Kabane

{{Nihongo|'''''Kabane'''''|姓}} were Japanese hereditary noble titles. Their use traces back to ancient times when they began to be used as titles signifying a family's political and social caste.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia Nipponica|publisher=Shogakkan|year=2001|isbn=409526117X|location=Japan|at=Kabane}}</ref>

== History == At first, the ''kabane'' were administered by individual clans, but eventually they came to be controlled by the Yamato imperial court. As the court's national unification efforts progressed, a ''kabane'' was given to the most powerful families, which gradually became a hereditary noble title, and new ones were created. There were almost thirty of them in number.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Gibney|first=Frank|title=Britannica International Encyclopaedia|publisher=TBS-BRITANNICA|year=1995|location=Japan|at=Kabane|oclc=55231838}}</ref> Some of the more common ''kabane'' were {{Nihongo||臣|Omi}}, {{Nihongo||連|Muraji}}, ''Sukune'' (宿禰), {{Nihongo||国造|Kuni no miyatsuko}}, {{Nihongo||君|Kimi|extra=or {{Nihongo2|公}}}}, {{Nihongo||直|Atai}}, {{Nihongo||史|Fubito}}, {{Nihongo||県主|Agatanushi}}, and {{Nihongo||村主|Suguri}}.

Descendants of the {{Nihongo|Imperial House of Japan|皇別|kōbetsu}} were given ''Omi'' and the {{Nihongo|descendants of the gods|神別|shinbetsu}} were given ''Muraji.''<ref name=":2" /> Of these, the most influential families were given ''Ōomi'' and ''Ōmuraji''.<ref name=":2" />

The imperial House of Yamato became the most powerful family in the ''kabane'' system, although during the 6th century AD, a number of other leaders, often with high ranks of ''Omi'' and ''Muraji,'' sometimes overshadowed the Yamato rulers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Kabane {{!}} Japanese society|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/kabane|access-date=2020-06-02|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> This power dynamic became one of the incentives of the Taika Reform in 684.<ref>Hane, Mikiso; Perez, Louis G. (2014). Premodern Japan: a Historical Survey. (Second edition ed.). Boulder, CO. {{ISBN|978-0-8133-4970-1}}.</ref>

During this reform, the ''kabane'' was no longer tied to a specific occupation or political position, but simply began to signify a family's aristocratic lineage and social status.<ref name=":1" /> The existing ''kabane'' were also reorganized into an {{Nihongo|eight ''kabane'' system|八色の姓|yakusa no kabane}} consisting of ''Mahito'', ''Ason'', ''Sukune'', ''{{ill|Imiki|ja|忌寸}}'' (忌寸), ''{{ill|Michinoshi|ja|道師}}'' (道師), ''Omi'', ''Muraji'', ''{{ill|Inagi (title)|lt=Inagi|ja|稲置}}'' (稲置).<ref name=":2" /> The powerful ''Omi'' of the time were given the ''kabane'' of ''Ason'', which ranked second under the new system, while most of the ''Muraji'' were given the ''kabane'' of ''Sukune'', which ranked third.

Later, as the clans began to devolve into individual households, the ''kabane'' system gradually faded from use.

== Name == It is generally believed that the name ''kabane'' (姓) either derived from the word "agamena" (崇名), or alternatively from the word "kyöröi" (骨), meaning "family" in Old Korean.<ref name=":1" />{{Portal|Ancient Japan}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

Category:Ancient Japan Category:Japanese historical terms Category:Asuka period Category:Kofun period Category:Titles