Abstract

Admiral Yi Sun-Sin was dismissed from his office of ‘Supreme Commander of Naval Forces’(水軍統制使) and imprisoned on the 4th day of the 3rd lunar month, 1597. His successor Won Kyun was tragically defeated and the Korean fleet was destroyed(16th of 7th lunar month, 1597). Because of this defeat, Japanese forces of the so-called second invasion poured freely into Korea. In the aftermath of this disaster, Yi Sun-Sin was restored to his command and then he was able to gather only 13 fighting ships(戰船). By employing a remarkable strategy that exploited the narrow strait with the turbulent tide, he achieved a great victory against over 130 Japanese fighting ships(安宅 etc.) at Myŏngryang(鳴梁), and entirely frustrated the enemy’s plan to round the southwestern corner of Korea and sail northward. The present study aims at reconstituting the scenes of the naval battle that began in the morning of the 16th of the 9th lunar month (i.e., 25th October), 1597 at Myŏngryang strait(~290 m wide at narrowest place and ~1,700 m long). First, the records(VersionⅠ,Ⅱ) of the same date in the Yi Sun-Sin’s ‘Chŏng-Yu Diary’(丁酉日記) are carefully reviewed through criticism of some sensitive contexts. Then, the impact of the tides is assessed by estimating the times for high and low tides of that day using the Metonic cycle and ephemeris in connection with lunar phase. The slack times of tidal current are deduced from the tide tables for the years of 1977(20th Metonic cycle) and 1996(21st Metonic cycle), which were issued by the Office of Hydrographic Affairs, Korea. Finally, reconstituted scenario of the naval battle is presented with relevant schematic diagrams, and the conduct of the Yi Sun-Sin’s fleet following the victory is briefly observed.