Mahito (title)
History
Mahito was the highest in the Yakusa no kabane system of eight kabane titles (the second being Ason and the third being Sukune), which was established in October 684, during the reign of Emperor Tenmu.{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/14970117|title=Nihon dai hyakka zensho|others=Shōgakkan, 小学館|year=2001|isbn=4-09-526001-7|edition=Shohan|location=Tōkyō|at=真人|oclc=14970117}} Mahito was originally a Chinese Taoist term for hermit, shinjin,{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70216445|title=Nihon kokugo daijiten|date=2006|publisher=Shōgakkan|others=Shōgakkan. Kokugo Jiten Henshūbu, 小学館. 国語辞典編集部.|isbn=4-09-521021-4|edition=Seisenban, shohan|location=Tōkyō|at=真人|oclc=70216445}} but it was read as "mahito" in the Yakusa no kabane system, and was given the descendants of the Imperial Family after Emperor Ōjin.
At the beginning of the enactment, the title was given to 13 clans, after which the number was increased to 60 clans. Later, it was given to members of the Imperial Family who were demoted to nobility.{{Cite book|last=Gibney|first=Frank|title=Britannica international encyclopaedia|publisher=TBS-BRITANNICA|year=1995|location=Japan|at=真人|oclc=55231838}}
However, during the Nara period, the kabane system was abolished, and the number of clans taking the title gradually decreased.