A SCROLL OF THE 1748 KOREAN EMBASSY TO JAPAN PRESERVED IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM

The Choson-era Korean embassies to Tokugawa Japan have been under scholarly scrutiny since 1894, but researchers are still probing their cultural, economic, and political impacts, because much is not yet clear. The memorabilia left in the wake of the embassies (scrolls, poetry collections, paintings, festivals) have been largely uncovered, catalogued, and are being analyzed for what they can tell us about elite and popular images of Koreans in Tokugawa Japan. The article introduces an unknown scroll in the possession of the British Museum. The scroll depicts the 1748 Korean Embassy to Edo and possesses unusual amounts of information. Nearly all officials, not just the three envoys, are identified by name and office. The end of the scroll includes three state documents (two from Korea to Japan and one reply) with lists of gifts from the Korean King to the Japanese shogun and gifts from the envoys to the Japanese shogun. There is also information on return gifts to Korean officials, a musical program, an equestrian program, and further biographical details on the three envoys and high officials. All of the information is prefaced with a list of past embassies.