Inbe clan

Imbe clan (also spelled Imibe clan or Inbe clan) was a Japanese clan during the Yamato period. They claimed descent from Futodama. The Inbe clan originally had a religious function by preparing and taking care of offerings. As the name of the clan "Imu" means "to abstain from Kegare", or "Saibai", the Imu clan was responsible for the rituals of the ancient Imperial Court, as well as for making ritual implements and building palaces. In the narrow sense, it refers to the Imaibe family, the central family that led the Imaibe clan, but in the broad sense, it includes the clans of the tribesmen who were led by the Imaibe clan. The main Imaibe family claimed its ancestor was Amatatama-no-mikoto, who appeared in the Amano-Iwato myth of the Chronicles. It was based in the area around the present-day town of Imbe in Kashihara, Nara. They led the various clans in the region, and together with the Nakatomi clan, administered rituals for the Imperial Court since ancient times. In the Shukushi of the Enki-Shiki, it is written, "Let the Saibe clan's shukushi be used for the rituals of the palace and the gates, and let the Nakatomi clan's shukushi be used for all other rituals." However, starting around the Nara period, the Nakatomi clan grew in power, and overwhelmed the Inbe position. In the early Heian period, the clan changed its name from Imaibe to Saibe, and Saibe Hironari wrote the book Kogo Shūi. However, it never regained its momentum, and the position of ritual clan was occupied by the Nakatomi and Ohnakatomi clans. The Imbe were divided into two groups: the Tomobe (public officials belonging to the imperial court) and the Kakibe (private citizens of the Imbe). Unlike the Saibes of the central clans, who had fewer and fewer achievements, the Imbe of the various regions included Izumo, who delivered jade, Kii, who delivered wood, Awa, who delivered cotton and linen, and Sanuki, who delivered shields. It is known from the literature that the people of these tribes later took the name of Imaibe. These local clans left their traces everywhere.