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Ōtomo Clan (immigrant)
was a Japanese samurai family whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū. Origins The first family head, Ōtomo Yoshinao (1172–1223), took the name from the Ōtomo territory in Sagami Province. The clan claims descent from Emperor Seiwa (850-881) through the Seiwa Genji lineage of the Minamoto clan. Although the clan genealogy claims Yoshinao to be an illegitimate son of Minamoto no Yoritomo, it has been concluded that he was in fact a descendant of the Fujiwara clan. History Following the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate in 1185, Yoshinao were granted the post of Governor (''Shugo'') of Bungo and Buzen Provinces in Kyūshū. Ōtomo Yoshinao's descendants served as Governor of Buzen and Bungo Provinces for generations further establishing the power of Ōtomo clan in these two provinces. The clan would expand their power in Bungo Province along with the Shiga cla ...
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Mon (badge)
, also , , and , are Japanese emblems used to decorate and identify an individual, a family, or (more recently) an institution or business entity. While is an encompassing term that may refer to any such device, and refer specifically to emblems used to identify a family. An authoritative reference compiles Japan's 241 general categories of based on structural resemblance (a single may belong to multiple categories), with 5,116 distinct individual . However, it is well-acknowledged that there exist a number of lost or obscure . The devices are similar to the badges and coats of arms in European heraldic tradition, which likewise are used to identify individuals and families. are often referred to as crests in Western literature, the crest being a European heraldic device similar to the in function. History may have originated as fabric patterns to be used on clothes in order to distinguish individuals or signify membership of a specific clan or organization. By the ...
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Minamoto Clan
was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian period (794–1185 AD), although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku period. The Taira were another such offshoot of the imperial dynasty, making both clans distant relatives. The Minamoto clan is also called the , or less frequently, the , using the on'yomi reading for Minamoto. The Minamoto were one of four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period—the other three were the Fujiwara, the Taira, and the Tachibana. History The first emperor to grant the surname Minamoto was Minamoto no Makoto, seventh son of Emperor Saga. The most prominent of the several Minamoto families, the Seiwa Genji, descended from Minamoto no Tsunemoto (897–961), a grandson of Emperor Seiwa. Tsunemoto went to t ...
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Chikugo Province
is the name of a former province of Japan in the area that is today the southern part of Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyūshū. It was sometimes called or , with Chikuzen Province. Chikugo was bordered by Hizen, Chikuzen, Bungo, and Higo Provinces. History The ancient capital of the province was located near the modern city of Kurume, Fukuoka. During the Edo period the province was divided into two fiefs: the Tachibana clan held the southern fief at Yanagawa, and the Arima clan held the northern fief at Kurume. During_the_Meiji_era.html" ;"title="DF 6-7 of 80/nowiki>">DF ... in Sengoku period. --> During the Meiji era">DF 6-7 of 80/nowiki>">DF ... in Sengoku period. --> During the Meiji era, the provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures. Maps of Japan and Chikugo Province were reformed in the 1870s. Timeline * 1359 (''Enbun 4''): Battle of Chikugo River (''Chikugogawa''), Ashikaga gain a military victory. * 1361 (''Enbun 6'') : Imperial forces led by Kikuchi Ta ...
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Daimyo
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally to the emperor and the '' kuge''. In the term, means 'large', and stands for , meaning 'private land'. From the ''shugo'' of the Muromachi period through the Sengoku to the ''daimyo'' of the Edo period, the rank had a long and varied history. The backgrounds of ''daimyo'' also varied considerably; while some ''daimyo'' clans, notably the Mōri, Shimazu and Hosokawa, were cadet branches of the Imperial family or were descended from the ''kuge'', other ''daimyo'' were promoted from the ranks of the samurai, notably during the Edo period. ''Daimyo'' often hired samurai to guard their land, and they paid the samurai in land or food as relatively few could afford to pay samurai in money. The ''daimyo'' era ended soon after the Meiji Resto ...
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Nanboku-chō Period
The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Muromachi (Ashikaga) shogunate of Japanese history.During the early period, there existed a Northern Imperial Court, established by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and a Southern Imperial Court, established by Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino. Ideologically, the two courts fought for 50 years, with the South giving up to the North in 1392. However, in reality the Northern court was under the power of the Ashikaga shogunate and had little real independence. The destruction of the Kamakura shogunate of 1333 and the failure of the Kenmu Restoration in 1336 opened up a legitimacy crisis for the new shogunate. Institutional changes in the estate system (''shōen'') that formed the bedrock of the income of nobles and warriors altered the status of the ...
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Ashikaga Takauji
was the founder and first '' shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358. He was a male-line descendant of the samurai of the (Minamoto) Seiwa Genji line (meaning they were descendants of Emperor Seiwa) who had settled in the Ashikaga area of Shimotsuke Province, in present-day Tochigi Prefecture. According to Zen master and intellectual Musō Soseki, who enjoyed his favor and collaborated with him, Takauji had three qualities. First, he kept his cool in battle and was not afraid of death.Matsuo (1997:105) Second, he was merciful and tolerant. Third, he was very generous with those below him. Life His childhood name was Matagorō (又太郎). Takauji was a general of the Kamakura shogunate sent to Kyoto in 1333 to put down the Genkō War which had s ...
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Ashikaga Shogunate
The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was established when Ashikaga Takauji was appointed ''Shōgun'' after overthrowing the Kenmu Restoration shortly after having overthrown the Kamakura shogunate in support of Emperor Go-Daigo. The Ashikaga clan governed Japan from the Imperial capital of Heian-kyō (Kyoto) as ''de facto'' military dictators along with the ''daimyō'' lords of the ''samurai'' class. The Ashikaga shogunate began the Nanboku-chō period between the Pro-Ashikaga Northern Court in Kyoto and the Pro-Go-Daigo Southern Court in Yoshino until the South conceded to the North in 1392. The Ashikaga shogunate collapsed upon outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, entering a state of constant civil war known as the Sengoku period, and was finally dissolved when ''Shōgun'' Ashikag ...
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Mongol Invasions Of Japan
Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of the Korean kingdom of Goryeo to vassaldom. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attempts are of macro-historical importance because they set a limit on Mongol expansion and rank as nation-defining events in the history of Japan. The invasions are referred to in many works of fiction and are the earliest events for which the word ''kamikaze'' ("divine wind") is widely used, originating in reference to the two typhoons faced by the Yuan fleets. The invasions were one of the earliest cases of gunpowder warfare outside of China. One of the most notable technological innovations during the war was the use of explosive, hand-thrown bombs. Background After a series of Mongol invasions of Korea between 1231 and 1281, Goryeo signed a treaty in favor of the Mongols and became a vassal state. Kublai was declared Khagan of the Mongol Empire ...
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Shimazu Clan
The were the '' daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contrast with the '' fudai'' or insider clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan. History The Shimazu were descendants of the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto. The Shimazu would become one of the families of Edo period ''daimyō'' to have held their territory continuously since the Kamakura period, and would also become, at their peak, the wealthiest and most powerful Tozama daimyō family with an income in excess of 700,000 '' koku''. The founder, Shimazu Tadahisa (d. 1227), was a son of ''Shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199) with the sister of Hiki Yoshikazu. Tadahisa's wife was a daughter of Koremune Hironobu, descendant of the Hata clan, whose name Tadahisa took at first. He received the domai ...
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Shōni Clan
was a family of Japanese nobles descended from the Fujiwara family, many of whom held high government offices in Kyūshū. Prior to the Kamakura period (1185–1333), "Shōni" was originally a title and post within the Kyūshū ( Dazaifu) government, roughly translating to "Junior Counselor", and working under a Daini (大弐). Dominated by members of the Fujiwara branch family of Mutō, the title over time came to be used as a family name. When Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura shogunate in 1185, he reorganized the administration of Kyūshū. The post of Chinzei Bugyō replaced that of Daini, and the Shōni were similarly pushed out of their traditional hereditary position; members of the family were, however, still granted various other important posts in the region. Members of the family would play an important role in commanding the defense against the Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281. They would later ally with Ashikaga Takauji and the Northern C ...
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Shiga Yoshisato
Shiga Yoshisato (志賀 能郷) was a samurai lord of the Kamakura period. He was the founder of the Shiga clan, a branch of the Ōtomo clan. He was also known as Buzen Hachirō. Life Shiga Yoshisato was born as the eighth son of Ōtomo Yoshinao and Shinmyō. Yoshinao was a ''gokenin'' retainer of shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo and the founder of the Ōtomo clan, and served as Governor of Buzen and Bungo Provinces, Defense Commissioner of the West and Lieutenant of the Left Division of Inner Palace Guards (''Sakon no shōgen'') under the Kamakura shogunate. Shimyō was the daughter of Hatakeyama Shigeyoshi, lord of Hatakeyama Manor. In 1223, his father Yoshinao died at the age of 51 and handed him over the position of governor (''jitō''), and the territory, of Kachigazuru, Buzen Province. In 1240, Yoshisato founded the Shiga clan after Shimyō handed him over the position of ''jitō'' of Shiga, Ōno Manor, Bungo Province. At the time of his Buddhist refuge, he receiv ...
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Shiga Clan
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the northeast, Mie Prefecture to the southeast, and Kyoto Prefecture to the west. Ōtsu is the capital and largest city of Shiga Prefecture, with other major cities including Kusatsu, Nagahama, and Higashiōmi. Shiga Prefecture encircles Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, and 37% of the total land area is designated as Natural Parks, the highest of any prefecture. Shiga Prefecture's southern half is located adjacent to the former capital city of Kyoto and forms part of Greater Kyoto, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Japan. Shiga Prefecture is home to Ōmi beef, the Eight Views of Ōmi, and Hikone Castle, one of four national treasure castles in Japan. History Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the ...
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