Japanese missions to Joseon represent a crucial aspect of the international relations of mutual Joseon-Japanese contacts and communication. The bilateral exchanges were intermittent.

The unique nature of these bilateral diplomatic exchanges evolved from a conceptual framework developed by the Chinese. Gradually, the theoretical model would be modified. The changing model mirrors the evolution of a unique relationship between two neighboring states.

Muromachi shogunate missions to Joseon

The Muromachi bafuku's diplomatic contacts and communication with the Joseon court encompassed informal contacts and formal embassies. Muromachi diplomacy also included the more frequent and less formal contacts involving the Japanese daimyo (feudal lord) of Tsushima Island

Tsushima Island

Tsushima Island is an island of the Japanese Archipelago situated in the middle of the Tsushima Strait at 34°25'N and 129°20'E. The main island of Tsushima was once a single island, but the island was divided into two in 1671 by the Ōfunakosiseto canal and into three in 1900 by the Manzekiseto canal...

.

In addition, trade missions between merchants of the area were frequent and varied.

Year	Sender	Japanese chief envoy	Joseon monarch	Comments
1403	Ashikaga Yoshimochi Ashikaga Yoshimochi was the 4th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1394 to 1423 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimochi was the son of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu....	–	Taejo Taejo of Joseon Taejo of Joseon , born Yi Seong-gye, whose changed name is Yi Dan, was the founder and the first king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, and the main figure in overthrowing the Goryeo Dynasty...	.
1404	Ashikaga Yoshimitsu Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the 3rd shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who ruled from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was the son of the second shogun Ashikaga Yoshiakira....	–	Taejong Taejong of Joseon King Taejong was the third king of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea and the father of King Sejong the Great.-Founding of Joseon:...	.
1432	Ashikaga Yoshinori Ashikaga Yoshinori was the 6th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1429 to 1441 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshinori was the son of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.-Shogunal succession:...	–	Sejong	.
1456	Ashikaga Yoshimasa Ashikaga Yoshimasa was the 8th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimasa was the son of the sixth shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori....	–	Sejo Sejo of Joseon Sejo of Joseon was the seventh king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He produced a coup d'etat and became king himself in 1455.-Reign:...	.
1474	Ashikaga Yoshihisa Ashikaga Yoshihisa was the 9th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1473 to 1489 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshihisa was the son of the eighth shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa....	–	Seongjong Seongjong of Joseon Seongjong of Joseon was the ninth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He succeeded King Yejong in 1469 and ruled until 1494.-Reign:...	.
1499	Ashikaga Yoshizumi Ashikaga Yoshizumi was the 11th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1494 to 1508 during the Muromachi period of Japan. He was the son of Ashikaga Masatomo and grandson of the sixth shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori. Yoshizumi was first called Yoshitō , then Yoshitaka.Yoshizumi was adopted by the 8th shogun...	–	Yeonsangun Yeonsangun of Joseon Yeonsan-gun , born Yi Yung, was the 10th king of Korea's Joseon Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Seongjong by his second wife, Lady Yoon. He is often considered the worst tyrant in Joseon Dynasty, notorious for launching two bloody purges of the seonbi elite...	.

• 1403 – A Japanese diplomatic mission from the Japanese shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimochi
  Ashikaga Yoshimochi
  was the 4th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1394 to 1423 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimochi was the son of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu....
  
  , was received in Seoul; and this set in motion the beginnings of a decision-making process about sending a responsive mission to Kyoto.

• 1404 – Former-Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
  Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
  was the 3rd shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who ruled from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was the son of the second shogun Ashikaga Yoshiakira....
  
   causes a message to the Joseon king to be sent; and the sender is identified as "king of Japan". The salutation construes the Joseon monarch as the sender's co-equal peer.

• 1422 – Nihonkoku Minamoto Yoshimochi
  Ashikaga Yoshimochi
  was the 4th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1394 to 1423 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimochi was the son of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu....
  
   sent the Joseon king a letter in Ōei
  Oei
  was a after Meitoku and before Shōchō. This period spanned the years from July 1394 through April 1428. Reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:* 1394 : The new era name was created because of plague...
  
   29, as time was reckoned using the Japanese calendar system.
• 1423 – Nihonkoku Dosen
  Ashikaga Yoshimochi
  was the 4th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1394 to 1423 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimochi was the son of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu....
  
   sent the Joseon king a letter in Ōei 30.
• 1424 – Nihonkoku Dosen sent the Joseon king a letter in Ōei 31.
• 1428 – Nihonkoku Dosen sent the Joseon king a letter in Ōei 35.
• 1432 – Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori
  Ashikaga Yoshinori
  was the 6th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1429 to 1441 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshinori was the son of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.-Shogunal succession:...
  
   sent an ambassador to the Joseon court.
• 1440 – Nihonkoku Minamoto Yoshinori
  Ashikaga Yoshinori
  was the 6th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1429 to 1441 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshinori was the son of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.-Shogunal succession:...
  
   sent the Joseon king a letter in Ryakuō
  Ryakuo
  was a Japanese era of the Northern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts, lasting from August 1338 to April 1342. The emperor in Kyoto was...
  
   3, which the Japanese era at that time.
• 1447 – Nihonkoku ō Minamoto Yoshinari
  Ashikaga Yoshikatsu
  was the 7th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1442 to 1443 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshikatsu was the son of 6th shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori.Significant events which shaped the period during which Yoshikatsu was shogun:...
  
   sent the Joseon king a letter in Jōwa
  Jowa (Muromachi period)
  was a Japanese era or nengō which was promulgated by the more militarily powerful of two Imperial rival courts during the . This nengō came after Kōei and before Kannō and lasting from October 1345 through February 1350. The emperor in Kyoto was...
  
   3, which was the Japanese era at that time.
• 1456 – Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa
  Ashikaga Yoshimasa
  was the 8th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimasa was the son of the sixth shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori....
  
   caused a letter to be sent to the king of Joseon.

• 1474 – Shogun Ashikaga Yoshihisa
  Ashikaga Yoshihisa
  was the 9th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1473 to 1489 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshihisa was the son of the eighth shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa....
  
   sent an ambassador to China, stopping en route at the Joseon court in Seoul. The ambassador's charge was to seek an official seal from the Imperial Chinese court.

• 1499 – Shogun Ashikaga Yoshizumi
  Ashikaga Yoshizumi
  was the 11th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1494 to 1508 during the Muromachi period of Japan. He was the son of Ashikaga Masatomo and grandson of the sixth shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori. Yoshizumi was first called Yoshitō , then Yoshitaka.Yoshizumi was adopted by the 8th shogun...
  
   dispatched an envoy to the Joseon court asking for printing plates for an important Buddhist text; and although the specific request was not fulfilled, the Joseon court did agree to offer printed copies.

Tokugawa shogunate missions to Joseon

In the Edo period of Japanese history, diplomatic missions were construed as benefiting the Japanese as legitimizing propaganda and as a key element in an emerging manifestation of Japan's ideal vision of the structure of an international order with Edo as its center.

Japanese-Joseon diplomacy adapting

Japanese-Joseon bilateral relations were affected by the increasing numbers of international contacts which required adaptation and a new kind of diplomacy.

1876

The Korea-Japan Treaty of 1876 marked the beginning of a new phase in bilateral relations.

See also

• Joseon missions to Japan
  Joseon missions to Japan
  Joseon missions to Japan represent a crucial aspect of the international relations of mutual Joseon-Japanese contacts and communication. In sum, these serial diplomatic ventures illustrate the persistence of Joseon's kyorin diplomacy from 1392 to 1910.The chronology of one side in a bilateral...
  
  
• Joseon missions to Imperial China
  Joseon missions to Imperial China
  Joseon missions to Imperial China were Joseon diplomatic ventures which were intermittently sent in the years 1392-1910. These represent a significant aspect of the international relations of mutual Joseon-Chinese contacts and communication.-Joseon diplomacy:...
  
  
• Japanese missions to Imperial China
• Korean Empire
  Korean Empire
  The Greater Korean Empire was an empire of Korea that succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries...
  
  
• Japanese missions to Paekche
  Japanese missions to Paekche
  Japanese missions to Paekche represent an aspect of the international relations of mutual Joseon-Japanese contacts and communication. The bilateral exchanges were intermittent....
  
  
• Japanese missions to Silla
  Japanese missions to Silla
  Japanese missions to Silla represent an aspect of the international relations of mutual Silla-Japanese contacts and communication. The bilateral exchanges were intermittent....
  
  

External links

• UNESCO: Map of South and North Korea in Eight Province