# Five kings of Wa

The five kings of Wa (倭の五王, Wa no go ō) were kings of ancient Japan (Wa) 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).

## Titles bestowed on the Kings of Wa

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 | 2rd rank General | 2rd rank General | 3rd rank General | 3rd 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 of Goguryeo | 3 | 征東将軍 General of Seitō | - |
| 2 | 鎮東大将軍 Grand General of Chintō | King of Baekje | 3 | 鎮東将軍 General of Chintō | - |
| 2 | 安東大将軍 Grand General of Antō | Sai (King of Wa) 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 the Song dynasty, the emperor bestowed 征東大将軍 (Grand General conquering the East) on the King of Goguryeo, and 鎮東大将軍 (Grand General appeasing the East) on the King of Baekje. 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. But there are also other opinions against this interpretation. 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. Sakamoto also points out the different view on these general titles.

## Chinese records and the bestowed titles on the kings of Wa

| Gregorian date (AD) | Dynasty | Chinese calendar | Original Chinese source | King of Wa | Short summary |
| 413 | Jin | Giki 9 (義熙九年) | Book of Jin, Taiping Yulan | Unknown | The king of Wa sent a tributary. |
| 421 | Song | Eisho 2 (永初二年) | Book of Song | San | King San sent a tributary 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) as an envoy and made Emperor Wen of Song a present. |
| 430 | Song | Genka 7 (元嘉七年) | Book of Song | Unknown | In January, the king of Wa sent a tribute. |
| 438 | Song | Genka 15 (元嘉十五年) | Book of Song | 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. |
| 443 | Song | Genka 20 (元嘉二十年) | Book of Song | Sai | 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 | In December, the king of Wa sent a tribute. |
| 462 | Song | Daimei 6 (大明六年) | Book of Song | Kō | 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 | 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 | Qi | Kengen 1 (建元元年) | Book of Qi | 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)). |
| 502 | Liang | Tenkan 1 (天監元年) | Book of Liang | Bu | In April, Emperor Wu of Liang promoted Bu to the title of 征東大将軍 (Grand General conquering the East). |

## Comparison with the Nihon Shoki

* v
* t
* e
Genealogy of the Five kings of Wa and Emperors :
| Book of Song | Book of Liang |
| San of Wa (421, 425 ce)Chin of Wa (438 ce) Sai of Wa (443, 451 ce) Ko of Wa (462 ce)Bu of Wa (478 ce) | San of WaChin of Wa Sai of Wa Ko of WaBu of Wa |
| Genealogy of Emperors in Nihon Shoki (Numbers in parentheses are Japanese epithets) ||
| $^{15}$ Ojin (誉田別) $^{16}$ Nintoku (大鷦鷯) $^{17}$ Richū (去来穂別)$^{18}$ Hanzei (瑞歯別)$^{19}$ Ingyō (雄朝津間稚子宿禰) Ichinobe no OshiwaKinshari$^{20}$ Ankō (穴穂)$^{21}$ Yūryaku (大泊瀬幼武) ||

### Lack of records - two interpretations

In the Nihon Shoki, there are no records about "five Kings of Wa". The records that some Daiō (great kings) of the Yamato 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 the Nihon 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.
* The five Kings of Wa and their diplomatic activities had really existed, but the formal history book, Nihon Shoki, intentionally omitted these facts. The reason might be the policy which Yamato kingship adopted since late sixth century. That is, Japan (Wa, Yamato) whould not be involved in the Chinese Sakuhō System. Japan would not be a subject state of the Empire of China. Crown Prince Shōtoku adovocated this policy. But in this interpretation, there was other problem why the Kings of Wa had called themselves as one kanji letter name such as San or Chin.
* The other interpretation is that the five Kings of Wa were not the King of the Yamato, but some local chiefs such as Kings of the Kyūshū dynasty. They disguised as the King of Yamato and sent envoys. This interpretation could explain the strange one letter name of the five Kings. Also, the Nihon Shoki did not omit the historical facts which Chinese source recorded.
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 the Nihon Shoki.

### Identification problems

As the name of kings recorded in Chinese history are very different from the names of Emperors in the Nihon 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 the Inariyama and Eta Funayama Sword, also supports the idea that Bu is an equivalent of Emperor Yūryaku, who was called Wakatakeru Ōkimi by his contemporaries.
* San 讃: Emperor Nintoku or Emperor Richū
* Chin 珍: Emperor Hanzei or Emperor Nintoku
* Sai 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 is also noted in the Nihonshoki as an elder brother to Yūryaku. However, the Book of Song records Kō as "Crown Prince Kō"; there is a possibility that he is not Ankō, but rather Prince Kinashi no Karu, who was a crown prince of Ingyō.

## Meanings of titles bestowed on the kings of Wa

In the age of the Song 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 the Sakuhō 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" (Shijisetsu, Totoku, Wa, Baekje, Silla, Mimana, Shinkan, Bokan, Rokkoku-Shogunji, Antō-Dai-Shōgun, Wa-Kokuō). This contains the Five Titles.
* 使持節, Shijisetsu : Highest Rank Military Commander (General)
* 都督, Totoku : Military Governor
* 都督-Region-諸軍事, Totoku - Region - Shogunji : Governor/Commander ruling all the military matters of the said Region (Region, State, Province, etc.)
* 安東大将軍, Antō Dai-Shōgun : Grand General of Antō (Grand General pacifying the East)
* 倭国王, Wa-Kokuō : King of Wa State
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.)
King Bu asked the Title 開府儀同三司 (Kaifu Gidō-Sanshi). This Title Kaifu 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).
* 開府儀同三司 Kaifu Gidō-Sanshi : Person whose Position is equivalent or corresponds to the "Three Lords" (Highest Ranking Officials in the old Imperial Chinese governments. That is, 丞相 (司徒) Jōshō (Shito), 太尉 Taii, 御史大夫 (司空) Gyoshi-Taifu (Shikū).