Koreans Skilled Workers in Japan after the East Asian War of 1592–1598: Pak Hoin and Tofu in Early Modern Tosa

This paper analyses the importance of Korean skilled workers in Japan during and after the East Asian War of 1592–8. By tracing the story of the Korean Pak Hoin and his descendants this paper demonstrates the close relationship between domains and migrants. In doing so, it demonstrates that migrants were not only widespread throughout early Tokugawa Japan, but also that their experiences were highly varied. By placing Hoin’s experience next to that of other Korean migrants, this paper identifies some of the factors that influenced migrant experiences and the varying impact they had on their local environments.