Hata clan (秦氏, Hata-shi) was an immigrant clan from Korea that was active in Japan since the Kofun period, according to the history of Japan laid out in the Nihon Shoki (720).
The clan members were later given official titles ranging from "Uzumasa (禹豆満佐/太秦)", "Hata no Sukune (秦宿禰)", "Hata no Imiki (秦忌寸)", "Hata no Sakeno Kimi (秦酒公)", "Hata no Kimi (秦公)", and "Toroshikō (登呂志公)" after being recognized as a legitimate clan of Japan after naturalization.
Origin The root of the clan has been a debated topic for many Japanese historians and scholars.
Many have suggested different origins throughout history starting from traditional accounts such as Paekche, Qin dynasty, Kaya confederacy, and more contemporary accounts such as Israel to Silla.
Popular theories
Paekche The first mention of Hata clan (or what is believed to be the Hata clan) was in the Nihon Shoki, describing an immigrant clan (known as Toraikei (渡来系) in Japanese, literally "lineage coming from abroad") arriving in Japan led by Yuzuki no Kimi from Paekche.
According to the Nihon Shoki, during the reign of Emperor Ōjin, Yuzuki no Kimi visited Japan from the Kingdom of Paekche where he stated that he had long wanted to emigrate to Japan, but the Kingdom of Silla would not permit him to do so. He left Japan but returned in 283, with additional members of his clan "from 120 districts of his own land". In actuality, neither Yuzuki no Kimi nor his clan members are mentioned as the founders of the Hata clan in the Nihon Shoki as the specific name, "Hata (秦)" does not appear in the book, only mentioning Yuzuki no Kimi and his "clan members". The claim was made after the publication of the Shinsen Shōjiroku (815) a millennia later, and was inferred based on context.
Some point to the name of Yuzuki no Kimi being of Korean origin. According to Japanese linguists, "弓月君" could be a direct translation of "Kudara (くだら)" a unique name for Paekche in Japanese. In Old Korean, "弓月" could be read as "Kungdar (궁달)" using the Idu system, which is thought to have carried over to the Japanese language as being of Paekche descent as both words share the same pronunciation.
Qin dynasty Contrary to the accounts made in the Nihon Shoki, the Shinsen Shōjiroku (815) claims that Yuzuki no Kimi, was allegedly a descendant of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty.Shinsen Shōjiroku "出自秦始皇帝三世孫孝武王也" Thus the reason behind Hata being written with the character "Qin (秦)". It was also the first time Yuzuki no Kimi's clan introduced in the Nihon Shoki was written under a specific name.
Kaya confederacy As mentioned in the Nihon Shoki, Yuzuki no Kimi claimed he had 120 people in Mimana, a place name that points to the Kaya confederacy in Korea. Therefore, it has been theorized that the Hata clan had immigrated from Kaya rather than Paekche.
Israel Some 19th and 20th century pseudohistorians claimed that the Hata clan descended from a Jewish tribe that is often associated with the Ten Lost Tribes of ancient Israel (Samaria).Ben Ami-Shillony, The Jews and the Japanese: The Successful Outsiders, pp. 135–7 (Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1991) While admitting that the clan's immigration route was ultimately from Korea to Japan, proponents of this theory believed that the clan members were in fact descendants of said Jewish tribesmen; claiming that they originated from Israel which travelled to Central Asia, then to mainland China, then to the Korean peninsula where they ultimately immigrated to Japan as their final destination. For further information, see Jewish ancestry theory.
Silla Though not directly stated in either the Nihon Shoki or Shinsen Shōjiroku, modern Japanese scholars theorize Silla was the place of origin of the Hata clan.
Modern analysis After numerous archaeological excavations, extensive investigations, and historical research throughout the decades, Japanese historians have long-established that the Hata clan originated from Silla and not any of the previously mentioned kingdoms.
The city of Kyoto and Fushimi Inari-taisha (the shrine that was built by the clan and officially commemorates it) have publicly stated that "despite the ancient records being unreliable, it can be deduced that the Hata clan originates from the kingdom of Silla." The official Hata clan Historical Heritage Preservation Council (秦歴史遺産保存協議会) also came to the conclusion that Silla was indeed the place of origin after unearthing the clan's ruins throughout the council's longstanding archaeological excavations.
The sentiment is also carried by researchers and historians worldwide with many re-evaluating the claims found in historical documents with modern day evidence.
Historical inaccuracy The first inaccuracy is shown within the clan's founder, Yuzuki no Kimi's background, a Paekche individual who arrived in Japan during Emperor Ōjin's reign. Contrary to popular belief, prior to the clan's descendants claiming Yuzuki no Kimi as their ancestor as well as claiming he was of Emperor Qin's descent in the Shinsen Shōjiroku, Yuzuki no Kimi is not mentioned anywhere in his original source, the Nihon Shoki, in regards to him being the actual founder of the Hata clan. In actuality, neither he or his supposed clan who immigrated to Japan are mentioned ever again after their stories found in the Nihon Shoki. Like with most claims found in the Shinsen Shōjiroku, it is most likely that the descendants nominated Yuzuki no Kimi as their founder due to him not having any genealogical affiliations with any clans and declared him as their own. Based on archaeological and linguistical evidence, the clan does not incorporate any Paekche or Qin dynasty elements.Historically, the Hata clan and Yuzuki no Kimi most likely had no relations at all as no sources allude to them being related outside of the Shinsen Shōjiroku. This is also applied to the Hata clan and Emperor Qin which is also only found in the Shinsen Shōjiroku. Therefore, the relationship between Yuzuki no Kimi and Emperor Qin is also questionable. In fact, according to historian (栗田 寛), it was common for Korean descendants to rely on more prominent families for their lineage to raise their social status.
Another inconsistency rises from the use of the character "Hata (秦)" as the character is not written in the Nihon Shoki and is found only in the Shinsen Shōjiroku when first mentioning Emperor Qin of China. Today, the clan believes that their character "秦" derived from Qin Shi Huang's family name of the same character. However, Japanese scholars pointed out that the name "Qin Shi Huang" was not the emperor's actual name, but was in fact "Yíng Zheng (嬴政)" using the ancestral name of the Yíng family. Historically, "Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇)" literally meant "First Emperor of Qin" which was used as a title rather than a name. The same is applied to the emperor's alternate name, "Shi Huangdi (始皇帝)" which was also a title literally meaning "First Emperor" or "Starting Emperor" alluding to him being the first Emperor in the history of China. Historians believe that the clan misinterpreted "Qin" as the surname of the emperor平野邦雄「秦氏の研究」（『史学雑誌』第70編第3・4号、1961年） when in fact, it was originally the name of the state.Other inconsistency includes the ignorance of the naming system in ancient China. During Qin Shi Huang or Yíng Zheng's period, male individuals used their clan names (氏, shi) instead of their ancestral surnames (姓, xing) which was reserved more for females. Therefore, in actuality, Qin Shi Huang or Yíng Zheng's legal name would have been "Zhao Zheng (趙政)" under the Zhao clan (趙氏, Zhao-shi). If the Hata were truly using Qin Shi Huang's family name or clan name as its surname, it should most likely be Zhao (趙) or at least Yíng (嬴), and not Qin (秦). See names of Qin Shi Huang. There is a Chinese surname called Qin, however, it is a relatively modern name that has little historical connections with the Hata clan except for claiming the same character for similar reasons (memorializing Qin Shi Huang). In addition, the Hata clan had a previous name which was written under "Hata ()"『新撰姓氏録』大和諸蕃 (allegedly since the 2nd century) before adopting "Qin (秦)" in the 9th century, further discrediting the "Qin–Hata origin" theory.
There are other examples where the name "Hata" was used before the clan adopted the new character. Takenouchi no Sukune, a legendary Japanese general who had many connections to Silla, had a son named who is also a legendary figure of the Hata clan while it was still under "波多". Historically, he is believed to be the original founder of the clan despite skepticism from modern scholars (see chronology of the Hata clan). Later, the use of "波多" was also carried on by another immigrant clan of Korean descent called Sakanoue clan, the branch clan of Yamato no Aya clan, where (坂上阿良) formed his own separate clan using the same characters of Hata clan's original name, "波多". See legacy of the Sakanoue clan for more information.
It is thought that the misconception revolving around the origins of Jinhan (previous kingdom of Silla) being built by Qin dynasty refugees, first mentioned in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, was what caused the Silla immigrants to become descendants of the Qin dynasty in the Shinsen Shōjiroku (see History of Jinhan confederacy).笠井倭人「朝鮮語より見た秦・漢両氏の始祖名」（小林行雄博士古稀記念論文集刊行委員会編『考古学論考』平凡社、1982年）[佐伯:1994 369] The book is also scrutinized by modern Japanese historians for putting some clans under "Kan (漢)" or "Han dynasty" and not the Three Kingdoms of Korea,『古代国家と天皇』創元社、1957年 the same way it put Hata under Qin dynasty instead of Silla. It also contradicts the claims made in the Nihon Shoki (the first and oldest mentioning of Hata) that Yuzuki no Kimi was from Qin dynasty and not Paekche without providing any substantial evidence. For further context, the Nihon Shoki lacks any mentions of Qin when discussing about Hata.
Historian (井上 満郎) posits that centuries after immigrants from Silla had settled in the 5th century, their descendants needed a name for their clan founder to be properly included into the Shinsen Shōjiroku, and thus chose Yuzuki no Kimi; someone who was mentioned only once in the Nihon Shoki and had no direct relations with the clan prior to the claim. Afterwards, under the misguided assumption that Silla (Jinhan) was of Qin's origin, it was recorded that Yuzuki no Kimi and in turn, the Hata clan were originally from the Qin dynasty and adopted the "Qin (秦)" character. In return, it is thought that the descendants of the Hata clan sought for social influence during the compilation of Shinsen Shōjiroku, and thus embraced the misinformed idea and self-proclaimed themselves to be part of Qin Shi Huang's lineage which would have given the clan more legitimacy for its political dominance and reason to remain in power. In actuality, their relations to Yuzuki no Kimi is questionable, as well as Yuzuki's own relations with Qin Shi Huang. It is highly likely that all three candidates (Hata–Yuzuki–Qin Shi Huang) are not related as the statements found in the Shinsen Shōjiroku are based on self-proclaimed claims rather than historical and genealogical facts.