The Five Kings of Wa

Five kings of Wa in the 5th century whose names are recorded in Chinese historical documents. In the "Song Shu" and "Nanshi," they are written as San, Chin, Ji, Kou, and Bu, while in the "Liang Shu," they are written as San, Mi, Ji, Kou, and Bu. However, while there seems to be a large difference in the pronunciation of San and San, and in the characters of Chin and Mi, these are merely misprints resulting from the similarity of the characters such as Chin↔Chin↔Mi↔Mi, and all of them can be considered to refer to the same king.

Negotiations between the Five Kings of Wa and the Chinese dynasty began in 421 (Yongchu 2) when San sent an envoy to Song. The Song was pleased with this envoy and gave San the title of "disenfranchisement." The historical records do not specify what official title San was given at this time, but looking at the examples of subsequent Wa kings, it is highly likely that he was General of the Andong and King of Wa. After a gap of about a century since the "Pro-Wei Wa King" in the 3rd century, a "King of Wa" was born again. At the time of the founding of the dynasty the previous year, the Song dynasty had promoted the titles of generals of the kings of neighboring countries, and the kings of Goguryeo and Baekje were also promoted in rank, but the King of Wa did not share in this promotion and was not appointed until the following year, when he sent an envoy. This difference is related to whether or not there was negotiation with the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the preceding dynasty of the Song Dynasty, and tells us that Wakoku did not have formal negotiations with the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

After being appointed Shogun, King San of Wa established the Shogun's office and was able to appoint the Chief Clerk, Sima, and Councilor as subordinates. Of these, the Chief Clerk was the Shogun's assistant and was in charge of civil affairs, while Sima was second in rank to the Chief Clerk and was involved in military affairs. In 425 (Yuanjia 2), San sent "Sima Cao Da" to Song, which was a utilization of this system in the diplomatic practices of the time. In other words, Sima Cao Da was appointed as the head of the mission to Song. This was a major feature of Wa diplomacy compared to the kings of Goguryeo and Baekje, who appointed the Chief Clerk as an envoy to Song, and can be seen as an indication of the diplomatic stance of the Wa king. The "Song Shu" also reports the dispatch of an envoy from the "King of Wa" in 430 (Yuanjia 7), and this envoy is also thought to have been sent by San.

After San's death, his younger brother Chin passed away, and in 438 (15th year of the Yuan dynasty), Chin called himself "Emissiary, Commander in Chief of the Military of the Six Countries of Wa, Baekje, Silla, Mimana, Qinhan, and Mohan, General of the East, and King of Wa" and submitted a petition to the Song Dynasty requesting the recognition of these official titles. In comparison, the official titles given to the Baekje king by the Song Dynasty at the time were "Emissiary, Commander in Chief of the Military of Baekje, General of the East, and King of Baekje," so the Wa king's request was much broader. In other words, Chin was seeking recognition of military control over the South Korean countries, including Wa and Baekje, and of his legitimate kingship within Wa. However, the Song Dynasty only granted him the titles General of the East and King of Wa. Chin also granted Wa Sui and 13 other generals provisional titles such as General of the Western Pilgrimage and requested that they be appointed to these posts, which was granted. The "Wa" in Wa Sui is the same as the "Wa" and "Wa Sai" names of the Wa kings at the time, meaning that "Wa" is the royal surname and Wa Sui is the royal family. Chin intended to use the royal family generals Wa Sui and others as a support base to gain military control over South Korea.

In 443 (20th year of the Yuan dynasty), when Wa King Wa Ji sent an envoy, the Song dynasty followed suit and appointed Ji as General of the East and King of Wa. After this, in 451 (28th year of the Yuan dynasty), Ji was given the title of "Envoy and Commander in Chief of the Military of the Six Kingdoms of Wa, Silla, Mimana, Kara, Qinhan, and Mohan" and his military title was promoted to "Great General of the East." It is also said that "23 people who were appointed to the military commanderies" were appointed. This was probably following the example of the previous king, Chin, and Ji probably wished to appoint as many as 23 people to support his ruling system. Incidentally, "military commanderies" in this case refer to "generals and governors of the commanderies" as in the case of Baekje. It would be appropriate to think of the areas where these generals and governors were active as being related to the titles of Wa kings. According to the "Sung Shu," an envoy was sent from Wakoku again in 460 (the 4th year of the Great Ming Dynasty), but it is believed that the king of Wakoku at that time was Sai.

After the death of Je, his son Heng ascended to the throne and sent an envoy in 462 (6th year of the Daeming era), and the Song also appointed him General of the East and King of Wa. The Book of Song also reports another envoy from Wa in 477 (1st year of the Sungmyeong era), which is also thought to have been Heng's. After Heng's death, his younger brother Mu called himself "Emissiary, Commander in Chief of the military forces of the seven countries of Wa, Baekje, Silla, Mimana, Gaya, Qinhan, and Mohan, Grand General of the East, and King of Wa," and further called himself Kaifu Yidongsansasi, and sent an envoy to the Song Dynasty in 478 (2nd year of the Sungmyeong era) to appeal for war against Goguryeo. The Song did not respond directly to this appeal, but appointed Mu as "Emissiary, Commander in Chief of the military forces of the six countries of Wa, Silla, Mimana, Gaya, Qinhan, and Mohan, Grand General of the East, and King of Wa." This appointment was a dramatic development compared to the first appointments made by previous Wa kings, and can be seen as the result of Wu's diplomacy. After this, Wu was promoted to the title of Grand General of the Eastern Region from Southern Qi in 479 (Jianyuan 1), and to the title of Grand General of the Eastern Region from Liang in 502 (Tianjian 1). However, these promotions were not directly related to Wu's diplomacy, and both were thought to have been celebratory appointments at the time of the founding of the dynasty. Therefore, Wu's reign cannot be considered based on these appointments.

The fifth-century Wa king's negotiations with China disappeared from history after the dispatch of Take's envoy. The reason for this is not entirely clear, but one possibility is that the Wa king realized the limitations of negotiations with China.

In addition, the Five Kings of Wa are often identified with the emperors described in the "Nihon Shoki," with San being assigned to Ojin, Nintoku, and Richū, Chin to Hanzei, Sai to Ingyō, Kō to Ankō, and Take to Yūryaku. However, there are problems with the dates and genealogies on which the identification is based, and further careful consideration is required.

[Yoshitane Sakamoto]

"Yoshitane Sakamoto, 'Japan and Korea in Ancient East Asia' (1978, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Yoshitane Sakamoto, 'The Five Kings of Wa: The Blank Fifth Century' (1981, Kyoikusha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国史料にその名が伝えられた5世紀の5人の倭国王。『宋書(そうじょ)』と『南史』では讃(さん)・珍(ちん)・済(せい)・興(こう)・武(ぶ)、『梁書(りょうしょ)』では賛・彌・済・興・武と記す。しかし、讃と賛は音通、珍と彌も一見文字の違いは大きいが、珍↔珎↔弥↔彌などの字形の類似から生じた誤写にすぎず、いずれも同一の王をさすとみてよい。

　倭の五王と中国王朝との交渉は421年（永初2）の讃の宋への遣使に始まる。宋はこの遣使を喜び、讃に「除授」を賜った。このとき、讃が授けられた官爵号は史料に明記されていないが、その後の倭王の例からみると安東将軍・倭国王であった可能性が濃い。3世紀の「親魏倭王」以来、約1世紀の空白ののち、ここにふたたび「倭国王」が誕生したことになる。なお、宋は前年の王朝創建時に周辺諸国王の将軍号を進め、高句麗(こうくり)王や百済(くだら)王もその地位を進められたが、倭国王はこの昇進にあずからず、翌年、遣使して初めて任官された。この違いは、宋の前王朝である東晋(とうしん)との交渉の有無と関係があり、倭国が東晋と正式な交渉をもっていなかったことを物語る。

　将軍に任じられた倭国王讃は将軍府を設置し、僚属として長史・司馬(しば)・参軍を置くことができるようになった。このうち長史は将軍の補佐で、文官をつかさどり、司馬は長史に次ぐ地位で、軍事に携わった。425年（元嘉2）讃が宋に派遣した「司馬曹達」は、当時の外交慣例からみて、この制度を利用したものである。つまり、司馬の曹達を遣宋使の長官に任じたことになる。これは、高句麗王や百済王が長史を遣宋使に任じたのと比べると倭国外交の一大特色であり、倭国王の外交姿勢を示すものとみることができる。なお、『宋書』には430年（元嘉7）の「倭国王」の遣使を伝えているが、この遣使も讃のものと考えられる。

　讃の死後、弟の珍がたつと、438年（元嘉15）、珍は自ら「使持節、都督倭・百済・新羅(しらぎ)・任那(みまな)・秦韓(しんかん)・慕韓(ぼかん)六国諸軍事、安東大将軍、倭国王」と自称し、上表してこれらの官爵号の承認を宋に求めた。当時、百済王が宋から授けられた官爵号は「使持節・都督百済諸軍事・鎮東大将軍・百済王」であるから、これと比較すると倭王の要求ははるかに広範囲なものであった。つまり、珍は倭国と百済を含めた南朝鮮諸国の軍事的支配権と倭国内部の正統王権の承認を求めたことになる。しかし、宋が許可したのは安東将軍・倭国王の称号のみであった。また、珍は同時に倭隋ら13人に平西将軍などの将軍号を仮授して、その任官を希望したが、これはそのまま認められた。なお、倭隋の「倭」は当時の倭国王の「倭讃」や「倭済」などと共通するものであり、「倭」は王姓、倭隋は王族ということになる。珍は王族将軍倭隋らを支持基盤として南朝鮮の軍事的支配に臨もうとしたのである。

　443年（元嘉20）倭国王倭済が遣使すると、宋朝は前例に倣い、済をまた安東将軍・倭国王に任じた。済はこの後、451年（元嘉28）に「使持節、都督倭・新羅・任那・加羅・秦韓・慕韓六国諸軍事」を加号され、軍号も「安東大将軍」に進められた。また、「并(なら)びに上(たてま)つる所の23人を軍郡に除」せられたという。これはおそらく前王の珍に倣ったものであり、済は自己の支配体制を支えるものとして23人もの大量の任官を願ったのであろう。なお、ここに出てくる「軍郡」とは、百済の事例から「将軍・郡太守」の意味である。これらの将軍・太守が活躍する地域は倭国王の称号と関係づけて考えてよかろう。『宋書』によると、こののち460年（大明4）にも倭国から遣使があったと伝えるが、このときの倭国王は済であったと思われる。

　済の死後、その世子の興が王位につき、462年（大明6）遣使すると、宋はまたこれを安東将軍・倭国王に任命した。『宋書』にはこののち、477年（昇明1）にも倭国からの遣使を伝えるが、これも興のものと思われる。興の死後、弟の武は「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」と自称し、さらに開府儀同三司を称して、478年（昇明2）宋朝に遣使し、対高句麗戦を訴えた。宋はこの訴えに直接的にはこたえなかったが、武を「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」に任命した。この任官は従来の倭国王の最初の任官と比べれば飛躍的な発展であり、武の外交の成果とみることができる。こののち、武は479年（建元1）には南斉から鎮東大将軍に、502年（天監1）には梁(りょう)から征東大将軍にそれぞれ将軍号を進められた。だが、これらの進号は武の直接的な外交とは関係のないもので、いずれも王朝の創立時の祝賀的任官と考えられる。したがってこれらの任官をもとにして武の在位期間を考えることはできない。

　5世紀の倭国王の対中交渉は武の遣使を最後にして史上から姿を消した。その理由はかならずしも明らかではないが、一つには倭国王が対中交渉の限界に気づいたことにある。

　なお、倭の五王を『日本書紀』の伝える天皇に比定し、讃を応神(おうじん)・仁徳(にんとく)・履中(りちゅう)、珍を反正(はんぜい)、済を允恭(いんぎょう)、興を安康(あんこう)、武を雄略(ゆうりゃく)などにあてることが多い。しかし、比定の論拠となっている年時・系譜ともに問題があり、なお慎重な検討が必要である。

［坂元義種］

『坂元義種著『古代東アジアの日本と朝鮮』（1978・吉川弘文館）』▽『坂元義種著『倭の五王――空白の五世紀』（1981・教育社）』

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