The was a samurai clan which came to prominence from the late

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

through

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

s in Japanese history, descending from the

Seiwa Genji The is a line of the Japanese Minamoto clan that is descended from Emperor Seiwa, which is the most successful and powerful line of the clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto members, including Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Minamoto no Yoritomo, ...

. Mention of an Inoue surname is found in

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

records; however, the Inoue clan which later became prominent in the Edo period traces its antecedents to the

line founded by Minamoto no Yorisue, grandson of

Minamoto no Mitsunaka was a Japanese samurai and court official of the Heian period. He served as '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' and acting governor of Settsu Province''.'' His association with the Fujiwara clan made him one of the wealthiest and most powerful courtiers of hi ...

in the late

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 ...

. Minamoto no Yorisue settled in Inoue in Takai District,

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

, and this was the main branch, but there were other branches in Harima, Aki and Mikawa Provinces. Under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, the Inoue, as hereditary vassals of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of ...

, were classified as one of the '' fudai'' ''daimyō'' clans.Appert, Georges. (1888)
''Ancien Japon'', p. 75
/ref> Following the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, the clan was appointed

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

Hamamatsu branch

The main branch of the Inoue clan was transferred numerous times throughout the Edo period. Inoue Masanari (1577–1628), the 3rd son of Inoue Kiyohide, was made daimyō of

Yokosuka Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Tōtōmi Province. It was centered at Yokosuka Castle in what is now the Matsuo district of the city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka, Kakegawa in Shizuoka Prefect ...

(53,000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...

'') in Tōtōmi Province in 1623. His descendants resided at

Kasama Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kasama Castle in what is now the city of Kasama, Ibaraki. It was ruled by a ...

Hitachi Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hitachi fudoki''" in . It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Shimōsa Province, S ...

in 1645, Gujo Domain in Mino Province in 1692,

Kameyama Domain Kameyama may refer to: * Emperor Kameyama (1249–1305), emperor of Japan 1259–1274 *Kameyama, Mie 260px, Seki-juku (Tōkaidō) is a city located in northern Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 49,457 in 21,745 ...

Tanba Province was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima. Tango, Wakasa, and Yamashiro provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichid ...

in 1697, Shimodate Domain in Hitachi Province in 1702, back to Kasama Domain in Hitachi in 1703, and then to

Iwakidaira Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan.,Jansen, Marius B. (1994)''Sakamoto Ryōma and the Meiji Restoration,'' p. 401 based at Iwakitaira Castle in southern Mutsu Province in what is now part of modern-day Iwaki ...

in Mutsu Province in 1747. Subsequently, they were transferred to

Hamamatsu Domain was a Japanese Han (Japan), domain of the Edo period, located in Tōtōmi Province. It was centered on what is now Hamamatsu Castle in what is now the city of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Hamamatsu was the residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu for m ...

in Tōtōmi Province in 1758,

Tanakura Domain was a ''fudai'' Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in southern Mutsu Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Tanagura Castle, located in what is now part of the town of Tanagura, Fuk ...

in Mutsu Province in 1817,

Tatebayashi Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Kōzuke Province (modern-day Gunma Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Tatebayashi Castle in what is now the city of Tatebayashi, Gunma. History Fol ...

Kōzuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered Echigo Province, Echigo, Shinano Province, Shinano, Musashi Province, Musashi and Shimotsuke Province, Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abb ...

in 1836, back to Hamamatsu in 1845 and finally to Tsurumai Domain in

Kazusa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. The province was located in the middle of the Bōsō Peninsula, whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa province ...

in 1868. The final ''daimyō'' of the main branch, Inoue Masanao (1837–1904), was made a

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

(''shishaku'') under the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

'' peerage system.

Shimotsuma branch

A cadet branch of the Inoue clan was established in 1712 at

Shimotsuma Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Shimotsuma ''Jin'ya'' in what is now the city of Shimotsuma, Ibaraki. It wa ...

by Inoue Masanaga (1654–1721), the 3rd son of Inoue Masato, daimyō of Gujō Domain in Mino Province. A minor 10,000 ''koku'' domain, it remained in the hands of the Inoue clan until the

. Its final daimyō,

Inoue Masaoto (February 10, 1856 – September 14, 1921) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Edo period, who served as the last lord of the Shimotsuma Domain. His court title was '' Iyo no kami''. Under his leadership, Shimotsuma fought on the side of Aizu dur ...

(1856–1921) was subsequently made a viscount.

Takaoka branch

A cadet branch of the Inoue clan was established in 1649 at Takaoka Domain,

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture as well as the bordering parts of Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo (the parts that used to be located east of the lower reaches of the old Tone River prior to the ...

by Inoue Masashige (1585–1661), a retainer of

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

and fourth son of Inoue Kiyohide. Takaoka Domain (10,000 ''koku'') remained in the Inoue clan until the Meiji Restoration. Its final ''daimyō'', Inoue Masayori (1854–1904) served in the early police forces of the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

and was made a viscount.

Notes

References

* Appert, Georges and H. Kinoshita. (1888)
''Ancien Japon''.
Tokyo: Imprimerie Kokubunsha. * Papinot, Edmund. (1906) ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon''. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaish
..Click link for digitized 1906 ''Nobiliaire du japon'' (2003)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inoue clan Japanese clans Minamoto clan