:
Japanese missions to Ming China represent a lens for examining and evaluating the relationships between China and Japan in the 15th through the 17th centuries.
[Mizuno, Norihito. (2003)]
''China in Tokugawa Foreign Relations: The Tokugawa Bakufu’s Perception of and Attitudes toward Ming-Qing China,'' pp. 109-112.
/ref> The nature of these bilateral contacts encompassed political and ceremonial acknowledgment as well as cultural exchanges. The evolution of diplomatic ties accompanied the growing commercial ties which grew over time.
As many as twenty trade missions traveled from Japan to China between 1401 and 1547. Every one of these missions were headed by a Zen Buddhist monk from one of the so-called or "five great Zen temples of Kyoto",[Fogel]
p. 27.
/ref> consisting of Nanzen-ji
, or Zuiryusan Nanzen-ji, formerly , is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. Emperor Kameyama established it in 1291 on the site of his previous detached palace. It is also the headquarters of the Nanzen-ji branch of Rinzai Zen. The precincts o ...
, Tenryū-ji
, formally known as , is the head temple of the Tenryū-ji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, located in Susukinobaba-chō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339, primarily to venerate Gautama Buddh ...
, Shokoku-ji, Kennin-ji
is a historic Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, and head temple of its associated branch of Rinzai Buddhism. It is considered to be one of the so-called Kyoto ''Gozan'' or "five most important Zen temples of Kyoto".
History
Kennin-ji was ...
, Tofuku-ji and Manju-ji
is a Rinzai Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku Kyoto, Japan. Owing to the influence of the Ashikaga, Manju-ji was designated a Jissatsu temple for a time. At present, it is a sub-temple of Tōfuku-ji. It is considered to be one of the so-cal ...
.
Tally trade
The economic benefit of the Sinocentric tribute system was profitable trade. The tally trade (勘合貿易, ''kangō bōeki'' in Japanese and ''kanhe maoyi'' in Chinese) was a system devised and monitored by the Chinese.[Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 471.] The tally trade involved exchanges of Japanese products for Chinese goods. The Chinese "tally" was a certificate issued by the Ming. The first 100 such tallies were conveyed to Japan in 1404. Only those with this formal proof of Imperial permission represented by the document were officially allowed to travel and trade within the boundaries of China; and only those diplomatic missions presenting authentic tallies were received as legitimate ambassadors.
Over time, the conditions of this mutually beneficial tally trade would evolve beyond its initial perimeters.
Selected missions
See also
* Sinocentrism
Sinocentrism refers to the worldview that China is the cultural, political, or economic center of the world. It may be considered analogous to Eurocentrism.
Overview and context
Depending on the historical context, Sinocentrism can refer to ...
* Japanese missions to Sui China Japanese missions to Sui China represent a lens for examining and evaluating the relationship between the Sui dynasty and Japan in the 7th century. The nature of these bilateral contacts evolved gradually from political and ceremonial acknowledgmen ...
* Japanese missions to Tang China
represent Japanese efforts to learn from the Chinese culture and civilization in the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries. The nature of these contacts evolved gradually from political and ceremonial acknowledgment to cultural exchanges; and the process ...
* Japanese missions to Joseon
Notes
References
* Fogel, Joshua A. (2009). ''Articulating the Sinosphere: Sino-Japanese Relations in Space and Time.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...
. ;
* Goodrich, Luther Carrington and Zhaoying Fang. (1976)
''Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644'' (明代名人傳), Vol. I
''Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644'' (明代名人傳), Vol. II.
New York: Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...
. ;
OCLC 1622199
* Mizuno, Norihito. (2003)
''China in Tokugawa Foreign Relations: The Tokugawa Bakufu’s Perception of and Attitudes toward Ming-Qing China,'' p. 109.
excerpt from ''Japan and Its East Asian Neighbors: Japan's Perception of China and Korea and the Making of Foreign Policy from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century,'' Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 2004, as cited in Tsutsui, William M. (2009)
''A Companion to Japanese History,'' p. 83.
* Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...
.
OCLC 48943301
* Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). iyun-sai_Rin-siyo/Hayashi_Gahō,_1652.html" ;"title="Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou
Annales des empereurs du Japon.
' Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 300555357
* Verschuer, Charlotte von. (2006). ''Across the Perilous Sea : Japanese Trade with China and Korea from the Seventh to the Sixteenth Centuries'' (''Commerce extérieur du Japon des origines au XVIe siècle'') translated by Kristen Lee Hunter. Ithaca, New York: East Asia Program, Cornell University, 2006. ;
* Yoda, Yoshiie. (1996). ''The Foundations of Japan's Modernization: a comparison with China's Path towards Modernization.'' Leiden: Brill.
OCLC 246732011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Japanese missions to Ming China
Ambassadors of Japan to China
Foreign relations of the Ming dynasty