So this episode we continue with the reign of Mimaki Iribiko, and look at why the Chronicles refer to him as the August Founder, even though he is also the 10th sovereign. We'll look at how he is said to have "pacified" the rest of the land. We'll also compare what the Chronicles tell us with what we know through other sources. For more go to: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-29 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 29: The August Founder Last episode we covered the first part of Mimaki Iribiko’s reign, with a lot of focus on Yamato Totohi Momoso Hime and the potential connections with the time of Queen Himiko, in the 3rd century, and while there are some who suggest that this account is actually taking place much earlier—possibly as early as the late 2nd century—for now we’ll keep it where it is. Of course, that episode took us through Yamato Totohi Momoso Hime’s death and subsequent burial in what we believe to be Hashihaka kofun. And with her passing it is now time for us to move on with our discussion of the ruler mentioned in the Chronicles—perhaps Himiko’s co-ruler—Mimaki Iribiko Iniye no Mikoto. We’ll go through the rest of his account and talk about what it means that he shares with Jimmu that curious title of August Founder of Yamato. We’ll look at the military and administrative expansion that he is credited with. First, though, a little more on this name: Mimaki. Now, truth be told, we don’t really have a clear indication of its meaning. Some have suggested that the “Ki” is from a Korean word meaning castle, and later we’ll see “Mimana” as a name for a state on the Korean peninsula, possibly a part of the Gaya Confederation that grew up around the area we believe have been home to the Pyonhan. So, one idea is that Mimaki indicates that this ruler is actually from the continent. This goes along with a popular theory that states that the royal line was actually founded by a conquering force from the mainland, and draws some of its inspiration from the idea of Iware Biko—who was also identified with a peninsular placename—making his way up from Kyushu, the direction that any invaders from the mainland would need to take. We’ll revisit this later in the story of Oujin, one of the later sovereigns, and another important figure in the Chronicles, who is also cited as an example of this invasion. This theory of continental origin conveniently explains why Himiko isn’t mentioned in the Chronicles, because in this narrative, the royal lineage isn’t truly from “Yamato” at all, but they either founded the state (in which case it was likely separate from the Yamatai state of Himiko) or they took over an existing state and simply put themselves up as the rulers, possibly marrying into the royal line. This is often referred to as the horserider theory, because the horse and associated technology are thought to have been the innovation that gave these immigrants such an upper hand against the otherwise established entities on the archipelago. I don’t want to get into all of this right now, but suffice it to say that I’m not currently a proponent of this theory, which I believe puts me in good company with a number of scholars. That isn’t to say that we won’t see some influence from the peninsula later on the archipelago in later centuries, but I just am not seeing it in reference to our current subject, Mimaki Iribiko. Although Mimaki Iribiko does seem to have his own conquests—acts of pacification—it is all described as starting in the Nara Basin and spreading outward from there. Furthermore, his name doesn’t necessarily come from Mimana. Various people have pointed out different possible derivations for the name Mimaki on the archipelago itself, so a Korean explanation isn’t required. In fact, looking into the Wei Chronicles, I couldn’t help but notice that those chronicles mentioned several ministers with similar names. One of them is either Mimashi or Mimato, depending on whether you follow Soumare or Kidder, and then likewise another’s is either Mimakaki or Mimawaki. In Bentley’s take on ancient Japanese pronunciation they are something like Memasing and Memawake. This makes me wonder if one of these two might not, in fact, be the Mimaki Iribiko of the Chronicles, but referenced as a minister rather than a sovereign. Either way, I think there is enough to say that there is no need to suppose a Korean origin, and no reason to believe that the name Mimaki doesn’t come from the archipelago. Of course, how much of his story is actually about him and how much is memory or legend of the founding of the state, it is hard to say, but let’s assume that he did exist, at least, and probably played some part in the early state formation of Yamato. Even if he’s a composite character—like when a complex novel ...
