2024-07-16 10:15:11
Kim Moon-gil, Director of the Korea-Japan Cultural Research Institute, Professor Emeritus of Pusan University of Foreign Studies
The ‘Joseon Magpie Shrine (鵲森宮神社)’ was also built to commemorate the event.
It has been reported that Japan has designated and is exhibiting the Joseon Tongsinsa letter and royal seal forged by the lord of Tsushima Island during the Imjin War as cultural assets at the Fukuoka National Museum in Saga Prefecture, Japan.
Kim Moon-gil, director of the Korea-Japan Cultural Research Institute (professor emeritus of Pusan University of Foreign Studies), said on the 16th that residents have been lining up to see the exhibition since October of last year, which lasted for a year.
According to Director Kim, before starting the Imjin War, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the lord of Tsushima Island to first establish diplomatic relations with Joseon in order to wage war with China.
Although Tsushima Island belonged to the Japanese shogunate, it could not turn its back on Joseon, so it forged a national letter and the king’s seal and sent it to Joseon, but King Seonjo did not permit it.
In the end, the Imjin War broke out. The seven-year war caused a great deal of damage and plundered many cultural and artistic figures and cultural assets. They even cut off the ears and noses (ear tombs) of Koreans as spoils of war.
Even after the Imjin and Byeongja Wars, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered the lord of Tsushima to maintain relations with Joseon. In response, the lord of Tsushima sent the forged national letters and royal seals used during the Imjin War to Joseon because of the pain of war and the Joseon court’s demand for the return of many cultural assets.
The jade seal was originally a seal made of iron. Since it was not easy to forge iron, Japan carved a seal out of wood and invited Joseon Tongsinsa with a forged document.
Originally, documents sent to Joseon were called bonseo (奉書), and documents sent to the Japanese shogunate were called bonbok (奉復). A bonseo was a document sent from a small country to the king of a large country, and a bonbok was a document sent from a large country to a small country.
The Japanese shogunate changed the names of the seal and the seal of the bongbok. In this forged document, the King of Joseon wanted to go as a ‘meeting and repatriation envoy’ to repatriate Joseon people who had been captured in the war. However, after sending the forged document to Joseon, the Japanese shogunate sent a forged seal and forged document as a ‘tongsinsa’ as requested, and the Joseon delegation attended the general’s inauguration ceremony. Joseon was invited as a ‘meeting and repatriation envoy’ (prisoners’ return envoy).
In addition, the Japanese shogunate had several successful visits by the ‘Joseon Tongsinsa’ as congratulatory guests, but in 1611, it was discovered that the invitation was made with a forged document, and the party including the Tsushima clan lord was exiled. Japanese textbooks still teach that the ‘Tongsinsa’ is a ‘Japanese tribute’.
When the Joseon Tongsinsa was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage in 2017, Director Kim repeatedly stated that this was false, but to no avail.
Director Kim said, “It should be corrected even now. The forged seal was kept by the general’s descendants, but was auctioned off several years ago and purchased by the Fukuoka National Library.” He added, “At the time of the auction, the Nagoya Castle War Remnants Museum in Saga Prefecture recopied the forged seal and also stored it here. Professor Yuichi Hirose, a curator at Nagoya Castle who lectured at Silla University in Busan, often talks about correcting history even now.”
The forged documents are stored at the National University of Tokyo and museums.
Meanwhile, according to Director Kim, in Kumamoto and Saga Prefectures, the hometowns of Kato Kiyomasa and Nabeshima Naosuke, who came during the Imjin and Byeongja Wars, there is a war of words over who the generals from each hometowns are who caught the Joseon magpie.
According to the Japanese historical book Nihon Shoki, the 33rd Emperor Suiko invited Prince Kishi Ikhane of Silla (a descendant of King Suro of Gimhae, Garak Kingdom during the Unified Silla period) to rule Namba (Osaka).
When Kim Su-ro’s descendant Kishi Ihakane took office, he donated a pair of magpies that were not found in Japan. Knowing that it was a good omen, the people of Osaka built a magpie shrine and worshipped them. The Japanese archipelago was given names like Magpie Village, Magpie River, and Magpie Bridge, all named after Korean magpies.
There are still many magpie place names. Because of the climate, Joseon magpies could not breed, and the magpies that were brought in during the Imjin War ended up going extinct. Kato and Nabeshima were obsessed with catching magpies even during the war, and they caught many magpies and released them in their hometowns.
Professor Emeritus Kim said, “Korean magpies are only found in Kumamoto and Saga Prefectures, the hometowns of Kato and Nabeshima.” He added, “When Empress Suiko ascended the throne, Korean magpies were donated from Silla (Gimhae) and bred there, but when they almost disappeared, General Kato brought them back during the war and named them Kachi Karasu (victory birds). However, the people of Saga Prefecture, Nabeshima’s hometown, are arguing over who is the original, saying, ‘The Korean magpie that returned victoriously was a bird that Nabeshima brought back and bred there. ’”
[울산=뉴시스]
2024-07-16 10:15:11