくん)」から「日本国王殿下」に改めさせ、また使節の接遇を簡素化したが、白石失脚後はすべてもとの形態に戻された（殊号事件）。

［荒野泰典　2018年5月21日］

　2017年（平成29）、日本国内12都府県と韓国に残る江戸時代の朝鮮通信使に関する外交資料が、「朝鮮通信使に関する記録」として、ユネスコ（国連教育科学文化機関）の「世界の記憶」に登録された（日本・韓国の関係団体による共同申請）。

［編集部　2018年5月21日］

『宮崎道生著『新井白石の研究』増訂版（1966・吉川弘文館）』▽『中村栄孝著『日鮮関係史の研究　下』（1969・吉川弘文館）』▽『申維幹著、姜在彦訳『海游録――朝鮮通信使の日本紀行』（1974・平凡社・東洋文庫）』▽『映像文化協会編『江戸時代の朝鮮通信使』（1979・毎日新聞社）』

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