was the second son of King

Muryeong of Baekje Muryeong of Baekje (462–523, r. 501–23) was the 25th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. During his reign, Baekje remained allied with Silla against Goguryeo, and expanded its relationships with China and Japan. Background ...

who settled in Japan. His father was born on the island of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

in Japan and because of this was called Semakishi (嶋君) and King Shima (斯麻王). Prince Junda was most likely also born in Japan during the early 480s and went back to

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. 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 J ...

in 501 when his father returned to become the 25th King of Baekje. In 504 his father sent an envoy for a tribute to Japan named Managun but he was imprisoned by

Emperor Buretsu (489 — 7 January 507) was the 25th legendary Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 武烈天皇 (25)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, bu ...

who was angry that Baekje had not sent tribute for many years. Buretsu is known to have suffered from insanity and this is why his successor

Emperor Keitai (died 10 March 531) was the 26th legendary emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 継体天皇 (26)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he ...

was carefully chosen from a distant branch of the Imperial Family. In the '' Nihon Shoki'': "''Seventh year, spring, second month. The Emperor made a man climb a tree, then with a bow shot him down and laughed.''" The next year in 505 King Muryeong of Baekje sent his son, Prince Junda, as a hostage to Japan to repair relations with the Imperial Court. In the ''Nihon Shoki'' it is recorded as"''Summer, fourth month. The King of Baekje dispatched Maagun with tribute. In a separate note, the King said, “Previously to submit tribute I dispatched Managua, who was of no relation to the royalty of Baekje. Therefore, I humbly send Saa (Junda), that he may serve in the court.” He eventually had a son, a monk named Kun. He was the ancestor of the Yamato no Kimi ( Yamato clan).''" His son "Kun" was born to an otherwise unknown Japanese lady and he later was renamed Hōshi no Kimi (法師君).

Descendants

His descendant

Yamato no Ototsugu was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

(和乙継) had a daughter who became named

Takano no Asomi Niigasa was a concubine of Emperor Kōnin of Japan and the mother of Emperor Kanmu. Her full name was Takano no Asomi Niigasa. Life Niigasa was a daughter of Yamato no Ototsugu (和乙継). She became a concubine of Prince Shirakabe (白壁王), grandso ...

(高野新笠) (c.720–790). She became a concubine of

Emperor Kōnin was the 49th emperor of Japan, Emperor Kōnin, Tahara no Higashi Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Kōnin's reign lasted from 770 to 781. Traditional narrative The personal name ...

and became the mother of

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the s ...

. In 2001, Emperor

Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. B ...

told reporters, "I, on my part, feel a certain kinship with Korea, given the fact that it is recorded in the Chronicles of Japan that the mother of Emperor Kammu iigasawas of the line of King Muryong of Baekje." It was the first time that a Japanese emperor publicly acknowledged Korean blood in the imperial line. According to the ''

Shoku Nihongi The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the '' Six National Histories'', coming directly after the '' Nihon Shoki'' and followed by '' Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Ma ...

'', Niigata is a descendant of Prince Junda, son of Muryeong, who died in Japan in 513.''Nihon Shoki'' Chapter 17

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Junda, Prince Baekje people Baekje Buddhists Korean princes Japanese people of Korean descent Korean people of Japanese descent

Descendants

See also

References