The Kujō family was a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese noble family and a branch of the Fujiwara clan derived from Fujiwara no Tadamichi

Fujiwara no Tadamichi

was the eldest son of the Japanese regent Fujiwara no Tadazane and a member of the politically powerful Fujiwara clan. He was the father of Fujiwara no Kanefusa and Jien.In the Hōgen Rebellion of 1156, Tadamichi sided with the Emperor Go-Shirakawa....

. They were counted as one of the Sekke, the five regent houses

Five regent houses

The Five regent houses is a collective term for those five families of Fujiwara clan, who were regarded entitled to the position of Sekkan in the Imperial Court of Kyoto, Japan, and monopolized the position between 12th and 19th century...

 and therefore one of the most politically powerful families among the kuge

Kuge

The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo...

 (court officials).

As one of the Sekke, the five regent houses, the Kujō clan monopolized the offices of Sessho and Kampaku

Sessho and Kampaku

In Japan, was a title given to a regent who was named to assist either a child emperor before his coming of age, or an empress. The was theoretically a sort of chief advisor for the emperor, but was the title of both first secretary and regent who assists an adult emperor. During the Heian era,...

 along with the Konoe

Konoe family

The Konoe family is a branch of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful noble family in Japan. As one of the five regent houses, the Konoe family monopolized the offices of Sessho and Kampaku along with Takatsukasa, Kujō, Ichijō and Nijō families. They are collectively known as the Five regent houses.With...

, Takatsukasa

Takatsukasa family

The Takatsukasa family is a branch of the Fujiwara clan of Japan. In the 13th century, the main line of the Fujiwara family split into five houses: Konoe, Takatsukasa, Kujō, Nijō and Ichijō. These five families in turn provided regents for the Emperor, and were thus known as the Five Regent...

, Nijo

Nijo family

The was one of five regent houses, branches of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful noble family that monopolized regent positions Sesshō and Kampaku in Japan. The family was founded by Kujō Michiie's second son Nijō Yoshizane, while his third son Ichijō Sanetsune founded Ichijō family.-External links:* ...

 and Ichijo

Ichijo family

The was one of five regent houses, branches of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful noble family monopolizing regent positions Sesshō and Kampaku in Japan. The family was founded by Kujō Michiie's third son Ichijō Sanetsune....

 clans from the 12th century until 1867. With the exception of Tokugawa Masako

Tokugawa Masako

, also known as Kazu-ko, was an empress consort of Japan. She was the daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada, who was the second shogun of the Edo period of the history of Japan.* 1620 : Masako entered the palace as a consort of the Emperor Go-Mizunoo...

, wife of the Emperor Mizunoo II, all Empresses of that long period were of the clans that formed the Sekke or from branches of the imperial family itself.

In addition, the Nijō and Ichijō families derived from the Kujō family.

The clan was founded by Fujiwara no Kanezane

Fujiwara no Kanezane

, also known as , is the founder of the Kujō family , although some sources cite Fujiwara no Morosuke as its founder....

 (1149–1207), at the recommendation of Minamoto no Yoritomo

Minamoto no Yoritomo

was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...

. The name Kujō means literally the ninth avenue, a district in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 where Kanezane had his residence.

The fourth and fifth Shogun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

 of the Kamakura shogunate

Kamakura shogunate

The Kamakura shogunate was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate...

, Kujō Yoritsune

Kujo Yoritsune

, also known as Fujiwara no Yoritsune, was the fourth shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan. His father was kanpaku Kujō Michiie and his grandmother was a niece of Minamoto no Yoritomo...

 and Kujō Yoritsugu

Kujo Yoritsugu

, also known as Fujiwara no Yoritsugu, was the fifth shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan. His father was the 4th Kamakura shogun, Kujō Yoritsune.Yoritsugu was a member of the great Fujiwara clan...

, came from this clan.

Some sources claim the clan was founded by Fujiwara no Morosuke

Fujiwara no Morosuke

, also known as Kujō-dono or Hōjō udaijin, was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Heian period.-Career:He was a minister during the reign of Emperor Murakami....

 (908-960) .

The Kujō family were sponsors of the Kitano Shrine. In 1219, Kujō Michiie

Kujo Michiie

Kujō Michiie was a Japanese regent in the 13th century. He was the father of Kujō Yoritsune and grandson of Kujō Kanezane . He was the father of Norizane and Yoritsune...

 (1191–1252) offered "Kitano Tenjin Engi Emaki" (Illustrated Scroll of the History of the Kitano Shrine) to the Kitano shrine.

After the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, members of the Kujō clan were elevated to princedom and given the title Prince

Prince

Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...

. Sadako, the empress of Emperor Taishō

Emperor Taishō

The was the 123rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 30 July 1912, until his death in 1926.The Emperor’s personal name was . According to Japanese customs, the emperor has no name during his reign and is only called the Emperor...

 was of this family.

External links

• Kujo Kamon The Kamon
  Kamon
  Kamon may refer to:*Kamon , a Japanese heraldic symbol*Kamon, Israel, a village in northern Israel-See also:*Kimon, an Athenian politician and general...
  
  of the Kujō family
• kitanomaki metropolitan online exhibition on the Kitano Tenjin Engi Emaki

Books

• A History of Japan to 1334 By George Bailey Sansom Published by Stanford University Press, 1958 ISBN 0-8047-0523-2, 9780804705233 512 pages