Abstract: As a thinker and a founder of the history of art in modern Japan, OKAKURA Tenshin (1863-1913) traveled to China four times in his life and wrote a lot about China. In his unique and pioneering theory of the differences and similarities between northern and southern China, he compared China with Europe and considered that China is the integration of diverse political groups. Even today, his particular analyses of the diversity of China’s geography and space will provide many important clues for us to rethink the historical and culture momentum that has molded “China”.