Kudara no Konikishi clan

Kudara no Konikishi clan
百済くだら王おう
Kudara no Konikishi clan; 百済くだら王おう
Parent house	Buyeo
Titles	Various
Founder	Zenkō
Founding year	circa 691

The Kudara no Konikishi clan (Japanese: 百済くだら王おう氏し, Kudara no konikishi-uji) was a Japanese clan whose founder, Zenkō (善光よしみつ or 禅ぜん広ひろ), was a son of King Uija, the last king of Baekje (located in the southwestern Korean Peninsula).

Name

Kudara was an uji, or clan name, and represented its country of origin, Baekje. Konikishi or Kokishi, which literally means "king", was a special kabane that was given only to the former royal families of Baekje and Goguryeo: the Kudara, Shōna (肖あやか奈) and Koma (高麗こうらい) clans.

History

Kudarao Shrine in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture enshrines the ancestors of the Kudara no Konikishi clan

The founder Zenkō came from Baekje to Japan as a hostage along with his brother Hōshō in 643. Even though Japan sent Hōshō back to Korea for a failed campaign to revive Baekje, Zenkō remained in Japan. The former royal family members were treated as "barbarian guests" (蕃しげる客きゃく) and were not incorporated into the domestic political system of Japan for some time. They enjoyed privileged treatment although they were obliged to serve to the emperor in a symbolic fashion.^[1]

They were finally assimilated into Japanese bureaucracy in 691. They were given the name "Kudara no Konikishi" sometime afterward. The event has drawn scholarly attention, and a couple of theories have been proposed to explain the reason why they were given that peculiar name at that particular time. One theory associates the event with the enforcement of the Asuka Kiyomihara Code in 689, the law that entailed clarification of their legal status. However, while being subjects to the Japanese emperor, they still needed to represent the Baekje kingship by the special name. Japan applied to itself the Chinese ideology of emperorship that required "barbarian people" to long for the great virtue of the emperor. In so doing, Yamato Japan established for itself a system in which it, as a sponsor of the defunct kingdom of Baekje through its royal house, by extension rivalled Baekje's remaining traditional rival on the Korean Peninsula, Silla.^[2]^{[need quotation to verify]}

In 790, Emperor Kanmu issued a rescript that treated the Kudara no Konikishi clan as "relatives by marriage." It was related to the fact that the emperor's mother, Takano no Niigasa, belonged to the Baekje-originated Yamato no Fuhito clan, who then claimed its roots in the Baekje royal family.^[2] In addition, according to the Shoku Nihongi, Takano no Niigasa was a 10th-generation descendant of King Muryeong of Baekje through his son Prince Junda (Nihon Shoki, chapter 17), making Emperor Kammu an 11th-generation descendant of Muryeong through maternal lineage.

Another theory attempts to interpret the rise and the fall of the Kudara no Konikishi clan in the context of domestic politics, rather than political ideology. The clan fell under the influence of the southern branch of the Fujiwara clan after Kudara no Konikishi Myōshin had married Fujiwara no Tsugutada around 754. The emperor's rescript of 790 aimed to support Myōshin's appointment as lady-in-waiting (尚侍しょうじ), the highest post among court ladies, despite her humble origin. She helped the clan's other female members enter the imperial court. Their prosperous days ended in 807, when Fujiwara no Takatoshi, the son of Tsugutada and Myōshin, fell from power in an imperial succession dispute. They declined from the latter half of the 9th century to the early 10th century and disappeared from the political scene.^[3]

Notable members

Kudara no Konikishi Zenkō (百済くだら王おう禅ぜん光こう) (617-700) - The founder of the clan
Kudara no Konikishi Shōsei (百済くだら王おう昌あきら成なり) (?-674) - son of the founder
Kudara no Konikishi Rōgu (百済くだら王おう朗あきら虞おそれ) (661-737) - Vice Governor of Settsu (摂津せっつ亮あきら)
Kudara no Konikishi Kyōfuku (百済くだら王おう敬たかし福ぶく) (697-766) - Lord of Justice (刑部おさかべ卿きょう)
Kudara no Konikishi Shuntetsu (百済くだら王おう俊しゅん哲あきら) (740-795) - General of Peace Guard for Mutsu and Vice Delegate of Conquering East-Barbarian (陸奥むつ鎮守ちんじゅ将軍しょうぐん征せい夷えびす副使ふくし)
Kudara no Konikishi Bukyō (百済くだら王おう武たけし鏡きょう) - Governor of Dewa (出羽守でわのかみ)

Notes

^ Mase Tomohiro 間瀬ませ智広ともひろ (2005). ""Kudara no Konishiki" sei no seiritsu to Kudara no Konikishi shi no gakubu sōjō" 「百済くだら王おう」姓せいの成立せいりつと百済くだら王おう氏しの楽らく舞まい奏上そうじょう. Rekishi kenkyū 歴史れきし研究けんきゅう (in Japanese). 51: 89–110.
^ ^a ^b Tanaka Fumio 田中たなか史生ふみお (1997). "Kanmu chō no Kudara no Konikishi shi" 桓武かんむ朝あさの百済くだら王おう氏し. Nihon kodai kokka no minzoku shihai to toraijin 日本にっぽん古代こだい国家こっかの民族みんぞく支配しはいと渡来とらい人じん (in Japanese). pp. 72–109.
^ Ōtsubo Hidetoshi 大坪おおつぼ秀敏ひでとし (2008). Kudara no Konikishi shi to kodai Nihon 百済くだら王おう氏しと古代こだい日本にっぽん (in Japanese).

External links

(in Japanese) Kudara no Konishiki Genealogy Tree (百済くだら氏し祖そ系けい)
Warning: This page contains pieces of family trees which are not considered historical facts by historians.

[mase2005-1] Mase Tomohiro 間瀬ませ智広ともひろ (2005). ""Kudara no Konishiki" sei no seiritsu to Kudara no Konikishi shi no gakubu sōjō" 「百済くだら王おう」姓せいの成立せいりつと百済くだら王おう氏しの楽らく舞まい奏上そうじょう. Rekishi kenkyū 歴史れきし研究けんきゅう (in Japanese). 51: 89–110.

[tanaka1997b-2] Tanaka Fumio 田中たなか史生ふみお (1997). "Kanmu chō no Kudara no Konikishi shi" 桓武かんむ朝あさの百済くだら王おう氏し. Nihon kodai kokka no minzoku shihai to toraijin 日本にっぽん古代こだい国家こっかの民族みんぞく支配しはいと渡来とらい人じん (in Japanese). pp. 72–109.

[otsubo2008-3] Ōtsubo Hidetoshi 大坪おおつぼ秀敏ひでとし (2008). Kudara no Konikishi shi to kodai Nihon 百済くだら王おう氏しと古代こだい日本にっぽん (in Japanese).

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