Thefive kings of Wa (倭の五王,Wa no go ō) were kings of ancientJapan (Wa) who sent envoys toChina during the 5th century to strengthen the legitimacy of their claims to power by gaining the recognition of theChinese emperor. Details about them are unknown. According to written records in China, their names wereSan (讃),Chin (珍),Sai (濟),Kō (興) andBu (武).
In general, five kings of Wa were bestowed the titles安東[大]将軍倭国王 (Antō [Dai-]Shōgun, Wa-kokuō, [Grand] General of Antō, King of Wa). 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 (located in the East of China) who sent envoy to the emperor of the Dynasty. The highest general title was征東大将軍 (Seitō Dai-Shōgun, Grand General conquering the East). The next high title was鎮東大将軍 (Chintō Dai-Shōgun, Grand General appeasing the East). The third high title and the lowest among three was安東大将軍 (Antō Dai-Shōgun, Grand General pacifying the East).
| 2rd rank General | 3rd rank General | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank (品) | Military title | Endowed on | Rank (品) | Military title | Endowed on | |
| 2 | 征東大将軍 Grand General of Seitō | King ofGoguryeo | 3 | 征東将軍 General of Seitō | - | |
| 2 | 鎮東大将軍 Grand General of Chintō | King ofBaekje | 3 | 鎮東将軍 General of Chintō | - | |
| 2 | 安東大将軍 Grand General of Antō | Sai (King ofWa) Bu (King of Wa) | 3 | 安東将軍 General of Antō | San, Chin, Sai, Kō (King of Wa) | |
| 3 | 平西将軍 General of Heisei | Subject of Chin | ||||
| 3 | - | - | ||||
| 3 | 征虜将軍 General of Seiryo | Subject of Chin | ||||
In theSong dynasty, the emperor bestowed征東大将軍 (Grand General conquering the East) on the King ofGoguryeo, and鎮東大将軍 (Grand General appeasing the East) on the King ofBaekje. However, the Song Emperor bestowed the third general title,安東大将軍 (Grand General pacifying the East) 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.[1] But there are also other opinions against this interpretation.[a] The difference of general ranks among the three states (Goguryo, Baekje, and Wa) 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.[2] Sakamoto also points out the different view on these general titles.[4]
| Gregorian date (AD) | Dynasty | Chinese calendar | Original Chinese source | King of Wa | Short summary[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 413 | Giki 9 (義熙九年) | Unknown[c] | The king of Wa sent a tributary.[clarification needed] | ||
| 421 | Eisho 2 (永初二年) | King San sent a tributary[clarification needed] to Jin.Emperor Wu of Song bestowed the title, possibly安東将軍倭国王(General pacifying the East, King of Wa), on San. | |||
| 425 | Song | Genka 2 (元嘉二年) | Book of Song | San | King San sent Shiba Sōtatsu (司馬曹達)[d] as an envoy and madeEmperor Wen of Song a present. |
| 430 | Song | Genka 7 (元嘉七年) | Book of Song | Unknown[e] | In January, the king of Wa sent a tribute. |
| 438 | Song | Genka 15 (元嘉十五年) | Book of Song | King San died, his younger brother Chin succeeded to the throne. Chin sent a tribute and styled himself the title of使持節都督倭百済新羅任那秦韓慕韓六国諸軍事安東大将軍倭国王. In April, Emperor Wen appointed Chin to the title of安東将軍倭国王 (General pacifying the East, King of Wa). The emperor also appointed Wa Zui (倭隋) and other 13 subordinates of Chin to the titles of平西征虜冠軍輔国将軍[f]. | |
| 443 | Song | Genka 20 (元嘉二十年) | Book of Song | Sai sent a tribute and was appointed to the title of安東将軍倭国王 (General pacifying the East, King of Wa). | |
| 451 | Song | Genka 28 (元嘉二十八年) | Book of Song | Sai | King 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. as well as安東将軍 (General pacifying the East). In July, Sai was promoted to the title of安東大将軍倭国王 (Grand General pacifying the East, King of Wa). 23 subordinates were also promoted. |
| 460 | Song | Daimei 4 (大明四年) | Unknown[g] | In December, the king of Wa sent a tribute. | |
| 462 | Song | Daimei 6 (大明六年) | Book of Song | In March,Emperor Xiaowu of Song appointed Kō, a crown prince of Sai, to the title of安東将軍倭国王. (General pacifying the East, King of Wa) | |
| 477 | Song | Shōmei 1 (昇明元年) | Book of Song | In 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使持節都督倭百済新羅任那加羅秦韓慕韓七国諸軍事安東大将軍倭国王. | |
| 478 | Song | Shōmei 2 (昇明二年) | Book of Song | Bu | Bu styled himself the title of 開府儀同三司 and petitioned the official appointment.Emperor Shun of 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大将軍倭王. |
| 479 | Kengen 1 (建元元年) | Bu | Emperor Gao of Qi promoted Bu to the title of鎮東大将軍 (征東将軍) (Grand General appeasing the East, (General conquering the East)).[h] | ||
| 502 | Tenkan 1 (天監元年) | Bu | In April,Emperor Wu of Liang promoted Bu to the title of征東大将軍 (Grand General conquering the East).[h] |
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| Genealogy of Emperors inNihon Shoki | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In theNihon Shoki, there are no records about "five Kings of Wa". The records that someDaiō (great kings) of theYamato Kingship sent envoy to the emperors of the Chinese dynasty and received the titles do not exist at all. The names of the five Kings, San, Chin, Sai, Kō and Bu are not written in theNihon Shoki as well. On the other hand, the five Kings of Wa were clearly recorded in the history books in China. In order to explain this situation, two kinds of interpretations have been proposed and discussed.[8]
The first interpretation is traditional and the major stream of history study of the ancient Japan. But in this view, the identification problems arise. Many disputes have taken place for centuries. Which "King of Wa" does correspond to which Emperor in theNihon Shoki.
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As the name of kings recorded inChinese history are very different from the names of Emperors in theNihon 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 (two possibilities are identified for the 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 theInariyama andEta Funayama Sword, also supports the idea that Bu is an equivalent of Emperor Yūryaku, who was calledWakatakeru 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 theNihonshoki as an elder brother to Yūryaku. However, theBook of Song records Kō as "Crown Prince Kō"; there is a possibility that he is not Ankō, but ratherPrince Kinashi no Karu, who was a crown prince of Ingyō.
In the age of theSong 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 theSakuhō System.
The King of Wa was usually granted the two titles, "(Grand) General Antō" (安東(大)将軍,Antō (Dai) Shōgun) and "King of Wa" (倭国王,Wa-Kokuō). 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"[i] (Shijisetsu, Totoku, Wa, Baekje, Silla, Mimana, Shinkan, Bokan, Rokkoku-Shogunji, Antō-Dai-Shōgun, Wa-Kokuō). This contains the Five Titles.
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 (Totoku - Baekje - Shogunji). The Song did not approve that King Chin would hold the power of militarily ruling the State area of Baekje. (King Bu also asked this power - militarily ruling the Baekje State - but the Song did not approve his request either.)[7]
King Bu asked the Title開府儀同三司 (Kaifu Gidō-Sanshi). This TitleKaifu 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" (Shijisetsu, Totoku, Wa, Silla, Mimana, Kara (Gaya), Shinkan, Bokan, Rokkoku-Shogunji, Antō Dai-Shōgun, Wa-Kokuō).[7]
