Ishiwaka no Okimi (石川王)
Ishikawa no Okimi (year of birth unknown - April 24, 679), lived in the Asuka period in Japan.
In old Japanese syllabary spelling, his name is called 'Ishikawa no Ohokimi.'
He was a member of the Imperial Family, but his genealogy is unknown. He was the province governor-general of Kibi Province under the Emperor Tenmu's reign.
Achievement
The "Harimanokuni Fudoki" (records of the culture and geography of the Harima Province) describes that Ishikawa no Okimi changed the name of a village to Hiroyama no sato when he was the soryo (governor). According to "Nihonshoki" (Chronicles of Japan), Ishikawa no Okimi was the provincial governor-general (oho mikoto mochi) of kibi Province when he died in 679. Since soryo and oho mikoto mochi were the same post (provincial governor-general) in different writing, it is assumed that Ishikawa no okimi at least ruled Kibi Province (later Bizen Province, Bicchu Province, Bingo Province and Mimasaka Province) and Harima Province as the provincial governor-general (oho mikoto mochi) of Kibi Province (the soryo of Kibi Province).
The "Nihonshoki" (Chronicles of Japan) tells that TAIMA no Hiroshima ruled Kibi Province as the governor during the Jinshin War in 672. Also, it is assumed that Ishikawa no Okimi was in Otsu City where Omi no miya was located when the war started, by considering the incident described below. Therefore, Ishikawa no Okimi was appointed to the provincial governor-general after the war.
Ishikawa no Okimi, the provincial governor-general of kibi Province died in Kibi Province on April 27, 679. The emperor was greatly depressed and conferred Shoo (princes without imperial proclamation) Nii (Second Rank) to Ishikawa no Okimi.
Prince Otsu's escape
During the Jinshin war, the name of Ishikawa no Okimi appeared as not related to his action. The son of Prince Oama (Emperor Tenmu), the Prince Otsu escaped with his followers from the capital after he found his father had raised an army. The Prince Otsu reached Suzuka-no-seki Checkpoint at midnight of June 25 (old calender), and was stopped by a blockade the Prince Oama had setup. At that point, the Suzuka-no-seki Checkpoint officials misidentified the Prince Otsu and others as Yamabe no Okimi and Ishikawa no Okimi.
No reason mentioned in "Nihonshoki" (Chronicles of Japan), but it is possible that the Prince Otsu's followers hid the Prince Otsu's identity, and someone pretended to be Yamabe no Okimi, since entering the areas they could not identify friend or foe. If this assumption is correct, Yamanobe no Okimi and Ishikawa no Okimi were thought to be those people who did not make up their minds so that they were not targeted from both sides.