‘東藩’에서 ‘誠信’으로 : 17세기 후반 對馬藩의 외교적 수사 전환

Abstract

Tsushima, which was unable to become economically independent due to geographical conditions, relied on trade with Joseon since the Middle Ages. In this situation, Tsushima has diplomatically referred to himself as the Tōhan of Joseon. This relationship resumed after the Imjin War, but in the late 17th century, a transition came as the worsening economic situation in Joseon along with Tsushima's political dependence on the shogunate increased. This article examines the changes in the diplomatic rhetoric of Tsushima that emerged during this transition. In the second half of the 17th century, a historical narrative emerged that Tsushima was the Japanese Hampei, not Joseon. The reason for the emergence of this description, which represents Tsushima's sense of belonging to Japan, was the remarks of a Joseon official in the negotiations for the request of Amyong-Doseo, which is the seal for the successor to the head of Tsushima. At this time, a Joseon official said, "Since Tsushima receives Doseo and pays tribute, there is a loyalty in the master-servant relationship." The Tsushima envoy, who was protesting against this, claimed that Tsushima was not in a master-slave relationship, but the Hampei of Joseon. In this way, the envoy misunderstood the meaning of the word and made an error in negotiation. With this incident as an opportunity, Tsushima seems to have tried to make it an unchangeable truth by imprinting in historical descriptions that it is not Joseon, but Japan's Hampei. The fundamental cause of this problem was the different understanding of public trade between Joseon and Tsushima. While Joseon understood public trade as a special favor for giving to Tsushima, Tsushima recognized it as a legitimate right established through agreements between the two countries. As a result, Tsushima argued that the request of Doseo was not unprecedented, but not allowing it was against the principle of Seisin. Originally, Seisin was an investigation used by the Joseon side to reject Japan's unreasonable demand, but Tsushima reversely used it to make its own logic. According to Tsushima's understanding, this principle was originally a concept that was established in an equal relationship. Therefore, in order for the relationship of Seisin between Joseon and Tsushima to be established, it had to be premised that Tsushima was not economically subordinated to Joseon, but that it was in relation to Joseon as an agent of the shogunate. In other words, it is in line with the logic that “Tsushima is a Japanese Hampei”. As such, the result of Tsushima's self-reset of diplomatic position in the late 17th century emerged through changes in diplomatic rhetoric.