Miwa no Kobito (三輪子首)
MIWA no Kobito (year of birth unknown - August, 676 in old lunar calendar) was a person who lived in the Asuka period of Japanese history. He was also known as OMIWA no Makamuda no Kobito or MIWA no Makamuda no Kobito. His name is pronounced the same way in old Japanese syllabary characters. He was posthumously named OMIWA no Makamuda no Mukae, and it is considered that Mukae had been pronounced as Mukafe according to the old Japanese syllabary characters. His kabane (hereditary title) was Kimi. In the Jinshin War in 672, he received Prince Oama (Emperor Tenmu) in Ise Province, and later became one of commanders of reinforcements for Yamato Province.
Achievements
It is thought that MIWA no Kobito was Ise no kuni no suke (Assistant Governor of Ise Province) when the Jinshin War broke out. Prince Oama firstly ordered to gather troops in Mino Province, and Oama himself left Yoshino no miya (Yoshino Palace) of Yamato Province for the east on June 24 (in old lunar calendar). On 25th he arrived in Suzuka County of Ise Province, and met Kuninomikotomochi-no-kami (provincial governor) MIYAKE no Iwatoko, Suke (assistant provincial governor) MIWA no Kobito, Yu-no-unagashi (manager of Yu [imperial territories]) TANAKA no Tarimaro, and TAKATA no Niinomi. There he deployed 500 soldiers to block Suzuka mountain pass. The above story is described in "Nihonshoki" (Chronicles of Japan), and it is thought that the 500 soldiers were brought by Miyake. It is thought that troops were mobilized from Ise Province also after then and played a role in the army.
Subsequently, on July 2 (in old lunar calendar), Kobito became a commander of an army heading from Mino Province to Yamato (Yamato Province). Those who led the army together were KI no Ahemaro, O no Honji and OKISOME no Usagi. After arriving in Yamato, they fought under OTOMO no Fukei; however, Nihonshoki does not describe anything about Kobito's actions there.
From the article of June 11, 701 (in old lunar calendar) of "Shoku Nihongi"(Chronicle of Japan Continued), it is known that MIWA no Makamuda no Kimi no Kobito was allotted 100 vassal households.
In August, 676 (in old lunar calendar), OMIWA no Makamuda no Kobito no Kimi died. Hearing the news, the Emperor mourned over the loss, and raised his rank to Uchinoshoshi for his distinguished services in the year of Jinshin, and gave him the posthumous name of OMIWA no Makamuda no Mukae no Kimi. Mukae' (means 'to welcome' in Japanese) was derived from the fact that he had received Prince Oama in Suzuka.
Ise no suke (assistant governor of Ise Province) or Mino no suke (assistant governor of Mino Province)
"Nihonshoki" only states 'Kuninomikonomochi-no-kami (provincial governor) MIYAKE no Muraji Iwatoko and Suke (assistant provincial governor) MIWA no Kimi Kobito' in the scene of receiving Prince Oama, and does not mention about which province's governor he was. It is contextually natural to understand that he was governor of Ise Province, since it was the scene in Ise Province. According to the article of March 1, 887 (in old lunar calendar) of "Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku" (Chronicles of the three Emperors of Japan) which describes a complaint from OMIWA no Yoshiomi, a grandchild of Kobito's grandchild, MIWA no Kimi Kobito was referred to as Ise no Suke. This is the leading theory.
However, there is another theory that Kobito was governor of Mino Province. This theory is based on the article in "Shoku Nihongi" indicating that TAKATA no Niinomi, who received Prince Oama with Kobito, was Inamori (manager of rice stores) of Mino Province.