Hata tribe
Encyclopedia
The was an immigrant clan active in Japan since the Kofun period
Kofun period
The is an era in the history of Japan from around 250 to 538. It follows the Yayoi period. The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from this era. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period...

, according to the epic history Nihonshoki.

Hata is the Japanese reading of the Chinese (state and dynasty) name 秦 given to the Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...

 (the real family name was Ying), and given to their descendants established in Japan.
The Nihonshoki presents the Hata as a clan or house, and not as a tribe; also only the members of the head family had the right to use the name of Hata.

The Hata can be compared to other families who came from the continent during the Kofun period
Kofun period
The is an era in the history of Japan from around 250 to 538. It follows the Yayoi period. The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from this era. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period...

: the descendants of the Chinese Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

, by Prince Achi no Omi, ancestor of the Yamato no Aya clan, the Sakanoue clan, the Tamura clan
Tamura clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan which rose to prominence in the Sengoku period. It was part of the fighting in Mutsu Province...

, the Harada and the Akizuki clan
Akizuki clan
The Akizuki clan is a Japanese noble family from prehistoric age. In the Sengoku period, the Akizuki clan was a king of samurai on Japanese "Akizuki-country" in the Kyūshū island. From after the Sengoku period to end of the World War II, the Akizuki family was a Japanese contemporary noble again...

; the descendants of Baekje
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

 (Kudara in Japanese) who sought refuge in Japan, for example the Kikuchi clan
Kikuchi clan
The of Higo Province was a powerful daimyo family of Higo, Kyūshū. The Kikuchi lineage was renowned for its valiant service in defense of the emperor and against foreign invaders. The clan first distinguished itself during the Jürchen invasion of northern Kyūshū in 1019...

, Yamato clan, Kudara no Konikishi clan, and the Sue clan; also, the descendants of the Chinese Cao Wei Dynasty
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...

 by the Takamuko clan.

Nihonshoki

The Hata are mentioned by name more often than almost any other immigrant clan in the Nihonshoki, one of Heian-period Japan's epics, combining mythology and history.

The first leader of the Hata to arrive in Japan, Uzumasa-no-Kimi-Sukune, arrived during the reign of Emperor Chūai
Emperor Chuai
; also known as Tarashinakatsuhiko no Sumeramikoto; was the 14th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 192–200....

, in the 2nd century CE. According to the epic, he and his followers were greeted warmly, and Uzumasa was granted a high government position.

Roughly one hundred years later, during the reign of Emperor Ōjin
Emperor Ojin
, also known as Homutawake or , was the 15th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 270 to 310....

, a Hata prince called Yuzuki no Kimi visited Japan from the Kingdom of Baekje in Korea. He said he had come from Baekje
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

, and he wanted to emigrate to Japan, but that Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

 would not permit him to do so. So 120 persons of his clan were staying at Minama. Having enjoyed his experience, he left Japan and returned with members of his clan "from 120 districts of his own land", as well as a massive hoard of treasures, including jewels, exotic textiles, and silver and gold, which were presented to the Emperor as a gift.

Origins

According to the theory which most scholars follow, the clan was descended from Prince Yuzuki no Kimi, who in turn was a descendant of the first Emperor of Qin
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...

 of the Qin Dynasty. had become a Korean prince, and emigrated to Japan in 283 with a great number of his countrymen. They are said to have come to Japan from China through the Chinese Lelang Commandery
Lelang Commandery
Lelang was one of the Chinese commanderies which was established after the fall of Gojoseon in 108 BC until Goguryeo conquered it in 313. Lelang Commandery was located in the northern Korean peninsula with the administrative center near modern P'yongyang....

 then through the Kingdom of Baekje (both on the Korean peninsula). Lelang, near what is today Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...

, was the greatest of the Four Commanderies of Han
Four Commanderies of Han
The Four Commanderies of Han are Lelang, Lintun, Xuantu and Zhenfan commanderies in northern Korean Peninsula and part of the Liaodong Peninsula. set up by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in early 2nd century BC after his conquest of Wiman Joseon...

 created in 108 BC in the areas captured after the conquest of the Wiman Joseon
Wiman Joseon
Wiman Joseon was part of the Gojoseon period of Korean history. It began with Wiman's seizure of the throne from Gojoseon's King Jun and ended with the death of King Ugeo who was a grandson of Wiman.-Founding:...

 state (194 BC-108 BC) by Emperor Wu
Emperor Wu
Emperor Wu may refer to a number of Chinese emperors:*Emperor Wu of Han , emperor of the Han dynasty*Emperor Wu of Wei , a posthumous name of Cao Cao*Emperor Wu of Jin *Emperor Wu of Liu Song...

 of the Chinese Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

, which corresponds to the current North Korea. A flux of Chinese immigration into the Korean peninsula continued without cessation, implanting there Chinese culture and technology. Some scholars say Hata clan did not come from Baekje
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

, but Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

 or Gaya
Gaya confederacy
Gaya was a confederacy of territorial polities in the Nakdong River basin of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan period.The traditional period used by historians for Gaya chronology is 42–532 CE...

 area.

The Hata are said to have been adept at financial matters, and to have introduced silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 raising and weaving to Japan. For this reason, they may have been associated with the kagome
Kagome lattice
A kagome lattice is an arrangement of laths composed of interlaced triangles such that each point where two laths cross has four neighboring points...

crest, a lattice shape found in basket-weaving. During the reign of Emperor Nintoku
Emperor Nintoku
was the 16th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 313–399.-Legendary narrative:...

 (313-399), the members of the clan were sent to diverse parts of the country to spread the knowledge and practice of sericulture
Sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk.Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori is the most widely used and intensively studied. According to Confucian texts, the discovery of silk production by B...

.

Members of this clan also served as financial advisors to the Yamato Court for several centuries. Originally landing and settling in Izumo
Izumo, Shimane
is a city located in Shimane, Japan. Izumo is known for Izumo soba noodles and the Izumo Taisha Shinto shrine.-Demographics:The modern city was founded on November 3, 1941....

 and the San'yō region, the Hata eventually settled in the areas of what are now Japan's most major cities. They are said to have aided in the establishment of Heian-kyō (modern-day Kyoto), and of many Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, including Fushimi Inari Taisha
Fushimi Inari-taisha
is the head shrine of Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines....

, Matsunoo Taisha
Matsunoo Shrine
is a Shinto shrine located at the far western end of Shijo Street, approximately 1.3 kilometers south of the Arashiyama district of Kyoto, Japan. It is home to a spring at the base of the mountain, Arashiyama, that is believed to be blessed....

, and Kōryū-ji
Koryu-ji
is a Shingon temple in Uzumasa, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple is also known by the names and , and was formerly known as , and .Kōryū-ji is said to be the oldest temple in Kyoto, having been constructed in 603 by Hata no Kawakatsu upon receiving a Buddhist statue from Prince Shōtoku...

.

Emperor Yūryaku
Emperor Yuryaku
was the 21st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Yūryaku is remembered as a patron of sericulture.No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 456–479....

 granted the clan the family name of Uzumasa in 471, in honor of Sake no kimi's contributions to the spread of sericulture. Over the next few centuries, they were given the rights to the status (kabane
Kabane
were hereditary titles used in ancient Japan to denote rank and political standing. There were more than thirty. Some of the more common kabane were omi, muraji, , , , , , and ....

) of Miyatsuko and later Imiki.

A number of samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

 clans, including the Chōsokabe clan
Chosokabe clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan of the Sengoku period, that controlled Tosa Province , and later Shikoku Island. The clan is sometimes also known as...

 of Shikoku, the Kawakatsu clan
Kawakatsu clan
The was a Japanese clan that claimed descent from the Hata clan. In the Edo period, several of the clan's branches were hatamoto families.-References:...

 of Tamba and the Jinbō clan
Jinbo clan
The ' was a Japanese clan that was active in Echigo Province during the Sengoku period, as retainers of the Uesugi clan. During the Edo period, one branch of the Jinbo would enter the service of the Matsudaira clan of Aizu; another would become hatamoto in the service of the Tokugawa shogunate....

 of Echigo province, claimed descent from the Hata.

The Koremune clan, also descended from the Emperor of Qin, were related to the origins of the Hata as well. Prince Koman-O, in the reign of Emperor Ōjin
Emperor Ojin
, also known as Homutawake or , was the 15th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 270 to 310....

 (c. 310), came to dwell in Japan. His successors received the name Hata. This name was changed to Koremune in 880. The wife of Shimazu Tadahisa
Shimazu Tadahisa
was the founder of the Shimazu samurai clan.According to a record of his life, he was reportedly born in Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka. He was initially Koremune Tadayoshi but after being given the territory of Shimazu, Hyūga Province to rule from by Minamoto no Yoritomo, he took the name of...

 (1179–1227) (son of Minamoto no Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...

 and ancestor of the Shimazu clan
Shimazu clan
The were the daimyō of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan.The Shimazu were identified as one of the tozama or outsider daimyō clans in contrast with the fudai or insider clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan,The Shimazu were...

 of Kyūshū), was a daughter of Koremune Hironobu.

In addition, many towns in Japan are named after the clan, such as Ohata
Ohata, Aomori
was a town located in Shimokita District in northern Aomori Prefecture, Japan.Ōhata Village was founded in 1889. It was elevated to town status on May 1, 1934...

, Yahata
Yahata Nishi-ku, Kitakyushu
is a ward of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan. It covers 83.04 square kilometres, and had a population of 260,318 at January 1, 2005. The ward contains JR Kurosaki Station, and JR Orio Station on the Kagoshima Main Line, with several schools and universities nearby...

, and Hatano. The population of Neyagawa
Neyagawa, Osaka
is a city located in Osaka, Japan.As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 238,549 and the density of 9,650 persons per km². The total area is 24.73 km².The city was founded on May 3, 1951....

 in Osaka Prefecture
Osaka Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...

 includes a number of people who claim descent from the Hata.

The Hata were also claimed as ancestors by Zeami Motokiyo
Zeami Motokiyo
Zeami Motokiyo , also called Kanze Motokiyo , was a Japanese aesthetician, actor and playwright.-Acting:...

, the premiere Noh
Noh
, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...

 playwright in history, who attributed the origins of Noh to Hata no Kawakatsu
Hata no Kawakatsu
, sometimes called Hada no Kōkatsu, was a legendary figure in Japanese folklore, who is believed to have introduced kagura Shinto dances to Japan in the sixth century. He is also considered the progenitor of a hereditary line which includes many of Noh's greatest playwrights and actors, such as...

. According to Zeami's writings, Kōkatsu, the ancestor of both the Kanze and Komparu Noh lineages, was the first to introduce kagura
Kagura
- Fictional characters :*Kagura Tsuchimiya, the protagonist of Ga-rei*Kagura, an InuYasha character*Kagura Sohma , a Fruits Basket character*Kagura, an Azumanga Daioh character*Ten'nōzu Kagura, a Speed Grapher character...

Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

 ritual dances to Japan in the sixth century; this form would later evolve into sarugaku
Sarugaku
Sarugaku, literally "monkey music," was a form of theatre popular in Japan during the 11th to 14th centuries. It originated from "sangaku," a form of entertainment reminiscent of the modern-day circus, consisting mostly of acrobatics, juggling, and pantomime, sometimes combined with drum dancing...

and then into Noh.

While most scholars believe in this line of descent from the Emperors of Qin, others attest that the clan was originally from Central Asia. Ken Joseph Jr explains that Yuzuki no Kimi means Lord of Yuzuki, and he found a place written 弓月 in Central Asia. The problem with this theory is that Kimi
Kimi
- Japanese words : may refer to:* One of names for the Emperor of Japan* An honorific title. One of the names for one's lord or master in the Middle Ages.* One of the second-person personal pronouns in Japanese language - People :...

doesn't mean "Central Asian Lord", but was a Japanese official's rank under the authority of a Japanese governor of province (Kuni no miyatsuko
Kuni no miyatsuko
Kuni no miyatsuko were officials in ancient Japan at the time of the Yamato court.They were in charge of provinces , although it is not always very clear what those provinces were...

) or a governor of district (Agata-nushi
Agatanushi
Agatanushi was the name given in Japan during the 6th century to those public servants who had in loan imperial properties. This group, together with other public servants, were a kind of territorial middle class, which became strongly influent during the Nara period in the 8th century....

). The second problem is that Yuzuki doesn't refer to a location, but was the Prince's name. Ken Joseph Jr also explains that the family name Hata was given to all the naturalized foreigners, which is wrong. The name Hata (秦 Qin in Chinese reading) was reserved to descendants of the Chinese Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...

 established in Japan.

Shinshūkyō and the common origin idea

The notion that the Hata clan were among the Lost Tribes of Israel
Ten Lost Tribes
The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to those tribes of ancient Israel that formed the Kingdom of Israel and which disappeared from Biblical and all other historical accounts after the kingdom was destroyed in about 720 BC by ancient Assyria...

, though far from widely accepted or even seriously considered in formal scholarship, is central to the beliefs of several Japanese New Religions
Shinshukyo
is a Japanese term used to describe domestic new religious movements. They are also known as in Japanese, and are most often called simply Japanese new religions in English. Japanese theologians classify all religious organizations founded since the middle of the 19th century as Shinshūkyō. Thus,...

 and to the writings of various contemporary Japanese antiquarians.
Dr. Yoshiro Saeki (1872–1965), an expert on Eastern Christianity, is one of the primary scholars who has proposed the theory that the Hata were Semitic in origin, practicing a form of early Judaism, and that they had a profound impact on Japanese culture. Ikurō Teshima
Ikuro Teshima
' was the founder of the Makuya religious movement. A native of Kumamoto, Japan, he was baptized as a Protestant at the age of fifteen, and soon afterwards joined the Nonchurch Movement started by Uchimura Kanzō. Teshima was influenced by Uchimura's writings, studying under his disciple Tsukamoto...

, founder of the New Religion Makuya
Makuya
', also called ' and based at the Tokyo Bible Seminary, is a religious movement in Japan founded in 1948 by Ikurō Teshima. To grasp the inner truth of biblical religion, or the “Love of the Holy Spirit” as Teshima puts it, and to extol this existential love by embodying it and living accordingly is...

, and author of several books on the Hata, is another proponent of the theory. There also is a theory that Hata clan was a descendant of Manasseh
Manasseh
Manasseh is an ancient Hebrew male name, meaning "causing to forget". Manasseh may refer to:-Given name:*Manasseh of Judah, a king of the kingdom of Judah*Manasseh , a son of Joseph, according to the Torah...

 tribe of Israel moved to Tibet, China to Kyushu
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

 Japan through Shinra
Shinra
Shinra may refer to:*Shinra Electric Power Company, a fictional company in Final Fantasy VII*Rufus Shinra, a character in Final Fantasy VII*Shinra, a minor character in Final Fantasy X-2*Shinra, a character in Ikaruga...

Korea. They were a tribe of immigration. Actually there is a genetic perspective of Japanese and Tibetan people share same gene which is D type.

This fabricated story, in fact, has no supporting historical evidence whatsoever, and is very similar to the fabrication, likely spread by Freemasons, that the British were descended from a lost tribe of Israel. Genetic evidence has proved it a blatant falsification, which would have been obvious to any serious scholar, but not to the gullible lay person.
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