The , also rendered as Asai, was a Japanese clan during the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

History

The Azai clan was a line of ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

s'' (feudal military lords) seated at Odani Castle in northeastern

Ōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō Circuit (subnational entity), circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, ...

, located within present day Nagahama,

Shiga Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to th ...

. The Azai originated in the early 1500s and claimed descent from the Hokke branch of the Fujiwara, a powerful clan in Japan from the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

to the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

. Initially, the clan were

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s of the Kyōgoku, but gradually emerged as independent ''daimyōs'' in northern Ōmi. However, Azai domains were soon conquered by the Rokkaku and the clan was forced into becoming their vassals. Azai Nagamasa became head of the clan in 1560 and successfully fought against the Rokkaku for independence by 1564. The Azai were long-time allies with the Asakura clan of

Echizen Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga Province, Kaga, Wakasa Province, Wakasa, Hida Province, Hida, and Ōmi Provin ...

who had assisted the clan in securing their independence. In 1570, Nagamasa joined the Asakura in their opposition to lord

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

, his brother-in-law and ally, to honour their alliance. The Azai were defeated by Nobunaga at the Battle of Anegawa in 1570, and all but eliminated when Nobunaga conquered Odani Castle and Nagamasa committed ''

seppuku , also known as , is a form of Japanese ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor, but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa era (particularly officers near ...

'' (honorable suicide) in 1573.

Order of succession

* Azai Sukemasa – son of Azai Naotane, established Odani Castle in 1516 * Azai Hisamasa – son of Sukemasa, was defeated by the Sasaki clan * Azai Nagamasa – son of Hisamasa, came into conflict with Oda Nobunaga and opposed him, entering an alliance with the Asakura clan and the monks of

Mount Hiei is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by ...

; he was defeated and forced to suicide by Nobunaga in 1573. He was married to Nobunaga's sister

Oichi was a female historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She is known primarily as the mother of three daughters who became prominent figures in their own right – Yodo-dono, Ohatsu

. His daughters included

Yodo-dono or (1569 – June 4, 1615), also known as Lady Chacha (茶々), was a Japanese historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She was the concubine and the second wife of Japanese ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As the mother of his son and successor ...

(second wife of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

and mother of

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...

, heir of Hideyoshi). Also

Oeyo , , or : 1573 – September 15, 1626) was a noblewoman in Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period and early Edo period. She was a daughter of Oichi and the sister of Yodo-dono and Ohatsu. When she rose to higher political status during the Tokugawa s ...

(wife of second shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada and mother of the third Tokugawa shōgun Iemitsu) "The silk coloured portrait of wife of Takatsugu Kyogoku,"
Digital Cultural Properties of Wakasa Obama;

Gifu prefecture website. * Ubuyashiki Miyoshi - son of ???, was killed by his son Ubuyashiki Saito * Ubuyashiki Saito - son of Miyoshi, became Shogun and passed the post of Daimyo to his general Tzu Kyohei. * Tzu Kyohei - son of ???, Mitsunari's pupil and the old former leader of the Yamazakura Squad.

Prominent vassals

* Kyōgoku Takayoshi * Akao Kiyotsuna * Isono Kazumasa * Kaihō Tsunachika * Amenomori Kiyosada * Tōdō Takatora

History

Order of succession

Prominent vassals

References

Further reading