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Hata clan was an immigrant Japanese clans active in Japan since the Kofun period (250–538), according to the history of Japan laid out in Nihon Shoki (720). The clan members were later given official titles ranging from "Toroshikō (登呂志公)", "Hatano Sakeno Kimi (秦酒公)" and "Uzumasa (禹豆満佐/太秦)" after being recognized as a legitimate clan of Japan.
Many have suggested different kingdoms of East Asia starting from Baekje, Qin Dynasty, Gaya confederacy to Silla.
According to the Nihon Shoki, during the reign of Emperor Ōjin, Yuzuki no Kimi visited Japan from the Kingdom of Baekje where he stated that he had long wanted to emigrate to Japan, but the Kingdom of Silla would not permit him to do so. Having enjoyed the experience of meeting 120 people of his clan at Mimana. Yuzuki no Kimi left Japan but soon returned, in 283, with additional members of his clan "from 120 districts of his own land".
Some point out to the name of Yuzuki no Kimi being of Korean origin. According to Japanese linguists, "弓月君" could be a direct translation of "Kudara (くだら)" a unique name for Baekje in Japanese. In Old Korean, "弓月" could be read as "Kungdar (궁달)" using the Idu script, which is thought to have carried over to the Japanese language as being of Baekje descent as both words share the same pronunciation.
There are other examples where the name "波多" was used before the clan incorporated the new character. Takenouchi no Sukune, a Japanese general who had many connections to Silla, was referenced multiple times in Korean records revolving around the Silla-Wa War (新羅・倭戦争) while serving Empress Jingū, a descendant of a Silla prince Amenohiboko and someone who invaded Korea to reclaim her "Silla".初等科国史1943年版上巻 Linguists such as Alexander Vovin even posited that he might have been a speaker of the Korean language and maybe even a foreigner himself.Vovin even postulated that Empress Jingū and her son, Emperor Ōjin were native speakers of the Korean language, in his work: " Immigrants or Overlords? Korean Influences on Japan in the Archaic Period: a Linguistic Perspective" His son, became a legendary figure of the Hata clan while it was still under "波多". Later, the use of "波多" was also carried on by another immigrant clan of Korean descent called "", the branch clan of Yamatonoaya clan, where (坂上阿良) formed his own separate clan using the same characters of Hata clan's original name, "波多".
It is thought that the misconception revolving around the origins of Jinhan (previous kingdom of Silla) being built by Qin Dynasty refugees, first mentioned in Records of the Three Kingdoms, was what caused the Silla immigrants to become descendants of the Qin Dynasty in Shinsen Shōjiroku (see History of Jinhan confederacy) .笠井倭人「朝鮮語より見た秦・漢両氏の始祖名」（小林行雄博士古稀記念論文集刊行委員会編『考古学論考』平凡社、1982年）佐伯:1994 The book is also scrutinized by modern Japanese historians for putting some clans under "Kan (漢)" or "Han Dynasty" and not the Three Kingdoms of Korea,『古代国家と天皇』創元社、1957年 the same way it put Hata under Qin Dynasty instead of Silla. It also contradicts the claims made in Nihon Shoki (the first and oldest mentioning of Hata) that Yuzuki no Kimi was from Qin Dynasty and not Baekje without providing any substantial evidence. For further context, Nihon Shoki lacks any mentions of Qin when discussing about Hata.
Finally, excavations in Hata clan's whereabouts have been of Silla origin. It is also reinforced by the fact that the Miroku Bosatsu statue, "Hōkan Miroku" in Kōryū-ji, built by the Hata clan Japan Tourist Info. was made of woods from Silla (present day South Gyeongsang Province) and was gifted to Japan from Silla in 623 according to the Nihon Shoki.
It is believed that centuries after immigrants from Silla had settled, the author of Nihon Shoki accidentally credited them of Baekje origin (due to Japan's close relationship with Baekje at the time) by providing them a story that would give credence to their position as a Japanese clan. After another century later, when Emperor Saga ordered for a compilation of family names, under the misguided assumption that Silla (Jinhan) was of Qin's origin, it was recorded in Shinsen Shōjiroku that in turn, the Hata clan was originally from the Qin Dynasty. In return, it is thought that the descendants of the Hata clan sought for social influence during the publication of Shinsen Shōjiroku, and thus embraced the misinformed idea and self proclaimed themselves to be part of Qin Shi Huang's lineage which would have given the clan more credence for political dominance amongst other clans at the time.
Further research points to a specific area in Silla known as "Padan (파단/波旦)" read as "Hatan (はたん)" in Japanese, located in Uljin County as the origin of the Hata clan. According to a research published by Ritsumeikan University, the clan was indeed from Padan and their descendants settled in the Sagano area. Though the area does not exist today, it is mentioned in the , a stele that was erected during the Silla period. Padan is considered the most likely candidate of Hata clan's origin due to its similar pronunciation (Hatan-Hata) in Japanese while also sharing a character "波 (Ha)" within their respective names (in Hata clan's original name, 波多). In addition, the word "Padan/波旦" meant "ocean" in the Goguryeo language, a language that is considered Koreanic (same with the Silla language), which further supports the "Hata-Hatan-Ocean-Silla" theory.
Scholars such as Kazuo Higo suggest that the foreign Hata clan began the formal worship of Inari as an agriculture kami in the late fifth centuryHigo, Kazuo. "Inari Shinkō no Hajime". Inari Shinkō (ed. Hiroji Naoe). Tokyo: Yūzankaku Shuppan, 1983. as the name "Inari" does not appear in classical Japanese mythology.Smyers 16
In addition, Fushimi Inari-taisha, the same shrine built by the Hata clan and one of the most influential shrines to officially celebrate the god Inari, also stated that the fox deity was most likely not of Japanese origin and had most likely arrived in Japan from the kingdoms of the Korean peninsula. It states that during the Three Kingdoms period, foxes were widely celebrated as gods and were deified as protectors of agriculture and prosperity due to the influence of Buddhism. This sentiment was later carried over to the Japanese archipelago by the Hata clan and other immigrant clans which arrived in Japan in the earlier centuries and was given the name "稲荷 (いなり)" in kanji which means "carrying rice", (literally "rice load") first found in the Ruijū Kokushi in 892 AD.
Due to the strong connections with Silla, the precursor to the Hata clan (and/or other clans founded by Takenouchi no Sukune's sons) is believed to have foreign roots regardless of the authenticity of its respective founders and their stories. Furthermore, it can be suspected that the numerous clans under "Hata" existed prior to the stories given to them and they likely had a common root, a foreign clan named "Pada" that immigrated to Japan from Silla as Toraijin at the start of the Kofun period.
The use of "波多" to represent the Korean word "바다/ocean" lasted until the late 18th century as mentioned in the book Gogeumseokrim (1789) which focuses on Middle Korean and its daily vocabulary.
The Hata are said to have been adept at financial matters, and to have introduced silk raising and weaving to Japan. For this reason, they may have been associated with the Kagome lattice Kagome crest, a lattice shape found in basket-weaving. During the reign of Emperor Nintoku (313-399), the members of the clan were sent to different parts of the country to spread the knowledge and practice of sericulture. Members of this clan also served as financial advisors to the Yamato Court for several centuries. Originally landing and settling in Izumo and the San'yō region, the Hata eventually settled in the areas where Japan's most important cities are now. They are said to have aided in the establishment of Heian-kyō (modern-day Kyoto), and of many Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, including Fushimi Inari Taisha, Matsunoo Shrine, and Kōryū-ji. Emperor Yūryaku granted the clan the family name of Uzumasa in 471, in honor of Sakeno kimi's contributions to the spread of sericulture. Over the next few centuries, they were given the right to the status ( kabane) of Miyatsuko, and later Imiki.
A number of samurai clans, including the Chōsokabe clan of Shikoku, the Kawakatsu clan of Tanba, and the of Echigo province, claimed descent from the Hata. The , also allegedly descended from the Emperor of Qin, were related to the Hata as well. Prince Koman-O came to dwell in Japan in the reign of Emperor Ōjin (c. 310). His successors received the name Hata. This name was changed to Koremune in 880. The wife of Shimazu Tadahisa (1179–1227) (son of Minamoto no Yoritomo and ancestor of the Shimazu clan of Kyūshū), was a daughter of Koremune Hironobu.
The population of Neyagawa in Osaka Prefecture includes a number of people who claim descent from the Hata. The cities of Ōhata and Yahata are not directly related to Hata clan.
The Hata were also claimed as ancestors by Zeami Motokiyo, the premiere Noh playwright in history, who attributed the origins of Noh to Hata no Kawakatsu. According to Zeami's writings, Kōkatsu, the ancestor of both the Kanze school and Komparu school Noh lineages, introduced ritual dances to Japan in the sixth century; this form would later evolve into Okina and then into Noh. A more important influence upon the formation and the character of Noh is the Chinese Nuo opera. While sanyue (Sarugaku) and daqu influenced the development of Noh in terms of dramatic structure and presentation, the Nuo rite played a significant role in formulating Noh's religious and ritualistic character and features.
Uzumasa-no-Kimi-Sukune, one of the first clan heads, arrived during the reign of Emperor Chūai, in the 2nd century CE. According to the Nihon Shoki, he and his followers were greeted warmly, and Uzumasa was granted a high government position.
In 1879, the Scottish people businessman Nicholas McLeod who had lived in Japan since 1867 published a book in Nagasaki called Japan and the Lost Tribes of Israel. Based on "personal research and observation", the book claimed the Japanese as the descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes. Over thirty years later, in 1908, Saeki Yoshiro (better known as P. Y. Saeki) (1872-1965) published a book in which he developed a somewhat similar theory. According to Saeki, the Hata clan, which arrived from Korea and settled in Japan in the third century, was a Jewish-Nestorian tribe. Saeki's writings spread the theory about "the common ancestry of the Japanese and the Jews" (Nichiyu dosoron) in Japan, a theory that was endorsed by some Christian groups at the time.Ben Ami-Shillony, The Jews and the Japanese: The Successful Outsiders, pp. 135-7 (Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1991)There is no evidence available, including modern DNA analysis, to support this hypothesis. A recently published study of the genetic origins of Japanese people does not support a genealogical link as put forward by Saeki. Dual origins of the Japanese: common ground for hunter-gatherer and farmer Y chromosomes. pdf Researcher and author Jon Entine emphasizes that DNA evidence excludes the possibility of significant links between Japanese and Jews. Abraham's children: race, identity, and the DNA of the chosen people Much like Nissen dōsoron () and (), the theory is believed to be part of a common trend that began in the 19th century Japan to trace a common ancestry with neighboring ethnic groups (ones that are genetically related to the Japanese the most).
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