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Masangje is one of the twenty-four types of Korean martial arts practiced during the Joseon dynasty. It involves assuming all sorts of acrobatic postures on horseback such as lying or standing. Masangje is mentioned in Samguk sagi, the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, which suggests that it dates back to times long before the Joseon dynasty. It must have been passed down through generations over the Goryeo dynasty until it reached the Joseon dynasty, during which it was recognized more as a form of entertainment than martial arts. Hence, more practical techniques such as polo (gyeokgu), horseback archery (gisa), and spear throwing (gichang) were encouraged during the Joseon dynasty. Then as masangje came to be recognized during the Imjin War as an effective means for defeating Japanese troops, it evolved into a form of military training in addition to serving as a means of entertainment.

On multiple occasions, the shogun and daimyos of Japan were able to enjoy masangje performances during the Joseon period, which by now can only be witnessed in a few drawings. How then was it possible for them to view performances from Joseon? The occasion for masangje performers to visit Japan first emerged when the Tsushima domain sent a request to the Joseon government in 1634 saying "our shogun Iemitsu has heard of but not yet seen Joseon's unrivaled horsemanship, so he wishes to invite its performers."

What's interesting is that Tsushima domain's request came at a time when the domain as well as Korea-Japan relations had been going through a highly sensitive situation. In 1634, the conflict between the Tsushima daimyo So Yoshinari and his chief retainer Yanagawa Shigeoki had grown serious enough for a trial to take place before the bakufu. The two men filed charges against one another in 1631 and the Tsushima domain became subjected to an investigation from being charged with forging credentials between Joseon and Japan.

During the early Edo period, whenever issues related to a successor's inheritance or the handling of domain affairs led to a factional strife serious enough for a daimyo and his retainer to clash, the bakufu tended to intervene and punish the daimyo by confiscating, reducing, or relocating the daimyo's domain. This is because a daimyo's inability to govern had been regarded as the ultimate reason for failing to resolve such a strife. As such, So Yoshinari, the daimyo of Tsushima, must have felt threatened that at worst, he could be deprived of his control over Tsushima from having his domain confiscated by the bakufu.

At such a critical period when its fate was about to be determined, Tsushima invited horseback acrobats from Joseon. The bakufu must have indeed ordered for the invitation to be made, but it's impossible to ignore the chances that Tsushima could have informed the bakufu about Joseon's masangje and suggested inviting the performers. To So Yoshinari, presenting equestrian feats from Joseon to the shogun Iemitsu may have seemed like an opportunity to prove that his skills at negotiating with Joseon was better than anyone in the Yanagawa clan. As for the bakufu, inviting masangje performers could have served as an opportunity to test the So clan's diplomacy without the Yanagawa clan's support.

Meanwhile, Joseon had been aware that the bakufu had been officially intervening to resolve the discord between the two clans. It may have regarded the dispatch of masangje performers as an opportunity to directly find out how the trial would end. After all, depending on the bakufu's decision, Joseon might have to establish friendly relations with a clan other than the So clan.

Joseon translators Hong Hee-nam and Choi Ui-gil along with two masangje performers, two horses, and an envoy from Tsushima departed from Joseon in lunar January 1635 and headed for Edo. The mission of twenty-one members including the retinue arrived in Edo around the end of March. However, by then the shogun Iemitsu had already ruled in favor of the So clan in its dispute with the Yanagawa clan. On March 12 and 13, the bakufu sentenced individual punishments to Yanagawa clan members who had been involved in the dispute. This ruling was of course reported to the Joseon court by the translator Hong Hee-nam upon returning from his trip to Japan with the masangje performers.

In Edo, there were several horse-riding rings for samurais to practice and use for horse racing. The ring where masangje was officially performed was located in the Yayosugashi (八代洲河岸) district, now known as the Yaesugashi (八重洲河岸) district. In April, the Joseon translators and masangje performers were accompanied by So clan members on their visit to the Edo Castle where they were granted an audience with the shogun Iemitsu and the bakufu dignitaries. After their performance at the ring, the bakufu bestowed the masangje team with 1,000 sheets of silver in addition to clothes and rice.

The Japanese at the time seem to have been fascinated by masangje. After performing for the shogun, the performers continued to receive requests to perform by key bakufu members and daimyos. Hence, the two Joseon performers ended up paying visits to several different daimyo residences to demonstrate acrobatic postures on horseback.

Since then, masangje performers were included in each Tongsinsa mission headed to Japan so that up until the mission in 1764, a total of six masangje performances had been held in Edo. In 1711, the bakufu even created a new ring just inside the Tayasumon Gate of Edo Castle to make it more convenient for the shogun to enjoy performances. Since then it became customary for masangje to be performed in that ring called "Chosen baba" (朝鮮馬場). Although masangje occasionally served as a subject of poems and paintings, it was only meant for the shogun, high-ranking bakufu members, and some daimyos and therefore left no opportunities for ordinary samurais or commoners in Edo to enjoy it.