Kim Ju-song's Japan Field Trip Report Following the Path of the Joseon Tongsinsa (1)

This Hwaseong Research Association's field trip to Japan took place over four days from August 8 to 11.

I participated in this field trip together with my father, Kim Chung-young, a member of the Hwaseong Research Association and an editorial committee member of News S.

The theme of this field trip was to retrace the route taken by the Joseon Tongsinsa, who were dispatched twelve times and traveled to Edo, the center of Japan at that time.

The route these envoys took to Edo, present-day Tokyo, consisted of two paths: a sea route from Busan to Osaka and a land route from Kyoto to Edo.

Among these, our field trip team traced the sea route in reverse, traveling from Shimonoseki to Osaka.

This journey included important castles in Japan along the Joseon Tongsinsa route, as well as other significant locations in Japan related to Korean history.

These places included Himeji Castle, the ruins of Nagoya Castle in Saga Prefecture, which was a forward base of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Kushida Shrine in Fukuoka, where the Mongolian-Yuan allied forces are said to have landed.

First, I will briefly explain the Joseon Tongsinsa, which was the main subject, and then write field trip reports about the places we visited.

Unlike the Yeonhaengsaenghwi (envoys to China), whose leader, the chief envoy, was selected from among officials of rank three or above from the Jongban or the bureaucracy, the Joseon Tongsinsa had someone of rank three, a Chamui (參議), appointed as chief envoy.

The envoy delegation boarded three large ships called the chief envoy's ship, deputy envoy's ship, and associate envoy's ship, heading to Japan.

When they were dispatched, gifts from the Joseon king to the Tokugawa shogun and the crown prince, as well as gifts to the roju (老中, the shogun's highest-ranking senior retainers), ports, and daimyo (大名, feudal lords who possessed fiefs) and temples in the lodging areas, were loaded onto three cargo ships and sent along with them. After being received by the king and departing from Busan for Japan, they passed through islands such as Tsushima, Iki Island, and Aino Island (相島 or 藍島), entered the Seto Inland Sea through Shimonoseki, and headed to Osaka.

The above table is a chronology related to the Joseon Tongsinsa's bingye (聘禮), from which I have extracted part of the chronology included in Nakao Hiroshi's 'The Story of the Joseon Tongsinsa'. Through this table, it can be confirmed that twelve Tongsinsa missions were dispatched to Japan between 1607 and 1811.

Looking at the purposes for which these envoys were dispatched to Japan, from 1607 to 1643, diplomatic missions were sent for purposes such as understanding Japan's political situation and preparing for the repatriation of captives. However, from 1655 onwards, the Joseon Tongsinsa can be seen to have been dispatched for the purpose of congratulating the succession of the Edo shogun to the position of shogun. With these purposes, the Tongsinsa dispatched to Japan, except for two occasions—conducting bingye in Fushimi, Kyoto in 1617 and in Tsushima in 1811—all headed to Edo following the route we visited during this field trip.

The first destination of our journey was Maya Mountain in Kobe. From there, I learned that Japanese cable cars differ from Korean cable cars. In Korea, what is called a cable car is a transportation vehicle that climbs mountains while suspended in the air by cables. In Japan, however, what is called a cable car is a cable-drawn electric train, while what Korea calls a cable car is called a ropeway in Japan.

The weather that day was exceptionally clear, allowing us to see far out to the coastline of the Osaka area from Kakusei Platform. From the summit of Maya Mountain, Kakusei Platform, one can see the coastlines of Kobe and Osaka, located at the easternmost part of the Seto Inland Sea. In the photograph, the widely spread urban area to the west corresponds to the Kobe area, and across the sea to the upper right is Osaka.

Both of these places were also included in the route taken by the Joseon Tongsinsa. The final anchorage for the Joseon Tongsinsa diplomatic mission sailing through the Seto Inland Sea was called Hyogo-tsu (兵庫津). In other words, the Joseon envoy delegation would have anchored in the wide sea to the right and prepared to land. At that time, cargo ships carrying gifts sent by the Joseon envoy delegation along with the chief envoy's ship, deputy envoy's ship, associate envoy's ship, and other vessels, along with numerous escort ships from various ports in Korea, lined up at this location. How spectacular it must have been at that time. After preparations at Hyogo-tsu, the delegation is said to have transferred to Japanese ships at Kawaguchi in Osaka and headed to Kyoto.

Our journey then proceeded to Himeji.

There, we encountered a very special connection.

It was with members of an organization called the 'Harima Hangul Research Association'. Meeting these people, I could feel their passion for Korea and the Korean language. There were people who studied Korean at the research association with the passion to understand what their favorite idols were saying, and there were people who had visited Korea several times and had friends in Korea, and who studied Korean at the Harima Hangul Research Association because they wanted to have conversations with them in Korean. I could glimpse their goodwill and passion for the Korean language and Korea.

I also learned at the meeting that this organization had been exchanging with the Hwaseong Research Association for a long time since the 1990s.

After meeting with them, our first evening dinner featured chanko nabe, a dish prepared by sumo wrestlers.

The restaurant displayed sumo-related items, and the restaurant had '力士料理' written on it, so I thought one way or another, this restaurant had a sumo concept.

However, while dining, I heard that the owner of this restaurant had worked as a sumo wrestler.

In this restaurant's chanko nabe, sesame seeds were served in a mortar-like bowl, and each table had a wooden pestle-like stick to use to grind the sesame seeds and then add broth to make a sauce.

While enjoying the meal, the owner, a former sumo wrestler, brought sumo wrestling costumes so we could experience them.

Several teachers who participated in the field trip with us tried on the costumes, and the experience proceeded as the owner, a former sumo wrestler, demonstrated sumo postures and engaged in pushing matches.

Members of the Hangul Research Association also joined us for this meal, and through conversations with them, I was able to feel their passion more deeply.

After this hearty and friendly dinner ended, we heard that Himeji Castle turns on lights every night and the scenery is beautiful, so we went to see it. The main tower of Himeji Castle is whitewashed, and when white lights shone on it at night, the castle glowed with a silvery light.

Himeji Castle is said to have been the location of the Himeji Domain's administrative headquarters during the Edo shogunate period. And this Himeji Domain had a nearby Joseon Tongsinsa anchorage called Murotsu (室津), and it is said that it played the role of providing hospitality when the envoy delegation anchored at Murotsu.

The next morning, we toured the interior of Himeji Castle, which glowed with a silvery light from the nighttime lights. Looking at the interior of Himeji Castle, I could observe the defense strategies of the Japanese, which differ from Korean fortifications.

In this case, there was a large outer fortress, and in the inner fortress as well, multiple layers of castle walls were built up to the main tower, showing a defense strategy centered on the daimyo.

Additionally, near the main tower there were gun ports (銃眼) with openable and closable windows that allowed for hidden attacks, and inside the castle there were spaces to hide samurai and passages that could lead from the nearby small tower next to it, from which one could see their efforts to protect the daimyo.

It is said that residents' millstones and stone coffins from nearby burial mounds were also used to build the castle, and one can imagine how massive this undertaking was.

Himeji Castle also has a garden called Kokouen (好古園), and I heard that this was originally the residence of a samurai during the shogunate period, now turned into a garden. Hearing this, I thought that the person who could have a large mansion near the main tower where the daimyo worked or resided must have been a samurai of very high status.

Upon entering Kokouen, there was a lake, and within it there was also a space made to have water flowing like a stream, so even though it was an artificial park, one could feel its natural beauty. Since we visited in summer, we could only see the lake, flowing water, and a densely forested area, which was unfortunate.

However, there were seedling gardens and flower gardens here that would be nice to visit in spring, and I heard the autumn foliage is beautiful, so it was a garden I would like to visit again in autumn or spring.