뉴스레터

『The Record of Korean Envoy to Tokugawa Japan in Horeki 14』 is a Japanese ancient document that recorded some of the schedules of the Joseon Tongsinsa in 1764. The title '寶曆' means 1764 is the Japanese year 'Horeki 14'. It is owned by the National Library of Korea and was originally classified as the old book of the Chosun Governor General, but the time of writing with the author is unclear. The Tongsinsa in 1764 consisted of Jo am, Lee In-bae and Kim Sang-ik, and the reason they visited Japan was to celebrate the inauguration of Tokugawa Ieharu as a Shogun. In May 1760, the 9th Shogun Tokugawa Ieshige announced his intention to resign from Shogun and moved to Ninomaru in Edo Castle. And in September of the same year, the Emperor sent a document stating that he would appoint Ieharu(Ieshige's son) as a Shogun.

The representative Japanese historical material with the trajectory of the Joseon Tongsinsa is the 'Records of ancestral family at Tsushima' produced by Tsushima in the Edo period. Tsushima recorded from the stage of inviting Tongsinsa to the moment of returning to Korea by delivering the sovereign's message of the Joseon king to Shogun in Edo Province. The whole process of the envoys' journey, which takes several months, is recorded in the 『Envoy's record in Horeki 14(寶曆信使記錄)』. It is composed of 130 books in total and is owned by Keio University Library in Japan. However, the relationship between the 『The Record of Korean Envoy to Tokugawa Japan in Horeki 14』 in this book and the 『Envoy's record in Horeki 14』 of Keio University is unclear.

The contents of 『The Record of Korean Envoy to Tokugawa Japan in Horeki 14』 are as follows. From the time of Tongsinsa's departure from Hanyang, the list of people who greeted Tongsinsa in Japan, the list of the procession entered Edo, the pictures of the flags, weapons, musical instruments they brought, the face-to-face with the Shogun, the scene of delivering the sovereign's message, arrangement of people when delivering the sovereign's message, form and text of the soveign's message exchanged between Joseon and Japan, the dress when Tongsinsa entered Edo Castle, the dress during the trip, the list of dishes provided to Tongsinsa as entertainment, the number of Masangjae, the arrangement of people watching Masangjae, and the list of gifts exchanged by Tongsinsa and senior officials of Japanese Shogunate.

Meanwhile, the 1764 Tongsinsa is also included in the 『Tongsinsa Deungrok(通信使謄錄)』 compiled by Yejo Jeonsasasa, and was published as 『Tongsinsa Deungrok(Ⅵ) - Translated into Korean』(2019.9). 『Tongsinsa Deungrok』 contains official records written by gyeongsanggamsa·dongraebusa, yejo·bibyeonsa·seungjeongwon, or jeongsa and busa of Tongsinsa during preparation, dispatch, and return of each Tongsinsa-Haeng. It includes reports from time to time by Tongsinsa since being dispatched to Japan, changes in gifts and personnel, presentations of gifts and documents, contacts and activities at the stopovers, documents from Japan, and a list of gifts for the king of Joseon that Japan has given.

30 scenic spots that Tongsinsa has traveled by sea ⓒNational Museum of Korea

『Tongsinsa Deungrok(Ⅵ) - Translated into Korean』 is the primary source of official diplomatic relations between Joseon and Japan in 1764 and has great significance. However, there is little mention of what happened from Sahaengdan's arrival in Honshu, Japan, until they came back to Osaka. On the other hand, 『The Record of Korean Envoy to Tokugawa Japan in Horeki 14』 introduces the process of moving from Japan to Edo and what happened in Edo. This is essential for understanding the actual condition of Sahaeng in Japan, which can not be grasped by the literature of Joseon. In terms of quantity, it is arranged as one or two books of 'Records of traditional family at Tsushima', which has the advantage of being able to easily grasp the core contents.

Another feature of this historical material is that it contains various paintings abundantly. The members of Sahaengdan were divided by status, and depicted the appearance of going to Edo Castle and the usual figure as a full-length picture. Their dress, crown, hat, weapons, instruments, flags, and uses and purposes were listed together. The procession of movement, when the ceremony was held in Edo Castle, detailed the arrangement of all attendees from both countries. This means that the painting provided information very faithfully. The composition of this historical material is like a 'Digest' book. This is because readers who have no prior knowledge of Joseon Tongsinsa are informed about foreigners(Joseon people) and various events for them.

The last part of this lists matters related to the Tongsinsa in 1748. The Japanese visited the Higashi Honganji Inn where Sahaengdan stayed, and there are several articles and poems left by Japanese, Park Kyung-haeng and Lee Bong-hwan asking each other. It also contains the two countries' sovereign's message exchanged during the Tongsinsahaeng in 1748.

Tongsinsa of 1764 became the last sahaeng in the form of coming and going to Hansung and Edo. In 1811, Tongsinsa's path was changed to Tsushima, not Edo, and various rituals were revised, eventually becoming the last sahaeng in the late Joseon Dynasty. Therefore, the 1764 Tongsinsa record is a significant historical material in that it can see the practice of sahaeng repeated for 150 years from the 17th to the 18th centuries. NAHF has published three historical source books since 2015(『Historical Source Book on Modern-day relations between Korea and Japan). I am fortunate that the source book was published under the theme of 'Joseon Tongsinsa's Record'. I hope this will be used as a basic data for the study of Joseon Tongsinsa.