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Mononobe clan

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The Mononobe, like many other major families of the time, were something of a corporation or guild in addition to being a proper family by blood-relation. While the only members of the clan to appear in any significant way in the historical record were statesmen, the clan as a whole was known as the Corporation of Arms or Armorers.

History

The Mononobe were said to have been descended from Nigihayahi no Mikoto, (饒速日命), a legendary figure who is said to have ruled Yamato before the conquest of Emperor Jimmu. His descendant Mononobe no Toochine (物部十千根), known as the founder of the clan, was given Isonokami Shrine by Yamatohime-no-mikoto, the daughter of Emperor Suinin. He then began using the name Mononobe.

In the 6th century, a number of violent clashes erupted between the Mononobe and the Soga clan. According to the Nihon Shoki, one particularly important conflict occurred after the Emperor Yōmei died after a very short reign. Mononobe no Moriya, the head of the clan, supported one prince to succeed Yōmei, while Soga no Umako chose another. The conflict came to a head in a battle at Kisuri (present-day Osaka) in the year 587, where the Mononobe clan were defeated and crushed at the Battle of Shigisan. Following Moriya's death, Buddhism saw a further spread in Japan.

In 686, the Mononobe reformed as the Isonokami clan, named thus due to their close ties with Isonokami Shrine, a Shinto shrine which doubled as an imperial armory.

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