Inbe clan

Imbe clan (also spelled Imibe clan or Inbe clan)[1] was a Japanese clan during the Yamato period.[2] They claimed descent from Futodama.[3]

Inbe clan
FounderFutodama

The Inbe clan originally had a religious function by preparing and taking care of offerings.[4]

Their family shrines are Awa Shrine[5] and Inbe Shrine

Overview

As the name of the clan "Imu" means "to abstain from Kegare", 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 Imaibe family, the central family that led the Imaibe clan, but in the broad sense, it includes the clans of the tribesmen who were led by the Imaibe clan.

The main Imaibe family claimed its ancestor was Amatatama-no-mikoto, who appeared in the Amano-Iwato myth of the Chronicles. It was based in the area around the present-day town of Imbe in Kashihara, Nara. They led the various clans in the region, and together with the Nakatomi clan, 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 Nakatomi clan grew in power, and overwhelmed the Inbe position. In the early Heian period, the clan changed its name from Imaibe to Saibe, and Saibe Hironari wrote the book Kogo Shūi. However, it never regained its momentum, and the position of ritual clan was occupied by the Nakatomi and Ohnakatomi clans.

The Imbe were divided into two groups: the Tomobe (public officials belonging to the imperial court) and the Kakibe (private citizens of the Imbe). Unlike the Saibes of the central clans, who had fewer and fewer achievements, the Imbe 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 Imaibe. These local clans left their traces everywhere.

Origins

In the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, it is written that Amenotama-no-mikoto and Amenokoya-no-mikoto were involved in rituals in the myth of Amano-Iwato. 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 Imbe clan at the time of the compilation. On the contrary, the position is reversed in the Kogo Shūi of the Imbe clan.

The Kogo Shūi on the side of the Imbe clan reverses its position. As for the origin of Amata-tamamikoto, the Kogo Shūi 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 Kojiki or Nihonshoki, so the truth is not clear.

History

The clan started off as low class but gained power due to religious reasons.[6] During the reign of Emperor Kōtoku, the Inbe, along with the Nakatomi and Urabe clans, were tasked with supervising Jingikan.[6] The clan lost its power during the reign of Emperor Shōmu.[7] In the year 927 CE, members of the clan lost their long-standing right to present asa cloth for use in the imperial rituals.[8]

References
  1. Hardacre, Helen (2017). Shinto: A History. Oxford University Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-19-062171-1.
  2. Frédéric, Louis (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 384. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
  3. "Encyclopedia of Shinto 詳細". 國學院大學デジタルミュージアム (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  4. Breen, John; Teeuwen, Mark (2013-10-18). Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami. Routledge. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-136-82697-9.
  5. Carter, Caleb (2020), "Imagining an Ancient Tradition: Eighteenth-Century Narratives of Shugendō at Mount Togakushi", Defining Shugendō, Bloomsbury Academic, ISBN 978-1-350-17939-4, retrieved 2023-10-27
  6. "Imbe Clan • A History of Japan - 日本歴史". A History of Japan - 日本歴史. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  7. Brown, Delmer M.; Hall, John Whitney; McCullough, William H.; Jansen, Marius B.; Shively, Donald H.; Yamamura, Kozo; Duus, Peter (1988). The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge University Press. p. 518. ISBN 978-0-521-22352-2.
  8. Ab, Weiner (1991-04-17). CLOTH & HUMAN EXP PB. Smithsonian Institution. p. 386. ISBN 978-0-87474-995-3.
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