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

Kamakura period

The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....

 through Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

s in Japanese history. Mention of an Inoue surname is found in Nara period

Nara period

The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...

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

Seiwa Genji

The ' were the most successful and powerful of the many branch families of the Japanese Minamoto clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto Yoshiie, also known as "Hachimantaro", or God of War, and Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate, were descended...

 line founded by Minamoto Mitsunaka in the late Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

. A son of Minamoto Mitsunaka, Minamoto Mitsusane, settled in Takai District, Mino Province

Mino Province

, one of the old provinces of Japan, encompassed part of modern-day Gifu Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mino Province bordered Echizen, Hida, Ise, Mikawa, Ōmi, Owari, and Shinano Provinces....

 in a place called “Inoue”.

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

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...

 of Yokosuka Domain

Yokosuka Domain

' was a Japanese feudal domain of the Edo period, located in Tōtōmi Province. Yokosuka was a Fudai domain. It was centered at Yokosuka Castle in the Matsuo district of the city of Kakegawa in Shizuoka Prefecture.-History:...

 (53,000 koku

Koku

The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...

) in 1623. His descendents resided at Kasama Domain], [[Hitachi Province]] in 1645, [[Gujo Domain]] in Mino Province in 1692, [[Kameyama Domain]] in [[Tamba Province]] in 1697, [[Shimodate Domain]] in Hitachi Province in 1702, back to Kasama Domain in Hitachi in 1703, and then to [[Iwakidaira Domain]] in [[Mutsu Province]] in 1747. Subsequently, they were transferred to [[Hamamatsu Domain]] in [[Tōtōmi Province]] in 1758, [[Tanakura Domain]] in Mutsu Province in 1817, [[Tatebayashi Domain]] in [[Kōzuke Province]] in 1836, back to Hamamatsu in 1845 and finally to [[Tsurumai Domain]] in [[Kazusa Province]] in 1868. The final daimyo of the line [[Inoue Masanao]] (1837-1904) was made a [[viscount]] under the [[kazoku]] peerage.

Shimotsuma branch

A cadet branch of the Inoue clan was established in 1712 at [[Shimotsuma Domain]], [[Hitachi Province]] by [[Inoue Masanaga]] (1654-1721), the 3rd son of [[Inoue Masato]], daimyo of Gujo Domain in Mino Province. A minor 10,000 koku domain, it remained in the hands of the Inoue clan until the [[Meiji Restoration]]. Its final daimyō, [[Inoue Masaoto]] (1856-1921) was subsequently made a viscount.

Takaoka branch

A cadet branch of the Inoue clan was established in 1649 at [[Takaoka Domain]], [[Shimosa Province]] by [[Inoue Masashige]] (1585-1661), a retainer of [Tokugawa Ieyasu 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 and was made a viscount.