Five kings of Wa


The five kings of Wa were 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, Chin, Sai, Kō and Bu.

Titles bestowed on the Kings of Wa

In general, five kings of Wa were bestowed the titles 安東将軍倭国王. 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 who sent envoy to the emperor of the Dynasty. The highest general title was 征東大将軍. The next high title was 鎮東大将軍. The third high title and the lowest among three was 安東大将軍.
In the Song dynasty, the emperor bestowed 征東大将軍 on the King of Goguryeo, and 鎮東大将軍 on the King of Baekje. However, the Song Emperor bestowed the third general title, 安東大将軍 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. But there are also other opinions against this interpretation. The difference of general ranks among the three states 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. Sakamoto also points out the different view on these general titles.

Chinese records and the bestowed titles on the kings of Wa

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 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.
  1. 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 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.
  2. 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

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, 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.

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, " General Antō" 将軍, Antō and "King of Wa". 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 "使持節都督倭百済新羅任那秦韓慕韓六国諸軍事安東大将軍倭国王". This contains the Five Titles.
  1. 使持節, Shijisetsu : Highest Rank Military Commander
  2. 都督, Totoku : Military Governor
  3. 都督-Region-諸軍事, Totoku - Region - Shogunji : Governor/Commander ruling all the military matters of the said Region
  4. 安東大将軍, Antō Dai-Shōgun : Grand General of Antō
  5. 倭国王, Wa-Kokuō : King of Wa State
Therefore, ”使持節都督倭百済新羅任那秦韓慕韓六国諸軍事安東大将軍倭国王" 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 都督- 百済 -諸軍事. The Song did not approve that King Chin would hold the power of militarily ruling the State area of Baekje.
King Bu asked the Title 開府儀同三司. This Title Kaifu Gidō-Sanshi is particularly high rank. The Emperor of Song did not approve, and instead bestowed the Titles "使持節都督倭新羅任那加羅秦韓慕韓六国諸軍事安東大将軍倭王".
  1. 開府儀同三司 Kaifu Gidō-Sanshi : Person whose Position is equivalent or corresponds to the "Three Lords" Jōshō , 太尉 Taii, 御史大夫 Gyoshi-Taifu ''.