Baekje Kingdom ---------------------- Baekje or Paekche (18 BCE - 660 CE) was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jumong and So Seo-no, at Wiryeseong (present-day southern Seoul). Baekje, like Goguryeo, claimed to succeed Buyeo, a state established in present-day Manchuria around the time of Gojoseon's fall. Baekje alternately battled and allied with Goguryeo and Silla as the three kingdoms expanded control over the peninsula. At its peak in the 4th century, Baekje controlled most of the western Korean peninsula, as far north as Pyongyang, and may have even held territories in China, such as in Liaoxi, though this is controversial. It became a significant regional sea power, with political and trade relations with China and Japan. In 660, it was defeated by an alliance of Silla and Chinese Tang Dynasty, submitting to Unified Silla. To confront the military pressure of Goguryeo to its north and Silla to its east, Baekje (Kudara in Japanese) established close relations with Japan. According to the Korean chronicle Samguk Sagi, Baekje and Silla sent some princes to the Japanese court as hostages. Whether the princes sent to Japan should be interpreted as diplomats as part of an embassy or literal hostages is debated. Due to the confusion on the exact nature of this relationship (the question of whether the Baekje Koreans were family or at least close to the Japanese Imperial line or whether they were hostages) and the fact that the Nihon Shoki, a primary source of material for this relationship, is a compilation of myth, makes it difficult to evaluate. The Samguk Sagi, which also documents this, can also be interpreted in various ways and at any rate it was rewritten in the 13th century, easily seven or eight centuries after these particular events took place. Adding to the confusion is the discovery (in Japan) that the "Inariyama sword, as well as some other swords discovered in Japan, utilized the Korean 'Idu' system of writing." The swords "originated in Paekche and that the kings named in their inscriptions represent Paekche kings rather than Japanese kings." The techniques for making these swords were the apparently similar to styles from Korea, specifically from Baekje. In Japan, the hostage interpretation is dominant. Koreans, diplomats and royal relatives or not, brought to Japan knowledge of the Chinese writing system, Buddhism, iron processing for weapons, and various other technologies. In exchange, Japan provided military support. Some members of the Baekje nobility and royalty emigrated to Japan even before the kingdom was overthrown. In response to Baekje's request, Japan in 663 sent the general Abe no Hirafu with 20,000 troops and 1,000 ships to revive Baekje with Buyeo Pung (known in Japanese as Hōshō), a son of Uija of Baekje who had been an emissary to Japan. Around August 661, 10,000 soldiers and 170 ships, led by Abe no Hirafu, arrived. Additional Japanese reinforcement, including 27,000 soldiers led by Kamitsukeno no Kimi Wakako and 10,000 soldiers led by Iohara no Kimi also arrived at Baekje in 662. This attempt, however, failed at the battle of Baekgang, and the prince escaped to Goguryeo. According to the Nihon Shoki, 400 Japanese ships were lost in the battles. Only half of the troops were able to return to Japan. The Japanese army retreated to Japan with many Baekje refugees. The former royal family members were initially treated as "foreign guests" (蕃客) and were not incorporated into the political system of Japan for some time. Buyeo Pung's younger brother Sun-gwang (Zenkō in Japanese) (善光 or 禅広) used the family name Kudara no Konikishi ("King of Baekje") (百濟王) (they are also called the Kudara clan, as Baekje was called Kudara in Japanese). The mother of Emperor Kammu (737-806) was Takano no Niigasa, a descendant of King Muryeong of Baekje. Emperor Kammu treated the Kudara no Konikishi clan as his "relatives by marriage". Baekje royalty are also the ancestors of the Ouchi clan, the Sue clan, Soga clan and others. For more information on this topic you can visit these sites: - http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/korea/korea.html#seoul - http://koreanhistory.info/TheThreeKingdoms.htm - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baekje - http://www.deviantart.com/art/Korea-Baekje-255634665 - http://kyb0417.blogspot.com/search/label/Korean%20helmet - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dEFrm_IDX4 - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/28/japan.worlddispatch - http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/11/world/japan-rediscovers-its-korean-past.html - http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2004/08/04/2004080461037.html

• published: 25 Apr 2013
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