Wanibe no Kimite (和珥部君手)
WANIBE no Kimite (date of birth unknown - September 697) was a person who lived in the Asuka Period. His hereditary title was Omi. His last name is also spelled as 和邇部, 和爾部, 和尓部, and 丸部 although they are pronounced the same. He fought on Prince Oama's side during Jinshin War in 672, and gained achievements.
Contributions during Jinshin War
Because the branches of Wanibe clan are found in wide regions such as Owari Province, Mino Province and Omi Province, Kimite's birthplace is unknown. He worked for Prince Oama as a palace servant.
When Prince Oama made the decision to raise an army, Kimite was in Yoshino with him. On June 22, two days before the prince took any action, he sent MUTSUGE no Hiro, MURAKUNI no Oyori, and WANIBE no Kimite to Mino Province. Their task was to convince Yunounagashi, O no Honji who was in Ahamachi District (now known as Anpachi District) at that time to raise his army first. They successfully accomplished their task, and 3,000 troop members from Mino Province closed down Fuwa road for Prince Oama.
When Prince Oama arrived in Mino Province, he divided his army into two groups which consisted of tens of thousands of soldiers; one was sent to Wa (Yamato Province) and the other was sent to Omi. WANIBE no Kimite led the group which headed to Omi with MURAKUNI no Oyori, FUMI no Nemaro and IKAGO no Ahe. The troop led by Oyori and others won every battle and defeated the last defense line in Seda on July 22. Prince Otomo committed suicide the next day, and Jinshin War came to an end.
Kimite looked back on this war and wrote a book titled 'Wanibe no Omi Kimite Ki.'
After his achievements
It is stated in the "Nihonshoki" (Chronicles of Japan) that those with distinctive merits were selected on December 4 and given the rank Shosen or higher, and thus Kimite was probably given the same or higher rank as well. Also, he was given the property with 80 households on July 21, 701 ("Shoku Nihongi" (Chronicle of Japan Continued)).
On 9 July, 697, Kimite who was Gondaiichi at that time was given the title Jikikoichi. The article from the "Shoku Nihongi" (Chronicle of Japan Continued) explains the reason for receiving such an reward as simply 'contributions in Jinshin War'; however, judging from other articles in the same book, such awards were usually received after death, and therefore this was probably the case for Kimite as well.
On July 21, 701, it was decided to pass on one forth of Jukifu (a vassal household allotted to courtier, shrines and temples) to his children. On April 8, 716, Kimite's son, Jurokuijo (Junior Sixth Rank) Oishi was given a rice field along with other sons of meritorious retainers from Jinshin War. It is unknown why Kimite's rank here was written as Jikidaiichi which is a higher rank than the one he had at the time of his death.