I am so envious of Japanese history for not being incorporated into the Sinocentric order

It is truly enviable how the Japanese historical perspective thinks, "We are different from China's world; we have our own world."
When Joseon and Japan engaged in diplomacy, Joseon was required to use the era names of the Ming or Qing emperors, whereas Japan used its own independent era names under the Emperor.
When Korea expresses something uniquely Korean using the term "Oriental" (e.g., Oriental painting, Oriental martial arts, etc.), Japan expresses things uniquely Japanese by using "Japanese" or the prefix "Wa-" to signify their difference from China.
While Joseon acted as a subordinate, positioning itself as number two in the Sinocentric world, Japan maintained a "Three Kingdoms" view. India for Buddhism, China for Confucianism, and Japan for Shinto. This implies the world consists of three separate worlds, and countries incorporated into the Sinocentric world, such as Korea and Vietnam, were not even considered on the same level.