ABSTRACT
Japan and China have a history of more than 2,000 years of contact, alternating between periods of warm and active relations and periods of conflict. Each alternation between good and bad periods had its own historical reasons, but the perceptions each country held of the other played an extremely important role in shaping their relations. Japan in particular faced the question of how to view relations with China, and the Japanese view of China has influenced the destiny of both countries. For this reason, this chapter focused on how the Japanese view China and the Chinese people, and how and why these viewpoints have changed over time. As every individual Japanese person may have a unique viewpoint on China, this chapter discusses only the conception of China held by selected mainstream groups within Japanese society. Due to the immense span of time between ancient and modern eras and the post-war period, it is difficult to capture Japanese views of China in ancient periods. Therefore, in this chapter, descriptions of Japanese views of China in ancient times are relatively basic and broad, whereas it is more meticulous, specific, and rigorous on the Japanese view of China since World War II.
