The Akizuki clan is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 noble

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 family from prehistoric age. In the Sengoku period

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

, the Akizuki clan was a king of samurai (大名 Daimyo

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

) on Japanese "Akizuki-country" in the Kyūshū

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

 island. From after the Sengoku period to end of the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the Akizuki family was a Japanese contemporary noble (華族 "Kazoku

Kazoku

The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...

") again. After the World War II, the land controlled by the Akizuki family became the Akizuki prefecture. Later, the Akizuki prefecture was combined to the Fukuoka Prefecture

Fukuoka Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....

 (福岡県 Fukuoka-ken).

Nowadays, the former Akizuki area is still referred to as "Akizuki, Asakura, Fukuoka

Asakura, Fukuoka

is a city located in south central Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city was created on March 20, 2006 when the old town of Asakura, from Asakura District, absorbed the former city of Amagi, and the town of Haki, also from Asakura District, to form the new city of Asakura.-Geography:Asakura is...

 prefecture". The Akizuki clan's main descendants are living in the Ōita Prefecture

Oita Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.- History :Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, and Toyo no kuni...

 and Tokyo. "Akizuki clan" is origin of name of an area of the Fukuoka prefecture, Akizuki class destroyer (1942)

Akizuki class destroyer (1942)

The was one of the primary classes of new destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy after 1942. The IJN called them from their plan name. They were designed to fight larger ships, aircraft and submarines....

, and Akizuki class destroyer (1959).

The movie director Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa

was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...

 directed a movie about the Akizuki clan, "The Hidden Fortress

The Hidden Fortress

is a 1958 jidai-geki film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshirō Mifune as General and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki. A literal translation of the Japanese title is The Three Villains of the Hidden Fortress.-Plot:...

" (隠し砦の三悪人 Kakushi-toride-no-san-akunin), in 1958. It is the story of three thieves aiming at the Akizuki clan's big properties. The movie was remade in 2008 by movie director Shinji Higuchi

Shinji Higuchi

is a storyboard artist and is one of the top special effects wizards in Japan, best known for his work on the Heisei Gamera Trilogy. He works on both anime and tokusatsu projects.-Biography:...

.