Soga no Karako (蘇我韓子)
SOGA no Karako (date of birth unknown, died in May, 465) was a member of one of the local ruling families in the Kofun period. He was the son of SOGA no Machi and was married to KOMA no Komahime. He was the father of SOGA no Koma. The 'ko' in Karako's name was used for both male and female names at that time - today 'ko' (meaning 'child') is used only for female names in Japanese. His mother was SOGA no Machi's wife, who went by the names KARA no Ehime or KARA no Otohime. Karako was a common name for a child whose mother was a Korean national.
According to "The Chronicles of Japan," in March 465 (of the old calendar), SOGA no Karako was assigned as a General by the Emperor Yuryaku along with KI no Oyumi, OTOMO no Katari and OKAI no Sukune. In the same month, Silla (a Kingdom of Korea) invaded Baekje (another Kingdom of Korea) and seized its castle and the seas around Tsushima Island. As Silla started interfering in trade between Wakoku (Japan) and Goguryeo (a Kingdom of Korea), SOGA no Karako went over to the Korean Peninsula to conquer Silla. Although Oyumi fought fiercely enough to rout the King of Silla, he died in the same month. KI no Oiwa, son of Oyumi, joined the battle as the successor of Oyumi. However, Oiwa was not satisfied with only inheriting his father's troops and so he dominated OKAI no Sukune's troops as well as ship soldiers which led Oiwa and Okai to have conflicts with each other. Karako, having been warned by OKAI no Sukune that Oiwa might try to deprive him of his troops, also had conflicts with Oiwa. When the King of Baekje discovered the conflicts, he called for Oiwa and Karako to come to the border of Baekje. On the way to the border, when Oiwa was letting his horse drink water by the river, Karako shot an arrow at him from behind. It is believed that Karako, who missed Oiwa by hitting the saddle of his horse, was then shot by Oiwa and later drowned in the river after falling from his horse.