In modern times, Japanese historians claim that Kamatari was a
Toraijin, having roots in Korea, specifically. Historian (関裕二) posited that Kamatari was in fact
Buyeo Pung known as "Hōshō (豊璋/ほうしょう)" in Japan, a Korean prince and son of
Uija, the last king of
Paekche. Seki argued that Kamatari's introduction in historical documents was very abrupt and his motivations rather questioning. According to Seki, Kamatari's enthusiasm in trying to support Paekche during the
Battle of Baekgang by suggesting a full scale rescue mission to save Paekche from falling was an indication of Kamatari's investment in Paekche affairs, possibly hinting at a personal tie to the kingdom itself. He stated that the reason behind Kamatari's persistence in reclaiming Paekche was that he was in fact Buyeo Pung, the last heir of the Paekche royal family. as well as both participating in the efforts of reviving Paekche after its fall. Interestingly, despite being around the same time and having positions in the imperial court, Kamatari and Buyeo Pung's stories do not overlap with one another with Buyeo Pung's story starting after Kamatari's finishes, and vice versa. Seki posits that the names are addressing the same individual and that the only difference is Buyeo Pung's original name and his newly naturalized Japanese name. After Paekche's fall, Kamatari sent
Munmu of Silla and
Kim Yu-sin each a ship which was considered as a grand gift at the time. Other historians point to the
Isshi incident, where a passage is found in the
Nihon Shoki where
Prince Furuhito no Ōe (古人大兄皇子) rushes in to report the death of
Soga no Iruka exclaiming: Some people associate "Korean" with Kamatari, as the main perpetrators of the assassination were Kamatari and Prince Naka no Ōe, and since the likelihood of the prince being Korean is highly unlikely, the consensus is that "Korean" was pointed at Kamatari. Knowing this, scholars claim that Kamatari plotted the Isshi incident to put Prince Naka no Ōe into power, who was
proactive in helping Paekche reclaim sovereignty. The motif behind this action being Kamatari pushing the newly crowned Japanese emperor to help regain his home kingdom. supporting the Kamatari-Korean theory. History
manga artist
Sonomura Masahiro (園村昌弘) also presented the same argument. It was also included in his work,
Tenji to Tenmu - Shinsetsu Nihon Shoki - (天智と天武-新説・日本書紀-) which adopts the aforementioned theory, depicting Kamatari as Buyeo Pung, a naturalized Japanese. However, not everyone is on board with the Toraijin theory. One of the criticisms revolves around their dates of birth. Buyeo Pung's date of birth is considered a little after Kamatari's who was born in 614, making it difficult to deem the two as the same individual. Another criticism is the reason behind Buyeo Pung's supposed naturalization when his own brother, Buyeo Sungwang also known as "Zenkō (善光 or 禅広/ぜんこう)" in Japan, was given his own
Kudara no Konikishi clan which includes the name of Paekche, his kingdom of origin. Others point out that claiming his name "Tari" as Korean is a hasty decision as "Tari" could have been adopted from "Tari" from "Tarinai (足りない)" which also incorporates the "leg" character. Despite the backlash, skeptics concede that these criticisms are relatively minuscule compared to the many connections Kamatari has with Korea. The general consensus is that there is a likely possibility that Kamatari had Toraijin origin due to compelling evidence. However, the claim that he was Buyeo Pung or anyone of greater importance may be an aggrandization. ==Popular culture==