근세 朝日통교와 非定例 差倭의 조선도해

Abstract

In the late Joseon Dynasty, there were various forms of diplomatic delegates. Unlike the annual envoy which operated on a regular basis, ChyaWae(差倭) refers to the special, provisional embassy dispatched by the Tsushima clan(對馬藩) to Joseon to negotiate some specific diplomatic agendas when necessary. In this paper, particular attention is paid to the irregular diplomatic envoys defined by Joseon as ChyaWae since the eighteenth century. The objective of this paper is, by examining a few cases of ChyaWae, to clarify the reasons for such irregular practices, the contents of the diplomatic negotiations conducted between Joseon and the Tsushima clan in those cases, and the responses on the part of Joseon. The Joseon-Japan relationship in the late Joseon period was largely based on the Giyu Agreement(己酉約條) in 1609. However, ChyaWae was a unilateral diplomatic practice, not stipulated in the Giyu Agreement. At first Joseon would not recognize it as official envoy, but since the late 1630s Joseon could not but accept it. As the increasing number of ChyaWae became a ponderous economic burden, Joseon tried to prohibit ChyaWae altogether through concluding the Imsool Agreement(壬戌約條) in 1682. But even then the Tsushima clan violated the agreement and kept sending ChyaWae, and the Imsool Agreement was not effective in preventing the dispatches of ChyaWae. Consequently, ChyaWae became institutionalized into Dae ChyaWae(大差倭) and So ChyaWae(小差倭) after the mid-seventeenth century. Among the dispatches of ChyaWae since the Imsool Agreement, however, there were several occasions of ChyaWae that failed to become regular institutions but only remained one-time operations. Joseon categorized these as “irregular envoy” or “irregular ChyaWae,” of which the cases examined in this paper are prominent examples. As Joseon was unwilling to recognize them as official diplomacy for their violation of the Imsool Agreement and also for the lack of precedents, a considerable amount of disputes and negotiations accompanied the fulfillment of their diplomatic missions. Even an irregular envoy intentio-nally dispatched by the Tokugawa Bakuhu suffered the consequence of having its diplomatic significance diluted and obscured because of the Tsushima clan’s frequent use of ChyaWae. The Tsushima clan’s continuous sending of ChyaWae despite Joseon’s opposition has been simply attributed to its desire to increase trade so far. However, such practices imply economic support for the Tsushima clan’s samurais included in the ChyaWae delegates.