The expansion of the Japanese Empire from the late nineteenth century coincided with the modernization of the nation. In this context, historical research conducted on Korea by Japanese historians from the late nineteenth century to 1945 had the double function of supporting Japan’s colonial expansion and establishing historical studies as a modern discipline, which entailed the creation of Tōyō (Japan’s Orient). While previous studies on Japanese historiography from this period have tended to focus on its function as a tool supporting Japanese colonialism and have not paid due attention to its role as a part of Tōyō, this paper examines how Japanese historians ascribed the notion of Tōyō and the position of Korea within this historical space. It achieves this by focusing on the work of Inaba Iwakichi on Korean political history. His study was based on his teacher Naito Konan’s interpretation of Chinese history. Naitō, who was a professor in the department of history at Kyōtō Imperial University, explained the Tang-Song transition as the evolution from medieval aristocracy to early modern monarchy. Following this line of thought, Inaba claimed that the political system of the Chosŏn dynasty had remained at the aristocracy stage, thus highlighting the stagnant character of Korean history. In addition, it shows that Japanese historians positioned Korea as the most backward state in Tōyō, which comprised Korea, China, and Japan.
목차
Abstract Introduction Periodizing Korean History with Political Systems From Aristocracy to Monarchy: Naitō Konan on Medieval and Early Modern China The Strong Family System and the Extended Aristocracy Conclusion: Korea as the “Most Backward State in Tōyō” References
한국연구원은 1970년 5월 한국 민속의 각 분야에 걸친 자료의 수집과 학술적 연구를 목적으로 '한국민속연구소'로 출발하였다. 그 후 1973년 5월 연구 분야를 확대하며 민속뿐만 아니라 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 위해 '한국학연구소'로 개편하였고, 다시 1989년 3월 한국의 국제적 위상의 부상과 함께 한국학 연구의 중요성이 높아짐에 따라 '한국학연구원'으로 확대, 개편하였다. 한국학연구원은 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 통해 지역과 민족문화 발전에 기여하며 한국학의 세계화를 위해서 학술활동을 강화하고 나아가 내·외국인에 대한 한국문화 교육을 담당하고자 한다.