In 1401, barely a century after the Mongols¡¯ aborted invasions of Japan, and 600-odd years before Japan and China fell out over the Senkaku islets, a Chinese emperor conferred upon a Japanese shogun the title ¡°King of Japan.¡±
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) was overjoyed at this mark of distinction. In a letter he sent via a trading delegation to Emperor Hung Wu, founder of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Shogun Yoshimitsu willingly struck the pose expected of him: ¡°In fear and dread, kneeling again and again, I respectfully state ... ¡±
The Chinese reply rewarded flattery with flattery, noting: ¡°Japan has always been known as a country of poems and books.¡± In the lively correspondence that followed, Yoshimitsu signed himself, ¡°King of Japan, Your Subject.¡±
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