Sasaki clan
Encyclopedia
are a historical Japan
ese clan. (Uda-Genji)
(868-897) by his grandson Minamoto no Masanobu (920-993) (Uda-Genji), but were adopted by the Seiwa Genji
. Minamoto no Nariyori, great-grandson of Masanobu, is the first who took the name of Sasaki from his domain in Ōmi province.
Hideyoshi (1112-1184), descendant of Nariyori, was adopted by Minamoto no Tameyoshi
(then head of the Seiwa Genji). He participated to the Hōgen war (1156) and the Heiji war (1159) with his (adoptive) uncles, brothers, nephews, cousins and clansmen. At the defeat of his brother Minamoto no Yoshitomo
, he went North to ask Fujiwara no Hidehira
of Mutsu province to give him shelter, but stopped at Shibuya (Sagami province) and remained at that place for 20 years. When his nephew Minamoto no Yoritomo
rose in revolt against the Taira , he with his four sons sided with him (1180); and he was killed at the battle of Ōhara in Ōmi province fighting against the Taira clan
. He is the ancestor of the Sasaki, the Rokkaku
, the Amago
, the Kyōgoku
and the Kuroda
clans.
The Sasaki received from their Seiwa Genji cousins the title of shugo
(governor) of Ōmi and other provinces, which they kept until the Sengoku Period
.
In 1868, at the end of the Tokugawa period :
There existed a certain Sasaki Shrine where Sasaki Yamagimi, a warlord, worshiped the god of ancestor's spirit. Following the middle of the Heian period (794
- 858
), the shrine was used to worship the tutelary god of the Sasaki clan. It is said that through this, the "Omi-Genji Festival" is held every year on October 10th in respect of the Sasaki clan. One member of note amongst the Sasaki clan is none other than Sasaki Kojiro
, the famous swordsman and rival of Miyamoto Musashi
. The favorite technique of Kojiro was his "Tsubame Gaeshi" (Turning Swallow Cut), in which he attempted to use on Musashi throughout their duel. It is also known that the Sasaki clan apparently was a political obstacle to that of the Hosokawa
, and the defeat of Kojiro would be a political setback to his religious and political foes.
The "〇" mark is a person who participated in Yoritomo
's rising in arms.
∴
Emperor Uda
(867-931)
┃
Prince Atsumi(893-967)
┃
Minamoto no Masanobu
(920-993)
┃
Sukenori
┃
Nariyori
┃
Noritsune
┃
Sasaki Tsunekata
┃
Sasaki Tametoshi
┃
Sasaki Hideyoshi
(1112-1184)
┣━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━┳━━━━━┓
〇Sadatsuna 〇Tsunetaka 〇Moritsuna 〇Takatsuna
Yoshikiyo Nagano
┏━━━━━━┳━━━━━┳━━━━━┫ ┃ ┃ ┃ ┣━━━━━┓
Hirotsuna Sadashige Hirosada Nobutsuna
Takashige Kaji Nobuzane Shigetuna Masayoshi Yasukiyo
┏━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━━╋━━━━━━━━┓ ┏━━━━━┳━━━━━┫
Shigetsuna Takanobu Rokkaku Yasutsuna
Kyogoku Ujinobu
Yoriyasu Yoshiyasu Muneyasu
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 clan. (Uda-Genji)
Brief history
They are descended directly from Emperor UdaEmperor Uda
was the 59th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Uda's reign spanned the years from 887 through 897.-Name and legacy:Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was or Chōjiin-tei....
(868-897) by his grandson Minamoto no Masanobu (920-993) (Uda-Genji), but were adopted by 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...
. Minamoto no Nariyori, great-grandson of Masanobu, is the first who took the name of Sasaki from his domain in Ōmi province.
Hideyoshi (1112-1184), descendant of Nariyori, was adopted by Minamoto no Tameyoshi
Minamoto no Tameyoshi
was head of the Minamoto samurai clan during his lifetime, and grandson of Minamoto no Yoshiie; he led the Minamoto in the Hōgen Rebellion. Tameyoshi is also known as ....
(then head of the Seiwa Genji). He participated to the Hōgen war (1156) and the Heiji war (1159) with his (adoptive) uncles, brothers, nephews, cousins and clansmen. At the defeat of his brother Minamoto no Yoshitomo
Minamoto no Yoshitomo
was the head of the Minamoto clan and a general of the late Heian period of Japanese history. His son Minamoto no Yoritomo became shogun and founded the Kamakura Shogunate, the first shogunate in the history of Japan.-Hōgen Rebellion:...
, he went North to ask Fujiwara no Hidehira
Fujiwara no Hidehira
was the third ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the grandson of Fujiwara no Kiyohira. During the Genpei War, he controlled his territory independently of the central government; however, he was the official imperial governor for Mutsu Province as of 1181. He offered shelter to...
of Mutsu province to give him shelter, but stopped at Shibuya (Sagami province) and remained at that place for 20 years. When his nephew 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...
rose in revolt against the Taira , he with his four sons sided with him (1180); and he was killed at the battle of Ōhara in Ōmi province fighting against the Taira clan
Taira clan
The was a major Japanese clan of samurai in historical Japan.In reference to Japanese history, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects...
. He is the ancestor of the Sasaki, the Rokkaku
Rokkaku clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan which wielded considerable power in the Muromachi period under the Ashikaga shogunate.-Rise and Fall:Founded by Sasaki Yasutsuna of Ōmi province in the 13th century, the name Rokkaku was taken from their residence within Kyoto; however, many members of this family...
, the Amago
Amago clan
The , descended from the Emperor Uda by the Sasaki clan .Sasaki Takahisa in the 14th century, having lost his parents at the age of three years, he was brought up by a nun...
, the Kyōgoku
Kyōgoku clan
The were a Japanese samurai kin group which rose to prominence during the Sengoku and Edo periods. The clan claimed descent from the Uda Genji. The name derives from the Kyōgoku quarter of Kyoto during the Heian period....
and the Kuroda
Kuroda clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan which came to prominence during the Sengoku period.-Origins:The Kuroda clan claimed its origins in Tōtōmi Province.-Sengoku era:...
clans.
The Sasaki received from their Seiwa Genji cousins the title of shugo
Shugo
was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan...
(governor) of Ōmi and other provinces, which they kept until 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...
.
In 1868, at the end of the Tokugawa period :
- The Kyōgoku were daimyōDaimyois 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...
enfeoffed at MarugameMarugame Castle, also known as Kameyama Castle and Horai Castle, is a hirayamashiro located in Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan.-History:...
and TadotsuTadotsu, Kagawais a town located in Nakatado District, Kagawa, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 23,683 and a density of 973.01 persons per km². The total area is 24.34 km²....
in SanukiSanuki Provincewas an old province of Japan on the island of Shikoku, with the same boundaries as modern Kagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called .It faced the Inland Sea and bordered on Awa and Iyo Provinces. Across Naruto strait it bordered Awaji Province too. Administratively it was included as a part of...
, ToyookaToyooka DomainThe was a feudal domain of Japan during the Edo period. Its lands were in the vicinity of Kinosaki District, Tajima Province . The administrative headquarters were initially at Toyooka Castle , and later at Toyooka Jin'ya.Toyooka was established in 1600 following the Battle of Sekigahara...
in TajimaTajima Provincewas an old province of Japan in the area that is today northern Hyōgo Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Tajima bordered on Harima, Inaba, Tamba, and Tango provinces....
, and Mineyama DomainMineyama DomainThe ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Tango Province . It was ruled for the entirety of its history by the Kyōgoku clan, until the Meiji Restoration.-Lords of Mineyama:*Kyōgoku clan...
in Tango ProvinceTango Provincewas an old province in the area that is today northern Kyoto Prefecture facing the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called , with Tamba Province. Tango bordered on Tajima, Tamba, and Wakasa provinces....
. A branch of the Kyōgoku was ranked among the 26 families which were permitted to fill the office of kōkeKokeA was a noble ranking below a daimyo in Japan during the Edo period. Their lands were assessed at less than ten thousand koku, making them ineligible for the rank of daimyo.Unlike hatamoto, whose duties were military, the kōke had certain privileged missions...
. - The Kuroda were daimyō of Fukuoka, and of Akizuki (Chikuzen province).
- The Rokkaku had the rank of Kōke.
There existed a certain Sasaki Shrine where Sasaki Yamagimi, a warlord, worshiped the god of ancestor's spirit. Following the middle of the Heian period (794
794
Year 794 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 794 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Kyoto becomes the Japanese capital, ending...
- 858
858
Year 858 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Louis the German invades West Francia, hoping to secure Aquitaine from his brother Charles the Bald, but fails....
), the shrine was used to worship the tutelary god of the Sasaki clan. It is said that through this, the "Omi-Genji Festival" is held every year on October 10th in respect of the Sasaki clan. One member of note amongst the Sasaki clan is none other than Sasaki Kojiro
Sasaki Kojiro
was a prominent Japanese swordsman widely considered as a Kensei, born in Fukui Prefecture. He lived during the Sengoku and early Edo periods and is most remembered for his death while battling Miyamoto Musashi in 1612.-History:...
, the famous swordsman and rival of Miyamoto Musashi
Miyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
. The favorite technique of Kojiro was his "Tsubame Gaeshi" (Turning Swallow Cut), in which he attempted to use on Musashi throughout their duel. It is also known that the Sasaki clan apparently was a political obstacle to that of the Hosokawa
Hosokawa
Hosokawa is a Japanese surname.People with the name include:*Bill Hosokawa , Japanese American author and journalist*Chieko Hosokawa , a Japanese manga artist...
, and the defeat of Kojiro would be a political setback to his religious and political foes.
Genealogy
Explanatory notes The bold-faced type is a master.The "〇" mark is a person who participated in 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...
's rising in arms.
∴
Emperor Uda
Emperor Uda
was the 59th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Uda's reign spanned the years from 887 through 897.-Name and legacy:Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was or Chōjiin-tei....
(867-931)
┃
Prince Atsumi(893-967)
┃
Minamoto no Masanobu
Minamoto no Masanobu
' , third son of Imperial Prince Atsumi , a kugyo of the Heian period. His mother was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tokihira. He became Sadaijin in 978. His daughter Rinshi was married to Fujiwara no Michinaga, when Michinaga was in far lower position...
(920-993)
┃
Sukenori
┃
Nariyori
┃
Noritsune
┃
Sasaki Tsunekata
┃
Sasaki Tametoshi
┃
Sasaki Hideyoshi
Sasaki Hideyoshi
was a samurai member of the Minamoto clan, who fought in the Hōgen and Heiji Rebellions and in the Genpei War. He was the adopted son of Minamoto no Tameyoshi since age thirteen....
(1112-1184)
┣━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━┳━━━━━┓
〇Sadatsuna 〇Tsunetaka 〇Moritsuna 〇Takatsuna
Sasaki Takatsuna
was a Japanese samurai commander in the Genpei War, the great conflict between the Minamoto and Taira clans.An infant at the time of the Heiji Rebellion , Takatsuna was spared the destruction of his family several years later...
Yoshikiyo Nagano
┏━━━━━━┳━━━━━┳━━━━━┫ ┃ ┃ ┃ ┣━━━━━┓
Hirotsuna Sadashige Hirosada Nobutsuna
Sasaki Nobutsuna
was a tanka poet and scholar of the Nara and Heian periods of Japanese literature. He was active during the Shōwa period of Japan.-Early life:...
Takashige Kaji Nobuzane Shigetuna Masayoshi Yasukiyo
┏━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━━╋━━━━━━━━┓ ┏━━━━━┳━━━━━┫
Shigetsuna Takanobu Rokkaku Yasutsuna
Rokkaku clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan which wielded considerable power in the Muromachi period under the Ashikaga shogunate.-Rise and Fall:Founded by Sasaki Yasutsuna of Ōmi province in the 13th century, the name Rokkaku was taken from their residence within Kyoto; however, many members of this family...
Kyogoku Ujinobu
Kyōgoku clan
The were a Japanese samurai kin group which rose to prominence during the Sengoku and Edo periods. The clan claimed descent from the Uda Genji. The name derives from the Kyōgoku quarter of Kyoto during the Heian period....
Yoriyasu Yoshiyasu Muneyasu
Takaoka Muneyasu
was a Shugodai of Oki Province on Kamakura period.He was the founder of Takaoka clan in Izumo Province, Japan.Takaoka Muneyasu was the 8th son of Sasaki Yasukiyo. His mother was Kasai Kiyochika's daughter. Muneyasu was Enya Yoriyasu's younger brother....
External links
- http://www.town.azuchi.shiga.jp/en/tourist/02_e.html