This episode we fill in the rest of Takara’s reign as Kōgyoku Tennō, from 642 to 645, and examine those things other than the Isshi Incident. We’ll especially look at what influences were coming in from the peninsula.

Timelines and the Baekje Royal Family

One of the biggest issues in the Nihon Shoki at this point is the way that the Baekje related history seems muddled. Jonathan Best suggests this is because the Chronicles were pulling records and trying to accurately place them, but somehow misread the dates. They were likely pulling from multiple sources trying to put things in order, and those sources may have been using slightly different dating systems, if they had any at all. So the Chroniclers massaged things the best they could, but we still end up with some odd data.

King Uija (Wicha) (b. 599?, r. 641-660)

Uija came to the throne just a year before Takara did, and we are told that Baekje was “greatly disturbed”. That likely means there were some tensions over who would rule the kingdom. Uija came out on top, but may not have been the favorite. It has been speculated that Princes Saeseong or Prince Gyoki may have been accused of trying to usurp the throne, and hence why they were banished, though I’m not entirely sure of that.

Prince Pung or Pungjang, aka Buyeo Pung (623-668)

A prince of Baekje and son of King Uija. The Nihon Shoki says he came over as a hostage in 630, but his father wasn’t even king until 641, and he would have been about 7 years old, assuming he was born in 623. More likely he came over in 643 around the 3rd or 4th month. There is a prince who is said to arrive around that time.

Prince Saeseong (??)

This prince is more difficult. He seems to have been in Japan around the same time as Gyoki. The envoys of 642 (which may not be an accurate date) wanted to bring him back with them, but Yamato refused. The envoys apparently suggested he had done something wrong, and Yamato may have even kept him to protect him from whatever punishment he would receive in Baekje. Unfortunately, we just don’t know a lot.

Prince Gyoki (??)

Similarly, what we know comes from the Chronicles. He arrives in 642 and then departs later that same year. He is active in the court and close friends, it would seem, with Soga no Emishi. He is mentioned alongside Sr. Counselor Chijeok. Since the entry of 2/2 in 642 suggests that Chijeok died a year previous, that may put that entry sometime around or after 654. Unfortunately, it just isn’t very clear.

References

• Kim, P., & Shultz, E. J. (2011). The 'Koguryo annals' of the 'Samguk Sagi'. Gyeonggi-do: Academy of Korean Studies Press.

• Como, Michael (2008). Shōtoku: Ethnicity, Ritual, and Violence in the Japanese Buddhist Tradition. ISBN 978-0-19-518861-5

• Matsuo, K. (13 Dec. 2007). A History of Japanese Buddhism. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9781905246410.i-280

• Best, J. (2006). A History of the Early Korean Kingdom of Paekche, together with an annotated translation of The Paekche Annals of the Samguk sagi. Cambridge (Massachusetts); London: Harvard University Asia Center. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1tg5q8p

• Aston, W. G. (1972). Nihongi, chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN0-80480984-4