ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that what some call Sinitic cultural power entered the Japanese islands in a two-pronged process. One was through assimilation, as Wa inhabitants on the peninsula were in contact with Chinese descendants of the commanderies, as well as inhabitants of Mahan and other polities that had originally operated within the sphere of influence of the commandery. The polar star and the constellations—taunt and strung out.” Thus, students absorb fundamental Chinese cosmology and theology while they learn the basic characters for “heaven” and “earth.” As Yamato students tried to come to grips with foreign cultural ideals of historiography, one of the first issues would have been linguistic. The flow of political and cultural technology went from China to Koguryo and Paekche and then on to Yamato. A number of families called Pumi Sukune or Pumi Imiki claim descent from the royal family of Han China. There are also three families from Paekche and four from Koguryo.
