The Border Islands

The islands of Iki, Tsushima, and the Goto chain off western Kyushu have been Japan's main point of contact with continental Asia for over 2,000 years. A third-century Chinese text describes envoys passing through Tsushima and the capital of ancient Iki. The islands were fortified after Japan's military defeat in 663 CE, used as staging grounds for failed invasions of Korea in the 1590s, and later became the conduit for official Tokugawa-Joseon trade managed by the So family of Tsushima. Sites range from kofun burial mounds and mountain castles to the So family mausoleum at Banshoin Temple and a dry dock for their trading fleet.