A Korean Captive-Turned-Monk (Nichiyō) in Japan and Longing for Family Reunion in the 1620s

Honmyōji Temple in Kumamoto preserves copies of four letters exchanged in the early 1620s between a father, Yŏ Ch’ŏn’gap, in Chosŏn, and his son, Yŏ Taenam (Nichiyō), in Japan, although one of the letters was never delivered. Both father and son were abducted to Japan during the Imjin War (1592–1598), but while the father was able to return home, the son was not. In the late 1610s, upon learning that his son, now the abbot of Honmyōji, was alive in Kumamoto, the father sought to contact him by letter. His efforts eventually succeeded, leading to an exchange of correspondence. These four letters, the only known instance of overseas communication between family members separated by Japan’s invasion of Chosŏn, provide valuable insight into the tragic fate of a family divided by war. Drawing on these documents, this article examines how a Korean boy was abducted during the Imjin War and later became the abbot of his captor’s temple. It also explores the father’s efforts to bring his son home and the reasons their hopes for reunion were never realized. Together, the letters bear witness to the dramatic transformation in the life of a young Korean boy who became a victim of war

Ancestor · Family life · Spanish Civil War · Witness · World War II · Balkan and Eastern European Studies · History, Culture, and Diplomacy · Japanese History and Culture

• Spectacular Accumulation

  Morgan Pitelka•Spectacular Accumulation•2015

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