There are views that he was Shikinomiko, a son of the Emperor Tenchi, or Yuge no Okimi, a grandson of Prince Shotoku, but the view accepted most widely is that he is simply a mythological figure.
天智天皇の皇子施基皇子、聖徳太子の孫弓削王との説もあるが、伝承上の人物との説が最も多く使われている。