The was a Japanese samurai clan which rose to prominence 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...

. Its members claimed descent from the medieval Kodama family. Famous clan members included Oda Nobunaga's senior retainer Niwa Nagahide

Niwa Nagahide

, also known as Gorōzaemon , was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi-Momoyama periods of the 16th century. He served as a retainer to the Oda clan, and was eventually a daimyo in his own right....

, as well as Nagahide's 19th century descendants Niwa Nagatomi

Niwa Nagatomi

' was a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period.-Biography:Nagatomi, known in his childhood as Kakuzō and later Bankichi , was born in his family's Edo residence in 1803. He was the eldest son of the previous daimyo, Niwa Nagaaki...

, Niwa Nagakuni

Niwa Nagakuni

Viscount ; was a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period who ruled Nihonmatsu han and was famous for his leadership of the domain during the Boshin War.-Biography:...

, and Niwa Nagahiro

Niwa Nagahiro

Viscount ' was a Japanese daimyo of the early Meiji period who ruled Nihonmatsu han. The 9th son of Yonezawa lord Uesugi Narinori, he succeeded to the Nihonmatsu headship in 1868. Nihonmatsu had just lost in the Boshin War, and as one of the conditions for its surrender to the Imperial Japanese...

. Another clan, the Isshiki-Niwa, bears the same name but has no relation.

The Niwa clan were signatories to the pact that created the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei

Ouetsu Reppan Domei

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in 1868.