Five kings of Wa
Template:Short description The Template:Nihongo were kings of ancient Japan (Wa) who sent envoys to China during the 5th century to strengthen the legitimacy of their claims to power by gaining the recognition of the Chinese emperor. Details about them are unknown. According to written records in China, their names were San (Template:Lang), Chin (Template:Lang), Sai (Template:Lang), Kō (Template:Lang) and Bu (Template:Lang).
Titles bestowed on the Kings of Wa
In general, five kings of Wa were bestowed the titles Template:Lang (Antō [Dai-]Shōgun, Wa-kokuō, [Grand] General of Antō, King of Wa). In the Southern Dynasties of China in this period, there were three ranks of General titles which were bestowed to the chiefs of the subject state (located in the East of China) who sent envoy to the emperor of the Dynasty. The highest general title was Template:Lang (Seitō Dai-Shōgun, Grand General conquering the East). The next high title was Template:Lang (Chintō Dai-Shōgun, Grand General appeasing the East). The third high title and the lowest among three was Template:Lang (Antō Dai-Shōgun, Grand General pacifying the East).
| 2rd rank General | 3rd rank General | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank (Template:Lang) | Military title | Endowed on | Rank (Template:Lang) | Military title | Endowed on | |
| 2 | Template:Lang Grand General of Seitō |
King of Goguryeo | 3 | Template:Lang General of Seitō |
- | |
| 2 | Template:Lang Grand General of Chintō |
King of Baekje | 3 | Template:Lang General of Chintō |
- | |
| 2 | Template:Lang Grand General of Antō |
Sai (King of Wa) Bu (King of Wa) |
3 | Template:Lang General of Antō |
San, Chin, Sai, Kō (King of Wa) | |
| 3 | Template:Lang General of Heisei |
Subject of Chin | ||||
| 3 | - | - | ||||
| 3 | Template:Lang General of Seiryo |
Subject of Chin | ||||
In the Song dynasty, the emperor bestowed Template:Lang (Grand General conquering the East) on the King of Goguryeo, and Template:Lang (Grand General appeasing the East) on the King of Baekje. However, the Song Emperor bestowed the third general title, Template:Lang (Grand General pacifying the East) on the King of Wa. There are interpretations on this fact that the King of Goguryeo stood in the highest rank, and the King of Wa stood in the lowest rank, while the King of Baekje stood between Goguryeo and Wa.<ref name="ishii 2005 169">Ishii 2005, p.169</ref> But there are also other opinions against this interpretation.Template:Efn The difference of general ranks among the three states (Goguryo, Baekje, and Wa) was due to the order which each state had first sent envoy to the dynasty, and it cannot be said that the ranks of Goguryeo and Baekje were substantially higher than that of Wa.<ref name="ishii 2005 175">Ishii 2005, p.175</ref> Sakamoto also points out the different view on these general titles.<ref>(ja) 坂元義種 『倭の五王』教育社、1981年9月、180頁。Template:ISBN.</ref>
Chinese records and the bestowed titles on the kings of Wa
| Gregorian date (AD) | Dynasty | Chinese calendar | Original Chinese source | King of Wa | Short summaryTemplate:Efn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | The king of Wa sent a tributary.Template:Clarify |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | King San sent a tributaryTemplate:Clarify to Jin. Emperor Wu of Song bestowed the title, possibly Template:Lang (General pacifying the East, King of Wa), on San. |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | King San sent Shiba Sōtatsu (Template:Lang)Template:Efn as an envoy and made Emperor Wen of Song a present. |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | In January, the king of Wa sent a tribute. |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | King San died, his younger brother Chin succeeded to the throne. Chin sent a tribute and styled himself the title of Template:Lang. In April, Emperor Wen appointed Chin to the title of Template:Lang (General pacifying the East, King of Wa). The emperor also appointed Wa Zui (Template:Lang) and other 13 subordinates of Chin to the titles of Template:LangTemplate:Efn. |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Sai sent a tribute and was appointed to the title of Template:Lang (General pacifying the East, King of Wa). |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | King Sai was appointed to the title of Template:Lang. as well as Template:Lang (General pacifying the East). In July, Sai was promoted to the title of Template:Lang (Grand General pacifying the East, King of Wa). 23 subordinates were also promoted. |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | In December, the king of Wa sent a tribute. | |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | In March, Emperor Xiaowu of Song appointed Kō, a crown prince of Sai, to the title of Template:Lang. (General pacifying the East, King of Wa) |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | In November, the king of Wa sent a tribute. King Kō died, his younger brother Bu succeeded to the throne. Bu styled himself the title of Template:Lang. |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Bu styled himself the title of 開府儀同三司 and petitioned the official appointment. Emperor Shun of Song appointed Bu to the title of Template:Lang. |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Emperor Gao of Qi promoted Bu to the title of Template:Lang (Grand General appeasing the East, (General conquering the East)).Template:Efn |
| Template:Nts | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | Template:Center | In April, Emperor Wu of Liang promoted Bu to the title of Template:Lang (Grand General conquering the East).Template:Efn |
Comparison with the Nihon Shoki
Lack of records - two interpretations
In the Nihon Shoki, there are no records about "five Kings of Wa" or any kings with the names San, Chin, Sai, Kō or Bu. There are no records that any Daiō (great kings) of the Yamato Kingship sent envoys to Chinese emperors at all. On the other hand, the five Kings of Wa were clearly recorded in Chinese official histories. In order to explain this situation, two kinds of interpretations have been proposed and discussed.<ref>Kumagai (2001), pp. 68–69.</ref>
- The five Kings of Wa and their diplomatic activities had really existed, but the formal history book, Nihon Shoki, intentionally omitted these facts. The reason might be a policy which the Yamato kingship had adopted since the late sixth century. That is, Japan (Wa, Yamato) would not be involved in the Chinese Sakuhō tributary system and would not be a subject state of China. Crown Prince Shōtoku advocated this policy. Even in this interpretation there were still other problems, including why the Kings of Wa had only named themselves with unusual single kanji letter names such as San or Chin.
- The other interpretation is that the five Kings of Wa were not Yamato kings, but rather local chiefs such as the kings of the Kyūshū dynasty. They sent envoys under the self-declared title of King of Wa. This interpretation could explain the strange one letter names of the five Kings. Therefore, the Nihon Shoki had not intentionally omitted the historical facts recorded by Chinese sources.
The first interpretation is traditional and the major stream of historical study of ancient Japan. But in this view, the identification problems arise. Many disputes have taken place over which "King of Wa" corresponds to which Emperor in the Nihon Shoki.
Identification problems
Template:More citations needed As the name of kings recorded in Chinese history are very different from the names of Emperors in the Nihon Shoki, the specification of which emperor was the one recorded is the subject of numerous disputes which have endured for centuries. Most contemporary historians assign the five Japanese kings to the following emperors (two possibilities are identified for the Kings San and Chin), mostly based on the individual features of their genealogies reported in the Chinese sources.
On the other hand, archeological evidence, such as the inscriptions on the Inariyama and Eta Funayama Sword, also supports the idea that Bu is an equivalent of Emperor Yūryaku, who was called Wakatakeru Ōkimi by his contemporaries.
- San Template:Lang: Emperor Nintoku or Emperor Richū
- Chin Template:Lang: Emperor Hanzei or Emperor Nintoku
- Sai Template:Lang: Emperor Ingyō
- Kō Template:Lang: Emperor Ankō
- Bu Template:Lang: Emperor Yūryaku
Since Bu is most likely to be Yūryaku, Kō, who is said to be Bu's older brother, is likely to be an equivalent of Ankō, who is also noted in the Nihonshoki as an elder brother to Yūryaku. However, the Book of Song records Kō as "Crown Prince Kō"; there is a possibility that he is not Ankō, but rather Prince Kinashi no Karu, who was a crown prince of Ingyō.
Meanings of titles bestowed on the kings of Wa
In the age of the Song Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties, there were various titles for high officials and military lords of the empire. These titles were also bestowed on the monarchs of the subject States in the Sakuhō System.
The King of Wa was usually granted the two titles, "(Grand) General Antō" (Template:Lang, Antō (Dai) Shōgun) and "King of Wa" (Template:Lang, Wa-Kokuō). Some Kings of Wa, such as King Chin or King Bu, asked for titles of higher ranks. The Emperor of Chinese Dynasty bestowed some of them, but did not approve every title requested.
King Chin asked for the titles "Template:Lang"Template:Efn (Shijisetsu, Totoku, Wa, Baekje, Silla, Mimana, Shinkan, Bokan, Rokkoku-Shogunji, Antō-Dai-Shōgun, Wa-Kokuō). This contains the Five Titles.
- Template:Lang, Shijisetsu : Highest Rank Military Commander (General)<ref name="shijisetsu">(ja) Kotobank Shijisetsu (Retrieved 2023-0209)</ref>Template:Efn
- Template:Lang, Totoku : Military Governor<ref>(ja) Kotobank Totoku (Retrieved 2023-0209)</ref>
- Template:Lang, Totoku - Region - Shogunji : Governor/Commander ruling all the military matters of the said Region (Region, State, Province, etc.)
- Template:Lang, Antō Dai-Shōgun : Grand General of Antō (Grand General pacifying the East)
- Template:Lang, Wa-Kokuō : King of Wa State
Therefore, ”Template:Lang" means 1) Highest Rank Military General, 2) Governor ruling all the military matters of the Six States - Wa, Baekje, Silla, Mimana, Shinkan and Bokan, 3) Grand General pacifying the East, 4) King of Wa. The Song court did not approve the Title of Template:Lang (Totoku - Baekje - Shogunji). The Song did not approve that King Chin would hold the power of militarily ruling the State area of Baekje. (King Bu also asked this power - militarily ruling the Baekje State - but the Song did not approve his request either.)<ref name="sakamoto 2006">坂元義種「巻頭史論 研究史 古代の日本と朝鮮--「七支刀」「好太王碑」「倭の五王」研究の成果と課題」『歴史読本』第51巻第3号、新人物往来社、2006年2月、 58-59頁</ref>
King Bu asked the Title Template:Lang (Kaifu Gidō-Sanshi). This Title Kaifu Gidō-Sanshi is particularly high rank. The Emperor of Song did not approve, and instead bestowed the Titles "Template:Lang" (Shijisetsu, Totoku, Wa, Silla, Mimana, Kara (Gaya), Shinkan, Bokan, Rokkoku-Shogunji, Antō Dai-Shōgun, Wa-Kokuō).<ref name="sakamoto 2006" />
- Template:Lang Kaifu Gidō-Sanshi : Person whose Position is equivalent or corresponds to the "Three Lords" (Highest Ranking Officials in the old Imperial Chinese governments. That is, Template:Lang Jōshō (Shito), Template:Lang Taii, Template:Lang Gyoshi-Taifu (Shikū).Template:Efn<ref>(ja) Kotobank Kaifu Gidō-Sanshi (Retrieved 2023-0209)</ref><ref>(ja) Kotobank Sanshi (Retrieved 2023-0209)</ref>
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
- 熊谷公男『日本の歴史 03 大王から天皇へ』2001, Kodansha, Template:ISBN
External links
- 石井正敏 (2005年6月). (ja) “5世紀の日韓関係 - 倭の五王と高句麗・百済 -”. 日韓歴史共同研究報告書（第1期） (日韓歴史共同研究). オリジナル の2015年10月18日時点におけるアーカイブ。