Yuzuki no Kimi (弓月君) was the founder of the Hata clan, an immigrant clan in ancient Japan who hailed from the kingdom of Baekje according to the Nihon Shoki.[1] He is considered one of the three most influential Toraijins alongside Achi no omi and Wani during the Kofun period.

History

Yuzuki no Kimi is first mentioned in Nihon Shoki as a person from Baekje[1] who wished to emigrate to Japan alongside his 120 clan members. However, due to the prevention of the rival kingdom Silla, he and his men were hiding in Mimana (Gaya confederacy) and was seeking rescue from Emperor Ōjin.

Emperor Ōjin ordered Kazuragi no Sotsuhiko (葛城襲津彦) to enter Gaya and escort Yuzuki no Kimi and his fellow people back to Japan in 283. However, after his departure, Katsuragi no Sotsuhiko and Yuzuki no Kimi were not heard from again.

Two years later in 285, Emperor Ōjin sent Heguri no Tsuku (平群木菟) and Ikuhanodota no Sukune (的戸田宿禰) to Gaya, where the once lost party including additional members of Yuzuki no Kimi's clan "from 120 districts of his own land" arrived in Japan and naturalized to become the Hata clan.[1]

Origins

Despite not being found in the Nihon Shoki, Shinsen Shōjiroku states that the Hata clan and the founder, Yuzuki no Kimi were descendants of Emperor Qin of the Qin dynasty. However, due to historical, archeological and chronological inconsistencies, it is widely regarded by many Japanese historians as a misconception made by baseless rumors found in San Guo Zhi[2][3] and they are considered most likely from the kingdom of Silla.[4][5]

Name

The name "Yuzuki no Kimi" is not found in any other sources outside of Japan. His presence and accomplishments are only found in the Nihon Shoki and Shinsen Shōjiroku, and not in any records of Korea or China, places that he's allegedly from. However, Japanese and Korean linguists have deduced that Yuzuki no Kimi was most likely a name that alluded to Korean origins as his name could be read as "Kudara (弓月君)" in Korean which means "Baekje" in Japanese.

It is believed that when giving Hata clan an origin story for their founder, a name that sounded closest to the name "Baekje/Kudara" was given due to the close relationship with Japan and Baekje. Subsequently, Silla (the kingdom the clan is thought to have originated from) was antagonized as relationship between Japan and Silla was strained at the time while Baekje and Gaya, another kingdom that was mentioned in Yuzuki no Kimi's story, were portrayed as countries that Japanese individuals could freely enter without restrictions.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nihon Shoki", Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 935–936, 2021, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-58292-0_140217, ISBN 978-3-030-58291-3
  2. ↑ 笠井倭人「朝鮮語より見た秦・漢両氏の始祖名」（小林行雄博士古稀記念論文集刊行委員会編『考古学論考』平凡社、1982年）
  3. ↑ [佐伯:1994 369]
  4. ↑ "都市史01 ~秦氏~" [History of the City 01 ~Hata clan~]. Kyoto City (in Japanese).
  5. ↑ "「伊奈利社創祀前史」 ~伏見稲荷大社~". inari.jp.
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