Abstract
With the Emperor having authority and the Shogun having power, Japan had a unique political structure. This paper will examine how the Choson government reacted to this situation through the clothing of the Korean embassy in 1682. Close examination of both literary and visual documents reveal that on entering Kyoto the Envoy and the high-ranking civil officials wore ceremonial clothing (kongbok). Although officials lower than Envoy did not have an audience with the Emperor, they wore the ceremonial clothing as a expression of respect. In this way they displayed their courtesy to the Emperor who held political authority in Japan, thus expressing their good faith as envoys. The ceremonial clothes of both the Envoy and the Vice Envoy were specially made by the Bureau of wardrobe (Sanguiwon), another fact showing that the Koreans expressed their good will through clothing and that they took courtesy seriously.
