Abstract

Kondo Maski (近藤真鋤, 1840‒1892) joined the Japanese Foreign Ministry in 1870. Appointed as a Busan port manager in 1876, he served as a consular officer and chargé d’affaires in Korea, working for Japanese diplomatic relations in Korea for 15 years. After his death, his book, Nulhun Yugo (訥軒遺稿) was published in 1893, which included 69 Chinese‒language poems and proses in addition to a preface and a postscript. About one‒half of them relate to the period of his diplomatic assignment in Korea. While Nulhun Yugo is a collection of Kondo’s writings, it may be understood as being reflective of the overall view of Japanese diplomats toward Korea at the time. Kondo advanced to the Meiji diplomatic mission in the 1860s through the network of the Kyoto Kuge (公家) and served as a Japanese diplomat from the 1870s to the 1980s. During his stay in Korea, he portrayed Korea and Japan with the image of uncivilization vs. civilization. Based on the historical awareness, he projected the view of conquering Korea on the excuse of making Korea civilized under Japanese leadership. He employed Chinese‒language literary forms to define the conditions of Korea as being a ‘big fish in a little pond,’ ‘in internal and external woes,’ and ‘at the brink of collapse’ and call for its overthrow.