Hata no Kawakatsu (秦河åÂÂ, alternatively read as Hada no Kà Âkatsu), or Hata no Miyatsuko no Kawakatsu (秦é 河åÂÂ), was a semi-legendary statesman active during the Asuka period in Japan. He is recorded as serving under Empress Suiko and Empress Kà Âgyoku in the Nihon Shoki, and appears as a noteworthy figure in narratives surrounding Prince Shà Âtoku.
Later legends present Kawakatsu as the reincarnation of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, in addition to being the ancestor of the Hata clan and the founder of sarugaku. He is also credited with the construction of Kà Âryà «-ji in Kyoto, and is enshrined as the deity à Âsake Daimyà Âjin (大é¿大æÂÂç¥Â) at the in Akà Â.
Kawakatsu belonged to the Hata clan, an immigrant group that settled in Japan during the fourth and fifth centuries. They were particularly influential within the of what is now Kyoto, and played a significant part in the formation of Japan's political and religious institutions. Furthermore, the Hata were renowned for being skilled weavers, brewers and construction workers, credited with the introduction of technologies such as sericulture.
Various origins have been attributed to the Hata clan over time, with the Nihon Shoki recording that Yuzuki no Kimi, alongside 120 members of his clan (i.e. the Hata), settled in Japan from Baekje during the reign of Emperor à Âjin. Alternatively, the Shinsen Shà Âjiroku states that the Hata were descended from Emperor Qin Shi Huang, linking the name Hata (秦) to the Qin dynasty (秦). Despite this, it is agreed by most modern scholars that the Hata clan was of Korean origin, having arrived in Japan from Silla.
Although little is known concerning Kawakatsu's direct family, the noh playwright Zeami Motokiyo claimed to be a distant descendant of his, even referring to himself as Hata no Motokiyo (秦å Â渠).' In his work the Fà «shikaden (風姿è±ä¼Â; "Transmission of the Flower Through Forms"), Zeami goes on to assert that the leaders of the can trace their ancestry back to Hata no Ujiyasu (秦æ°Âå®Â), a descendant of Kawakatsu, who inherited the art of sarugaku and performed alongside his brother-in-law Ki no Gonnokami (ç´Â権å®Â). Together the two are also credited with establishing the three performances of ' (å¼Âä¸Âçª; "The Three Ceremonies").'
Much like Zeami, the musicians of Shitennà Â-ji likewise claimed to be descendants of Kawakatsu, and by extension Qin Shi Huang.
The Nihon Shoki makes only sparse references to Hata no Kawakatsu, providing no record of his birth or death, but acknowledges him as a high-ranking courtier (大夫, taifu) who served Empress Suiko and Empress Kà Âgyoku. He is first mentioned in the eleventh year of Empress Suiko's reign (603 CE) as founding a temple called Hachioka-dera (èÂÂ岡寺), also known as Kà Âryà «-ji, after receiving a statue of the Buddha as a gift from Prince Shà Âtoku.
In the eighteenth year of Empress Suiko's reign (610 CE), Kawakatsu was tasked with escorting a group of envoys from Silla, aided by another servant named Haji no Muraji Usagi (Ã¥ÂÂ師é£èÂÂ). Together with Hashihito no Muraji Shiofuta (éÂÂ人é£è¨èÂÂ) and Abe no Omi à Âko (é¿éÂÂè£大籠) accompanying a group from Mimana, the envoys were brought before the south gate of the .
Kawakatsu was also responsible for putting an end to the self-destructive worship of a "faddish deity" (æµÂè¡Âç¥Â, hayarigami), named (常ä¸Âã®ç¥Â; "God of the Everlasting World"), in the third year of Empress Kà Âgyoku's reign (644 CE).
It is said that the people of that time then made a song, saying:
The Nihon Shoki further states that the "Insect of the Everlasting World" (常ä¸Âã®è«, Tokoyo no Mushi) resembled a silkworm, over four inches in length and about as thick as a thumb. It had a green coloration with black spots, and lived on tachibana and hosoki (æ¼æ¤Â; "creeping pepper") trees. Based on this description it is theorized that the insect in question may have been the caterpillar of a Swallowtail butterfly, specifically P. xuthus, given that they feed on both Citrus and Zanthoxylum.
Kawakatsu is acknowledged as having close ties to Prince Shà Âtoku in the ' (èÂÂ徳太åÂÂä¼Âæ¦; "Biography of Prince Shà Âtoku"), compiled in the tenth century, which records his name as Hata no Miyatsuko no Kawakatsu (秦é å·ÂÃ¥ÂÂ).
It is written that, when Prince Shà Âtoku was sixteen years old, Kawakatsu served as the head of his army during the Battle of Shigisan. In an effort to secure victory, Prince Shà Âtoku commanded Kawakatsu to carve statues of the Four Heavenly Kings out of Chinese sumac (ç½è , nude). Raising the statues over his head (or alternatively at the army's vanguard), Prince Shà Âtoku then vowed: âÂÂIf I am granted victory, I will build a temple in honor of the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world.â This temple being Shitennà Â-ji.
During the battle, Kawakatsu was also responsible for beheading the rebel Mononobe no Moriya:
When Prince Shà Âtoku was thirty three years old he addressed Kawakatsu about a dream he had, in which he traveled north to a beautiful village and attended a feast held by Kawakatsu's relatives. Kawakatsu himself confirmed that his village was exactly as the prince observed in his dream, and so the two departed for the village the following day.
The building was later converted into a temple and given to Kawakatsu, in addition to 30 chà  (çº; approx. 0.99 hectares) of rice fields in front of the temple and 60 chà  of mountains and fields behind the temple. He also received items such as Buddhist statues and banners that had been donated by the King of Silla.
According to another biography produced in 1666, Prince Shà Âtoku's horse, the (ç²æÂÂã®é»Âé§Â, Kai no Kurokoma), was chosen from among a thousand horses that were gathered as a gift from Hata no Kawakatsu.
While Hata no Kawakatsu was merely presented as a courtly figure in the Nihon Shoki, the Kà Âryà «-ji traditions asserted his identity as the semi-divine reincarnation of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. This is reflected in the Fà «shikaden (風姿è±ä¼Â), a treatise on noh drama written in the early fifteenth century by Zeami Motokiyo, which provides a legendary account of Kawakatsu's life, alongside other narratives concerning the origins and transmission of sarugaku. According to the Fà «shikaden, Kawakatsu not only served under the emperors Kinmei, Bidatsu, Yà Âmei and Sushun, in addition to Empress Suiko and Prince Shà Âtoku,' but was also the supernatural progenitor of the Hata clan.
Following this, the Fà «shikaden also credits Kawakatsu and Prince Shà Âtoku with the founding of sarugaku:
Kawakatsu, wishing to leave no trace of his manifestation (Ã¥ÂÂ人, kenin), is then said to have set out from Naniwa Bay, in the province of Settsu, aboard a "hollow ship" (ãÂÂã¤ã¼èÂÂ, utsubo-bune). Entrusting himself to the wind, he sailed across the western sea and eventually arrived at Sakoshi Bay in the province of Harima.
Taikà  Daimyà Âjin is also identified as à Âsake Daimyà Âjin (大é¿大æÂÂç¥Â), a deified form of Hata no Kawakatsu enshrined at the in the town of (Akà Â).
A local legend from Sakoshi speaks of how Kawakatsu arrived at the bay by boat in 644, fleeing prosecution from the Soga clan. After his death, the à Âsake Shrine was subsequently built to appease Kawakatsu's spirit, with the nearby island of , which belongs to the precincts of the à Âsake Shrine, claimed to be his final resting place.
In a legend from the Shà Âyoshà  (èÂÂèªÂéÂÂ), a Muromachi period work on Prince Shà Âtoku, Kawakatsu is noted as one of the two sons of . The account describes Sake no Kimi (é Âå ¬) as a great-grandson of the first Chinese emperor (i.e. Qin Shi Huang), who received his name because he grew up in a jar (é Âç¶, sakebin). Having fled China, Sake no Kimi arrived in Japan at Naniwa Bay in Settsu where he was awarded the name Hada (秦) by Empress Suiko. He is then said to have begot two sons, with the older, Toshiyuki, being ennobled, and the younger, Kà Âkatsu, becoming a servant.
Hata no Sake no Kimi is himself an important figure in the Hata clan's history, recognized in the Nihon Shoki as being made chief of the Hata in the fifteenth year of Emperor Yà «ryaku's reign (471 CE). Under Sake no Kimi's leadership the silk produced by the Hata workmen piled up so high that he was given the title of Uzumasa (禹è±Â麻ä½Â, a phonetic spelling of 太秦).
Hata no Kawakatsu is credited with founding Kà Âryà «-ji (also called Uzumasa-dera (太秦寺), Kadono-dera (èÂÂéÂÂ寺), Hata no Kimi-dera (秦堬寺) and Hachioka-dera (èÂÂ岡寺)), a Hata clan temple located in the . Said to be the oldest Buddhist temple in Kyoto. The Nihon Shoki records its construction as occurring in the year 603, after Kawakatsu received a statue of the Buddha as a gift from Prince Shà Âtoku. Temple tradition identifies this gift with a statue of Maitreya housed in its collection.
According to the Kà Âryà «-ji Engi (åºÂéÂÂ寺ç¸Âèµ·) and Kà Âryà «ji Shizai Kà Âtai Jitsurokuchà  (åºÂéÂÂ寺è³Â財交æ¿å®Âé²帳) however, the temple was instead built in the year 622, as a memorial to Prince Shà Âtoku. This appears to correspond with another report in the Nihon Shoki, that in the year 623 a Buddha statue, presented by envoys from Silla and Mimana, was installed at the Hata Temple in Kadono (èÂÂéÂÂ秦寺, Kadono no Hata-dera). Furthermore, the Jà Âgà « Shà Âtoku Hà Âà  Teisetsu (ä¸Âå®®èÂÂå¾³æ³ÂçÂÂå¸Â説; "Imperial Record of Prince Shà Âtoku, Dharma King of the Upper Palace") lists Kà Âryà «-ji as one of the seven temples built by Prince Shà Âtoku himself.
Kawakatsu is enshrined as à Âsake Daimyà Âjin (大é¿大æÂÂç¥Â), also called à Âsake-no-à Âkami (大é¿大ç¥Â), at the (大é¿ç¥Â社) in Akà Â, he additionally serves as the central deity of the shrine's autumn festival, the "Sakoshi Boat Festival" (Ã¥ÂÂè¶Âã®è¹ç¥ÂãÂÂ, Sakoshi no Funamatsuri). According to the historical documents of the shrine, the festival was traditionally held on the 12th of September (based on the lunar calendar), the date Kawakatsu was believed to have drifted ashore the nearby island of , however the festival is now held on the second weekend of October.
An (大é Âç¥Â社) is also present in Kyoto, formerly belonging to the precincts of Kà Âryà «-ji before it was relocated during the Meiji Restoration. Although it does not enshrine Kawakatsu, instead venerating Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Yuzuki no Kimi and , it is said that the shrine was initially established by one King Kà Âman (Ã¥ÂÂæºÂçÂÂ), a supposed descendant of Qin Shi Huang and ancestor of the Hata clan, to worship the deity à Âsake Myà Âjin (大é ÂæÂÂç¥Â). Additionally, the Engishiki records the shrine's name as à Âsake Jinja (大è¾Âç¥Â社), with the enshrined deity being referred to as à Âsake-no-Kami (大è¾Âç¥Â).
The Japanese scholar Peter Yoshiro Saeki, in his work Uzumasa wo Ronzu (太秦ãÂÂè«ÂãÂÂ; "Discussing the Hata"), argued that à Âsake (大頠or 大è¾Â) was derived from the Chinese name for King David (大é¢, Dàpì), citing this, among other things, as proof that the Hata were of Jewish descent. This is widely dismissed as ahistorical in modern scholarship however, as Dàpì (大é¢) is only used to render the name David in modern Chinese (while Duà Âhuì (å¤Âæµ) was used historically), and the case for Jewish ancestry among the Hata lacks any significant textual or DNA evidence to support it.
Zeami Motokiyo's successor and son-in-law, Konparu Zenchiku, also viewed Kawakatsu as an important figure in his conception of the deity Okina, as developed in his incomplete work the Meishukushà « (æÂÂ宿éÂÂ; "Collected Writings Illuminating the Indwelling Deity"). The text serves chiefly as an explication of the nature and significance of Okina (ç¿Â; "Old Man"), a name referring to the central role played in ', interpreted by Zenchiku as a primordial deity who was the source of all the gods and buddhas. The Meishukushà « identifies numerous figures as manifestations of Okina, such as Sumiyoshi Daimyà Âjin and Ariwara no Narihira, but places particular emphasis on Shukujin (宿ç¥Â; meaning "astral deity" or "god of destiny"); a god worshiped among outcast groups; inhabitants of the shuku (宿; "relay station"), presented in the Meishukushà « as a clan deity of the .
According to Zenchiku, Okina came into being at the creation of the world to protect the imperial throne and aid the Japanese people. Kawakatsu in-turn served as one of the many incarnations of Okina, and performed Okina-sarugaku (ç¿Âç¿楽) at the command of Prince Shà Âtoku with the intention of establishing peace in the realm. As a result, Zenchiku assigned spiritual significance to Kawakatsu's actions, stating of his involvement in the Battle of Shigisan:
Additionally, the Konparu lineage claimed descent from Kawakatsu, citing as proof their inheritance of three treasures that had supposedly been handed down from Kawakatsu himself: A demon mask carved by Prince Shà Âtoku, a painting of Okina as performed by Kawakatsu (though formerly described by Zeami as a portrait of ), and one of the Buddha's relics. In the Meishukushà «, this mask was further explained by Zenchiku as representing the dual-nature of Shukujin, who manifests as both the benevolent deity of song and dance, Okina, and the "raging spirit" (èÂÂç¥Â, kà Âjin) of Hata no Kawakatsu.
Though never explicitly mentioned in the Meishukushà «, it has been suggested by that Zenchiku implicitly equated the Tendai deity Matarajin with his notion of Shukujin. Matarajin was chiefly enshrined at the backdoor (å¾Âæ¸, ushirodo) of temples, where sarugaku performances took place, and so merged with the figure of Okina as a protector of the performing arts. Hattori thus argued that the original function of sarugaku was to entertain and placate Matarajin, whose violent disposition was projected on to the stories surrounding Kawakatsu. A connection between the two figures is further evidenced by Matarajin's role in the annual "Ox Festival" (çÂÂç¥Â, Ushi-matsuri) held at Kà Âryà «-ji, wherein a priest wearing a white mask (supposedly representing Matarajin), flanked by four monks dressed as demons (symbolizing the Four Heavenly Kings), rides a black ox while reciting saimon (ç¥ÂæÂÂ; "ritual text") aimed at eliminating disease. Moreover, it has been proposed that Matarajin was a deity worshiped by Korean immigrants such as the Hata clan, and that Matarajin's identification with Okina was facilitated by his association with such groups.