Wani clan

Wani clan
和珥氏
Parent houseImperial family (according to tradition)
FounderPrince Ameoshitarashi [ja] (according to tradition)
Founding yearreign of Emperor Kōshō, roughly fifth century BCE (according to tradition)

The Wani clan (和珥氏) was a sacerdotal Japanese clan.[1]: 149–150  According to the Kojiki, the Wani clan was descended from Prince Ameoshitarashi [ja], a son of Emperor Kōshō.[2]

The Wani clan is believed to be related to Wani dragons, with Naniwa-neko Takefurukuma described as an ancestor. Marrying women of the Wani clan was believed to give the Emperor control over the sea.[1]: 149–150 

They had a similar religious role to the Sarume clan [ja] as mediums, so many women of the Sarume clan [ja] had husbands of the Wani clan perform ritual roles as substitutes for men of the Sarume clan [ja].[1]: 168 

The clan declined in the 7th century but cadet branches such as the Ono clan[1]: 168  and the Kakinomoto clan[2] continued to thrive.[1]: 168 

They were sometimes called the Wanizumi clan, with -mi being an honorific suffix.

  1. ^ a b c d e Akima, Toshio (1993). "The Origins of the Grand Shrine of Ise and the Cult of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami". Japan Review (4): 141–198. ISSN 0915-0986.
  2. ^ a b Watase 1983, p. 586.