agatanushi.

About agatanushi

Agatanushi (県主) was the name of an ancient title of nobility in the kabane system of Yamato period Japan from the 4th through 6th century AD, before the introduction of the Ritsuryō system. The word is a combination of the kanji for nushi with Agata (県), a political unit smaller than a province, and the agatanushi ranked below the title of kuni no miyatsuko (国造). It is thought that the agatanushi were originally chieftains of small Kofun period tribal states which had been annexed by the Yamato state.