The Yamato Regime and Sinocentrism (University of Tokyo, 1994)

The new fiscal year is a busy time for work, isn't it? (laughs)
Since I had many opportunities to solve essay questions in April, I will use the University of Tokyo (1994) as the subject this time. I expect there will be many essay-related posts for a while...

Question

(1) Xing died and his younger brother Wu took the throne. (Omitted) In the second year of the Shengming era of Emperor Shun (478), he sent an envoy to present a memorial, stating: My fief is in a remote corner, acting as a shield on the periphery. Since the time of my ancestors, they have personally worn armor and helmets, crossing mountains and rivers without a moment of rest. To the east, I have conquered 55 countries of the hairy people; to the west, I have subdued 66 countries of the various barbarians; and across the sea, I have pacified 95 countries in the north. (Omitted) Although I (Wu) am of low intelligence, I have humbly inherited the legacy of my predecessors, leading those under my command to return and pay homage to the celestial pole (the Emperor), crossing through Baekje to prepare ships and boats. (Omitted) An imperial edict was issued appointing Wu as the General Who Pacifies the East, King of Wa, holding the authority to command the military affairs of the six countries of Wa, Silla, Imna, Kara, Jinhan, and Mahan.
(Book of Song, Account of the Wa, original classical Chinese)

(2) In the third year of the Daye era (607), their king, Tarishihiko, sent an envoy to pay tribute. The envoy said: I have heard that the Bodhisattva Son of Heaven in the west has revived the Buddha Dharma. Therefore, I have been sent to pay homage, and also to have several dozen monks come to study the Buddha Dharma. The state letter stated: "The Son of Heaven where the sun rises addresses the Son of Heaven where the sun sets. Are you well? Et cetera." The Emperor (Emperor Yang) was not pleased upon reading this. He said to the Minister of Ceremonial (the official in charge of diplomacy): "If the letter from the barbarians is rude, do not report it to me again."
(Book of Sui, Account of the Wa, original classical Chinese)

Questions
A: How did the attitude of the King of Wa toward the Chinese Emperor change between historical source (1) and historical source (2)? State your answer within two lines.
B: Describe the historical background that brought about the change in question A, covering both domestic and international aspects, within five lines.

Both historical source (1) and historical source (2) are famous, and many people are likely familiar with their contents.
The University of Tokyo specifies length in "lines." Since one line is 30 characters, the instruction for question A to be two lines means you should answer in 60 characters.

Note that the problem is based on the following site.
Answers are also provided, so please check them.

Explanation

The requirement for question A is how the purpose of the envoys changed between (1) and (2).

From the content of historical source (1), we can understand the following:
1. King Wu of Wa is ruling the country and the Korean Peninsula (?) with military power as a background 2. (Emperor Shun) appoints King Wu of Wa as the
General Who Pacifies the East of the six countries' military affairs. Regarding 1,
Wu is pointed out to be

Emperor Yuryaku, and is considered to be the Wakatakeru inscribed on the iron sword excavated from the Inariyama Kofun in Saitama Prefecture and the iron sword from the Eta Funayama Kofun in Kumamoto Prefecture. And from the existence of these two iron swords,

during the era of Emperor Yuryaku, the Yamato regime brought a wide area from central Kyushu to the Kanto region under its influence.

is the explanation.
This point matches the description in historical source (1): "To the east, I have conquered 55 countries of the hairy people; to the west, I have subdued 66 countries of the various barbarians; and across the sea, I have pacified 95 countries in the north."
It is thought that "hairy people" refers to the Emishi and "various barbarians" refers to the Hayato, but it is not actually well understood what "pacified 95 countries in the north across the sea" means.
Since it says crossing the sea, it is pointed out that it might be the Korean Peninsula?
If so, Emperor Yuryaku is asserting to Emperor Shun of Song that "the Korean Peninsula is also under his influence."
Regarding the last point of historical source (1), point 2, since it says "General Who Pacifies the East for the six countries of Silla, Imna, Kara, Jinhan, and Mahan," it seems it was acknowledged to some extent.

Here, I will explain "Sinocentrism," which is the keyword for this problem.

Let's look at "New Detailed Japanese History" (Hamajima Shoten).

It is a diplomatic relationship (East Asian international order) based on the premise of the subordination of surrounding countries to China. At the same time, it was also a trade relationship, and there were great benefits for the surrounding countries as they could obtain gifts greater than the tribute they offered. Through this international order, the East Asian cultural sphere, which shared Chinese characters, Confucianism, Buddhism, and the Ritsuryo system, was formed during the Tang dynasty.

That is how it is explained.

To explain it simply without fear of being misleading,

"The Chinese Emperor is the ruler of the world. Surrounding countries, longing for the Emperor, come to pay their respects on their own. So, let's reward their efforts in coming and give them souvenirs."

That is the feeling, perhaps.
"China" is a civilized country belonging to the center of the world, while the surrounding countries have people who do not know civilization. So, let's bestow civilization upon them through the "virtue" of the Emperor.

The condescending attitude is amazing... (laughs)

Did the surrounding countries quietly obey after being told such things?
They did obey. Because the "souvenirs" they received were things that served their national interests.

And the emperor grants a "title" (such as King) to the country that has sent tribute.
This act of receiving a title is called investiture.

In other words, since King Bu of Wa in historical document (1) was ultimately granted the title of "General Who Pacifies the East," it can be evaluated that he "entered into the investiture system". I will explain the meaning of this in Question B.

Now, let's summarize what can be understood from historical document (2). It is a famous historical document related to the missions to Sui China. I would like to focus on the following passage.

1. "The Son of Heaven where the sun rises sends a letter to the Son of Heaven where the sun sets. Are you well? Etc."

It is a famous phrase, and everyone surely knows the significance of this part.

"They sought an equal relationship".

Even if you continue reading historical document (2), there is no description of having received any kind of title.
In short,

Historical document (1) = received investiture. Historical document (2) = did not receive investiture.
This is the point that needs to be explained.

Let's look at Question B. It is 5 lines, so it must be within 150 characters.

State the historical background that brought about the change in Question A, regarding both domestic and international aspects, within 5 lines.

I will explain the historical background that caused the change in Question A.
The condition is to point out both domestic and international aspects.

Let's check from the domestic aspect. Why would they send tribute in the first place?

In the 'Book of the Later Han', Account of the Eastern Barbarians, they sent envoys in 57 and 107.
In particular, in 57, they received the title of "King of Na of Wa of Han" and entered under the investiture system.
In 239, according to the 'Records of Wei', Account of the Wa People, Himiko also sent an envoy and entered under the investiture system with the title of "King of Wa, Friend of Wei."

Actually, from these two historical documents, we can understand that "Wa was in a state of civil war." In the 'Book of the Later Han', Account of the Eastern Barbarians, the situation of
"Great Wa War" can be read, and the 'Records of Wei', Account of the Wa People, records the time when Yamatai was in conflict with the Kunu country.

From this, we can read the reason for the tribute: by receiving a title (having the emperor recognize their rule), they could gain an advantageous position domestically and advance the war to their benefit. Also, the 'Records of Wei', Account of the Wa People, states that bronze mirrors were given to Himiko, which can also be considered as "a visible form of authority."

Couldn't King Bu of Wa be thought of in the same way?
About 60 years after the era of historical document (2), the Iwai Rebellion occurred (Keitai dynasty).
As can be seen from this, it is still hard to say that the country had been unified..

The domestic situation finally heads toward stability around the time of the Suiko dynasty. Empress Suiko was the first empress, and her politics were supported by
Soga no Umako and Prince Umayado.

The Yamato regime reorganized the subordinate powerful clans and granted them "Uji" (surnames), and demanded service to the Great King's family on a clan basis.. It is understood that a clan is a group formed from blood relationships, but in ancient times, this is not correct.
Rather, there are fewer cases where there is a blood relationship. This is called a "fictitious blood relationship." Even if it is represented as A-B-C in a genealogy, this does not immediately represent a father-son relationship. (It is highly likely that it represents a change in the status of the clan leader.)

By the way, the direct succession from father to son is thought to have been aimed for during the Jito to Shomu dynasties.. Since this is a story that is deeply involved in the compilation process of the 'Nihon Shoki', I intend to talk about it in another article.

Let's check the domestic politics before the establishment of the Suiko dynasty.

There were several powerful central clans in the Yamato regime, and among them were the Otomo and Mononobe clans, who were Omuraji (Great Lords).. However, the Otomo clan fell from power in 540 when Otomo no Kanamura was blamed for the failure of the Korean policy, and the Mononobe clan saw its power greatly recede when Mononobe no Moriya was defeated in 587, having been involved in the debate over Buddhism with the Soga clan.

In other words, in the Suiko dynasty, a Soga clan-dominated regime had been established. Also, because of this, it is thought that the country was relatively stable compared to before.

This is the reason why "Wa no longer needed to receive investiture during the missions to the Sui dynasty."
The act of investiture—receiving a title from the Chinese Emperor—was largely significant for gaining an advantage in domestic civil strife.The rapid development of the Uji-Kabane system (the clan and title system) from the 5th century to the early 6th century was also a factor that led to stability.

Let us move on to the international aspect.
In the latter half of the 6th century, there was a major shift in East Asia.It was the emergence of a unified dynasty called the Sui.Before this, the Chinese mainland was in what is called the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, where wars were fought "within" the continent. Once the wars "within" ended, the Suibegan to turn its military power "outward."Specifically, this refers to the invasion of Goguryeo.
As a result, the three Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje, which had been reasonably stable due to a delicate balance, faced a turbulent 7th century, andthis influence spread even to Wa.

How did the three Korean kingdoms and Wa try to overcome the turbulent 7th century?
Centralization,or to put it more precisely, they tried to overcome this crisis by aiming to become a Ritsuryo state.
(= strengthening leadership through centralization)

It might have been inevitable that the Soga clan established power at this timing.The Soga clan built Asuka-dera, the oldest temple in Japan,but this required advanced continental civil engineering and surveying techniques. They had manyimmigrants with these skills under their control.Because they had these information routes, they tried to respond sensitively to the rapid changes in East Asia (just as Prince Naka no Oe destroyed the Soga main line in the Isshi Incident, the path centered on the Soga clan failed).

Looking at the content of historical document (2) again, upon seeing the state letter from Wa seeking equality,Emperor Yang was enraged,stating, "If a letter from the barbarians is rude, do not report it again."
However,he sent Pei Shiqing to Japan as a return envoy, and further missions to the Sui were sent in 608 and 614..
It seems Wa was forgiven. This is becausethe Sui was in a state of war with Goguryeo.Emperor Yang must have thought, "If Wa attacks Goguryeo from the rear at the request of the Sui, we can defeat Goguryeo. The letter is rude, but Goguryeo is the priority, so I will forgive them."

The reason they sought equality at this timing is thatWa understood and utilized the international relations described above.

By the way, who do you think came up with this state letter?
"The Son of Heaven where the sun rises addresses the Son of Heaven where the sun sets. Are you well? And so on."

Sun rises = East
Sun sets = West

When using terms like up, down, left, right, or east, west, south, north, it is necessary to define a "starting point" (which we do unconsciously).
From the perspective of the Japanese archipelago, the Sui is to the west, but the east is the Pacific Ocean...
It has long been pointed out that Prince Umayado (Prince Shotoku) was involved in this state letter.
In fact,Prince Umayado's Buddhist teacher was Eji, a monk from Goguryeo.Did Eji serve as Prince Umayado's ghostwriter?

One more push.

Wa sought an equal standing with China, meaning the Great King (Emperor) attempted to become an Emperor.
This signifies the expression of"Japan's unique Sinocentrism."

As can be confirmed from historical document (1), Wa sought China's approval for "command and governance rights over the Korean Peninsula."
In other words,
China > Japan > Korean Peninsula.
Developing from historical document (1), in historical document (2),
they were attempting to conduct Korean policy by asserting an equal relationship with China.

This unique Japanese Sinocentrism became clearly apparent in the Heian period.
This is sometimes calledHoncho Shiso (Thought of Our Dynasty).Several books based on this thought were written in the Heian period.
The "Wakan Roeishu"attempts to contrast Japanese and Tang poetry, andthe "Konjaku Monogatarishu"is written with the classification of Tenjiku (India), Shintan (China), and Honcho (Japan).

There is also this story.
There was a person named Otomo no Komaro who served as a vice-envoy in the 752 mission to Tang China. There is an episode where he quarreled with Silla over seating arrangements locally and moved Japan to the seat of honor.
Speaking of Silla,it was in a tense relationship with Japan in the 8th century.

Silla eventually drove out Tang forces from the Korean Peninsula and unified it, butuntil the latter half of the 7th century, Japan-Silla relations were relatively good.Japan absorbed Tang culture through Silla and created the Hakuho culture.However, in the 8th century, Japan-Silla relations rapidly deteriorated.The route for the missions to Tang China was also changed from the northern route to the dangerous southeastern route.The cause of the worsening relations was Silla's backlash against Japan's attempt to position Silla as a tributary state.

I think you can create an answer from the above story.
Until next time.