Possible routes of vessels.
were
Japanese diplomatic missions which were intermittently sent to the Chinese Imperial court. Any distinction amongst diplomatic envoys sent from the Imperial Japanese court or from any of the Japanese shogunates was lost or rendered moot when the ambassador was received in the Chinese capital.
Extant records document missions to
China between the year of
600 and
894. The composition of these Imperial missions included members of the
aristocracratic kuge and
Buddhist priests. These missions led to the importation of
Chinese culture including advances in
sciences and
technologies. These diplomatic encounters produced the beginnings of a range of
Schools of Buddhism in Japan, including
Zen.
From the
sinocentric perspective of the Chinese Court in
Chang'an, the several embassies sent from Kyoto were construed as
tributaries of Imperial China; but it is not clear that the Japanese shared this view.
China seems to have taken the initiative in opening relations with
Japan.
Sui Emperor,
Yangdi (
kensui taishi) dispatched a message in 605 that said:
"The sovereign of Sui respectfully inquires about the sovereign of
Wa."
responded by sponsoring a mission led by
Ono no Imoko in 607. The Prince's own message contains the earliest written instance in which the Japanese archipelago is named "Nihon," literally, sun-origin. The salutation said:
"From the sovereign of the land of the rising sun (nihon/hi izuru) to the sovereign of the land of the setting sun."
These included Japanese oversea students for Buddhism studies.
The are the best known (total 13 times); they ended in
894. At this time, ambassadors had been appointed; and they were about to depart for China. However, the mission was stopped by
Emperor Uda in 894 (
Kanpyō 6, 8th month) because of reports of unsettled conditions in China. The emperor's decision-making was informed by what he understood as persuasive counsel from
Sugawara Michizane.
Envoys to the Sui court
Japanese envoys to the Sui court were received as ambassadors:
- 600: The first embassies arrive in China and are recorded in the Book of Sui.
- 607: The second embassies, led by Ono no Imoko, arrive in China and a written in the Book of Sui and the Nihon Shoki.
- 608: The third embassies arrive and are also recorded in the Book of Sui.
- 608: An embassy led by Ono no Imoko arrive in China. This group includes a number of students, some of whom, such as Takamuko no Kuromaro, remained in China after the departure of the embassy.
- 610: The embassy is written about in the Book of Sui.
- 614: The last embassies to Sui arrive in China and are written about in the Nihon Shoki.
Envoys to the Tang court
Japanese envoys to the Tang court were received as ambassadors:
Three missions to the Tang court were dispatched during the reign of
Emperor Kōtoku.
A model of vessel -- Museum of Maritime Science, Tokyo.)
's planned mission to the Tang court in 804 (
Enryaku 23) included three ambassadors and several Buddhist priests, including and ; but the enterprise was delayed until the end of the year. The ambassadors returned in the middle of 805 (
Enryaku 24, 6th month). They were accompanied by the monk Saichō, also known by his posthumous name , whose teachings will develop into the
Tendai school of Japanese Buddhism. In 806 (
Daidō 1, 8th month), the return of the monk Kūkai, also known posthumously as , marks the beginning of what will develop into the
Shingon school of Japanese Buddhism.
New ambassadors to China were appointed by
Emperor Ninmyō in 834, but the mission was put off.
- 836 – 839: The mission was postponed by a typhoon; but the ambassadors did eventually travel to the Tang court, returning in 839 with a letter from Emperor Tang Wenzong.
In China, after Tang dynasty ended and wartime of the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, a steady and conservative confucianist
Song dynasty ruled. It was safe to travel but Japan rulers thought there were not much to learn from Song so there were no big embassies mission to China.
Adopting Tang models
Ancient Japan was called
Wa, which had a primitive culture when compared to
Tang culture. The
Tang folks referred to
Wa as 東夷 (Eastern barbarians).
From AD 630 onwards,
Wa sent large groups of monks, students and government officials, up to 600 each time, to
Tang capital Chang'An to learn the then advanced production technology, social system, history, philosophy, arts and architecture.
Among many items copied by
Wa:
- Heian-kyō, the new Japanese capital established in 794, was a laid out in a grid similar to that of Chang'an, the Tang capital.
- Culture, many Han Chinese characters(漢字) were borrowed from Tang civilization to build the Japanese culture.
- Tang dress codes (known today as Wafuku 和服), eating habits were the fashion which was imitated and popularized.
Envoys to the Ming court
Japanese envoys to the Ming court were received as ambassadors.
[Mizuno, Norihito. (2003). ]- 1373-1406 (Ōan 6 – Ōei 13): Embassies between China and Japan.
- 1397 (Ōei 4, 8th month): an Imperial ambassador is dispatched from Emperor Go-Komatsu to the Ming Court.
- 1401 (Ōei 8): Ashikaga Yoshimitsu sends a diplomatic mission to China as a tentative first step in re-initiating trade between Japan and Ming China. The formal diplomatic letter conveyed to the Emperor of China was accompanied by a gift of 1000 ounces of gold and diverse objects.
- 1402 (Ōei 9): A letter from the Jianwen Emperor of China was received by Yoshimitsu; and this formal communication mistakenly accords the title "king of Japan" to the Japanese shogun.
[Titsingh, ]
Envoys to the Qing court
During Japan's self-imposed isolation in the
Edo period (1603-1868), Japan's vicarious relationships with China evolved through the intermediary of the
Kingdom of Ryukyu. Japan's view of external relations was ambivalent.
- 1853 (Kaei 6): Hayashi Akira completed Tsūkō ichiran. The work was created under orders from the bakufu to compile and edit documents pertaining to East Asian trade and diplomacy; and, for example, it includes a detailed description of a Ryukuan tribute embassy to the Qian Chinese court in Beijing.
See also
