Book IX 575respect, the words in them are often indiscreet and insulting. In the latest
memorial requesting the granting of the royal seal and formal recognition of
its king, I noticed the incident of tyrant Zhou mentioned, which I find
extremely inappropriate. I am not sure if the impropriety in the memorial
had to do with the king’s intention or the trickery of his subjects, or if the
memorial was revised on the way to China, because it had no royal seal on
it. For this reason, I am not allowing your envoys to return to their homes.
If you send us all of those who participated in drafting and revising the
problematic memorial, I will permit your envoys to return home.”This month, Tatara Yoshihiro, left grand master of the Capital (sakyo gono
daibu) of Japan, sent us two Zen Buddhist monks named Tsuziku and Eirin
with his pledge that he would suppress the activity of pirates and repatriate
the Koreans held captive in Japan. The monks on his behalf presented gifts
and asked for a copy of the Korean Tripitaka.4th Month
1st Day (Muja)
The royal carriage left the hot springs and stayed in Yŏngju [modern
Ch’ŏnan]. Sending out patrolling officers, the king prohibited the members
of his entourage from letting horses graze on farmers’ crops.6th Day (Kyesa)
While passing by Kwangju,^21 the king inspected the area to find a potential
site for his royal tomb.
7th Day (Kabo)
The king returned to the royal palace from his trip to the hot springs.8th Day (Ŭlmi)
Pak Kwangch’un, a retinue member of envoy Yu Ku, who had visited Ming
China to celebrate the New Year, returned home with an official letter from
the Ministry of Rites of China. The letter he brought read as follows: “Men
Kexin, minister of rites, along with other officials, received the following- Located in Kyŏnggi Province.