Sakanoue no Okina (坂上老)
SAKANOUE no Okina (year of birth unknown - June 13, 699?) was a person in the Asuka period of Japan. The reading of his name is expressed as 'さかのうへのおきな' in the old kana orthography. His kabane (the title of a chieftain of a clan in early Yamato times) was atai (直), which later changed to imiki (忌寸). In the Jinshin War of 672, he joined the side of Oama no oji (Prince Oama, later became the Emperor Tenmu) and worked as OTOMO no Fukei's messenger sent to the Prince Oama. He was posthumously awarded the rank of Jikikoichi (直広壱; the 10th highest in the vassals' section of the 48 court ranks instituted by the Emperor Tenmu).
The Sakanoue clan belonged to the Yamatonoaya clan, which was one of the groups of people who came from China and Korea and settled in Japan in the fourth to seventh centuries. The Yamatonoaya clan, being awarded a kabane of atai and based in the southern part of Yamato Province (Nara Prefecture), had many branch clans and were often engaged in the military affairs. According to 'the Genealogy of the Sakanoue Family,' Okina was the son of 坂上弓束 and Okina's son was 坂上大国. SAKANOUE no Kumake, who played a lively part in the Jinshin War, was Okina's cousin.
In June of the Jinshin year under the Oriental zodiac system (672), Oama no oji rose in arms against Otomo no oji (Prince Otomo, the Emperor Kobun) who then sent a messenger to Wakyo (倭京, also read as Yamato no miyako) to organize an army. Here, Wa (倭) means Yamato (大和) and Wakyo means an old capital established in the place of Asuka (飛鳥; in Nara Prefecture). At this time, however, OTOMO no Fukei, having made up his mind to work for Oama no oji, started to collect soldiers to raise an army and established secret communication with SAKANOUE no Kumake who was one of the Wakyo's rusutsukasa (guards of the city) then and with twelve clans of ayanoatai (漢直) at the same time. Ayanoatai means people of the Yamatonoaya clan.
On June 29, a person called HADA no Kuma rode a horse, being disguised as a messenger, to the camp of Otomo no oji and spread a false news saying, 'Takechi no miko (Prince Takechi) arrived from Fuwa (Prince Takechi's base in Mino Province, the southern part of Gifu Prefecture).'
He is accompanied with a great many soldiers,' added Hada no Kuma. Being so freightened by the false news, the soldiers of Otomo no oji army quickly fled away. Then OTOMO no Fukei rode into Wakyo with several dozens of mounted warriers and easily captured the right of command over the place, owing also to the betrayal of Kumake and various atai (直) clan people. As SAKANOUE no Okina was one of the same 'atai' clans as Kumake, it is highly likely that he was one of those who colluded with Kumake then and there.
On attaining victory, OTOMO no Fukei sent messengers to Oama no oji who was then in the Fuwanomiya Palace to report on the success. The messengers were OTOMO no Yasumaro, SAKANOUE no Okina and SAMI no Sukunamaro. They performed their duties successfully, but no records have been found on the actions of SAKANOUE no Okina in the subsequent wars. SAMI no Sukunamaro is known to have returned to Yamato area (Nara Prefecture) to continue to fight, and so SAKANOUE no Okina may have done the same, but there is a chance that he went to some other place.
Yamato no ayanoatai people were awarded a kabane of muraji (連) on June 25, 682. Yamato no ayanoatai people were awarded a kabane of imiki on July 29, 685. It is possible to presume that the SAKANOUE clan was among such people, and that their kabane had changed from atai to muraji, and then to imiki.
On June 13, 699, the Emperor Monmu issued an Imperial edict as below. The honorable deed begins with managing whatever comes from of you and the importance of recognizing the great achievements shall be stressed through the coming generations. This is to define the brave men and perpetuate the names of such persons. When engaged in the military service in the year of Jinshin, you, SAKANOUE no Imiki Okina, took yourself off to face the national crisis and confronted it regardless of the risk of losing your life and narrowly escaping certain death. And you suddenly died without being properly rewarded. I would like to grant you a favorable treatment, even posthumously, and comfort you in the kingdom of the dead. Now, grant him the rank of Jikikoichi and award him prizes. Presumably SAKANOUE no Okina died on or shortly before this day. In the "Nihon Shoki" (Chronicles of Japan) and the "Shoku Nihongi" (Chronicles of Japan Copntinued), there are many references to the special privileges granted posthmously to the meritorious retainers in relation to the Jinshin War, and the most detailed of all is the one to the Okina's case. However, this apparently does not necessarily mean that Okina was evaluated higher than anybody else.