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Reconsidering the terms of the Wae fortress and the Jeung fortress

Sim Bong Keun 1

1동아대학교

Candidate

ABSTRACT

The term Wae(Japanese) fortress generally indicates the fortresses constructed by the Japanese forces during the period of Japanese invasion (1592～1597). Rarely, it was called either Jeung fortress or Jeung mountain fortress. In fact, the term Wae fortress means the Japanese fortress. In the case of Japan, the fortress built at the time usually called the fortresses in the age of civil wars or the modern fortresses. Recently, the author refuted the existing argument that the name of Busan was derived from the Jeung mountain. In the process of collecting materials for proving the argument, the author found out the fact that the locations of the Jeung mountain and Jeung mountain fortress coincided with where most Japanese fortress located. Therefore, this essay analyzes the materials regarding the connection between Wae fortress and Jeung fortress. Then, it re-examines the generality of using the term Wae fortress and the meaning of Jeung fortress. Moreover, this essay also reviews the origins of Wae fortress and the modern Japanese fortress. The results are as follow. First, this essay goes over the term Wae fortress. This term generally indicates the fortress constructed in the Korean peninsula by the Japanese forces during periods of the Japanese invasion. According to the official records of the Joseon dynasty, they distinguished the Wae fortresses from the Japanese fortresses located in Japan. As a result, it seems that the court of the Joseon dynasty defined the term Wae fortress as a fortress constructed in the Korean peninsula by the Japanese. Second, it is interesting that the meaning of Jeung fortress or Jeung mountain became different before and after the Japanese invasion. According to the records written before the Japanese invasion, these terms were generally named after the cauldron-shaped of the mountain. Therefore, based on the its Chinese characters, the fortresses were called either Jeung fortress or Jeung mountain fortress. On the other hand, it seems that these terms were used as another name for the Wae fortresses during the period of the Japanese invasion. The word Jeung was originally from a Japanese word for a castle(shiro). Therefore, the Korean people started to use the word shiru(steamer), which had a similar pronunciation with the Japanese word shiro. Last, this essay also examines the beginning of the modern Japanese fortress that had been regarded as an origin of the Wae fortress. Many scholars also argue that the modern Japanese fortress represented the Japan’s unique style. However, according to the aerial view of the Azuchi fortress-the first modern Japanese fortress, the styles of their construction were very similar to that of the European in the 15-16th centuries. As a result, the modern Japanese fortresses were influenced by an inflow of the Western culture into the Japan at the time. For this reason, the Wae fortresses constructed by the Japanese also has similar characteristics which the modern Japanese fortresses had.

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