일본 중세사의 `해양인식`, 어떻게 볼 것인가

A Study of Japanese `Sea Recognition` in Middle Age

In modern Japan, the first researcher on the sea is Kume Kunitake. He argued that Japan was at the center of East Asian waters and that the main group was Japanese pirates, the Waku. Koto Hideo claimed that the Waku is divided into Sunku(Real Waku) and Sangku(Merchant Waku). This is the theoretical basis of the group of armed merchants by Nishijima Satao. Nishijima argued that Waku and merchants exchange activities in the trading bloc of East Asia. On the other hand, Tanaka Takeo claimed that Waku was completely out of national control and formed the zone of friendly relations in East Asia. In reconstructing the zone of friendly relations, Tanaka openly expressed his contempt toward the Koryo and the Chosun peoples. Meanwhile, Murai Shosuke argued for the existence of border riders and included Waku. These studies and theories reveal distorted view toward neighboring peoples and used to promote and justify Japanese imperialism in the past. Such practices, however, continue in a subtle form. Recently, the textbook of Japanese history in high school inserted a column of ‘to review Waku’s world’ and described Waku as a pioneer and a principal agent in interactive East Asia.