Soga no Iname

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Soga no Iname (蘇我稲目, presumed born 506 AD, died March 570). Soga no Iname was a leader of the Soga clan and a statesman during the reign of Emperor Kimmei in the early Yamato period. He was the first person to hold the position of Ōomi that can be verified with reasonable accuracy, in 536 AD. He was the son of Soga no Koma (蘇我高麗) and the father of Soga no Umako. Information from Nihonshoki or Kojiki, the earliest remaining texts seems eerily absent regarding Soga no Koma, where Koma incidentally is the same Chinese for one of the abbreviated names of Goguryeo, and his grandfather is named Soga no Karako (蘇我韓子), which can mean "son of Korea".

"According to Nohonshoki A Japanese aristocrat at that time has the woman in the neighboring country (Korea?) give birth to a child. It is described that the child was named Karako(韓子). "

Soga no Iname solidified his power by marrying two of his daughters, Soga no Kitashihime and Soga no Oanegimi, to Emperor Kimmei. Between the two of them they gave birth to three future emperors, Emperor Yōmei, Emperor Sushun and Empress Suiko, as well as numerous other princes and princesses.

Soga no Iname is also known for his early support of Buddhism which, according to the Nihon Shoki, was introduced to the Yamato court from Paekche in 552. (However, according to a different source, the Jōgū Shōtoku Hōō Teisetsu, it was introduced in 538.) Opposing Iname and against the acceptance of this new foreign religion were Mononobe no Okoshi and Nakatomi no Kamako. The rivalry between the Sogas and the Mononobes and Nakatomis would carry on into future generations, with Iname's son Soga no Umako defeating Okoshi's son Mononobe no Moriya in 587, and his grandson and great-grandson Soga no Emishi and Soga no Iruka being defeated by a descendant of Kamako, Nakatomi no Kamatari, in the Isshi Incident.