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Also called Kakitsu Treaty (嘉吉条約 Kakitsu Jōyaku) in Japan, the Gyehae Treaty was signed in 1443 (the gyehae year) between the Joseon dynasty and Sō Sadamori as a means of controlling Japanese piracy and legitimizing trade between Tsushima island and three Korean ports.[1]
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Tsushima was an important trade center during this period. After the Toi invasion, private trade started between Goryeo, Tsushima, Iki, and Kyūshū, but halted during the Mongol invasions of Japan between 1274 and 1281. The Goryeosa, a history of the Goryeo dynasty, mentions that in 1274, an army of Mongol troops that included many Korean soldiers killed a great number of people on the islands.
Tsushima became one of the major bases of the Wokou, Japanese pirates, also called wakō, along with the Iki and Matsuura. Due to repeated pirate raids, the Goryeo dynasty and the subsequent Joseon Dynasty, at times placated the pirates by establishing trade agreements, as well as negotiating with the Muromachi shogunate and its deputy in Kyūshū, and at times used force to neutralize the pirates. In 1389, General Pak Wi (朴威) of Goryeo attempted to clear the island of Wokou pirates, but uprisings in Korea forced him to return home.
On June 19, 1419, the recently-abdicated king Taejong of Joseon sent general Yi Jong-mu to an expedition to Tsushima island to clear it of the Wokou pirates, using a fleet of 227 vessels and 17,000 soldiers. After months of fighting, the Sō clan surrendered on September 29, 1419, submitting to Korean vassalage.
After 24 years of Joseon suzerainty, the peace treaty was signed during the reign of Joseon dynasty king Sejong the Great in 1443, and the daimyo of the So clan of Tsushima island was granted rights to conduct trade with Korea in fifty ships per year, in exchange for sending tribute to Korea and aiding to stop any Japanese coastal pirate raids on Korean ports.[2]