The concept of "Tenka" in ancient Japan

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K03014
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Japanese history
• Research Institution: Nara Women's University
• Principal Investigator: KAWAKAMI Mayuko 奈良女子大学, 人文科学系, 准教授 (50647873)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 天下 / 東アジア / 都城 / 仏教 / 転輪聖王 / 遣隋使 / 遣唐使 / 倭の五王

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The inscriptions, which are said to have been made during the reign of Emperor Yuryaku(雄略), use the word "tenka(天下)", which refers to the emperor's dominion in Chinese historical documents. So that, prior researchers have suggested that a Chinese-style "concept of the world" that Japan was the center of the world was introduced in ancient Japan. In this study, however, we have shown that in Chinese historical documents of the same period, "Tianxia(天下)" basically refers to the area directly ruled by the emperor, that there are diplomatic documents that describe the area ruled by monarchs other than the Chinese emperor as "Tianxia," and that "Tainxia" was used flexibly in Buddhist scriptures, such as the translation of the continent of the four circumferences of Mount Sumeru as "Tainxia”. Therefore, we conclude that the existence of the inscriptions does not mean that the Japanese view of Tenka was born in the 5th century.

Free Research Field

東アジア史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

先行研究では、5世紀の日本で日本を中華とする「天下観」が誕生、倭の五王のように中国の冊封を受けることができなくなって中国との交渉を一時停止し、時代が降って遣隋使は中国との対等を主張したと説明されてきた。しかし5世紀に日本的な「天下観」が誕生したということはできず、また河上がこれまでの研究で明らかにしてきたように、遣隋使は中国との対等を主張するものではなかった。かつて東野治之らが明らかにしてきたように、遣隋使の後に続く遣唐使は朝貢（中国の臣下として行う交渉）であった。倭国（日本）の対中国交渉とは、倭の五王の時代から遣隋使・遣唐使に至るまで、中国の最新情報に基づいて実利を追求したと論じた。