Yamato no Fuhito clan

Yamato no Fuhito clan
Parent houseBuyeo clan (扶餘氏)
TitlesVarious
FounderPrince Junda
Founding year6th century

The Yamato no Fuhito (和史), also known as Yamato clan (和氏), was an immigrant clan active in Japan since the Kofun period (250–538), according to the history of Japan laid out in the Nihon Shoki. The name fuhito comes from their occupation as scribes. They were descended from Prince Junda (Junda Taishi) who died in 513 in Japan. He was a son of the 25th king of Baekje, Mureyong. His brother Seong became the 26th king of Baekje and his nephew Prince Imseong also settled in Japan.[1][2]

With the 2002 FIFA World Cup coming, an event hosted by Japan and South Korea, Emperor Akihito told reporters "I, on my part, feel a certain kinship with Korea, given the fact that it is recorded in the Chronicles of Japan that the mother of Emperor Kammu [Niigasa] was of the line of King Muryong of Baekje."[3] According to the Shoku Nihongi, Niigasa was a descendant of Prince Junda, son of Muryeong.[4][5]

It was the first time that a reigning Japanese emperor himself mentioned Korean blood in the imperial line, although it was nothing unknown at the time. During the Japanese Empire, the Imperial family and its connections to Korea were often used under the pretext of assimilating Koreans (see Nissen dōsoron). This was done in order to encourage Korean subjects of the Japanese Empire to embrace Japanization and the Japanese Emperor's divinity.

Family tree

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King Mureyong of Baekje (武寧王) (462–523) – called Semakishi (嶋君)/King Shima (斯麻王) because he was born on the island of Kyushu

Prince Junda (淳陀太子) "Junda-taishi" (c. 480–513) – son of King Mureyong who settled in Japan.

Yamato no Ototsugu (和乙継) (c. 690–?)

Takano no Asomi Niigasa (高野新笠) (c. 720–90) – daughter of Ototsugu, concubine of Emperor Kōnin, mother of Emperor Kanmu

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ōuchi family tree, Ō uchi Tatarashi fuch ō (大内多々良氏譜牒)
  2. ^ Shinsen Shōjiroku
  3. ^ Watts, Jonathan."The emperor's new roots". The Guardian, 28 Dec 2001.
  4. ^ Sin, Ki-uk (2004). Colonial modernity in Korea. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Asia Center. ISBN 978-0-674-00594-5. OCLC 600240397.
  5. ^ Nihon Shoki Chapter 17