Amenomori Hoshu`s Choson Language School in Tsushima = Amenomori Hoshu`s Choson Language School in Tsushima

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

During the Tokugawa era (德川時代; 1603-1867), Japan maintained trade and diplomatic relations only with a few partners - Choson Korea, the semi-dependant kingdom of Ryukyu, the Dutch East India Company, and Chinese merchants from East and South East Asia. In the case of Choson and Japan, the domain of Tsushima played a vital role to interconnect both countries. Due to its unfavorable topography, Tsushima could not produce rice in sufficient amounts and had to rely on trade with Choson. On the other hand these economic problems brought an intimate knowledge on Choson, enabling Tsushima to contribute to improve relations between Japan and Choson. Sufficient means of communication were essential in this respect. However, in the early 1700`s, the number of Choson language speakers in Tsushima started to decline. After, the So clan monopolized trade with Choson in the late 1600`s, the opportunities to go to Waegwan were restricted to the Tsushima officials and the privileged merchants called, Rokujunin. Gradually, there was less chance for Tsushima people to have contact with native Choson people and learn the language. In order to reverse this trend, Amenomori Hoshu, a Confucian scholar, introduced two language programs for gifted young people and established an educational institution for Choson language in 1727. In this article, Hoshu`s two plans and their contents are closely examined.