The was a prominent

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

clan of Japan's

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 ...

. The most famous member of the clan is likely Kikkawa Motoharu (1530-1586), one 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: ...

's generals, who was adopted into the family. Along with the

Kobayakawa clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Taira clan. Their holdings were in the Chūgoku region. They were a powerful clan during the Sengoku period but were disbanded during the Edo period after the Battle of Sekigahara. H ...

, the Kikkawa played an important role in Hideyoshi's

Kyūshū Campaign The Kyūshū campaign of 1586–1587 was part of the campaigns of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who sought to dominate Japan at the end of the Sengoku period. Having subjugated much of Honshū and Shikoku, Hideyoshi turned his attention to the south ...

(1586-7), and later became daimyō in

Izumo Province was an Old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province is in the Chūgoku region. History During the early Kofun period (3rd century) this reg ...

and

Iwakuni file:20100724 Iwakuni 5235.jpg, 270px, Kintai Bridge file:Iwakuni city center area Aerial photograph.2008.jpg, 270px, Iwakuni city center is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of ...

after that.

Origins

The founder of the clan, Kikkawa Tsuneyoshi (吉川経義), was a son of Irie Kageyoshi (入江景義). The Irie clan descends through the Kudō clan from the Southern House of the

Fujiwara clan The was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

. The family takes the name from a place called Kikkawa in Irie no sho domain, in Suruga province. Tsuneyoshi distinguished himself in the search and seizure of Kajiwara Kagetoki and gained a territory in Fukui no sho, in Harima Province. He then distinguished himself in the Jokyu War and became the jito of Oasa no sho in Aki Province. In 1550, Kikkawa Okitsune was murdered by a conspiracy of Mori Motonari, and the main branch of the Kikkawa clan was destroyed. Motoharu, the second son of Mori Motonari received Okitsune's name and estates.

Clan Heads

# Kikkawa Tsuneyoshi (吉川経義, 1132–1193), son of Irie Kageyoshi (入江景義), founder of the clan. # Kikkawa Tomokane (吉川友兼, 1159–1200) # Kikkawa Tomotsune (吉川朝経, 1182–1240) # Kikkawa Tsunemitsu (吉川経光, 1192–1267) # Kikkawa Tsunetaka (吉川経高, 1234–1319) # Kikkawa Tsunemori (吉川経盛, 1290–1358) # Kikkawa Tsuneaki (吉川経秋, ? –1383) # Kikkawa Tsunemi (吉川経見, ? –1435) # Kikkawa Tsunenobu (吉川経信, 1396–1456) # Kikkawa Yukitsune (吉川之経, 1415–1477) # Kikkawa Tsunemoto (吉川経基, 1428–1520) # Kikkawa Kunitsune (吉川国経, 1443–1531), his daughter married

Mōri Motonari was a prominent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the western Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. The Mōri clan claimed descent from Ōe no Hiromoto (大江広元), an adviser to Minamoto no Yoritomo. Motonari w ...

. # Kikkawa Mototsune (吉川元経, 1459–1522), he married the daughter of Mōri Hiromoto and sister of

. # Kikkawa Okitsune (吉川興経, 1508–1550), his mother was the daughter of Mōri Hiromoto and sister of

. # Kikkawa Motoharu (吉川元春, 1530–1586), second son of

. # Kikkawa Motonaga (吉川元長, 1548–1587) # Kikkawa Hiroie (吉川広家, 1561–1625) # Kikkawa Hiromasa (吉川広正, 1601–1666) # Kikkawa Hiroyoshi (吉川広嘉, 1621–1679) # Kikkawa Hironori (吉川広紀, 1658–1696) # Kikkawa Hiromichi (吉川広逵, 1695–1715) # Kikkawa Tsunenaga (吉川経永, 1714–1764) # Kikkawa Tsunetomo (吉川経倫, 1764–1803) # Kikkawa Tsunetada (吉川経忠, 1766–1803) # Kikkawa Tsunekata (吉川経賢, 1791–1807) # Kikkawa Tsunehiro (吉川経礼, 1793–1837) # Kikkawa Tsunekira (吉川経章, 1794–1844) # Kikkawa Tsunemasa (吉川経幹, 1829–1867) # Kikkawa Tsunetake (吉川経健, 1855–1909)

Clan members of note

* Kikkawa Tsuneie (d. 1581) * Kikkawa Motoharu (1530-1586) - General under Hideyoshi; died in

* Kikkawa Motonaga (1547-1587) - Son of Motoharu * Kikkawa Hiroie (1561-1625) - Son of Motoharu; Daimyō of

Izumo Izumo (出雲) may refer to: Locations * Izumo Province, an old province of Japan * Izumo, Shimane, a city located in Shimane Prefecture ** Izumo Airport * Izumo-taisha, one of Japan's most ancient and important Shinto shrines Ships * ''Izumo ...

and later

* Kikkawa Hiromasa - Son of Motoharu *

Yoshikawa Koretari is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 73,262 in 31,031 households and a population density of 2300 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Located in far southeastern Saitam ...

(1616-1694) - also known as Kikkawa Koretari; Shintō philosopher * Kikkawa Reika (1875-1929) -

Yamato-e is a style of Japanese painting inspired by Tang dynasty paintings and fully developed by the late Heian period. It is considered the classical Japanese style. From the Muromachi period (15th century), the term yamato-e has been used to disting ...

painter

References

*Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. *Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co. Japanese clans Fujiwara clan {{Japan-clan-stub