日本律令國家 의 新羅觀 의 형성과 실태

The Japanese Ritsuryo State’s Perception of Silla and Reality

Overcoming Silla was one of the goals that the Japanese state pursued in the 8th century. To this end, Japan established an ideology of superiority over Silla and created a historical ground to justify its perception of Silla as its subordinate state. The promulgation of the Taiho Code furnished Japan with the blueprint for a Tenno state, and the publication of Nihonshoki laid a foundation to legitimize the sovereignty of Tenno. The Legend of Empress Jingu, a story used as historical evidence to support that Silla had paid tribute to Japan, was created based on Japan’s political ideology of the 8th century, and the Japanese ruling class tried to actualize this ideology in the diplomatic field. However, Japan’s unreasonable demand was mostly rejected by Silla, and the two countries clashed over Sino-centrism. The Japanese perception of Silla as its subordinate state was not rooted in its cultural superiority, as is the case of China’s Sino-centric view of the world, but rather rooted in the opposite situation. In order to counterbalance the cultural superiority of Silla, which it considered a subordinate state, Japan emphasized its political and military superiority and discussed a military expedition to Silla as punishment for the ‘impertinence’ of trying to secede from the Japanese hegemonic rule. With this dual character of the situation, where the ideology of ancient Japan’s ruling class and the reality do not coincide, it became difficult for Japan to continue its official relations with Silla. Against this backdrop, from the late 8th century Japan adopted a chauvinistic approach to Silla.