Toraijin
Toraijin refers to the people who migrated to the Japan archipelago from the continent in ancient times, as well as their descendants. Up until the 1960s, these people were commonly called the "Kikajin ", meaning "naturalized people", but beginning in the 1970s, the term was replaced by "Toraijin", meaning "people who have crossed over" as not all those who came to Japan became naturalized.
They arrived in Japan as early as the Jōmon period or Yayoi period, and their arrival became more significant from the end of the 4th century to the late 7th century. During these periods, they introduced Confucianism, Buddhism, Chinese characters, medicine, lunar calendar, and cultural practices such as Sue ware production and weaving to Japan. They were favored by the Yamato Imperial Court, and many were appointed to government positions.
Overview
Historical records and archaeological data provide strong support for continued population movements from the continent to the Japanese archipelago via the southern Korean peninsula from 800 BCE to 600 CE. The Toraijins arrived in the archipelago in multiples waves.In the initial wave starting approximately three thousand years ago, where 20th century anthropologists such as Torii Ryūzō stated that "the Stone Age in Japan and that in Korea are very similar. The similarities are so outstanding that we can say their relationship was like that of cousins, if not of a parent and child, or siblings" in his book, highlighting a close connection between the Japanese and the Koreans even during the prehistoric periods due to the major overlap of immigrants.Early Torajins, who arrived in the 1st millennium BCE, are thought to have introduced rice cultivation and earthenware to Japan.
During the formative 5th and 6th centuries, they brought horse breeding and horse driven transportation, stoneware pottery, high temperature iron-working, advanced iron tool manufacturing, and their Chinese-based writing system. In addition to technological and cultural contributions, Toraijins also brought the ideologies of Confucianism and Buddhism from the mainland, which were critical to the state formation and socio-cultural changes during the Kofun period and Asuka period.
The lasting impact of the immigrants from Korea can still be found in placenames within modern Japan in places such as Komae city, deriving from the word "Koma " from Goguryeo; Niiza city, deriving from the word "Shiragi " from Silla; and possibly Nara city, deriving from the word "Nara " meaning "country". Many ancient shrines also possess legacy of the immigrants in names such as Koma Shrine, , and .
In other instances, Toraijin influence is not deliberately shown within names, but can still be recognized via remnants left by their cultural impact. In many cases, Toraijin elements that have ancient roots in Korea such as Korean shamanism can be seen throughout modern Japan today. One of the many relics is the presence of Jangseungs, known as in Japan, wooden or stone totems that are believed to ward off evil from sacred places.Other relics within Japan also point to Toraijin origins such as architectures, artifacts, etc, despite having no direct correlation. The , allegedly founded by the Chiba clan, possesses Korean architecture and elements with many speculating that the temple was originally built by Korean immigrants from Goguryeo or Paekche during the Asuka period. In fact, every year on May 3rd, a Korea-themed farming band parades through the area and performs the Korean folk dance. Another temple, known as the Kōryū-ji, also possesses a wooden statue of Bodhisattva called the " ", a national treasure of Japan ; it is believed to have been given from Silla to the Hata clan, the parent clan that built the Kōryū-ji, in the early 7th century. According to Japanese art historian Shuya Ōnishi, the transmitting of the statue is thought to have been a gift from Silla to its own diaspora as Silla produced numerous statues including the Maitreya in Meditation, a sculpture that is now considered as a sister statue with Japan's Hōkan Miroku, with its signature pose and facial features found only in Silla's craftsmanship. The possession of the statue became crucial evidence for determining the Hata clan's true origin and approximate period of immigration in modern times. Other temples such as the Hōryū-ji is also believed to have take much influence from Toraijins after the original building was burnt down and was reconstructed in 670. The temple is thought to have been built by Toraijins from Paekche who brought the temple's sacred artifact and another national treasure of Japan, the similar to the Hōkan Miroku of the Kōryū-ji. In January of 2026, the Hōryū-ji temple was chosen as the place to tour during Korea's President Lee Jae Myung's visit with Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as Lee wished to visit Takaicihi's hometown of Nara, and because the temple's architecture was influenced by Korean culture, signifying the two countries' historical connections.As such, it is evident that influence from Toraijins is both direct and inert depending on the detail, with some possessing elements such as names that directly allude to Toraijin roots or having innuendos such as architecture, artifacts, and practices that provide an insight to their likely Toraijin origins.
According to modern Japanese academia, in each major epoch in Japanese history, Toraijins arriving from the Korean peninsula acted as transmitters and transplanters of advanced continental technology and culture to the Japanese archipelago; just as the population groups on the Korean peninsula experienced similar transformations with the arrival of millet and rice agriculture, bronze and iron objects and technologies, and culture and religion from further west and north in the continent.
History
The periods of arrival of the Toraijins can be divided into four categories: 2nd–3rd century BCE, around 5th century BCE, late 5th–6th century, and 7th century.Early periods
The early Toraijins, known as the indigenous Jōmon people, were engaged in subsistence based primarily on fishing, hunting, and gathering. Early to middle Jōmon period pottery, known as , show significant similarity with the Jeulmun period pottery of Korea not only in the surface patterns, but also in the use of talc mixed into the clay, giving it the signature brownish color. Both styles are part of the bigger Comb Ceramic pottery which is found worldwide, however, early Jeulmun and Jōmon styles and their production methods are unique to Korea and Japan. Despite starting similar, Korea's Jeulmun period is believed to have ended much earlier than Japan's Jōmon period due to the incoming migrants.After the Jōmon period, a new batch of immigrants arrived in Japan known as the Yayoi period who introduced wet-rice farming to the archipelago. Similar to the Jeulmun–Jōmon style pottery, Yayoi pottery is often associated with the Mumun period pottery of Korea due to the lack of decorations found in the design and for its signature "plain " look. The Mumun people are believed to have replaced the Jeulmun people around 1500 BCE who then migrated to the archipelago which marked the beginning of the Yayoi period of Japan. Similar to the Mumun period being labelled as the "Korean Bronze Age", middle-Yayoi period Toraijins arrived with bronze technology.According to The Chronicles of Japan and the Kojiki, the first major arrival to Japan was during the reign of Emperor Ōjin. Due to a major upheaval on the Korean peninsula at that time, it is believed that many people from the peninsula migrated to Japan to escape the political chaos and subsequently introduced new technology such iron tools, irrigation technology, Chinese knowledge, religions and much more. The tools and technology they brought with them may have revolutionized the production methods and labor patterns that had existed until then. These immigrants from Korea also introduced horses, a foreign species to the archipelago at the time, and horse harnesses. With this, horse riding became a common practice in Japan and were later incorporated into future military purposes.Kofun period
During the Kofun period and the turbulent Three Kingdoms period of Korea, there were extensive migrations from Korean polities to the Japanese archipelago, particularly from Paekche and Kaya confederacy, both of which developed friendship as well as economic and military alliances with Yamato Kingship. Minimal travel occurred between the kingdom of Silla and the archipelago owing to a hostile relationship between the Yamato Kingship and Silla, especially after the Silla–Goguryeo and Paekche–Kaya–Wa War. The Wa elites, such as Yamato elites in Kinki, Tsukushi elites in Fukuoka, and Kibi elites in Okayama, sought to establish socio-political advantages in the archipelago and welcomed and integrated the newcomers with peninsular goods and advanced technology. In 552 CE, King Seong of Baekje sent envoys to the Yamato court, bringing Buddha statues and Buddhist classics, and Buddhist culture was also introduced to Japan. After Buddhism was introduced to Japan, it became one of the main religions in Japan and a part of today's Japanese culture.These immigrants settled and re-established themselves as farmers, iron technicians, horse breeders, merchants and traders, dam builders, craftsmen, among others, earning them the name "Imaki no Tehito " in the Nihon Shoki. Groups arriving from the peninsula have settled in and formed communities in various parts of the archipelago, including Fukuoka in northern Kyushu to Okayama on the Inland Sea, to the Kyoto–Osaka– Nara area, to Gunma north of Tokyo, and as far as Sendai in northeastern Honshu. Once fully settled on the Japanese Archipelago, these immigrants became known as "Kikajin", or "naturalized immigrants". While migrants initially settled in Kyushu due to geographic proximity to the peninsula, by the fourth century, migrants had shifted their destination to the Kinki region, the core base of the Yamato elites, of Nara, Osaka, Kyoto, and Otsu region.
File:Haniwa Terracotta Figurine.jpg|thumb|285x285px|Haniwa depicting a Toraijin from Kaya confederacy during the Kofun period. It is described to be depicting an immigrant due to the long sleeves that were worn by Toraijins at the time.
Anthropologist Torii Ryūzō also recounted the attires worn by Toraijins during Kofun period stating " customs, including love of swords, skills in bow and arrows, tied hair, beads decorations, long sleeves and baggy pants, leather boots, and daggers on the belt, are exactly what you can find in early northeast Asia. The same can be said about their arrows with feathers and whistling arrowheads." Torii labeled the previous Yayoi group as the "earthly tribe '" of Japan while labeling the newly introduced Kofun group as the "heavenly tribe '". This sentiment was carried over by a fellow anthropologist, who associated the "heavenly tribe " of Japan to the Buyeo people stating that " the incoming heavenly tribe, who conquered, appeased, annexed, and assimilated the existing population and constituted the grand Japanese, were previously residents of a region in the continent. had moved to the Japanese islands at some point."
20th century linguist, even wrote that "the Korean language belongs to the same line of languages as our Japonic languages| language. This is a branch of our language, just as the Ryukyu dialect is" in his book 2=日韓両国語同系論 in 1910, postulating that the "Theory on Japanese‑Korean Common Ancestry", also known as Nissen dōsoron, that was introduced during the Japanese annexation period of Korea was factually correct. Kanazawa essentially categorized the Buyeo people, who were Koreanic speaking Yemaeks, and Kofun period Toraijins as the same ethnic group, predicating that because the Kofun people were a key component of Japanese history, genealogy and therefore identity, the Buyeo people and their language were also inherently Japanese. Regardless of the macro-ethnocentric position taken by Imperial Japan in regards to Korea at the time, a similar conclusion was drawn over a century later in 2022 supporting that even linguistically, Japonic and Koreanic speakers were indeed heavily related.
National Museum of Nature and Science held a special exhibition in May 2025 that revolved around the genetic makeup of the Japanese surrounding specific periods. The director of the museum stated that the majority of the relics found during the Kofun period bore heavy resemblance with those found in Korea. He also emphasized that the immigrants who brought new technology entered after the late-Yayoi period and are considered as main contributors to the modern Japanese people's genetic makeup.These new waves of immigrants from Korea continued well into the Asuka period. However, their influence is believed to have reached its peak during the Kofun period and slowly fell off afterward with numbers dwindling over time. Since then, Japan and its demographics began to homogenize from that point on.