Hideyoshi is a powerful warlord in Japan during the late 16th century and received a Korean embassy in Kyoto on December 3, 1590. They presented him with a letter of state congratulating him on having unified Japan. But, he then responded to the letter (very arrogant) implying that the Korean delegates had brought him a message of submission from their ruler, even though it was a message of congratulations. The delegates objected to his tributes, but their complaints were brushed under the rug. Hideyoshi announced his plan to invade Ming China, Korea’s suzerain, and also hinted that Korea was expected to play a significant part. Hideyoshi used legends to mystify his origins, like he is some kind of transcendency mighty lineage). He also expressed his desire to spread his fame throughout the ‘Three Countries’ – Japan, China, and India. Hideyoshi said that he wants to invade the Great Ming and introduce Japanese customs and values to the provinces of that country (basically having imperial rule and culture for years and years). He also warned that people who don’t offer homage would not be granted pardon (even if they were from islands in the sea). He said that his mother had dreamt that the wheel of the sun had entered her womb at the time of his conception and now, (because of this miracle) anyone who turned against him was automatically doomed. He never lost battles, and wherever he attacked, he always conquered. He claimed that he had conquered the rebels and took down the bandits within the span of three-four years, which made everyone calmer. The citizens lived well and wealth produced by the land increased. Hideyoshi’s response to the Korean delegates led him to bragging about his achievements/ambitions and intimidated them of his military strength. You see how arrogant he is and how he just disregards diplomatic respect.
There are descriptions of traumatic experiences of a person and their family during the Japanese invasion of Korea in the late 16th century. The father had a boat (hoping to find and use it to escape from the Japanese ships), but they were discovered and captured. They all jumped into the sea in an attempt to escape, but were caught and tied up by the Japanese. The family lost their father, the spirit tablets of their deceased mother and eldest brother, and their children. I think this was to describe the trauma and loss experienced by the Korean community, during the Japanese invasion. The family was not alone in their suffering, as dead bodies were piled high on the coast in all directions. The way this is written, you can see the despair from the loss of life; “What was life; for what crime were people dying?” Fate and destiny are intertwined within this writing as well; everything in life is destined even if you don’t know that. The dream of a dragon child led to the naming of their son “Dragon”, interestingly expresses the belief in Korean culture that dreams can foretell the future, but the son’s drowning shows that even with the belief in destiny, you can still be affected by fate. This really describes the trauma and devastation experienced by the Korean people during the Japanese invasion very well, and fate and destiny , their cultural beliefs of the time. This was also about a Korean family captured by the Japanese; the family was separated, with the legal wives being taken onto a Japanese ship and the remaining members being placed on separate boats. They are hungry, mistreated, and there were many deaths during this captivity. I found it intriguing the resilience of the family, as they survived for nine days without food and extreme hardship. There is also a lot of poetry expressing the emotions of the narrator. The author uses this to show grief/sorrow over the loss of family members and the suffering that they endure. I think this allows him to process his emotions and make sense of his experiences. It explains the brutality of war and the toll that it takes on innocent civilians. The family was mistreated and abused by their captors, and several members were killed or died as a result of the captivity, so it shows the human cost of conflict and the need for peace and understanding between nations. This was a vivid and emotional telling of the experiences of a Korean family during a time of war and captivity, which is a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit and how we need compassion/empathy when we are in suffering.
Oda Nobunaga. “Letter to the King of Korea”. In Sources of Japanese Tradition, Vol. 1: From Earliest Times to 1600, compiled by Wm. Th. de Bary, Donald Keene, George Tanabe, and Paul Varley, 465-67. Second edition. Introduction to Asian Civilizations. New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 2001.
