It was a country worthy of the name 'small empire of eastern barbarians' and classified its sphere of sovereignty as 'kenai,' everywhere outside of this as 'kegai' and further classified kegai into Tang (defined as a 'neighboring country') 'shoban' (literally, miscellaneous barbarians, consisting of kingdoms in Korea: Silla and Balhae in this period) and 'Iteki,' including Ezo (northerners), Hayato (an ancient tribe in Kyushu) and inhabitants in southern islands.
それは国家の統治権が及ぶ範囲を「化内」、それが及ばない外部を「化外」と区別し、さらに化外を区分して唐を「隣国」、朝鮮諸国（この時代には新羅と渤海）を「諸蕃」、蝦夷・隼人・南島人を「夷狄」と規定する「東夷の小帝国」と呼ぶべきものであった。