Book XI 6756th Day (Chŏngsa)
Pak In’gwi, former vice supervisor of the Directorate for Fisheries and Nat ural
Resources, was dispatched to Tsushima with a letter, which read as follows:
“Cho Chun, left chancellor of Chosŏn, sends a letter to Honorable
Governor (Shugo) of Tsushima Ritaikei (Sou Yorishige).^37 Facing each other
across the sea, our country and your island formerly maintained a good
relationship. Since the Kyŏngin year (1350), however, lawless people from
your island [Tsushima] and Iki Island formed a gang and invaded our coasts,
causing significant damage.
“When our king ascended the throne, he took pity on the innocent people
who were suffering from the damage and decided to save them by extermi-
nating the wicked pirates on our borders. So he ordered the districts along
the seacoast to repair warships and planned to launch military expeditions
on a certain date.
“Last year, the chieftains of the marauders arrived at our Ch’uksan Island
of Yŏnghae Prefecture and requested that they be allowed to surrender
themselves. Finding commendable their intention of laying aside their past
evil deeds, our king let them reside in Ulju, providing them with food. Then
they suddenly became suspicious and ran away, taking the district magis-
trate as their captive.
“This spring, they came again to our country to request that they be
allowed to surrender themselves. Forgiving their past evil deeds, our king
ordered regional military commanders to treat them generously. Among
them, one who is called deputy myriarch or thirty thousand myriarch (sam-
manho) is now living in the capital, well provided with houses and food.
One who is called senior myriarch arrived in Miryang. We treated him with
hospitality, holding a banquet for him. When they wanted to return to their
ships, we provided escorts for them. Then they suddenly became suspicious
and ran away again, taking our warships with them. A little later, a military
commander on the border presented the letter from Your Honor to our king,
and His Majesty was pleased with it.
- Ritaikei as a Japanese name is intriguing. Taikei means chief minister, but the Ri as a
Japanese surname is very unusual. It appears to indicate the ministry of personnel. So Ritaikei
or Rihoutaikei is actually the name of the official title. According to historical records, the
governor of Tsushima at the time was Sou Yorishige. So I chose to translate Ritaikei as gov-
ernor of Tsushima here rather than minister of personnel.