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."