Hata no Ona (秦大魚)

HATA no Ona (year of birth and death unknown) is a court noble in Nara Period.

In the reign of Emperor Shomu, he was appointed to Ge-jugoinoge (Jugoinoge [Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade] given to persons outside Kyoto) (December 18, 740 or November 21 on the old calendar), and then successively served as Mikawa no kuni no kami (Governor of Mikawa Province) and as Shimotsuke no kuni no kami (the governor of Shimotsuke Province). The mother of IKI no takumaro (Yuki no Muraji Yakamaro) who appeared in Manyoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves) is said to be the daughter of Ona. This demonstrates the relationship between the Hata clan, which was based in northern Kyushu and had expanded the scope of its activities further east and worshipped an ujigami (a guardian god or spirit of a particular place in the Shinto religion) at Matsuo-taisha Shrine in Yamashiro no Kuni, and IKI no Hakatoko, who was also based in northern Kyushu and worshipped at Iki Island's Tsukiyomi-jinja Shrine (in Kyoto), which is adjacent to the south side of Matsuo-taisha Shrine. Shoku Nihongi (Chronicle of Japan Continued) describes that the family name of Ona was MAE before he was appointed to Mikawa no kuni no kami, and it changed to IMIKI when he was appointed to Shimotsuke no kuni no kami. It is assumed that his family name was changed in the intervening period, but it is unknown.

[Original Japanese]