Around 1710, the Tokugawa Shogunate saw the change of three Shoguns in a span of 10 years. Accordingly, Ryukyu sent delegations in 1710, 1714, and 1718 while the Joseon dynasty sent the Tongsinsa ambassadors to Edo in 1711 and 1719. A total of 5 foreign delegations and envoys were sent in a period of ten years, and the national literature which the delegations and envoys caπied with them were a subject of diplomatic friction which flared up but ultimately calmed down.
The literature of the Joseon Tongsinsa in 1711 contained mentions of a Wangho(王號) issue and Pihwi(避譯) incident. The Wangho issue arose when the Shogunate reQuested the Shogun’s title be changed from the previous wording of ‘大君’ to ‘ 日本國王’. Additionally, the Pihwi incident happened when Joseon reQuested that the character ‘↑뚫’， which was included in the birth n없ne of the 11th king of Joseon Jungjong( 中宗)， be omitted from texts in Japanese literature. At this reQuest the Shogunate demanded that Joseon modify their own literature and take out the character 光， as this letter was in the name of a past Shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu[ 德川家光]. Ultirnately , Joseon modified its national lite rature two times and the Shogunate their’s once. These modified versions were exchanged at Tsushirna [對馬] during the Tongsi nsa’s retum journey.
In 1714 Ryukyu also sent their own delegation to Edo. The king of Ryukyu sent work of their national literature to Edo, but the recipient was not the Shogun but the Rõjü [老中]. For this literature, the Rõjü Abe Masat때a[ 阿部正홈] stated the words ‘貴 國’， ‘大君’， and ‘台聽’ were not used correctly. Al though Ryukyu explained that the words connoted a sense of respect, the Rõj디 asked for words with more rigid definitions. Fortunately this literature incident did not involve strained diplornatic relations as the Joseon literature incident , and henceforth the literature of the king of Ryukyu changed his wording style from a chinese based structure to a more Japanese one.
However , it should be noted that a Ryukyu delegation visited Edo 4 years ago in 1710, and at that time , the words ‘貴國’， ‘大 君’， and ‘台聽’ were used without controversy from the Shogunate. Additionally the character ’宣’， which was part of the 6th Shogun’s name(德川家宣)， was used without any problem from the Shogunate in the words such as ‘不宣’.
At the center of many reasons of why word choices became an issue in 1711 and 1714 , and not 1710, is Arai H와mseki[新井白石]. When he c 하ne into a powerful position with the ascendency of 6th Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu , Arai Ha kuseki modified many regulations and structures regar이ng the Tongsinsa delegation. For the Ryukyu delegation in 1710, Arai Hakuseki ’s amendment could not be passed on in time , and more specifically, because his amendment was targeted toward the Joseon Tongsinsa, it did not cause complications with the Ryukyu literature. However, after 1711, when the amendment had officially affected Joseon’s diplomatic literature, Ryukyu ’s diplomatic literature was also subject to the new protocols and minor troubles occurred.
Like his hasty amendment , the fall of Arai Hakuseki was just as swift. In 1716, when the 7th Shogun Tokugawa Ietsugu died , Tokugawa Yoshimune , a person not of direct descent, became the 8 th Shogun. With this new ascendency, Arai Hakuseki , who had aided the Shogunate from the 6th Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu, left the political world. Subsequently, the literature of the Ryukyu delegation when they went to congratulate the new ascendency in 1718, and the literature of the Joseon Tongsinsa in 1719, went back to the forms before the time of Arai Hakuseki.
