Omi 349063 220122077 2008-06-18T11:26:15Z Flying Saucer 1189662 :''For the geographical term that refers to the ancient Japanese province of Omi, see'' [[Ōmi Province]]. ''For other meanings, see'' [[Omi (disambiguation)]]. {{nihongo|'''Omi'''|臣}} was an ancient [[Japan|Japanese]] hereditary title denoting rank and political standing (a ''[[kabane]]'') that, along with ''[[muraji]]'', was reserved for the most powerful clans during the [[Yamato period]]. The ''omi'' clans generally took their names from the geographic location from which they originated, such as the [[Soga]] (蘇我), the [[Kazuraki]] (葛城), the [[Heguri]] (平群), the [[Kose, Japan|Kose]] (巨勢), the [[Kasuga]] (春日) and the [[Izumo]] (出雲). By tradition those who held the ''kabane'' of ''omi'' were considered branches of the imperial line (皇別氏族, ''kōbetsu shizoku''), and they claimed that they were descendants of [[Emperor Kōgen]], although there is no historical evidence to support this.</br> The most powerful ''omi'' added the prefix ''Ō'' (大) to ''omi'' and was referred to as ''Ōomi'' (大臣). Examples of ''Ōomi'' mentioned in the ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'' included Kazuraki no Tsubura (葛城円) during the reign of [[Emperor Richu|Emperor Richū]], Heguri no Matori (平群馬鳥) during the reign of Emperors [[Emperor Yūryaku|Yūryaku]] and [[Emperor Seinei|Seinei]], Kose no Ohito (許勢男人) during the reign of [[Emperor Keitai]] and the four generations of [[Soga]]s who dominated the title during the 6th and 7th centuries: [[Soga no Iname]], [[Soga no Umako]], [[Soga no Emishi]] and [[Soga no Iruka]].</br> When the ''kabane'' system was reformed into the [[kabane|eight kabane]] system in [[684]], the powerful ''omi'' of the time were given the ''kabane'' of ''ason'', which ranked second under the new system, and ''omi'' itself was dropped to sixth in rank. [[Category:Ancient Japan]] [[fr:Omi (titre de noblesse)]] [[ja:臣]] [[uk:Омі (титул)]]