十九世紀末期日本以明治維新為機運展開全面的「近代化」，其後明治期起積極的歐化主義傾向，與向後的保守思想產生對立的混亂狀態。森鷗外即在此改造背景下赴德留學，從而擺盪於新／舊、現代╱封建的浪潮當中。在森鷗外以《舞姬》確立其文壇地位之前，就將1884年8月至1888年7月間西洋留學的航旅經驗，以漢文、日文寫成《航西日記》、《獨逸日記》、《隊務日記》及《還東日乘》等文字發表。森鷗外更於日記中借鑑西方或受帝國殖民的他地，對照當時日本社會邁向帝國發展的內部處境。承上所述，本文將以森鷗外日記的文本探討為焦點，從觀看帝國殖民地的海外渡航文字《航西日記》，與征台隨軍期間《徂征日記》等跨地域的記錄，梳理他對國家晉身帝國過程中的嚮往，以及恐懼日本成為歐美列強「殖民地」的焦慮。而從中發掘日本知識份子初始面對西方帝國文明的態度與自我定位，以及日本崛起後向殖民地台灣投影的諸種想像。

Following the Meiji Restoration in the late nineteenth century, Japan began a comprehensive program of ”modernization”. A tendency toward Europeanization was adopted in opposition to the conservative ideals of the Meiji era. Against such a background, Mori Ogai went abroad to study military sanitation systems in Germany from 1881 to 1884, and swung between the tide of modernity and feudalism. Prior to establishing his literary status in Japan, Mori Ogai had already published his diaries about western sailing and experiences studying abroad in volumes, such as ”Kosei-Nikki”, ”Doitsu-Nikki”, ”Taimu-Nikki”, and ”Kantou-Nichijou”. In his diaries, Mori Ogai adopted the Asian colonies of western empires as comparative subjects with which to illustrate the internal struggle of Japanese society. This paper focuses on Mori Ogai's two diaries, a record of his overseas voyage in ”Kosei-Nikki”, and his review of life in colonial Taiwan in ”Sosei-Nikki”. This work represents an attempt to elucidate the two overriding emotions of Japanese intellectuals concerning Japan's anticipated shift toward becoming a colonial empire and the fear of Japan itself becoming a ”colony” of other imperial powers. The goal of this paper is to explore the face of Japanese intellectual's self-positioning and views regarding colonial modernity and colonial Taiwan.