Five kings of Wa

The five kings of Wa (倭の五王, Wa no go ō) are kings of ancient Japan 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 (讃), Chin (珍), Sai (濟), Kō (興) and Bu (武).

Chinese records and the bestowed titles on the kings of Wa

Western calendar (AD)dynastyChinese calendarKing of WaDescriptionOriginal Chinese source
413Jin Dynasty (265–420)義熙 9Unknown, San in the Book of Liang, 諸夷伝The king of Wa sent a tributary.The Book of Jin, 安帝紀, Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era
421Liu Song Dynasty永初 2SanKing San sent a tributary to Jin. Emperor Wu of Liu Song bestowed the title, possibly 安東将軍倭国王, on San.The Book of Song, 倭国伝
425Liu Song Dynasty元嘉 2SanKing San sent 司馬 Sōtatsu as an envoy and made Emperor Wen of Liu Song a present.The Book of Song, 倭国伝
430Liu Song Dynasty元嘉 7Possibly SanIn January, the king of Wa sent a tribute.The Book of Song, 文帝紀
438Liu Song Dynasty元嘉 15ChinKing San died, his younger brother Chin succeeded to the throne. Chin sent a tribute and styled himself the title of 使持節都督倭百斉新羅任那秦韓慕韓六国諸軍事安東太将軍倭国王.
In April, Emperor Wen appointed Chin to the title of 安東将軍倭国王.
The emperor also appointed Wa Zui and other 13 subordinates of Chin to the titles of 平西征虜冠軍輔国将軍.		The Book of Song, 文帝紀 and 倭国伝
443Liu Song Dynasty元嘉 20SaiSai sent a tribute and was appointed to the title of 安東将軍倭国王 (General Pacifying the East and King of Wa).The Book of Song, 倭国伝
451Liu Song Dynasty元嘉 28SaiKing Sai was appointed to the title of 使持節都督倭新羅任那加羅秦韓慕韓六国諸軍事 (Supreme Military Commander of the Six States of Wa, Silla, Mimana, Gaya, Jinhan and Mahan) as well as 安東将軍.
In July, Sai was promoted to the title of 安東太将軍. 23 subordinates were also promoted.		The Book of Song, 文帝紀 and 倭国伝
460Liu Song Dynasty大明 4Possibly SaiIn December, the king of Wa sent a tribute. 
462Liu Song Dynasty大明 6 In March, Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song appointed Kō, a prince of Sai to the title of 安東将軍倭国王.The Book of Song, 孝武帝紀 and 倭国伝
477Liu Song Dynasty昇明 1BuIn 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 使持節都督倭百斉新羅任那加羅秦韓慕韓七国諸軍事安東太将軍倭国王.		The Book of Song, 順帝紀 and 倭国伝
478Liu Song Dynasty昇明 2BuBu styled himself the title of 開府儀同三司 and petitioned the official appointment. Emperor Shun of Liu Song appointed Bu to the title of 使持節都督倭新羅任那加羅秦韓慕韓六国諸軍事安東太将軍倭王.The Book of Song, 順帝紀 and 倭国伝
479Southern Qi建元 1 Emperor Gao of Southern Qi promoted Bu to the title of 鎮東太将軍.The Book of Qi, 倭国伝
502Liang Dynasty天監 1 In April, Emperor Wu of Liang promoted Bu to the title of 征東将軍. The title was possibly mistaken for the title of 征東太将軍.The Book of Liang, 武帝紀

479 and 502 was automatic rank up by the establishment of new dynasty of China.

These titles for the military Sovereignly over the countries had no actual powers. The appointments reflected the struggle for hegemony over the region between Goguryeo and Wa, depicted in the Gwanggaeto Stele.[1]

Comparison with the Nihonshoki

As the name of kings recorded in Chinese history are very different from the names of emperors in the Nihonshoki, 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 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.

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.

Some suspect that both were rulers of a non-Yamato court which in the 5th century ruled most of what is today Japan, and who were eventually ruined by the ancestors of the current imperial dynasty. However, such an idea is not widely accepted among scholars.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 吉田晶, 倭王権の時代, 新日本出版社, 1998
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.