Editing Emperor Kanmu (section)

==== Korea ====
He was specifically interested in Baekje (and to an extent, [[Goguryeo]]) as his mother was of Baekje descent.

{{blockquote|{{lang|ja|百濟王等者朕之外戚也。}}<br/>The king of Baekje is my maternal relative.|author=Emperor Kanmu|title=[[Shoku Nihongi]]|source=Enryaku, 9th year, September 27th}}

Kammu's emphasis towards his Baekje heritage became prominent as his mother was not of the Imperial line, but was in fact a royal consort to Emperor Kōnin on top of coming from a [[Yamato no Fuhito clan|clan]] of foreign (Korean) origin, which could have negatively affected his ascension as emperor and be deemed illegitimate by some.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Japan Echo |publisher=Japan Echo Incorporated |year=2006 |volume=33 |location=the University of Michigan |pages=44 |language=en}}</ref> To circumvent this, Kammu focused heavily on the mythological aspects of his mother's ancestor, [[Muryeong of Baekje]] and Muryeong's own ancestor, [[Chumo of Goguryeo|Dongmyeong of Goguryeo]] (Ko Chumong), emphasizing Chumong's heritage as a grandchild of the god [[Habaek]] and Kammu's own lineage that continued it claiming that he was part of the "heavenly lineage". He mentions this in [[Shoku Nihongi|''Shoku Nihongi'']] when honoring his late mother.

{{blockquote|{{lang|ja|明年正月十四日辛亥。中納言正三位藤原朝臣小黒麻呂率誄人奉誄。上諡曰天高知日之子姫尊。壬午。葬於大枝山陵。皇太后姓[[Yamato no Fuhito clan|和氏]]。諱[[Takano no Niigasa|新笠]]。贈正一位乙継之女也。母贈正一位大枝朝臣眞妹。后先出自百濟[[Muryeong of Baekje|武寧王]]之子[[Prince Junda|純陀太子]]。皇后容徳淑茂。夙著聲譽。天宗高紹天皇龍潜之日。娉而納焉。生今上。早良親王。能登内親王。寳龜年中。改姓爲高野朝臣。今上即位。尊爲皇太夫人。九年追上尊號。曰皇太后。[[Onjo of Baekje|其百濟]]遠祖[[Dongmyeong of Goguryeo|都慕王]]者。[[Habaek|河伯]]之[[Lady Yuhwa|女]]感日精而所生。皇太后即其後也。因以奉諡焉。}}<br/>The empress dowager's clan (surname) was [[Yamato no Fuhito clan|Yamato]] and her name was [[Takano no Niigasa|Niigasa]]. Her majesty had astonishing looks that spoke of maturity that was quickly recognized. She was married to [[Emperor Kōnin]] before he was officially inaugurated when she had his son (Kammu/Yamabe). Her ancestor was the son of King [[Muryeong of Baekje]], [[Prince Junda]]. The [[Onjo of Baekje|king of Baekje]] is said to be the descendant of [[Dongmyeong of Goguryeo|King Dongmyeong]] who hatched from an egg when his [[Lady Yuhwa|mother]], the daughter of [[Habaek]] was touched by sunlight. The empress dowager, therefore I, am the direct descendant of them.|author=Emperor Kanmu|title=[[Shoku Nihongi]]|source=Enryaku, 9th year, January 15th}}

In 790, Emperor Kanmu issued a rescript that treated the [[Kudara no Konikishi clan]] (a fellow Japanese clan of Baekje descent) as "relatives by marriage".<ref name="tanaka1997b">{{cite book |author=Tanaka Fumio 田中史生 |title=Nihon kodai kokka no minzoku shihai to toraijin |year=1997 |pages=72–109 |language=Japanese |script-title=ja:日本古代国家の民族支配と渡来人 |chapter=Kanmu chō no Kudara no Konikishi shi |script-chapter=ja:桓武朝の百済王氏}}</ref> It was related to the fact that the emperor's mother belonged to the Baekje-originated [[Yamato no Fuhito clan]], who then claimed its roots in the Baekje royal family. In addition, according to the [[Shoku Nihongi]], Takano no Niigasa was a 10th-generation descendant of King [[Muryeong of Baekje]] through his son Prince [[Junda]] ([[Nihon Shoki]], chapter 17), making Emperor Kammu an 11th-generation descendant of Muryeong through maternal lineage. The Kudara no Konikishi clan fell under the influence of the southern branch of the [[Fujiwara clan]] after Kudara no Konikishi Myōshin had married [[Fujiwara no Tsugutada]] around 754. Emperor Kanmu's rescript of 790 aimed to support Myōshin's appointment as lady-in-waiting (尚侍), the highest post among court ladies, due to her similar background with Kammu.<ref name="otsubo2008">{{cite book |author=Ōtsubo Hidetoshi 大坪秀敏 |title=Kudara no Konikishi shi to kodai Nihon |year=2008 |language=Japanese |script-title=ja:百済王氏と古代日本}}</ref>

A 14th century book called "''[[Jinnō Shōtōki]]''" by [[Kitabatake Chikafusa]] states that a record that claimed of Japan's origin with Korea was lost during Kammu's time, which indicates that such intentions were highly regarded during Emperor Kanmu's reign up until the book's disappearance.

{{blockquote|{{lang|ja|昔『日本は三韓と同種也』と云事のありし、かの書をば、桓武の御代にやきすてられしなり。}}<br/>Originally, it was recorded that "[[Japan]] and the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]] are the same" but the book was lost during Emperor Kanmu's reign.|author=[[Kitabatake Chikafusa]]|title=[[Jinnō Shōtōki]]|source=}}

It can be deduced that Kammu advocated his Korean ancestry for both political and social reasons at the time, which was later officially recognized by the government coming from the [[Emperor of Japan]].