Examples of Distortions

Japan: The Yamato Administration, which ruled Japan, expanded its power to the southern region of Korea in about the 4th century in
search of steel and the superior technology of the continent(Middle School Social Studies, History, Kyoiku Publishers, 1993)
US: The southern part of Korea is marked as part of an Imna Japanese outpost on a map. (Secondary School Social Studies, World
Cultures, Prentice Hall, 1993)
Comment
The argument that ancient Japan ruled the southern region of Korea (the ancient Japanese military outpost, Mimana (369~562), is a story
trumped up by the Japanese imperialists during the late 19th century while Japan legitimizing its occupation of Korea.
According to this story, ancient Silla and Baekje sent tribute to Japans Yamato Administration. Then, the Yamato Administration invaded
the southeastern region of the Korean Peninsula in about 369 and established a Japanese military outpost in the Gaya region. The Yamato
Administration is said to have colonized and ruled this area for about 200 years until 562. However, there are serious flaws in this
interpretation of history.
First Korean scholars believe that the Nihon Seogi,(), on which Japanese scholars base the Japanese outpost idea was authored
by Baekje exiles or their descendants. Because of this, it is very possible that the author(s), who were exiled from a ruined kingdom
(Baekje) embellished their story to favor Japan or to enhance the prestige of Japans rulers. Other evidence that the records in the Nihon
Seogi are not true is found in the Kojiki, which was written eight years before the Nihon Seogi. The Kojiki does not contain any record of
any Japanese military outpost in Korea.
Second, considering the power structure of East Asia, Japan was not capable of advancing onto the Korean Peninsula from the fourth to
the sixth century. At that time, no unified nation existed in Japan. Furthermore, Japan did not have the shipbuilding skills to build ships to
carry out a large-scale military operation overseas. In other words, China was the most powerful country followed by Korea. Japan was
very weak at that time. Third, assuming, for argument sake, that a Japanese military outpost had indeed existed in Korea, it would then be
natural to assume that ruins or artifacts remaining from that era would remain. For example, artifacts from Goguryeos King Gwanggaeto,
were discovered in Gyeongju. Gyeongju was the capital of Silla, but Goguryeo had control over Silla at that time. Contrary to this, not a
single artifact indicating Japans supposed presence in Korea has been found in the region even though Japan allegedly ruled the region
for about 200 years. This is another piece of evidence suggesting that Japans allegation that it had colonized the southeastern part of
Korea is false.
Fourth, from the end of the fourth century, many Baekje people emigrated to Japan. During their journey to Japan, Baekje people stayed
in the Gaya region. A commercial house was established for those staying in Gaya at that time, and Japan may have distorted this
commercial house into the Japanese military outpost.
No one denies that Japanese pirated from the western part of Japan invaded and looted the southeastern shores of the Korean Peninsula,
and because of this, there were military confrontations between the ancient kingdoms of Korea and the Japanese pirates. However, it is a
great distortion of history to argue that Japan conquered the southern region of the Korean Peninsula and ruled the region for a long time
through its military outpost.
The question of whether there was a Japanese military outpost is the subject of intense debate between Korea and Japan in regard to
ancient relations between the two counties. Korean scholars continue to argue and have provide proof that the Japanese military outpost
idea is a fabrication of the Japanese colonialists. Any reference to this should therefore be stricken from the textbooks and reference
materials of other countries.
In reality, Imna was really no more than a Japanese trading post, during the Three Kingdoms Period, on the very southern tip of the
Korean peninsula, near Busan.
According to the Japanese version, Imna mirrored the territory of the Kaya Federation. The Japanese even claim having subdued the
Shilla Kingdom!
In reality, the Japanese, who allied themselves with Kaya and the Baekje Kingdom, were little more than mercenary pirates, from a
country that, at that time, had no real central government and had severe feudal problems of their own.
That is hardly a national military force capable of conquering another nation.
Archaeological and historical evidence has shown that, in actuality, Korea is largely responsible for the founding of the Japanese imperial
family. Of course, it is not something that is widely accepted, or even discussed, in Japan.

The most controversial issue in the history of ancient Korea and Japan is the theory of Imna Ilbon-bu (Mimana Nihon-fu in Japanese), or
the Imna Command Post. Imna Ilbon-bu is an outpost allegedly set up by the Yamato regime to rule Gaya. According to this theory of the
Japanese conquest of the Gaya kingdom, Japan is said to have ruled Gaya for approximately 200 years, from 369, when the Yamato
regime subjugated seven Gaya states, until 562, when its last state, Daegaya, fell.

The sole basis for this theory is the ancient Japanese book Nihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan), according to which, the seven major
states of Gaya were conquered by Japanese armed forces, as stated in the books Chronicle of Empress Jingu section, in a passage on
the 49th year of the Empress reign (369). However, there is no description of the Japanese actually governing Gaya. A section on the 23rd
year of Emperor Kimmeis reign (562) reads, Silla destroyed the Imna District Office (Gwanga), followed by this annotation: Imna
fell. The region called Imna as a whole, was composed of the individual states of Gara, Alla, Saigi, Jolma, Gocha, Sanbanha, Geolchan,
and Imye. The term Imna was sometimes used to refer to all of the Gaya states, while at other times it refers to a specific state. Nihon
Shoki mentions that Imna District Office controlled all these states, but was later destroyed by Silla. In the books passage on the 7th year
of Emperor Yuryakus reign, the term Imna guksa (official) appears and it is understood that this official was dispatched by Japan. The
term gwanga is the equivalent of dunchang (miyake in Japanese), a term that referred to a government organization of the ancient Yamato
royal house under the direct control of the king. Dunchang was the term reserved for domestic organizations, while gwanga was used for
overseas organizations. In other words, Imna District Office (Gwanga) was an overseas governing body under the direct control of a royal
house of ancient Japan. The more familiar Imna Command Post, actually refers to the Imna District Office and that, in a nutshell, is the
sum total of what we know of the Imna Command Post as described in Nihon Shoki.
But the story doesnt end there. In 1916, during Japans annexation of Korea, the Japanese Government-General launched a five-year plan
to investigate historical remains throughout the Korean peninsula. The plan was designed with the goal of verifying the existence of the
Imna Command Post. In 1921, after a thorough investigation, Hamada Kosaku of Kyoto University, one of the participants in the study,
included in his thesis a statement that prejudice should not get in the way of determining the existence of the Imna Command Post.
More recently, in the 1980s many of Gayas remains and relics, which revealed the unique and advanced character of Gaya culture, were
unearthed through excavations in Gayas cultural belt. The discovery was followed by numerous new studies with differing views on the
Imna Command Post. At the time, Japanese scholars were gradually beginning to weigh in on the side of Gaya. Based on the conclusion
that Wa was another name used for Gaya, major theories have been developed on the exact nature of the Imna the Imna Ilbon-bu referred
to, including that it was a council system organized by powerful clans of Gaya; that it referred to the official that the Wa royal court had
dispatched; that it was a diplomatic post that Gaya established for relations with Wa; and that it was a joint council system of Gayas king
and Japans officials organized to maintain Gayas independence. Many competing theories were proposed in Korea as well, including
ones asserting that Imna Ilbon-bu was a colonial institution established by Baekje, or that it was a group of people who worked to
maintain Gayas independence.
Almost all of these theories reject the idea of a Yamato occupation of Gaya. This rejection is highly significant in the history of research
on Imna Ilbon-bu, marking a turning point in the studies of the history of relations between Gaya and Wa. There is also near consensus
that the period of the Imna Command Posts existence was limited to the 6th century, and that its scope of activity was confined to the
regions in the vicinity of Alla. In detail, these theories present different opinions, especially about the functions and the elements of Imna
Ilbon-bu, but the general trend is to resolve the Imna Ilbon-bu issue in favor of the Gaya confederacy.
Nihon Shoki, the only surviving historical record that mentions Imna Ilbon-bu, deals with the subject mostly in the chapter on Emperor
Kimmei, who reigned in the 540s, with the exception of one other passage in the chapter of Emperor Yuryaku, the content of which is
considered by many to be unreliable. Considering that Gaya was then in the process of being destroyed by Silla and Baekje, Gayas most
urgent task would have been to escape total defeat. This premise is crucial in examining the theories surrounding Imna Ilbon-bu. It is also
noteworthy that the Imna Ilbon-bu mentioned in Nihon Shoki is not described as an independent entity but only as part of the Imna
Restoration Conference. The Imna Restoration Conference was a council for promoting the reconstruction of Geumgwan and other Gaya
states that were annexed by Silla in 532. According to Nihon Shoki, despite the Wa emperors strong aspirations for the reconstruction of
Imna, it was Alla and Baekje that played leading roles at the conference, prominently featuring the intentions of King Seong of Baekje.
Some participants appear to have been from Wa, but the conference was an international meeting for the most part, led by the ruling class
of the Gaya states and officials from Silla and Baekje. Furthermore, these members of the conference frequently behaved in a way that
was counter to the orders of the Wa emperor, which undermines the argument that ancient Japan may have occupied Gaya. Passages of the
Baekje-led Imna Restoration Conference mostly appear in Baekje-bongi (Chronicle of Baekje). Baekje was competing over the Gaya
states in the 6th century, and historical records on this period naturally focused on Baekjes relations with the Gaya states. Baekjes efforts
to penetrate the Gaya regions inevitably put pressure on Gaya, and in these efforts, Baekje may have tried to lead the Imna Restoration
Conference in the direction that would be advantageous to Baekje. However, this in itself does not explain the nature of Imna Ilbon-bu.
Imna Ilbon-bu officials, who participated in the Imna Restoration Conference, were inclined to hold pro-Gaya, anti-Baekje positions while
at the same time failing to side with either Japan or Silla. This independent stance bolsters the case against the theory that Imna Ilbon-bu
was the ruling institution of a specific state or power. There can be no other explanation besides the one that the Imna Restoration
Conference was a movement in support of Gayas wish to gain independence from its neighboring states. Alla was at the center of this
movement. Alla, as described in the inscription on the King Gwanggaeto Stele, evolved into a powerful state of the Gaya confederacy
between the late 4th century and the early 5th century, and emerged as a rival force against the powers in the Gimhae regions, establishing
a strong military force that rivaled those of Goguryeo and Silla. After Geumgwan fell in the 530s, Alla emerged as the leading power
among the southern Gaya states, playing a central role in Gaya during its period of decline. Alla also served as the main stage for Imna
Ilbon-bu activities, since it was the key force behind the effort for the independence of the Gaya states.
In summary, based on the available evidence, it is reasonable to conclude that Imna Ilbon-bu was a group of people, centered around Alla,
who worked for the independence of the Gaya states in the 540s when Gaya was in the midst of a national crisis.