本文將從「陸權國家」與「海權國家」鬥爭的世界史構想出發，從18、19世紀日本知識人話語中，去看日本如何從一個「島國」變成向外開放的商業文明的「海國」乃至「海權國家」，及最後欲成為「陸權國家」而終至失敗的過程。主要以釐清日本之「海國」想像知識系譜，以及進一歩探究日本的「海國」想像與其在近代亞洲的擴張之關連為論文目的。因為日本從自覺其為「海國」開始，逐漸不再以「島國」之姿模仿彼岸「陸國」之政治與軍事等的制度，而是改以渡海而來的西方國家為典範，向其周邊的海洋、大陸與島嶼擴張。就此意義而言，近代日本的｢海國｣想像是與亞洲大陸的「陸國」差異化，其脱亞意識的根源之一。另一方面，當日本企圖以「海國」之姿展開擴張之時，其所能擴張的範圍亦只有亞洲的近鄰諸邦而已，是以「海國」的想像、建構與欲成為「海權國家」與「陸權國家」的亞洲論述纏繞在一起。也就是説，「海國」想像與「脱亞」思想、擴張主義型亞洲論述等三種思想複雜地交錯在一起。本文欲從思想史的角度，釐清此一交錯的思想狀況。藉此，希望能對亞洲主義的形成與發展開提供一思考方向。又，此一複雜的思想狀況當從江戸思想史的内部來探究起的，故本文將檢討林子平、本多利明等江戸後期思想家的言論，然後探討福澤諭吉等明治思想家與亞洲主義團體東邦協會相關之諸種「海國」想像與其亞洲論述。而且，亦將討論東邦協會所譯介馬漢(Alfred Thayer Mahan)的《海權論》(The Influence of Sea Power upon History,1660-1783)與近代日本之亞洲論述的關連。

When European maritime powers occupied most of sea spaces, they began to trade with Asian countries, and gradually to colonization of large areas of land in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the meantime, the border was invented in the Asia, and a few Japanese intellectuals gradually started to argued about the border of Japan, to recognize Japan’s characteristics and advantages as a maritime nation（海國）.And they imaged Japan as a maritime nation as a way to make differences from China. So In the 18th century, a few Japanese intellectuals who imaged Japan as a maritime nation no longer imitated the political and military systems of continental nations（陸國，notably China）; rather, they took the Western maritime powers as a model to build the nation and expand territories. In this sense, to imagine Japan itself as a maritime nation was a step, or maybe a turning point, in Japan’s attempt to de-Asianize（Escape from Asia，脱亞）, also, it was a step in the development of the Asianism(especially of those expansionist thoughts of Asianism).That is to say, the cultural border between Europe and Asia was invented by the modern Japanese intellectuals, at the same time, they break the border of the Asian nations to become the west. So In this paper, I would like to argue that Japan’s imagination of being a maritime nation was an important factor in Asianism’s emergence in modern Japan. For this purpose, I will examine the discourses of Japanese intellectuals concerned with building up Japan as a maritime nation from the 18th century. And then I will discuss Afred Thayer Mahan’s sea power theory served as one of the factors that lead to the emphasis on military overseas expansion in Japan’s (expanisionist) Asiaism. At last, as China is urging to get the sea power of the Asia-Pacific region, want to rebuild China as a maritime nation recently. I will discuss the conflict of the two maritime nations in the border of seas.