Aya clans (漢氏, Aya-shi) were collectively known immigrant clans from Korea that were active in Japan since the Kofun period according to the Kojiki (712), Nihon Shoki (720), and Shoku Nihongi (797).
The three main branches of the Aya clan included the Yamato no Aya clan, Kawachi no Aya clan, and the Ayahito clan; though claiming different founders, they all shared the same character of "Aya" in their names and are considered ethnically related.
Overview Japanese scholars have indicated that the Aya clans were all related and that they were generally classified under the same ethnic group. These mainly included: the Yamato no Aya clan, the Kawachi no Aya clan, and the Ayahito clan. It is said that the Yamato no Aya clan, the Kawachi no Aya clan, and the Ayahito clan, though not from the same founder, were ethnically related, most likely all immigrating from Paekche.The Ayahito clan claimed descent from Tayaka (多夜加), an individual from Paekche. However, some speculate that his name was a translation of Daegaya, due to phonetic similarity and the very nature of Aya-related clans having roots in Kaya more than the self-proclaimed kingdom of Paekche.
The Kawachi no Aya clan, in particular, is thought to be related with the Yamato no Aya clan.
Yamato no Aya clan also had a related clan called the Sakanoue clan (the clan that Sakanoue no Karitamaro hails from) which was once part of the bigger and more influential Yamato no Aya clan, but later broke off to form a clan of their own.
After the formation of the clans, the next immigrants were mainly called "Imaki no Ayabito (今来漢人/新漢人)" .
Etymology In recent times, the character for "Aya (漢)" is analogous with the ancient Han dynasty, hence why the character is heavily associated with China today. However, looking at the character's etymology, it is believed to have been used more leniently than its modern equivalent. The pronunciation of "Aya (あや)" is believed to have derived from the "Kingdom of Aya (安邪国)" and was only given the character of Han (漢) later on. Similar to "Hata (はた)" being written as "Qin (秦)" but having roots in the Koreanic word "Pada/Hada (波多)", and "Kara (から)" being written as "Tang (唐)" but having roots in the "Kingdom of Kara (加羅国)",『デジタル大辞泉』 "Digital Daijisen" (by 小学館/SHOGAKUKAN) at Goo Dictionary it is believed to have been directly associated with Korean kingdoms at first, then later expanded to China over several millennia, adopting different characters and interchanging when necessary.In fact, pronunciation like "Kara (から)" is shared among all three Chinese characters: 韓/漢/唐.
Similar usage of Chinese characters has been observed in Korean as well, with Koreans using "Han (韓; 漢; 幹; 刊)" to represent the native word "Han (한)" meaning "big" or "grand" using the Idu system.Hence, why "韓", a character heavily associated with modern Korea, was not always used in more ancient words such as "Han (漢) river", "Hallasan (漢拏山)" or "Hansho (漢쇼)", all meaning "grand" (grand river/grand mountain/grand cow) rather than the Han dynasty. Interestingly, the native Korean word "Han" which is directly associated with the Samhan or "three Hans" of Korea, is believed to be the root of the word "Kara" in Japanese as the word "Han" would have been pronounced as "Kar" in Old Korean. Therefore, pronunciations such as "Aya; Hata; Kara" (despite stemming from different roots) were likely brought over by Korean immigrants, whose descendants later incorporated more influential characters to better represent themselves.
Yamato no Aya clan
Yamato no Aya clan (東漢氏 or 倭漢氏, Yamatonoaya-shi) was one of the most influential Aya clans in its period.
Origins
Originally, according to ancient Japanese records, Nihon Shoki and Kojiki, Yamato no Aya clan was one of the many clans that arrived from the Korean kingdoms during the reign of Emperor Ōjin.『古代国家と天皇』創元社、1957年 It is said that the clan came from Paekche alongside their ancestor, Achi no Omi and his son, (都加使主).It is said that the clan started off small but gradually grew as other clans integrated themselves to the clan, later becoming one of the most influential clans in Japan.
It is also said that "Hinokuma no Sato (檜前郡鄕)", present day " (檜前)" of Nara prefecture was a place Yamato no Aya clan had jurisdiction over as well as being a well-known "Paekche town" also known as "Kudara no Sato (百済の里)" in Japanese.
Although oldest sources such as the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720) state that the clan and its founder, Achi no Omi, originate from the kingdom of Paekche, the Shoku Nihongi (797) claims that Achi no Omi was a descendant of Emperor Ling of Han. Later, according to the Shinsen Shōjiroku (815), it states that he was rather a descendant of Emperor Xian of Han following the claim made by the Sakanoue clan.However, due to the Sakanoue clan being blood-relatives of the Yamato no Aya clan, their conflicting claims are causing genealogical confusion among modern historians as both claims are found within the Shinsen Shōjiroku simultaneously under their respective family names. However, it is believed that the claims of his supposed royal heritage is an embellishment to make him seem more important as his name is recorded under "King Achi (阿智王)" (instead of his given name) likely to emphasize on the idea that he was of noble background.Similar embellishment happened with Yuzuki no Kimi as "King Yuzuki (弓月王)" of the Hata clan. Historically, neither names were given the title of "king" when they were first recorded in their earliest records. In actuality, the general consensus by modern historians is that Achi no Omi was likely a fictional individual, as according to historian (栗田 寛), it was common for Korean descendants to rely on prominent families for their lineage in order to raise their social status.
According to (門脇禎二) at Kyoto University, the name "Yamato no Aya" was widely used by Korean immigrants to apply dominance in their newly found home. Similarly with the Hata clan from Silla being wrongfully credited as a kingdom from the Qin dynasty, Yamato no Aya clan is thought to have been misinterpreted as a clan from the Han dynasty and was wrongfully credited as such when in fact, they were originally from Paekche or more recently, Kaya based on historical and archaeological evidence.
Etymology
"Yamato" in Yamato no Aya meant "east (東)" in Old Japanese as seen in the older spelling of the clan name, thus, "Yamato no Aya" meant "Aya clan of the east". The word "Aya", written as "漢 (Kan; かん)" in on'yomi, does not have a native Japanese etymology and scholars suspect it to be a loanword from a different language as explained above.
Modern Japanese historians theorize that Yamato no Aya clan and its founder Achi no Omi, originated from the Kaya confederacy, specifically from the kingdom of "Aya (安邪)" or "Anra (安羅)" (old name for Ara Gaya) where the placename became the etymology of the Aya clans. According to the theory, the immigrants brought many Paekche technologies from Ara Gaya and were considered as close kin to the people of Paekche. Some nationalist historians used this to support the claims over the Mimana controversy stating that Mimana (Kaya) was in fact Japanese due to the relations between the kingdom of Aya and the Aya clans of Japan. Despite the lukewarm reception in Korea, evidence alludes to the possibilities of Japonic speakers in the region.Vovin, Alexander (2013). "From Koguryo to Tamna: Slowly riding to the South with speakers of Proto-Korean". Korean Linguistics. 15 (2): 222–240.
Achievements It is written both in the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki that the clan specialized in architecture and carpentry.
There were also heavily militarized, often guarding and protecting high-ranking members of the Soga clan who also had deep connections with the Korean peninsula, specifically the kingdom of Paekche.
Legacy On top of being one of the most influential immigrant clans in Japan, clans related to Yamato no Aya became much more prominent after its fall.
The clan was divided into clans with distinct surnames, such as the aforementioned Sakanoue clan, the Fumi clan, the Min clan, the Ikebe clan, and the Aratai clan.
Kawachi no Aya clan
Kawachi no Aya clan (西漢氏 or 河内漢氏, Kawachinoaya-shi) was one of the most influential Aya clans in its period. Though it is less known than the Yamato no Aya clan of the east, the clan is known to have been quite influential in western Japan.
Origins
According to the family's genealogy, the clan descends from a Paekche scholar named Wani (originally known as "Wanikishi").
Records such as the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720) state that Wani arrived from Paekche under the order of Emperor Ōjin.
According to Japanese scholars, Wani and Achi no Omi of the Yamato no Aya clan, founded Kawachi no Aya and Yamato no Aya clan respectively, both being of Paekche origin and influential ethnic Koreans in Japan at the time. They shared the same character "Aya" but separated one another with the use of cardinal directions ("Kawachi; 西" meaning West and "Yamato; 東" meaning East) as Wani's Kawachi no Aya clan resided in "Furuichikoori (河内国古市郡)", (present day (古市郡) in Osaka) located in the west of Japan, while Achi no Omi and his Yamato no Aya clan resided in the Yamato Kingdom found in the east.
However, similar to Achi no Omi, where it was later added in the Shoku Nihongi (797) that he was of Han dynasty origin, the founder of Kawachi no Aya clan, Wani was also later added to have come from Han dynasty in the same book. Similar to Achi no Omi, the modern consensus is that this is also an aggrandization with many believing that the founders were more likely fictional than factual. In actuality, the clan is most likely an immigrant (Toraijin) clan which subsequently claimed Wani as their ancestor.
Etymology "Kawachi" in Kawachi no Aya meant "west (西)" as well as "river-side (河内)" in Old Japanese as seen in the older spelling of the clan name, thus, "Kawachi no Aya" meant "Aya clan of the west" or "Aya clan of the river-side". The word "Aya", written as "漢 (Kan; かん)" in on'yomi, does not have a native Japanese etymology and scholars suspect it to be a loanword from a different language as explained above.
Ayahito clan
Ayahito clan (漢人氏, Ayahito-shi) was one of the Aya clans that claimed to have hailed from Paekche.
Origins According to the family's genealogy, the clan descends from a Paekche individual named "Tayaka (多夜加)" though records surrounding him are scarce.
Similar to the other Aya clans, it is speculated that the Ayahito clan was a cadet branch clan of the bigger Aya family and only claimed Tayaka as their founder later on. His existence is also under scrutiny by modern Japanese historians.
Relations with the Fumi clans As mentioned above, it is believed that the Aya clans in general, though each self-proclaiming to have descended from different individuals, were most likely ethnically related people from a common group. Likewise, it is believed that the Fumi clans were related to the Aya clans as well. It is believed that the ancestor of the Aya clans, Tsuka no Omi (son of Achi no Omi), was also written as "Tsuka no Atai (都賀直)" and the name Tsuka no Atai is said to have been the ancestor to many of the Fumi clans, according to their self-proclaimed genealogies.