The origin of the clan has been a debated topic for many Japanese historians and scholars. Many have suggested different kingdoms throughout history starting from
Paekche,
Qin dynasty,
Kaya confederacy,
Israel to
Silla.
Traditional accounts , the founder of the Hata clan from Paekche. (Ninagawa Noritane, 1857)
Paekche The first mention of Hata clan was in the
Nihon Shoki, describing an immigrant clan (known as "
Toraikei (渡来系)" in Japanese) arriving in Japan led by
Yuzuki no Kimi from Paekche. According to the
Nihon Shoki, during the reign of
Emperor Ōjin, Yuzuki no Kimi visited Japan from the Kingdom of Paekche where he stated that he had long wanted to emigrate to Japan, but the Kingdom of Silla would not permit him to do so. Having enjoyed the experience of meeting 120 people of his clan at
Mimana. Yuzuki no Kimi left Japan but soon returned, in 283, with additional members of his clan "from 120 districts of his own land". Thus the reason behind Hata being written with the character "Qin (秦)". It was also the first time Yuzuki no Kimi's clan introduced in the
Nihon Shoki was written under a specific name.
Kaya confederacy As mentioned in the
Nihon Shoki, Yuzuki no Kimi claimed he had 120 people in Mimana, a place name that points to the Kaya confederacy in Korea. Therefore, it has been theorized that the Hata clan had immigrated from Kaya rather than Paekche.
Israel Some 19th and 20th century
pseudohistorians claimed that the Hata clan descended from a Jewish tribe that is often associated with the
Ten Lost Tribes of ancient Israel (Samaria). While admitting that the clan's immigration route was ultimately from Korea to Japan, proponents of this theory believed that the clan members were in fact descendants of said Jewish tribesmen; claiming that they originated from Israel which travelled to Central Asia, then to mainland China, then to the Korean peninsula where they ultimately immigrated to Japan as their final destination.
Modern analysis and accounts After extensive research and historical analysis, Japanese historians have confirmed that the Hata clan originated from Silla and not any of the previously mentioned kingdoms. The city of
Kyoto Historical inaccuracy The first inaccuracy is shown within the clan's founder,
Yuzuki no Kimi's background, a Paekche individual who arrived in Japan during
Emperor Ōjin's reign. In fact, according to historian (栗田 寛), it was common for Korean descendants to rely on more prominent families for their lineage to raise their social status. Another inconsistency rises from the use of the character "Hata (秦)" as the character is not written in the
Nihon Shoki and is found only in the
Shinsen Shōjiroku when first mentioning Emperor Qin of China. Today, the clan believes that their character "秦" derived from Qin Shi Huang's family name of the same character. However, Japanese scholars pointed out that the name "Qin Shi Huang" was not the emperor's actual name, but was in fact "Yíng Zheng (嬴政)" using the ancestral name of the
Yíng family. Historically, "Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇)" literally meant "First Emperor of
Qin" which was used as a title rather than a name. The same is applied to the emperor's alternate name, "Shi Huangdi (始皇帝)" which was also a title literally meaning "First Emperor" or "Starting Emperor" alluding to him being the
first Emperor in the history of China. Historians believe that the clan misinterpreted "Qin" as the surname of the emperor when in fact, it was originally the name of the
state. In addition, the Hata clan had a previous name which was written under "Hata ()" (allegedly since the
2nd century) before adopting "Qin (秦)" in the 9th century, further discrediting the "Qin–Hata origin" theory. There are other examples where the name "Hata" was used before the clan adopted the new character.
Takenouchi no Sukune, a legendary Japanese general who had many connections to Silla, had a son named who is also a legendary figure of the Hata clan while it was still under "波多". Historically, he is believed to be the original founder of the clan despite skepticism from modern scholars (see
chronology of the Hata clan). Later, the use of "波多" was also carried on by another immigrant clan of Korean descent called
Sakanoue clan, the branch clan of
Yamatonoaya clan, where (坂上阿良) formed his own separate clan using the same characters of Hata clan's original name, "波多". See
legacy of the Sakanoue clan for more information. It is thought that the misconception revolving around the origins of
Jinhan (previous kingdom of Silla) being built by Qin dynasty refugees, first mentioned in the
Records of the Three Kingdoms, was what caused the Silla immigrants to become descendants of the Qin dynasty in the
Shinsen Shōjiroku (see
History of Jinhan confederacy)
. The book is also scrutinized by modern Japanese historians for putting some clans under "Kan (漢)" or "
Han dynasty" and not the
Three Kingdoms of Korea, the same way it put Hata under Qin dynasty instead of Silla. It also contradicts the claims made in the
Nihon Shoki (the first and oldest mentioning of Hata) that Yuzuki no Kimi was from Qin dynasty and not Paekche without providing any substantial evidence. For further context, the
Nihon Shoki lacks any mentions of Qin when discussing about Hata. Afterwards, under the misguided assumption that Silla (Jinhan) was of Qin's origin, it was recorded that Yuzuki no Kimi and in turn, the Hata clan were originally from the Qin dynasty and adopted the "Qin (秦)" character. In actuality, their relations to Yuzuki no Kimi is questionable, as well as Yuzuki's own relations with Qin Shi Huang. It is highly likely that all three candidates (Hata–Yuzuki–Qin Shi Huang) are not related as the statements found in the
Shinsen Shōjiroku are based on self-proclaimed claims rather than historical and genealogical facts. Historians such as (加藤 謙吉) and (関 晃) state that the Hata clan's founding story was created by the descendants to compete with the rival
Yamatonoaya clan; a powerful Aya clan that claimed descent from
Achi no Omi of Paekche, the rival kingdom of the Hata clan's kingdom, Silla. According to historian (上田 正昭), it is recorded that a notable member of the Hata clan,
Hata no Kawakatsu, was a practitioner of the Silla-style Buddhism (新羅仏教), a strike contrast to the Paekche-style Buddhism (百済仏教) practiced by the Aya clans and the
Soga clan. However, this sentiment is believed to have eroded away over the coming centuries where both of the clans' descendants shared the title of "Imiki (忌寸)" and incorporated each other's ancestor names such as the aforementioned "Hata clan" of the Sakanoue clan (see
legacy of the Sakanoue clan). Further research points to a specific area in Silla known as "Padan (波旦, 파단)" read as "Hatan (はたん)" in Japanese, located in
Uljin County as the origin of the Hata clan. According to a research published by
Ritsumeikan University, the clan was indeed from Padan and their descendants settled in the
Sagano (嵯峨野, さがの) area (present day
Kyoto). a language that is considered
Koreanic (same with the
Silla language), which further supports the "Hata–Hatan–Ocean–Silla origin" theory. Realistically, the Hata clan is thought to have arrived in Japan from Silla in the second half of the 5th century, contrary to the statements found in historical texts that claim 1st–2nd century. Finally, excavations in the Hata clan's whereabouts also point to a Silla origin. Recently excavated roof tiles of structures from areas where the Hata clan mainly resided show very strong Silla influence and style. was made of woods from Silla (a Korean variant of
Pinus densiflora found in present day
South Gyeongsang Province) and was gifted to Japan from Silla in 623 according to the
Nihon Shoki. and is considered as a
sister statue with the original Silla sculpture. File:Hōkan Miroku Statue Colored.png|Hōkan Miroku (Hata clan) File:Pensive Bodhisattva 02.jpg|Maitreya in Meditation (Silla) No. 83 File:Pensive Bodhisattva (National Treasure No. 78) 02.jpg|Maitreya in Meditation (Silla) No. 78 Japanese art historian
Shuya Ōnishi (大西 修也) specializing in
Buddhist art stated in his research that the reason behind the Hata clan possessing a Silla originating statue in their Kōryū-ji temple was due to Silla giving the statue as a gift to its Japanese
diaspora. He stated that ''"despite paucity of further documentary evidence, continuing research on the Silla
hanka images in Korea has created a scholarly consensus that the image transmitted [from Silla to Kōryū-ji] in
Suiko 31 [616] would have been Kōryū-ji's Crowned Maitreya, i.e., a Silla gift to a Silla-clan temple, the Hata."'' , who would later be known as the Hata clan, would arrive in Japan in
Chikuzen (
Kyushu) and later expand into
Sagano (
Honshu).This could be possible evidence for the theory on the clan arriving in the late 5th century rather than the traditional 1st or 2nd. If late 5th century is to be assumed, the temporal discrepancy between the founding of the clan and the gifting of the statue (early 7th century) would be around 100 years, which is more consistent than the supposed 600–700 years time gap when 1st or 2nd century is considered, making the gifting rather abrupt and random. In addition, Ōnishi also posited that Silla and the Hata clan were on good terms even though the
Yamato kingship's relationship with the kingdom was starting to wane, This lasted until the 7th century when the
Battle of Baekgang occurred and Silla's relationship with Yamato soured to the point of no returning, both cutting their diplomatic ties that lasted until the fall of
Unified Silla and the rise of
Goryeo dynasty in the 10th century. Prior to this, it is believed that all traces of Silla elements were erased or modified within Japanese records while also vilifying Silla in many of the new stories added later. This ultimately affected the Hata clan too as it most likely lost relations with its once-amicable home kingdom, and its members and their descendants likely lost touch with their Silla roots over the coming centuries.
Connections to Inari and other kamis Additional evidence alludes to the foreign origins of the
kami Inari, a deity that looks over
foxes,
fertility, rice, tea and
sake, of agriculture and
industry, of general prosperity and worldly success.
Fushimi Inari-taisha, the same shrine built by the Hata clan and one of the most influential shrines to officially celebrate the god Inari, stated that the fox deity was most likely not of Japanese origin and had most likely arrived in Japan from the kingdoms of the Korean peninsula. It states that during the
Three Kingdoms of Korea period, foxes were widely celebrated as gods and were deified as protectors of agriculture and prosperity due to the influence of
Buddhism. This concept of an agricultural deity was later carried over to the Japanese archipelago by other immigrant clans which arrived in Japan in the earlier centuries and was given the name "稲荷 (いなり)" in
kanji which means "carrying rice", (literally "rice load") first found in the
Ruijū Kokushi in 892 AD. Scholars such as (肥後 和男) suggest that the Hata clan began the formal worship of Inari as an agriculture
kami in the late 5th century which most likely indicates that the god is foreign. Higo's theory on the introduction of the
kami by the Hata clan also aligns closely with the hypothesis of the clan arriving in Japan in the late 5th century. , the
kami from
Silla. It is said that the history of the
Ōtomo clan, another clan from Silla, was heavily intertwined with
Shinra Myōjin (), a
Buddhist god associated with the
Jimon branch of
Tendai, a school of
Japanese Buddhism. His name is derived from the name of a historical Korean kingdom,
Silla. Professor
Sujung Kim (김수정) at
DePauw University of
religious studies who specializes in history of
Buddhism in East Asia, claims that the Ōtomo clan's special ties to deities such as the Shinra Myōjin may provide an insight to the clan's possible origins. It is said that the Ōtomo clan was one of the earliest clans to commemorate Shinra Myōjin and was involved in promoting the veneration of said deity. Kim posited that the Shinra Myōjin originally being a Silla god sheds light on the possibility of the clan being Silla immigrants For further information, see
etymology of the title "Uzumasa". The name "Susanoo" itself has been interpreted as being related to the
Middle Korean title
susung (
transliterated as 次次雄 or 慈充), meaning "master" or "shaman", notably applied to
Namhae, the second king of Silla, in the
Samguk sagi. Susanoo is thus supposed in this view to have originally been a foreign god (蕃神,
banshin), perhaps a deified shaman, whose origins may be traced back to Korea. The theories surrounding Susanoo being introduced to Japan as a foreign god coincide with other
kamis such as Inari, and may have been introduced in a similar fashion. Their Silla roots (Inari–Hata; Shinra Myōjin–Ōtomo; Susanoo/Gozu Tennō–Soshimori) may indicate that the
kamis were originally from the peninsula until they were brought over to Japan by Korean immigrants. Ironically, the origins of
kamis such as Susanoo was retrospectively used as a tool to justify the
Japanese annexation of Korea and the
assimilation of its people, claiming that Susanoo was a native Japanese god that first arrived and founded Silla, rather than a Silla-originating god that moved to Japan. Elder
Shinto priest,
Tsunoda Tadayuki postulated that Susanoo was in fact analogous with
Dangun, a native Korean deity and advocated the amalgamation of the Japanese
kami with the Korean god. A similar phenomenon happened prior with Susanoo and
Gozu Tennō, another foreign god that may have Korean origin.
Jewish ancestry theory The hypothesis that the Hata clan was a Jewish
Nestorian tribe was proposed by
Saeki Yoshiro in 1908. Saeki developed a theory described by Ben-Ami Shillony as being "somewhat similar" to that advanced by
Nicholas McLeod in 1879. is often compared with the Hata clan's
Kagome mon. In 1879, the Scottish businessman
Nicholas McLeod who had lived in Japan since 1867 published a book in
Nagasaki called
Japan and the Lost Tribes of Israel. Based on "personal research and observation", the book claimed the Japanese as the descendants of the
Ten Lost Tribes. Over thirty years later, in 1908, Saeki Yoshiro (better known as
P. Y. Saeki) (1872–1965) published a book in which he developed a somewhat similar theory. According to Saeki, the Hata clan, which arrived from
Korea and settled in Japan in the
third century, was a Jewish-Nestorian tribe. Saeki's writings spread the theory about "the common ancestry of the Japanese and the Jews" (
Nichiyu dōsoron) in Japan, a theory that was endorsed by some Christian groups at the time. however many of these claims are considered separate and mostly hoaxes. Other claims include the similarity between the
Star of David and the Kagome mon of the Hata clan. However, except for both symbols being
Trihexagonal tilings, their conceptions are detached and separate with the Star of David deriving from the
Seal of Solomon, while the Kagome mon deriving from a woven bamboo pattern (also known as the
kagome lattice). Though it is considered as
pseudoscience and
pseudohistory, the emphasis on the "Japanese–Hata–Jewish ancestry" theory was widely used as a mean to
differentiate the Japanese race with other neighboring ethnicities, especially degrading the
Han Chinese as ethnically "inferior" and "different" from the Japanese in the 20th century. For ethnicities such as the
Koreans and
Ryukyuans, they were considered "part of the Japanese race" and were assimilated. Much like
Nissen dōsoron () and ''
(), the "Japanese-Jewish origin theory" is believed to be part of a common trend that began in the 19th century Japan to trace a common ancestry with neighboring ethnic groups (ones that are genetically related to the Japanese the most). However, unlike the aforementioned two, the "Japanese-Jewish common ancestry theory" also known as "Nichiyu dōsoron'' (日ユ同祖論)" is
currently disregarded by both Japanese historians and scientists due to lack of historical, archaeological and genealogical evidence. Scientifically, there is no proof available, including modern DNA analysis, to support this hypothesis. A recently published study of the genetic origins of Japanese people does not support a genealogical link as put forward by Saeki. In essence, the Hata clan and in turn, the Japanese are not related to the Ten Lost Tribes of ancient Samaria (Israel) and do not possess any Jewish heritage. Later, a similar fringe theory was given to its descendant clan known as the
Shimazu clan (see Shimazu clan#Christian ancestry theory).
Chronology of the Hata clan Realistically, the Hata clan most likely existed prior to any of the accounts made in the sources and their years of publication. The clan's name, written in three separate characters (羽田/波多/秦) throughout history, most likely had a common root word that possessed the pronunciation of "Hata (はた)" and can be suspected to have had a common ancestor clan as well. Historically, the oldest records of "Hata" can be traced to
Hata no Yashiro. However, as mentioned above, due to his father,
Takenouchi no Sukune being considered as a work of fiction or at least an individual with aggrandized accomplishments, Hata no Yashiro's existence (alongside his siblings) is also often scrutinized and is deemed similar to his father. Regardless of the historical accuracy surrounding the lineage, the family and its members are heavily involved in events that surround Japan and Silla. • Takenouchi no Sukune's name may have appeared in ancient Korean records under "Udojugun (于道朱君/우도주군)". Since his name was pronounced as "Utusukune (内宿禰)" in
Old Japanese, "Udojugun" and "Utusukune" may have been the same individual. Sources such as the
Wakan Sansai Zue also mentions Takenouchi no Sukune's accomplishments during the Silla–Japan War (新羅・倭戦争) further adding credence to his involvement during the Silla period. • He is also best known for his service as Grand Minister (Ōomi) to the Regent
Empress Jingū. The empress, who was also of Silla descent through
Amenohiboko, allegedly invaded Silla as a quest to reclaim her "promised land (Korea)". It is said that Takenouchi no Sukune was crucial to the Silla–Japan affairs during her reign. •
Hata no Yashiro (羽田矢代) was the son of Takenouchi no Sukune and was the founder of the Hata clan (波多), a clan that is believed to have roots in Silla. •
Heguri no Tsuku was the son of Takenouchi no Sukune and was the individual who supposedly went to Silla to rescue Yuzuki no Kimi and his fellow clan members to help them safely immigrate to Japan. They later naturalized and became the Hata clan (秦). •
Soga no Ishikawa (蘇我石川) was the son of Takenouchi no Sukune and was the founder of the
Soga clan, a clan that is believed to have foreign roots according to world renowned linguists such as
Alexander Vovin, specifically to that of Silla due to phonetic similarities (see Soga clan#Toraijin theory). Due to the strong connections with Silla, the precursor to the Hata clan (and/or other clans founded by Takenouchi no Sukune's sons) is believed to have foreign roots regardless of the authenticity of its respective founders and their stories. Furthermore, it can be suspected that the numerous clans under "Hata" existed prior to the stories given to them and they likely had a common root, a foreign clan named "Pada" that immigrated to Japan from Silla as
Toraijins at the start of the Kofun period (circa mid-late 5th century). == Etymology ==