COMMUNICATIONS

The T’ang envoys are widely known. They were the envoys that made up the diplomatic missions sent by Japan to T’ang China in the eighth and ninth centuries. I learned about them in history classes when I was a middle school student.

But there are things I did not learn. For instance, all of the envoys were fine-looking men. The Nara and Kyoto courts were obsessed with the looks of these envoys. Their wish was that they might be a glittering presence at the T’ang court.

Indeed, in China at the time, people referred to handsome Chinese as “Japanese envoys.” A good looking man might be hailed as “dishy as an envoy.” It is clear on what basis the court selected members of these missions!

Nowadays, this sort of obsession with looks is unacceptable. The Japanese Foreign Ministry does not select its diplomats on the basis of their appearance. They would, I think, encounter widespread criticism if they adopted such criteria.

The idea, anyway, was to use the envoys’ beauty to win foreign friends for Japan. T’ang envoy diplomacy pursued this path to benefit Japan. Such diplomacy no longer exists. When and how it disappeared might be themes for diplomatic historians to pursue.

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, “Kōkoku Nijūshikō Kibi Daijin”（National Diet Library Digital Collection）
Minister Kibi (Kibi no Makibi) crossed over to T’ang China twice, first as a student, later as Vice-Envoy to the T’ang court.