Japan–Korea relations or Korea-Japan relations

Japan	North Korea	South Korea

In modern context, Japan–Korea relations pertain to three states: Japan, North Korea, and South Korea. Historically, Japan and Korea have had cultural interactions for over thousands of years and had direct political contact almost as long. In modern times, Japan’s relations with North and South Korea have had a legacy of bitterness stemming from unresolved issues relating to Imperial Japan’s rule of Korea from 1910–1945.

Diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea were established in 1965. In the early 2000s, the Japanese–South Korean relationship soured when the Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the Yasukuni Shrine. Furthermore, conflicts continue to feud over claims of the Liancourt Rocks - a group of small islets halfway between the two countries.

Bilaterally and through the Six-Party Talks, North Korea and Japan continue to discuss about the case regarding Japanese citizens abducted by the North Korean government during the 1970's and 1980's, although there are no diplomatic relations between the two; Japan does not recognize North Korea as a sovereign state.

Historiography of ancient Japan-Korea connections (A viewpoint of Korea) [edit]

The relationship between Korea and Japan is very complicated, because nothing has been conclusively agreed upon by historians. The differing interpretations of the same event will be divided for ease of understanding until the results of the joint history project between South Korea and Japan are used in both countries. One conclusion of the joint history project was that Japan's interpretation of the 4th century was incorrect regarding Korea and Japan.^[1] Currently, South Korea and Japan are trying to re-visit the joint history project which was halted due to differing focus points^[2] "After conducting research for three years since 2002, scholars of the two countries announced their first report on three categories - the ancient, medieval, and modern times. At that time, Seoul demanded that the research institute’s findings be reflected in the textbooks of the two nations, but Japan rejected this request." Japan's refusal to use the research finding of the joint historians in Japanese schools caused South Korea to wonder why they were spending so much money researching history which wasn't going to be used in Japan. This event caused South Korea to halt the project in 2005.^[1][2]

Relations between Japan and Korea go back at least two millennia. In the 3rd century BC, people from Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla and Gaya in the Korean Peninsula, started to move into the Kyushu region of Japan.^[3] Chinese culture, including writing, migrated from China via Korea to Japan in these early years. And burial mounds in Korea built in the 5th and 6th centuries have a relationship with the kofun of Japan.^[4] There are indications of cross-border political influence, but with varying accounts as to in which direction the political influence flowed. Buddhism was introduced to Japan from Baekje of Korea, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by China.

Japan has had official contact with the Chinese since the 7th or 8th century^{[citation needed]} so after a mere 300 years China not Korea influences Japanese Buddhism.^[5]

In addition to Buddhism being introduced to Japan by Korea, much other knowledge from Asia were transmitted to Japan via Korea^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][14][15]} The archaeological record, and ancient Chinese sources, indicate that the various tribes and chiefdoms of Japan did not begin to coalesce into states until 300 AD, when large tombs began to appear. Some describe the "mysterious century" as a time of internecine warfare as various chiefdoms competed for hegemony on Kyūshū and Honshū.^[16] Even more complicating is the Nihon Shoki referencing the Japanese king^[who?] to of Korean origin as rulers of sovereign Japan.^[17][18] Due to this conflicting information, nothing can be concluded from the book of Song or Nihon Shoki. A different take on the "mysterious century" is that Japan was not a Kingdom yet and it is not until after this time when more Koreans arrive that Japan starts to develop.^[19]

Japan learned about Classical Chinese from Chinese scholars (続守言/薩弘格/^[a][b] 袁晋卿^[c] and did not have a Chinese writing system of their own until the 8th century AD.^[19] (The ancient Japanese called the adaptation of Chinese into Japanese from 650 AD Man'yogana) For this reason Japan must rely on Chinese text prior to the 8th century regarding Japan's history. The problem with this was that Korea and China did not make Japan the focus of their text and Japanese history must be patched together by various texts from Korea and China or rely on post 8th-century Japanese writing which is hundreds of years after the fact. According to the Samguk Sagi (Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms), Baekje and Silla sent their princes as hostages to the Yamato court in exchange for military support to continue their already-begun military campaigns; King Asin of Baekje sent his son Jeonji in 397^[20] and King Silseong of Silla sent his son Misaheun in 402.^[18][21] Whether this people were hostages or family members visiting Japan is debated. This custom was used in different times in East Asian history, later during the Yi Period, Korea sent princes to the Chinese Court. Due to the confusion on the exact nature of this relationship of whether the Koreans were family to the Imperial line or hostages and the fact that the Nihon Shoki is a compilation of myths make it difficult to evaluate. In Japan, the hostage interpretation is dominant. Other historians like the ones who collaborated in the works for "Paekche of Korea and the origin of Yamato Japan" and Jonathan W Best who helped translate what was left of the Baekjae annals^[22] have noted that these princes^[who?] set up school and took control of the Japanese Navy during the war with Koguryeo as evidence of them being diplomats with some kind of familial tie to the Japanese imperial family and not hostages. In addition, the translation of these documents are difficult because in the past the term "Wa" was derogatory meaning "midget pirate" or "dwarf pirate". It is difficult to assess what is truly being stated; this could have been a derogatory statement between 2 warring nations. Nothing definitive can be concluded.

There is no evidence of Japan ever having been sophisticated enough to control any part of Korea during the time of Jingu.^[23][24] However there is archaeological evidence of Koreans going to Japan during this time, According to the book "Korea and Japan in East Asian History",^[25] such as finding horse sculptures, Shinju-kyo, painting and iron-ware made in Northern Wei China.^[26] The question that always comes up within the Korean community is, 'Why would a Japanese culture that doesn't have Korean ceramic ability or horses yet have horse sculptures in their tombs?'. According to the book "Paekchae of Korea and the origin of Yamato Japan”, "The prince of Silla^[who?] was the ancestor to the Japanese Emperor. The translation of "Nihon Shoki Vol.6" was added and Amenohiboko is described in Nihon Shoki as a maternal predecessor of Tajima-no-morosuku (但馬諸助^?),^[27] whose controversial legend says that she defeated Silla in the 5th century. This is highly inconsistent, as Jingū is said to have lived in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and she is supposed to have died in 269 AD which would make her 300 to 400 years old. This conflicting information makes it difficult to understand these records.

According to the Book of Song, a Chinese emperor appointed five kings of Wa to the position of ruler of Silla in 421,^[28] but what is confusing is that the Japanese ruler gave a remote region to an immigration of Silla　according to the Nihon Shoki.^[29] In addition, the book of Song and the book of Sui cannot be possible because many of the states considered to be Japan's vassal such as Chinhan and Mahan did not exist in the same time period as the vassal king of Yamato. In addition, the Book of Song was incomplete with missing volumes and filled in centuries later in a biased manner for political reasons.　Also, Silla did not have official contact with the Song/Sui until the 6th century making this 4th to 5th century statement impossible. "As Egami (1964) notes, it may look very strange that the names of six or seven states listed in the self-claimed titles included Chin-han and Ma-han which had preceded, respectively, the states of Silla and Paekche. Perhaps the King of Wa had included the names of six or seven south Korean states in his title merely to boast of the extent of his rule. But Wa Kings could not have included the names of nonexistent states." Other historians^[who?] also dispute Japan's theory, claiming there is no evidence of Japanese rule in Gaya or any other part of Korea.^[23][24] Another problem with the book of Song and book of Sui is that many of the volumes of the books were missing and re-written later in a biased manner. It is difficult to make any sense of what the relationship was like in the past. Japan of the Kofun period was very receptive to the Chinese culture and Korean culture.^[30] Chinese and Korean immigrants played an important role in introducing elements of both to early Japan.^[18][31]

The special burial customs of the Goguryeo culture had an important influence on other cultures in Japan.^[32] Decorated tombs and painted tumuli which date from the 5th century and later found in Japan are generally accepted as northeast of China and northern part of Korean peninsula exports to Japan.^[33] The Takamatsuzuka Tomb even has paintings of a woman dressed in distinctive clothes, similar to wall paintings from Goguryeo and Tang Dynasty China.^[34][35] In addition, Chinese astrology was being introduced during this time.

According to the Book of Song, of the Liu Song Dynasty, the Emperor of China bestowed military sovereignty over Silla, Imna, Gaya, Chinhan, and Mahan on King Sai of Wa. However, this theory is widely rejected even in Japan as there is no evidence of Japanese rule in Gaya or any other part of Korea.^[23][24] After the death of King Kō of Wa, his younger brother Bu acceeded to the throne; King Bu requested to have Baekje added to the list of protectorates included in the official title bestowed upon the King of Wa by mandate of the Emperor of China, but his title was only renewed as "Supervisor of All Military Affairs of the Six Countries of Wa, Silla, Imna, Gara, Chinhan, and Mahan, Great General Who Keeps Peace in the East, King of the Country of Wa."^[28] This entire statement is impossible because Chinhan and Mahan did not exist in the same time period as Silla, Baekje when the vassal Kings of Yamato were supposed to rule. As Egami wrote in 1964 "But Wa Kings could not have included the names of nonexistent states." In addition, Silla did not have official contact with the Song/Sui until the 6th century making this 4th to 5th century claim not possible. Due to the lack of evidence, and the confusion of whether the Wa were the descendants of Koreans, again no certain information is discernible. Chinese chronicles note that horses were absent from the islands of Japan; they are first noted in the chronicles during the reign of Nintoku, most likely imported by Chinese and Korean immigrants.^[17][18] According to some accounts, the horse was one of the treasures presented when the king of Silla surrendered to Empress Jingū in the Nihon Shoki.^[36] Other accounts contend that there is no evidence of this from Silla, and the king who supposedly surrendered dates to the 5th century, thus making Empress Jingu more than 200 years old. The Nihon Shoki states that the father of Empress Jingu was Emperor Kaika's grandchild, and her mother was from the Katuragi clan.^[37] In addition, the Nihon Shoki states that a Korean from Silla, Amenohiboko, was an ancestor of Tajima clan (但馬氏^?)^[27] so both the Nihon Shoki and the Chinese chronicles relating to Japan are difficult to interpret. In addition, there is no evidence of Japanese war with Korea or any Japanese presence in Korea at this time^[23][24] and the Japanese did not have actual knowledge about horses until well after this time.^[23][24]

Burial Mounds [edit]

Keyhole kofuns were also recently discovered in the Gaya confederacy region of the Korean peninsula. This has caused scholars to begin examining the shared relationship between the Yamato and Baekje during the 3rd and the 7th centuries AD, including the method of tomb construction. The tombs in the southern part of Korea and Japan appear to have a relationship.^[38] However, all the kofun-style tombs discovered in Korea have been dated as younger than those found in Japan. leading Japanese scholars^[who?] to insist that those found in Korea were either built by Japanese immigrants or influenced by culture brought by them, but the advanced artifacts found in Japan's tombs are Korean. For example, horse sculptures, clothes and the earrings discovered in Silla and Kaya tombs are very similar to Japanese earrings dated to the Kofun period. "The ultimate source of such elaborate techniques as granulation is probably the Greek and Etruscan goldsmiths of western Asia and Europe, whose skills were transmitted to northern China and later to Korea. The resemblance of earrings found in Japan in the Kofun period (c. 3rd century—538 AD) to those from Silla and Kaya tombs suggests that such articles are imported from Korea."^[39][40] Archaeological evidence suggests that Gaya polities were the main exporter of technology and culture to Kyushu at that time. Theory of a Japanese outpost is widely rejected even in Japan as there was no Japanese dynasty at the time which had a strong enough military power to conquer Gaya or any other part of Korea.^[23][41][42] The technology of Gaya was much more advanced than that of the Japanese dynasties of the time.^[23][41][42]

Japan restricting access to Gosashi tomb [edit]

In 1976, Japan stopped all foreign archaeologists from studying the Gosashi tomb, which is supposedly the resting place of Emperor Jingu. In 2008, Japan allowed controlled, limited access to foreign archaeologists, but the international community still has many unanswered questions. National Geographic News reported that Japan "the agency has kept access to the tombs restricted, prompting rumors that officials fear excavation would reveal bloodline links between the "pure" imperial family and Korea—or that some tombs hold no royal remains at all."^[43] Due to the limited access of Japanese Imperial lineage, the information available makes current interpretations inconclusive.

13th-40th centuries [edit]

From the early 13th–15th centuries there were a series of skirmishes by pockets of Japanese pirates on the Korean coast. During the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), many of Koreas cultural heritage was destroyed and looted by the invading Japanese armies. Although Korean land forces lost most of their land battles (with only a handful of notable exceptions), the Korean Navy won almost all the naval battles with decisive defeats of the Japanese fleet by Admiral Yi Sun-sin (who never lost a battle; the only battle Korean fleets lost to the Japanese was not commanded by Admiral Yi) cut off Japanese supply lines and helped drive the invading forces out of Korea. The Japanese were driven out after massive Chinese intervention. Tokugawa shogunate requested Tsushinshi for furthur diplomatic relationship. According to the Korean records, it was practically in means to bring back the hostages from Japan and ensure if any secondary movement after the invasion war was occuring in Japan.

With the erosion of Qing Chinese influences in the 19th century, Korea began to show greater independence, partly to avoid Western domination, but also to avoid Japanese control. 迎恩門 (げいおんもん, ヨンウンムン) was a gate for the Korean kings who were the China emperor's subjects and were the tributary to greet the China emperor's messenger. Korean kings greeted the messenger from the China emperor for evry years by 三跪九叩頭礼"the greeting which attaches a knee to the ground 3 times and strikes nine turning rounds on the ground." Japan was an independent country for over 2600 years, and the Japanese emperor was equal with the China emperor. When Japan won the Sino-Japanese War, "迎恩門" was pulled down and the "Korean Independent Gate" was built AC1897 at the same place .Japan was rapidly modernizing in the second half of the 19th century and showing a keen interest in Korea, especially as it was the closest potential point of expansion directly on the Asian mainland. It was perceived that Japan would be vulnerable to any power that controlled the Korean peninsula. It became a policy objective to block any power (i.e. China or Russia) from having control of the peninsula. Eventually, this changed into an imperative for Japan to control Korea herself. With the defeat of Qing forces in Korea in 1895, the murder of Empress Myeongseong by Japanese agents, and Japan’s subsequent defeat of Imperial Russia in 1905, Korea came definitively under Japanese influence. In 1910, with the signing of the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, the last threads of Korean independence were severed and the Korean Empire was absorbed into the Empire of Japan.

At the end of World War II Korea regained its independence after 35 years of Japanese rule. Per the Yalta Conference agreements, Soviet forces accepted surrender of Japanese forces in northern Korea above the 38th parallel, and U.S. forces south of that line. Korea was then divided into Soviet (North Korean) and U.S. (South Korean) spheres. South Korea refused diplomatic and trade relations with Japan, using Japan as a domestic bugbear to rally support for the South Korean government. The early ROK government derived its legitimacy from its opposition to Japan and North Korea, portraying South Korea as under threat from the North and South.

The diplomatic relationship between Japan and South Korea was established in 1965, when the Treaty on Basic Relations was signed; Japan subsequently recognized the Republic of Korea (the official name of South Korea) as the only legitimate government on the Korean Peninsula. As such, North Korea does not have official diplomatic ties with Japan.

Historical background (A viewpoint of Japan) [edit]

3rd-11th centuries [edit]

By the time of the Three Kingdoms period in Korea, Baekje and Silla sent their princes as hostages to the Yamato court in exchange for military support to continue their already-begun military campaigns.^[20][21] The last king of Baekje, Uija, formed an alliance with Japan and made Prince Buyeo Pung and King Zenko stay there as their hostages. In 660, Baekje was attacked by Silla and Tang Dynasty China and fell. former generals of Baekje including Gwisil Boksin asked Japan to return Prince Buyeo Pung and provide military aid. In 663, Japan, supporting Baekje, was defeated the allied forces of Tang dynasty China and Shill in Korean Peninsula (the Battle of Baekgang), and the restoration of Baekje ended up in failure. Japan took in numerous Baekje refugees after its fall, but at the same time hostility between Japan and Silla escalated. Empress Jitō honored King Zenko by giving him the hereditary title of Kudara no Konikishi and allowed him to pass on his royal lineage to future generations. According to the Shoku Nihongi (続日本紀^?), Takano no Niigasa, background of the naturalized clansmen Yamato-no-Fumito (和史^?), was a 10th-generation descendant of King Muryeong of Baekje who was chosen as a concubine for Emperor Kōnin and subsequently became the mother of Emperor Kammu.^[44][45] Japan introduced Chinese culture via the Korean Peninsula, but the Korean value slumped when Chinese culture was introduced directly by a Japanese missions to Tang China. Emperor Kammu has severed diplomatic relations with Silla in 799.^[46] From the early 9th–11th centuries the pirate of Silla repeatedly attacked North Kyushu region of Japan, and Japan-Korea relations has deteriorated.^[47][48]

12th-15th centuries [edit]

Japan suffered in the middle Kamakura period from the Mongol Empire (Yuan Dynasty), which was then dominant on the continent, and its subjected kingdom, the Goryeo of Korea. In addition, History of Yuan states that Mongol invasions of Japan began with King Chungnyeol of Goryeo "persistently recommending an expedition to the east to Yuan's emperor in order to force Japan to become its subject."^[49] To invade Japan, Mongol ordered the Korean king to manufacture 1000 warships.^[50] The two Mongol - Korean fleets were destroyed by storms, giving rise to the myth of the Kamikaze, the divine wind that protected Japan. At the time of Genko, Japanese people were scared by the attacks of the Mongol and Goryeo army, saying, 'moko kokuri no oni ga kuru (the devils of the Mongol and Goryeo will come)', which phrase later came to represent something scary, and thus a tradition spread to the whole country to scare children by saying 'mukuri kokuri, oni ga kuru' to make them behave themselves. During the Muromachi period and the Sengoku period in Japan, samurai warriors and pirates from the Kyushu region attacked ships along the coasts of China and Korea and were feared as Japanese pirates (called "wako" in Japanese). In 1592 and 1598 Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had unified the nation, ordered 'daimyo' (feudal lords) all over the country to　the conquest of Ming Dynasty China by way of Korea, after the latter's refusal to allow Japanese forces to march through. Japan completed the occupation of a Korean peninsula in three months. The Korean king Seonjo fled to China and asked Ming for help based on Chinese tributary system. The Chinese emperor sent army and recapture the Korean peninsula. However, the Japanese militaries gathered in Seoul and counterattacked China. Amid the stagnation of the battle between the Ming army and the Japanese army, Hideyoshi died in September 1598. the Council of Five Elders ordered the remaining Japanese forces in Korea to retreat. Japan then initiated a series of policies "Sakoku" to close the country. It forbade Japanese to go abroad in ships, and initiated the death penalty for Japanese returning to Japan from abroad. This ended Japanese piracy definitively.

16th-19th centuries [edit]

At the end of the 16th century, the Bunroku-Keicho War broke off the relationship between Korea and Japan.　However, the Tokugawa shogunate started trading again with Korea by concluding the Giyu treaty with the So clan of Tsushima Island in 1609 and established a relationship of almost equality through mutual visits of Korean messengers. Tsushinshi were sent from the Korean side to pay homage to a new shogun or to celebrate the birth of an heir to a shogun. Korean envoys were provided with the same role as an envoy to bring tributes to a Chinese emperor or was used for showing the prestige of Tokugawa shogunate.

Korea in the 19th century: A severe conflict between at court between Heungseon Daewongun, the biological father of Gojong (king of the Joseon Dynasty), and Gojong's wife Queen Min continued. In 1882, Daewongun was seized by the Qing Dynasty China troops, and confined in Tianjin City (Jingo Incident). The Min family including Queen Min assumed authority, but relations between Japan and Korea did not turn better. Queen Min were changing their policies from pro-Japanese to Qing Dynasty China. In the Sino-Japanese War, When Japan beat China in 1895, the Treaty of Shimonoseki was concluded, and removed China's sovereignty Korea.^[51] The Korea moved closer to Russia. Japan became alarmed when Russia enhanced its grip and influence over the Korean peninsula by acquiring vital state assets such as the mining rights in Chongsong and Gyeongwon sold off by Queen Min, timber rights in the north, and tariff rights, and purchased back and restored many of these. (The assassination of Queen Min occurred during this period).

See also [edit]

	Japan portal
	Korea portal

• Foreign relations of Japan
• Foreign relations of North Korea
  • Japan–North Korea relations
  • Timeline of Japan–North Korea relations
• Foreign relations of South Korea
  • Japan–South Korea relations
  • Timeline of Japan–South Korea relations
• Treaty on Basic Relations between South Korea and Japan
• Japan–Korea disputes
• Japan-Korea Undersea Tunnel
• China-Japan-South Korea trilateral meeting, 2008
• Japan-South Korea (ROK) Joint History Research Project

Notes [edit]

References [edit]

•  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies. - Japan

Further reading [edit]

• Cha, Victor D. (1999). Alignment despite Antagonism: the US-Korea-Japan Security Triangle (Stanford: Stanford University Press).
• Dudden, Alexis (2008). Troubled Apologies Among Japan, Korea, and the United States (New York: Columbia University Press)
• Lee, Chong-Sik (1985). Japan and Korea: The Political Dimension (Stanford: Stanford University Press).
• Lee, Chong-Sik (1963). The Politics of Korean Nationalism (Berkeley: University of California Press).
• Lind, Jennifer (2008). Sorry States: Apologies in International Politics (Ithaca: Cornell University Press).
• Meyers, Ramon Hawley, et al. (1984). The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1945 (Princeton: Princeton University Press).
• Morley, James (1965). Japan and Korea (New York: Walker, 1965).

External links [edit]

• South Korean embassy in Japan
• Japanese embassy in South Korea
• Relations entre la Corée du Nord et le Japon - French Wikipedia
• Korean History: A Bibliography: Ancient Korean-Japanese relations
  • Chosŏn: Relations with Japan
  • Late 19th Century through 1945: Post-1868 Relations with Japan and China
  • Post-Liberation Relations with Japan

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