Five kings of Wa

The five kings of Wa (倭の五王) are 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 (讃), Chin (珍), Sai (濟), Kō (興) and Bu (武).

Chinese records and the bestowed titles on the kings of Wa

Western calendar (AD)	Chinese dynasty	Chinese calendar	King of Wa	Description	Original Chinese source
413	Jin Dynasty (265–420)	義熙 9	Unknown, San in the Book of Liang, 諸夷伝	The king of Wa sent a tributary.	The Book of Jin, 安帝紀, Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era
421	Jin	永初 2	San	King San sent a tributary to Jin. Emperor Wu of Liu Song bestowed the title, possibly 安東将軍倭国王, on San.	The Book of Song, 倭国伝
425	Jin	元嘉 2	San	King San sent 司馬 Sōtatsu as an envoy and made Emperor Wen of Liu Song a present.	The Book of Song, 倭国伝
430	Jin	元嘉 7	Possibly San	In January, the king of Wa sent a tribute.	The Book of Song, 文帝紀
438	Jin	元嘉 15	Chin	King San died, his younger brother Chin succeeded to the throne. Chin sent a tribute and styled himself the title of 使持節都督倭百斉新羅任那秦韓慕韓六国諸軍事安東太将軍倭国王. In April, Emperor Wen appointed Chin to the title of 安東将軍倭国王. The emperor also appointed Wa Zui and other 13 subordinates of Chin to the titles of 平西征虜冠軍輔国将軍.	The Book of Song, 文帝紀 and 倭国伝
443	Jin	元嘉 20	Sai	Sai sent a tribute and was appointed to the title of 安東将軍倭国王.	The Book of Song, 倭国伝
451	Jin	元嘉 28	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. In July, Sai was promoted to the title of 安東太将軍. 23 subordinates were also promoted.	The Book of Song, 文帝紀 and 倭国伝
460	Jin	大明 4	Possibly Sai	In December, the king of Wa sent a tribute.
462	Jin	大明 6		In March, Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song appointed Kō, a prince of Sai to the title of 安東将軍倭国王.	The Book of Song, 孝武帝紀 and 倭国伝
477	Jin	昇明 1	Bu	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 使持節都督倭百斉新羅任那加羅秦韓慕韓七国諸軍事安東太将軍倭国王.	The Book of Song, 順帝紀 and 倭国伝
478	Jin	昇明 2	Bu	Bu styled himself the title of 開府儀同三司 and petitioned the official appointment. Emperor Shun of Liu 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太将軍倭王.	The Book of Song, 順帝紀 and 倭国伝
479	Southern Qi	建元 1		Emperor Gao of Southern Qi promoted Bu to the title of 鎮東太将軍.	The Book of Qi, 倭国伝
502	Liang Dynasty	天監 1		In April, Emperor Wu of Liang promoted Bu to the title of 征東将軍. The title was possibly mistaken for the title of 征東太将軍.	The Book of Liang, 武帝紀

These titles for the military Sovereignly over the countries had no actual powers. The appointments reflected the struggle for hegemony over the region between Goguryeo and Wa, depicted in the Gwanggaeto Stele. [吉田晶, "倭王権の時代", 新日本出版社, 1998]

Comparison with the Japanese history book

As the name of kings recorded are very much different from the names of emperors in "Nihonshoki", specifying which emperor was the one recorded in Chinese history is under longtime dispute unsolved for centuries. Most contemporary historians assign the five Japanese kings to the following emperors (two possibilities are identified for 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 the Inariyama and Eta Funayama Sword also supports the idea that Bu is an equivalent of Emperor Yūryaku who was called "Wakatakeru Okimi" at his age.

*San 讃 Emperor Nintoku or Emperor Richū
*Chin 珍 Emperor Hanzei or Emperor Nintoku
*Sai or Sei 濟 Emperor Ingyō
*Kō 興 Emperor Ankō
*Bu 武 Emperor Yūryaku

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 also noted in "Nihonshoki" as an elder brother to Yūryaku. However, "Book of Song" records Kō as "Crown Prince" Kō", there is a possibility that he is not Ankō, but is "Kinashi Karu no Miko", who was a crown prince of Ingyō.

Some suspect that they were rulers of a non-Yamato court which in the 5th century ruled most of what is currently Japan, and who were eventually ruined by the ancestors of current imperial dynasty.Fact|date=March 2008 However, such an idea is not widely accepted among scholars.

ee also

*Kofun Period

References