Yanagawa Ikken

This incident started with a dispute between Tsushima feudal lord Mune Yoshinari and his senior vassal Yanagawa Shigeoki, and revealed the Mune (Yanagawa) clan's (his clan) misconduct, such as falsifying Japanese and Korean sovereign documents, which became the biggest problem in Japan-Korea relations in the early modern period. Shigeoki's grandfather Shigenobu had risen to the top of the Yanagawa clan's vassals in a single generation, and during Shigeoki's reign they had control over everything from Korean relations to the Mune clan's household affairs. Shigeoki had also been kept under the care of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Hidetada as a hostage since he was a child, and had powerful connections in the Shogunate's important circles. The feud between Yoshinari and Choko originated from Choko trying to use his position as a foothold to become a vassal of the shogunate, and signs of this were seen soon after Yoshinari succeeded to the family headship in 1615 (Genwa 1), and in 1631 (Kan'ei 8), both parties complained to the shogunate, leading to a dispute. Misconduct in Japan-Korea relations that came to light at that time included the falsification and replacement of sovereign letters when Korean envoys had visited Japan, and sending envoys to Korea falsely representing themselves as king's envoys (shogun's envoys), but these were not the fault of the So or Yanagawa clan, but rather were due to the shogunate's attitude of ignoring the various customs in Japan-Korea relations that had existed since the Middle Ages.

At first, rumors were circulating that Choko was in favor of Yoshinari, but in 1635, Shogun Iemitsu personally ruled that Yoshinari was innocent and Choko and others were guilty (Choko was exiled to Tsugaru, and others were sentenced to death or exile). It is said that this ruling was influenced by the fact that Yoshinari's wife was the daughter of Hino Sukekatsu and was related to Iemitsu's wife, Takatsukasa, but it was also in line with the basic policy of the shogunate's foreign policy and daimyo control at the time. After this incident, various systems for Japan-Korea relations were established, such as giving the shogun the international title of Nipponkoku Taikun (Great Prince of Japan), using Japanese era names for diplomatic documents, and establishing the Ieian rotation system, in which the elders of the Kyoto Gozan (Five Mountains of Kyoto) were sent to Ieian in Tsushima on a rotating basis to manage diplomatic documents.

[Yasunori Koya]

"The Establishment of the Emperor's Diplomatic System" by Yasunori Ayano (included in "Lecture Series on Modern Japanese History 2: National Isolation", 1981, Yuhikaku)" ▽ "The Rewritten National Documents" by Kazuo Tashiro (Chuko Shinsho)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

対馬(つしま)藩主宗義成(そうよしなり)とその重臣柳川調興(しげおき)の争論が発端で、宗氏（柳川氏）の日朝両国国書の改竄(かいざん)などの不正が露顕し、近世初期の日朝関係最大の問題となった事件。柳川氏は調興の祖父調信(しげのぶ)一代で家臣の筆頭にまでのし上がった存在で、調興の代には朝鮮関係から宗氏の家政まで擅断(せんだん)するようになっていた。また、調興は人質として幼少から徳川家康・秀忠(ひでただ)の膝元(ひざもと)に置かれており、幕府要路に強力な人脈をもっていた。義成と調興の確執は、調興がそのような地位を足場に幕臣化しようとした点に発しており、1615年（元和1）に義成が家督を継いでほどなくその兆しがみられ、31年（寛永8）に双方が幕府に訴えたことから争論となった。その際明らかになった日朝関係上の不正には、それまでの朝鮮使節来日の際の国書の改竄・取り替え、国王使（将軍使）を詐称しての使節の朝鮮派遣などがあるが、これらは宗氏あるいは柳川氏の罪というよりは、中世以来の日朝関係の諸慣例を放置していた幕府の姿勢に起因したものである。

　争論は当初調興の有利が噂(うわさ)されたが、1635年将軍家光(いえみつ)の親裁によって義成の無罪、調興らの有罪が決定した（調興は津軽に流罪、そのほかにも死刑・流罪）。この裁定には、義成室が日野資勝(ひのすけかつ)娘で家光室の鷹司(たかつかさ)氏と親類にあたることが影響しているといわれるが、それだけではなく、当時の幕府の対外政策、大名統制策の基本路線に沿ったものであった。一件後、将軍の国際的称号を日本国大君(にっぽんこくたいくん)とし、外交文書に日本年号を使用すること、対馬以酊庵(いていあん)へ京都五山(ござん)の長老を輪番で派遣して外交文書を管掌させる以酊庵輪番制の設定など、日朝関係上の諸体制が整備された。

［荒野泰典］

『荒野泰典著『大君外交体制の確立』（『講座日本近世史2　鎖国』所収・1981・有斐閣）』▽『田代和生著『書き替えられた国書』（中公新書）』

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