[KS] Systematic looting during the Imjin War (official units)

[Rebekah Clements]

Dear colleagues,

In scholarship on the Imjin War I often come across allusions to six special units that were supposedly formed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in order to systematically loot Chosŏn's cultural commodities. These units are usually described as being for books, artisans, slaves, metal objects, livestock, and treasures. However, I have never managed to trace any primary source evidence for the existence of these official units, although there is of course evidence of looting in other forms.

Can colleagues shed any light on the question of whether such official units existed, or point me in the direction of relevant research?

With many thanks,

Rebekah Clements
ICREA Research Professor
Departament de Traducció i d'Interpretació i d'Estudis d'Àsia Oriental
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
https://www.icrea.cat/en/Web/ScientificStaff/clementsrebekah/abridged-cv-researcher https://www.icrea.cat/Web/ScientificStaff/rebekah-e-clements-293897 . 

PI of ERC Horizon 2020 project "Aftermath of the East Asian War of 1592-1598" (758347).
https://aftermath.uab.cat/ 
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 758347)
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