TREATY BETWEEN JAPAN AND COREA.
The following Treaty, having been concluded with Corea, is hereby made known.
22nd March, 1876.
SANJO SANEYOSHI,
Daijio Daijin.
A Treaty of friendship.
Amity has existed from ancient times between Dai Nippon and Dai Chosen. But its relations never having been clearly defined, it has been thought desirable to base it upon more solid foundations so that it may stand for ever.
To this end the Japanese Government sent its special Envoy, Kuroda Kiyotaka, Lieutenant-General, Privy Councillor and Chief of the Kaitakushi, together with Inouye Kaworu as Vice-Envoy, to Kokwa Fu in Corea, where they met Shinken, Chief Controller and In Jisho, Vice-Controller.
Here, agreeably to the commands of their respective Sovereigns, the Representa- tives of the two High Contracting Powers arranged and concluded the following Treaty stipulations.
Art. I.-Corea, being an Independent Sovereignty, and Japan her compeer, in furtherance of their mutual desire for lasting peace and friendship, do hereby settle and conclude the forms and conditions of their intercourse upon terms of equality and mutual regard.
All old rules and observances on either side which have in the past been found vexatious to the opposite party shall be and are hereby abrogated, so that mutual love and peace may for ever be established.
Art. II. Within fifteen months from the date of this Treaty the Japanese will send a representative to the capital of Corea, where he shall be permitted to com- municate freely with the Reiso Hansho in order to arrange between the two countries all the details of mutual friendly intercourse. The Japanese representative shall be free at all times to remain in Corea or return to Japan at will. The Government of Corea may also at any future time send its representative to Tokio, the capital of Japan, and there he may communicate freely with the Foreign Office to arrange all affairs of mutual concern between the two countries. The representative of Corea shall also be free to remain in Japan or return at bis pleasure.
Art. III.-In all written communications between the two countries the Japanese Government will write in its native language, giving therewith a translation into Chinese, and the Corean Government shall write in its own language.
Art. IV.-Trade having long been carried on at Sorioko, in the harbour of Fusan, between the Japanese and Coreans, all the old rules and customs of that trade shall be abolished and new trade regulations in accordance with the articles and stipulations of this treaty as in the 5th article shall be provided. Corea shall open two ports upon its coast where Japanese may freely resort for purposes of trade, and may rent land, and build houses and stores, or rent houses from Coreans.
Art. V. Two harbours most suitable for trade shall be sought out on the coast of the five provinces, viz. :--Keike, Chusri, Zenra, Keisho, and Kankio. After ex- amination of these coasts the locality shall be settled by mutual agreement. The opening of these ports to trade shall be within twenty months from the 2nd month of the 9th year of Meiji according to the Japanese calendar, and the 1st month of Heishi.
Art. VI.-Hereafter when any Japanese vessel shall be in distress on the Corean coast, whether in bad whether or in want of fuel or food, and such ship shall be