뉴스레터

Joseon Tongsinsa refers to diplomatic missions the king of the Korean kingdom Joseon officially sent to the chief ruler of Japan. How did Tongsinsa begin and what role did it perform as relations between the two countries went through change? The year of 2019 will mark the 590th year since the first Tongsinsa mission was sent in 1429, so this series called Tongsinsa Stories will review Joseon Tongsinsa as a cultural delegation representative of the Korean dynasty's diplomatic history with Japan.

It was an incident in May 1990 that instantly boosted public awareness of the Confucian scholar Amenomori Hoshu (雨森芳洲) who served the Tsushima domain of Edo Japan. At a banquet during his visit to Japan, the then South Korean president Roh Tae-woo stressed the need for Korea and Japan to build a future-oriented relationship by saying that "Amenomori Hoshu took sincerity and faith as his creed in facilitating Japanese diplomacy toward Joseon 270 years ago." The comment must have made most people in Japan wonder who Amenomori Hoshu was, except for those studying Edo Japan's relations with Joseon.

Setting aside how someone as busy as the former Korean president found out about a historical figure obscure even to scholars in Korea and Japan, Amenomori Hoshu is someone well worth studying for his experience and knowledge in nurturing friendly relations between Joseon and Japan. He authored several manuals on establishing friendly relations and played a considerable role in the Tsushima domain's diplomacy toward Joseon.

Amenomori Hoshu (1668-1755), also known as Togoro (藤五郎·東五郎), was born as the son of Amenomori Kiyonori (雨森淸納), a physician running his own practice in Kyoto. Amenomori Hoshu had intended to become a physician to carry on the family business, but the academic trend at the time in Kyoto led him to shift his interests toward Confucianism and he became a disciple of Kinoshita Junan (木下順庵) in 1685. Alongside his fellow disciples Arai Hakuseki (新井白石) and Muro Kyuso (室鳩巣), Amenomori was respected enough to be referred to as one of "the five teachers (五先生) of the Mokumon (木門) school" and with recommendations from his teacher Kinoshita, he began to serve as a Confucian adviser to the Tsushima domain from 1692.

Not long after moving to Tsushima, Amenomori traveled twice to Nagasaki to learn Chinese and also went over to the Japanese quarter called waegwan in Busan to learn the language of Joseon. During his stay at the Busan waegwan, he contributed to editing the Japanese dictionary "Waeeo yuhae" (倭語類解) published in Joseon and authored an introductory Korean language textbook in Japanese titled "Korin shuchi" (交隣須知).

In 1698, Amenomori was appointed as an official to work at the Tsushima domain's department of Joseon affairs. He assisted official business for delegations Tsushima dispatched to Joseon in 1702, 1713, and 1720 and traveled to the Busan waegwan in 1728 to assist in negotiating for an extension to Joseon's export of rice to Japan. When Joseon sent Tongsinsa missions in 1711 and 1719, Amenomori temporarily served as a drafter and interpreter of diplomatic documents as he escorted the missions to Edo. When he found the Tsushima domain to be positive toward engaging in the contraband trade of Joseon ginseng, Amenomori had his eldest son take over his position and resigned in 1721. Traveling to the Busan waegwan as a special envoy in 1729 became his last visit to Joseon. In 1734, he authored Chiyo kanken (治要管見), a report about the Tsushima domain's internal affairs, and Korin teisei (交隣提醒) offering advice on the domain's relations with Korea.

Perhaps a former Korean president's mention of Amenomori Hoshu was what led to Amenomori to be quoted as a figure symbolic to friendly relations between Korea and Japan from to time, but defining his character is in fact not as simple. When a Tongsinsa mission visited Japan in 1711, Amenomori opposed Arai Hakuseki's attempt to push ahead with reforming the protocols in hosting Tongsinsa missions. Also, when Joseon merchants refused to sell ginseng in exchange for debased Japanese silver ingots produced for trade with Joseon as per the Edo bakufu's guideline, Amenomori took a hardline approach against Joseon's protests and demands. In conflicts with the Edo bakufu or Joseon, Amenomori made sure to represent the Tsushima domain, which is understandable considering that the domain paid his stipend.

Exchange Based on Sincerity

Korin teisei (交隣提醒), or Advice on Relations with Korea, contains a summary of how Amenomori Hoshu perceived Joseon-Japan relations. At the age of sixty-one, Amenomori drew from his experiences to write the book for the purpose of advising the daimyo of the So clan who governed the Tsushima domain. The well-known idiom "Seongsin jigyo" (誠信之交) is quoted near the end of the book in a sentence stating that "Seongsin (誠信) refers to Sileui (實意), which has to do with exchange based on sincerity instead of deceit and discord." The idiom has been considered as symbolic of Amenomori's belief in friendly relations between Joseon and Japan.

Yet, the sentence that comes next concludes that "in order to practice seongsin jigyo with Joseon, the Tsushima domain should withdraw all the envoys it sent and refuse to receive needless hospitality from Joseon, something that will be difficult to achieve." The hint to properly understanding what the sentence means is likely to lie in the title Amenomori chose for the book. "Korin" (交隣) means to have relations with neighboring Joseon through exchange, while "teisei" (提醒) means to be alert. The purpose of authoring the book was not to simply share techniques for engaging in exchange with Joseon, but to offer examples of the various issues that can arise between the countries so that Tsushima may be adequately prepared in advance.

Amenomori had been aware that the Tsushima authorities' lack of understanding toward the trend of the times could lead to a crisis. After Joseon suffered Japanese invasions through the Imjin War, it remained in fear of the way Japan wielded its authority based on military force, which is why Tsushima often looked down on Joseon and displayed a domineering, aggressive attitude to make Joseon give into its demands. This was due to what Amenomori described as "residual power after the war." Amenomori was trying to warn Tsushima that its diplomacy could ultimately fail if it continued to maintain the same domineering attitude when that residual power had been gradually waning over the course of more than a hundred years since the end of the Imjin War.

By using the term "seongsin," Amenomori may have been trying to stress that it would be important for Joseon and Japan to each gain a precise understanding of bilateral developments in diplomacy and trade and to come up with the best possible plan based on one another's actual circumstances as well as current trends. Therefore, "exchange based on sincerity" must have come from his extensive experience in diplomacy rather than from a rosy ideal.