Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the Tsushima domain’s narrative and historiography on the Imjin War, by analyzing Kihaku Genpo's memoirs on the Imjin war and his compilation of sources about the Imjin war for the lord of Tsushima domain.

Paper long abstract:

This paper discusses the Tsushima domain’s narrative and historiography on the Imjin War, by analyzing Kihaku Genpo's memoirs on the Imjin war and his compilation of sources about the Imjin war for the lord of Tsushima domain. As a pioneer of Hideyoshi’s Joseon invasion, the Tsushima domain plays an important role in the Imjin war. After the Imjin war, the Sō clan continued to control Tsushima and was entrusted with diplomatic negotiations and trade with Joseon Korea during the Edo period, leaving an extensive collection of documents of the Tsushima Sō Family. Takeda (1925) has introduced the newly discovered Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s documents kept in the Tsushima Sō Family, and later Korean History Compilation Committee (1937) engraved and deciphered 24 shuinjo (red-sealed letter) bestowed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to Sō Yoshitoshi. There are also recent studies of the war chronicle "Ryoukoku Jinshin Jikki" edited by Yamazaki Hisanaga (Kim Shiduck, Nakano Hitoshi) , however, the above-mentioned scholars have neither noticed that the original version was kept in the documents of the Tsushima Sō Family, nor have they discussed other records on the Imjin war held by the Tsushima domain. This paper will focus on Kihaku Genpo’s narrative and record of the Imjin war. Kihaku Genpo was a monk-diplomat from Tsushima domain, who presented his reports in five scrolls to Sō Yoshizane, 3rd lord of the Fuchu Domain in Tsushima, including the well known Taikō Hideyoshi Tyosen seito kihon.