Mononobe no Okoshi (物部尾輿) was a Japanese statesman during the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

(300-538 CE), and the chief of the

Mononobe clan The was a Japanese aristocratic kin group (''uji'') of the Kofun period, known for its military opposition to the Soga clan. The Mononobe were opposed to the spread of Buddhism, partly on religious grounds, claiming that the local deities wo ...

. He was strongly against the introduction of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

in Japan, along with his counterpart

Ōtomo no Kanamura Ōtomo no Kanamura (大伴金村) was a Japanese warrior and statesman during the late Kofun period. Most of what is known of his life comes from the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki''. His clan, the Ōtomo, had been highly influential at court ...

. He was also against military action against the Korean kingdom of

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

, which led to Ōtomo's fall from power.

Biography

According to 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 ...

'', during the reign of

Emperor Ankan (466 – 25 January 536) was the 27th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 安閑天皇 (27)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but he is c ...

, a necklace belonging to Mononobe was stolen by the daughter of Kikoyu Ihoki (one of Mononobe's fellow ''

muraji (from Old Japanese: ''muraⁿzi'' < *''mura-nusi'' "village master") was an ancient

Japan

ese hereditary title denoting rank a ...

''). Kikoyu made amends to the emperor, and Mononobe, concerned that he might be implicated in some way, donated two villages under his jurisdiction to the crown. Mononobe and his counterpart

were strongly against the introduction of

to Japan, and argued fiercely against it. When

King Seong of Baekje Seong (c. 504 – 554) was the 26th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, reigning from 523 to 554. He was a son of Muryeong of Baekje and is best known for making Buddhism the state religion, moving the national capital to Sabi ...

sent gifts of Buddhist sutras and statues to

Emperor Kinmei was the 29th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 欽明天皇 (29) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)pp. 34–36 Brown, Delmer. (1979) ''Gukanshō,'' pp. 261–2 ...

in 552, the emperor was faced with a political dilemma. To avoid either offending King Seong or officially sanctioning Buddhism, he gave these gifts into the keeping of

Soga no Iname was a leader of the Soga clan, an early proponent of Buddhism in Japan, and a statesman during the reign of Emperor Kinmei, Emperors Kinmei and Emperor Senka, Senka in the Asuka period. He was the first person to hold the position of Omi (title), ...

, head of the

Soga clan The was one of the most powerful aristocratic kin groups Uji (clan), (''uji'') of the Asuka period of the early Japanese state—the Yamato period, Yamato polity—and played a major role in the spread of Buddhism in Japan. Through the 5th and ...

and a proponent of the new religion. Mononobe was a political opponent of Soga no Iname, and successfully petitioned the emperor to impose a ruling against the Buddhist faith; he then had the Soga clan's temple burned and the Buddhist statuary destroyed. Mononobe was also responsible for his colleague Ōtomo no Kanamura's fall from grace, when the two of them disagreed on military action against the Korean kingdom of

. Whilst Otomo adopted an aggressive policy towards the neighbouring kingdom, Mononobe was able to persuade Emperor Kimmei that Japan's ally

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

would serve as an effective buffer state, and that there was no need to pursue war with Silla. As a result of his arguments, the emperor removed Ōtomo from power.

References

People of the Kofun period Critics of Buddhism Aristocracy of ancient Japan Buddhism in the Kofun period Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Mononobe clan {{Isonokami Faith