十九世紀以前，日本人的朝鮮觀是多元的，如蔑視朝鮮、征討朝鮮、尊敬朝鮮等，但以蔑視朝鮮的心理最值得注意。日本對朝鮮心存蔑視，此根源於《古事記》與《日本書紀》中神功皇后征服三韓的傳說，及由華夷思想、領域觀念、神國思想等形成的民族優越感。日本認為朝鮮自古即向日本朝貢，是日本的屬國；視朝鮮為夷、為穢地。又如足利義滿（1358~ 1408）受明朝冊封後，由將軍與朝鮮行對等外交，但將軍給予朝鮮國王的國書不自稱國王，而以「日本國源某」代之，用日本年號或龍集干支。至十七、十八世紀，甚至有學者認為朝鮮文武不如日本，不必與其交鄰；批判朝鮮諂媚日本如下人，恐懼日本如囊中鼠等。至於征討朝鮮的論說，雖至十八世紀後半才出現，但隨著近現代日本遂行其大陸政策，則次第被實踐。日本是一島國，吸收大陸文化的廣度和深度，均不如朝鮮半島國家。所謂尊敬朝鮮，主要是在文化方面。尤其江戶時代，日本學者尊崇朝鮮學者，與通信使筆談、唱和詩文、求序、求字，態度恭謹；民眾則不辨朝鮮隸卒，卑屈求書畫，上下莫不以求得隻字片語為榮。
日本對朝鮮的優越感，基本上始於八世紀前後。此種意識持續至十八世紀末，因海防問題演變成主張侵略朝鮮，甚至在十九世紀末付諸行動。其間雖也有如江戶時代上下民眾熱衷朝鮮文化的盛況，但十九世紀以前，朝鮮是日本的朝貢國的觀念，及蔑視朝鮮的心理，則始終支配著日本人的意識。

Before the nineteenth century, Japan’s diplomatic perspectives toward Korea were generally a mixture of contempt, respect, and dominance by military expedition.
Japan’s deep-rooted contempt toward Korea originated from its sense of ethnic superiority which maintained that Korea had always been a subsidiary state to Japan since ancient times. Since shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義滿, 1358~1408) was conferred the title of Japanese king by China’s Ming Dynasty until the Tokugawa period Japanese shoguns never claimed themselves as “kings” in their state credentials to Korean kings. Regardless of international protocol, Japanese shoguns still failed to treat their counterparts equally.
Japan’s respect toward Korea was limited to their cherishing of Korean culture, especially that during the Tokugawa period when Japanese scholars and general public held high respect toward Korean scholars and took pride in acquiring works of calligraphy and paintings from Korea envoys.
Japan’s military expedition to Korea was finally carried out in the modern times with the implementation of its mainland expansion policy, although the theory had been expressed as early as in the late-eighteenth century. Japanese in general had always held a contemptuous attitude toward Korea before the nineteenth century.