1530年代以前朝鮮王朝對琉交鄰政策再考

Rethinking Joseon’s Diplomatic Relations with Ryukyu up to the 1530s

1392年朝鮮王朝成立，同年琉球遣使送還朝鮮被擄人，此後開啟了兩國的交鄰往來。朝琉間的往來型態，包括直接遣使、日人中介、日人出任琉球國王使節等，15世紀因朝鮮縮減對日優渥的懷柔政策，因而可見自稱琉球國王使節赴朝之現象。由於朝琉往來型態多元，致使界定琉球國王使不易，相關研究原則上多以對等交鄰型態，考察琉球國王使節的真偽並予以分期。唯對等往來的認知主要基於明朝成立後，朝琉先後遣使成為其朝貢國，但朝琉獲明朝冊封的時間不一，因此僅以朝貢國的單一對等交鄰視角考察朝琉往來，則無法有效認知朝琉交鄰的實態及其發展歷程。
另一方面，朝鮮王朝除與幕府將軍、各地守護、國人等交鄰往來外，也對日人授予官職，即朝鮮對日採行具層級性的重層交鄰制度，其中授職的交鄰策略也運用於琉球。對此，相關研究多以獲職的琉球使節為博多商人，而將之置於日朝交鄰的脈絡下，考察博多商人於東亞海域或日朝間的往來活動。唯當朝鮮王朝將之視為琉球國王使節並對其授職，則朝鮮對琉球的往來與日朝相同，亦存在重層交鄰。為此，本文結合日朝及日琉朝與明朝關係的發展，重新考察至1530年代為止朝琉間的交鄰往來，及朝鮮對琉球來使的因應，進一步具體掌握朝鮮對琉球的重層交機制並對朝琉往來重新進行分期。

The Joseon dynasty was founded in 1392, the same year the Ryukyu Kingdom dispatched envoys to return Joseon captives, an event that marked the beginning of bilateral diplomatic exchanges between the two countries. These exchanges took diverse forms, including direct envoy dispatches, interactions mediated by Japanese intermediaries, and visits by Japanese men claiming to represent the Ryukyu king. In the fifteenth century, Joseon’s shift away from its conciliatory policies toward Japan prompted Japan’s unofficial efforts to maintain contact with Joseon. The varied nature of Joseon-Ryukyu interactions makes it difficult to clearly identify Ryukyu’s official envoys. Past studies have usually evaluated these envoys' legitimacy based on reciprocal diplomacy and proposed periodizations of the diplomatic relationship. However, the reciprocal diplomacy was established when both Joseon and Ryukyu paid tribute to the Ming dynasty. Since the two countries were enfeoffed by the Ming dynasty at different times, analyzing their exchanges solely through the lens of reciprocal diplomacy overlooks the complexity of their relationship’s development.
Moreover, Joseon engaged in multilayered diplomacy with Japan, by maintaining relations with both the shogunate and shugo daimyo in western Japan, and by conferring official titles on Japanese individuals. The diplomatic strategy of conferring titles on foreigners was also applied to Ryukyuans. Previous studies have identified these individuals as Hakata merchants from Japan and have analyzed their roles in the East Asia maritime network within the framework of the Japan-Joseon relations. However, since Joseon officially recognized them as the Ryukyu king’s envoys and granted them titles, these activities merit analysis within the broader framework of Joseon-Ryukyu multilayered diplomacy, similar to how scholars have examined Japan-Joseon relations.
This study re-examines Joseon-Ryukyu diplomatic exchanges until the 1530s, focusing on Joseon’s responses to Ryukyuan envoys in the context of evolving Japan- Joseon relations and the Ming dynasty’s ties with Japan, Joseon, and Ryukyu. It also seeks to clarify the nature of Joseon’s multilayered diplomacy toward Ryukyu and proposes a revised periodization of their diplomatic history.