Edo-Period Visit of Korean Envoys Reenacted on Japan’s Tsushima Island
TSUSHIMA, Nagasaki — About 250 people, including 50 from Busan, paraded in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, in an event reenacting a procession of emissaries from the Korean Peninsula to Japan during the Edo period (1603-1867).
On August 2, Tsushima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, witnessed a reenactment of a historic procession involving emissaries from the Korean Peninsula to Japan during the Edo period, which spanned from 1603 to 1867. Approximately 250 participants, including 50 from Busan, joined in the event that marked the main attraction of the Tsushima Izuhara Port Festival that commenced on August 1.
Led by Yoshihito Fukabori, the chief of the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Coastal Defense Group Tsushima, in the role of So Tsushima-no-kami, the lord of the Tsushima domain, the procession traversed through Izuhara, a town that once thrived as the castle town of the domain. The parade stretched roughly 1.2 kilometers and was characterized by participants dressed in traditional attire and the resonant sounds of trumpets, bells, and drums. A spectacle of Korean dance also added to the festive atmosphere.
The procession concluded with a ceremony at the Tsushima Museum where the "sovereign letters" were exchanged, symbolizing the goodwill emissaries, known as Joseon Tongsinsa. These emissaries were dispatched by the Joseon Dynasty on twelve occasions between 1607 and 1867, each time to celebrate the ascension of Tokugawa shoguns. Since 1980, the reenactment of these historical processions has been held annually, serving as a symbol of the enduring friendship between Japan and South Korea.
Written by urgent.news from The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
