Inbe clan (忌部氏; also spelled Imibe clan or Inbe clan) was a Japanese clan during the

Yamato period The is the period of Japanese history when the Imperial court ruled from modern-day Nara Prefecture, then known as Yamato Province. While conventionally assigned to the period 250–710, including both the Kofun period (–538) and the Asuka ...

. They claimed descent from

Futodama Futodama () or Futotama is a god in Japanese mythology, claimed to be the ancestor of Inbe clan, whose characteristics are believed to reflect the functions of the clan as court ritualists. Name and etymology The god is known as Ame-no-Futodama- ...

. The Inbe clan originally had a religious function by preparing and taking care of offerings. According to the

Kogo Shūi is a historical record of the Inbe clan of Japan written in the early Heian period (794–1185). It was composed by (斎部広成) in 807 using material transmitted orally over several generations of the Imbe clan, Inbe clan. Background Histor ...

the Inbe clan were given Awa Province in

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

so they could cultivate hemp there. This is where

Inbe Shrine Inbe Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Tokushima, Japan. The shrine is linked to and named after the Inbe clan, who used to rule the region. It is on the slope of Mount Bizan, and some consider it the Ichinomiya or first-ranked shrine of Shik ...

was built. Their family shrines are Awa Shrine and

Overview

As the name of the clan "Imu" means "to abstain from

Kegare is the Japanese term for a state of pollution and defilement, important particularly in Shinto as a religious term. Typical causes of ''kegare'' are the contact with any form of death, childbirth (for both parents), disease, and menstruation, an ...

", or "Saibai", the Imu clan was responsible for the rituals of the ancient Imperial Court, as well as for making ritual implements and building palaces. In the narrow sense, it refers to the Inbe family, the central family that led the Inbe clan, but in the broad sense, it includes the clans of the tribesmen who were led by the Inbe clan. The main Inbe family claimed its ancestor was Amatatama-no-mikoto, who appeared in the

Amano-Iwato is a cave in Japanese mythology. According to the ''Kojiki'' (''Records of Ancient Matters'') and the ''Nihon Shoki'', the bad behavior of Susano'o, the Japanese god of storms, drove his sister Amaterasu into the Ama-no-Iwato cave. The land w ...

myth of the Chronicles. It was based in the area around the present-day town of Inbe in

Kashihara, Nara file:Kashihara City Hall.jpg, 280px, Kashihara City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,674 in 56,013 households, and a population density of 3000 persons per km2. The ...

. They led the various clans in the region, and together with the

Nakatomi clan was a Japanese aristocratic kin group ('' uji''). Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Nakatomi," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 39 retrieved 2013-5-5. The clan claims desce ...

, administered rituals for the Imperial Court since ancient times. In the Shukushi of the Enki-Shiki, it is written, "Let the Saibe clan's shukushi be used for the rituals of the palace and the gates, and let the Nakatomi clan's shukushi be used for all other rituals." However, starting around the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

, the Nakatomi clan grew in power, and overwhelmed the Inbe position. In the early

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, the clan changed its name from Inbe to Saibe, and Saibe Hironari wrote the book ''

''. However, it never regained its momentum, and the position of ritual clan was occupied by the Nakatomi and Ohnakatomi clans. The Inbe were divided into two groups: the Tomobe (public officials belonging to the imperial court) and the Kakibe (private citizens of the Inbe). Unlike the Saibes of the central clans, who had fewer and fewer achievements, the Inbe of the various regions included Izumo, who delivered jade, Kii, who delivered wood, Awa, who delivered cotton and linen, and Sanuki, who delivered shields. It is known from the literature that the people of these tribes later took the name of Inbe. These local clans left their traces everywhere.

Origins

In the

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

and the

Nihon Shoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

, it is written that '' Amenotama-no-mikoto'' and Amenokoya-no-mikoto were involved in rituals in the myth of

. Ame-no-Koyane were involved in the ritual relationship, and both deities were followed together in the Descent of the Sun. Both of these deities were in charge of the rituals of the Imperial Court at the time of the compilation of the Chronicles. This reflects the difference in power between the Nakatomi clan and the Inbe clan at the time of the compilation. On the contrary, the position is reversed in the

of the Inbe clan. The

on the side of the Inbe clan reverses its position. As for the origin of Amata-tamamikoto, the

says that he is the son of Takamimusubi no Kami, and the Shinsen Surname Records follows this, but the origin is not mentioned in the

Nihonshoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

, so the truth is not clear.

History

The clan started off as low class but gained power due to religious reasons. During the reign of

Emperor Kōtoku was the 36th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 孝徳天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional List of emperors of Japan, order of succession. The years of his reign lasted from Asuka period, 645 through 654. Tradi ...

, the Inbe, along with the Nakatomi and Urabe clans, were tasked with supervising

Jingikan The , also known as the Department of Shinto Affairs, Department of Rites, Department of Worship, as well as Council of Divinities, was a Japanese Imperial bureaucracy established in the 8th century, as part of the reforms. It was first establish ...

. The clan lost its power during the reign of

Emperor Shōmu was the 45th Emperor of Japan, emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 聖武天皇 (45)/ref> according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749, duri ...

. In the year 927 CE, members of the clan lost their long-standing right to present ''

asa Asa may refer to: People and fictional characters * Asa (given name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters so named * Asa people, an ethnic group based in Tanzania * Aṣa, Nigerian-French singer, songwriter, and reco ...

'' cloth for use in the imperial rituals.

References

Japanese clans Shinto Inbe clan {{Inbe Faith