Japanese clans

This is a list of Japanese clans. The old clans (gōzoku) mentioned in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki lost their political power before the Heian period, during which new aristocracies and families, kuge, emerged in their place. After the Heian period, the samurai warrior clans gradually increased in importance and power until they came to dominate the country after the founding of the first shogunate.

Japan traditionally practiced cognatic primogeniture, or male-line inheritance in regard to passing down titles and estates. By allowing adult adoption, or for men to take their wife's name and be adopted into her family served as a means to pass down an estate to a family without any sons, Japan has managed to retain continuous family leadership for many of the below clans, the imperial family, and even ordinary family businesses.[1][2]

The ability for Japanese families to track their lineage over successive generations plays a far more important role than simply having the same name as another family, as many commoners did not use a family name prior to the Meiji Restoration, and many simply adopted (名字, myōji) the name of the lord of their village, or the name of their domain, and may not necessarily have been a retainer to the clan. Other clan names are based on common geographic features or other arbitrary words that didn't necessarily indicate clan membership.[3]

Map showing the territories of major daimyō families around 1570

Many families also adopted sons from other families or married their daughters into other families to cement ties with a larger kin group outside of those with the same name as the main family line, called keibatsu (閨閥, lit. bedroom clique), a clan or family relationship built around both blood and maternal relations. Tokugawa Ieyasu himself had adopted two dozen children of allies in addition to his 16 acknowledged children.[4]

The Meiji Restoration sought to dismantle the clan structure, giving clan leaders titles of nobility to inspire loyalty to the emperor rather than individual clans. However those familial relationships built over multiple generations still maintained their ties, first as monbatsu, then with industrialization, evolved into the pre-war zaibatsu, which were formed by these same inter-clan relationships. With the abolishment of the kazoku in 1947, they reverted to their unofficial keibatsu, and elements of which can be seen today in political families such as the Satō–Kishi–Abe family, with family ties to Marquess Inoue Kaoru, Viscount Ōshima Yoshimasa, and pre-war Foreign Minister Yōsuke Matsuoka, all descendants of lower ranking Chōshū samurai families who benefited from the clan's outsized influence in the Meiji era government, and effectively created their own new clan, despite the lack of official title.[1][5][6]

Ancient clan names

There are ancient-era clan names called Uji-na (氏名) or Honsei (本姓).

Imperial House

Mon of the Imperial House of Japan

Four noble clans

Gempeitōkitsu (源平藤橘), 4 noble clans of Japan:

Mon of the Minamoto clan
Mon of the Taira clan
Mon of the Fujiwara clan
Mon of the Tachibana clan

Noble clans

Aristocratic family names

From the late ancient era onward, the family name (Myōji/苗字 or 名字) had been commonly used by samurai to denote their family line instead of the name of the ancient clan that the family line belongs to (uji-na/氏名 or honsei/本姓), which was used only in the official records in the Imperial court. Kuge families also had used their family name (Kamei/家名) for the same purpose. Each of samurai families is called "[family name] clan (氏)" as follows and they must not be confused with ancient clan names. The list below is a list of various aristocratic families whose families served as Shugo, Shugodai, Jitō, and Daimyo

Mon of the Akita clan
Mon of the Asano clan
Mon of the Ashikaga clan
Mon of the Hōjō clan
Mon of the Honda clan
Mon of the Hosokawa clan
Mon of the (Mino) Ikeda clan
Mon of the Inaba clan
Mon of the Inoue clan
Mon of the Itō clan
  • Kamiizumi clan (上泉氏) – cadet branch of the Fujiwara-descent Ashikaga clan who descended Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Kanamaru clan (金丸氏) – cadet branch of the Takeda clan who descended from Seiwa Genji by way of Takeda Nobushige.
  • Kagawa clan (香川氏) – descended from Kanmu Heishi.
  • Kikkawa clan (吉川氏) – cadet branch of the Kudō clan who descended from Fujiwara Nanke. After the mid 16th century they are a cadet branch of the Mōri clan who descended from the Ōe clan, famous for Kikkawa Motoharu.
  • Kikuchi clan (菊池氏) – descended from the Fujiwara clan.
Mon of the Kikuchi clan
Mon of the Maeda clan
Banner with the Mon of the Matsumae clan
Mon of the Mori clan (森氏)
Mon of the Miyoshi clan
Mon of the Mōri clan
Mon of the Shimazu clan
Mon of the Suwa clan
  • Sōma clan (相馬氏) – cadet branch of Chiba clan who descended from Kanmu Heishi.
  • Suda clan (ja:須田) – famous for being a clan of samurai, and martial art practitioners. While the northeastern and west-central family branches state that they are descended from the Minamoto clan through the Inoue family, the family branch in Okinawa has the legend that they are descendants of the Japanese dragon (Nihon ryū).
  • Sue clan (陶氏) – cadet branch of Ōuchi clan who descended from Tatara clan. famous for Sue Harukata.
  • Sugi clan (杉氏) – cadet branch of Sasaki clan who descended from Uda Genji; famous for Yoshida Shōin.
  • Suwa clan (諏訪氏) – more or less unknown ancestors, many believed Suwa descended from Seiwa Genji through Minamoto no Tsunetomo.
  • Tachibana clan (立花氏) – cadet branch of Ōtomo clan, descended from Ōtomo Yoshinao; no direct relation to the ancient Tachibana clan (橘氏); famous for Tachibana Ginchiyo and her husband Tachibana Muneshige.
Mon of the Takeda clan
Mon of the Toki clan
Mon of the Tokugawa clan
Mon of the Uesugi clan
Mon 'Mitsuboshi ni ichimonji' of the Watanabe clan
Mon of the Yanagizawa clan
Mon of the Yūki clan

Zaibatsu

Zaibatsu were the industrial and financial vertically integrated business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II.

  • Iwasaki family (岩崎家) – founder of Mitsubishi; descended from Takeda clan from Seiwa Genji
  • Mitsui family (三井家) – founder of Mitsui; descended from Fujiwara Hokke. However, Mitsui Takatoshi's great-great-grandfather's father was originally from the Rokkaku clan and had married into the early Mitsui family.
  • Sumitomo family (住友家) – founder of Sumitomo; descended from Kanmu Heishi

Sacerdotal clans

Ryukyu

Ryukyuan people are not Yamato people, but the Ryukyu Islands have been part of Japan since 1879.

Mon of the Ryukyu Kingdom

Ryukyuan dynasties:

Immigrant clans

Toraijin is used to describe migrants in many contexts, from the original migration of a Yamato peoples to more recent migrants. According to the book Shinsen Shōjiroku compiled in 815, a total 326 out of 1,182 families in the Kinai area on Honshū were regarded as people with foreign genealogy. The book specifically encompasses immigrants from ancient Korea and China and that these families are considered notable, although not inherently noble.[13][14]

Despite the book being highly regarded by many, there are certain claims that are under scrutiny by modern historians, and some corrections and revisions have been made over the recent years with certain clans of specific origins being classified differently.

Paekche (Korea)

Crown of Baekje found in the Tomb of King Muryeong
  • Asukabe clan (飛鳥部氏) – descended from Buyeo Gonji, younger brother of King Munju of Baekje and son of King Gaero of Baekje.
  • Fuha clan (不破氏)
  • Funa clan (船氏)
  • Hirota clan (廣田氏)
  • Ka clan (賈氏)
  • Kaguyama clan (香山氏)
  • Kazurai clan (葛井氏)
  • Kinunui clan (衣縫氏)
  • Kudara no Konikishi clan (百済王氏) – descended from Zenkō (善光 or 禅広), son of the last king of Paekche, King Uija.
    Kudara shrine of the Kudara no Konikishi clan
    • Mimatsu clan (三松氏) – cadet branch of Kudara no Konikishi clan.
    • Miyake clan (三宅氏) – cadet branch of Kudara no Konikishi clan.
  • Ōhara clan (大原氏) – descended from an unspecified king of Paekche. Not to be confused with the Ōhara clan of the same name from the Azuchi–Momoyama period.
  • Ōuchi clan (大内氏) – descended from Prince Imseong, third son of King Seong of Baekje.
    Mon of Ōuchi clan
    • Sue clan (陶氏) – cadet branch of Ōuchi clan.
    • Washizu clan (鷲頭氏) – cadet branch of Ōuchi clan.
    • Yamaguchi clan (Chūgoku) (山口氏) – cadet branch of Ōuchi clan and Tatara clan.
    • Yamaguchi clan (Owari) (山口氏) – cadet branch of Ōuchi clan and Tatara clan.
  • Sakata clan (坂田氏)
  • Sugano clan (菅野氏)
  • Tsu clan (津氏)
  • Kawachinofumi clan (西文氏) – descended from the scholar Wani. Related to the Yamatonofumi clan.
  • Yamato no Fuhito clan (和史氏) – descended from Prince Junda, son of King Muryeong of Baekje.
    • Takano clan (高野氏) – cadet branch of Yamato clan, famous for Takano no Niigasa.
  • Yamatonoaya clan (東漢氏) – descended from Achi no Omi.
Mon of Akizuki clan
    • Haruda clan (原田氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan.
    • Inoue clan (井上氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan. Not to be confused with the Seiwa Genji Inoue clan.
    • Kawachinoaya clan (西漢氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan.
    • Ōkura clan (大蔵氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan.
    • Sakanoue clan (坂上氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan.
    • Nishiki clan (錦氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan.
    • Nishikibe clan (錦部氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan.
    • Takamuko clan (高向氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan; famous for Takamuko no Kuromaro. Not to be confused with a different Takamuko clan of the same name that descends from Takenouchi no Sukune.
    • Tamura clan (田村氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan.
  • Yamatonofumi clan (東文氏) – descended from the scholar Wani. Related to the Kawachinofumi clan.

Goguryeo (Korea)

Crown of Goguryeo

Silla (Korea)

Crown of Silla
Mon of Chōsokabe clan
    • Fujiki clan (藤木氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Hakura clan (羽倉氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Hirata clan (平田氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Kada clan (荷田氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Kawakatsu clan (川勝氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan, named after Hata no Kawakatsu.
Mon of Kawakatsu clan
    • Matsumuro clan (松室氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Matsuo clan (松尾氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Matsushita clan (松下氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Mikami clan (三上氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Minami clan (南氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Mokusei clan (木星) – cadet branch of the Hata Clan.
    • Nishiōji clan (西大路氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Obata clan (小畑氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Ōkura clan (大蔵氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Ōnishi clan (大西氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Seo clan (瀬尾氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Tōgi clan (東儀氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
    • Tsuchiyama clan (土山氏) – cadet branch of Hata clan.
  • Fushimaru clan (伏丸氏)
  • Hine clan (日根氏)
  • Itoi clan (糸井氏) – descended from Amenohiboko, a prince of Silla who came to Japan in the 3rd or 4th century.
  • Maki clan (真城氏)
  • Ōtomo clan (大友氏) – claims to be descended from Mantoku no Omi of Goguryeo. The clan later claimed descent from Emperor Gaozu, Ling, and Xian of Han, but recent Japanese research points this to be aggrandization and their true origin to be from Silla; no direct relation to the native Ōtomo clan (大伴氏) or feudal Ōtomo clan (大友氏) of the same name.
    • Shiga clan (志賀氏) – cadet branch of Ōtomo clan through Ōtomo no Suguri (大友村主).
  • Tachibanamori clan (橘守氏) – descended from Amenohiboko, a prince of Silla who came to Japan in the 3rd or 4th century.
  • Tajima clan (但馬氏) – descended from Amenohiboko, a prince of Silla who came to Japan in the 3rd or 4th century.
  • Unabara clan (海原氏)

Kaya (Korea)

Crown of Kaya
  • Arara clan (荒荒氏)
  • Hirata clan (辟田氏) – descended from Tsunugaarashito (都怒我阿羅斯等), a prince of Kaya.
  • Karabito clan (韓人氏)
  • Michita clan (道田氏)
  • Ōchi clan (大市氏) – descended from Tsunugaarashito (都怒我阿羅斯等), a prince of Kaya.
  • Tatara clan (多々良氏) – descended from Irigumo of Kaya.
  • Toyotsu clan (豊津氏)

China

Mianguan of China
  • Asatsuma clan (朝妻氏) – descended from Tsuru no Omi (都留使主) of the Karakuni no Hito (韓国人) family. Due to the family name "Karakuni no Hito" meaning "Korean people", it may be under the wrong category.
  • Mamuta clan (茨田氏) – descended from Sun Hao.
  • Nishigori clan (錦織氏) – descended from Hanoji (波努志) of the Karakuni no Hito (韓国人) family. Due to the family name "Karakuni no Hito" meaning "Korean people", it may be under the wrong category.
  • Wakae clan (若江氏) – descended from Emperor Ling of Han; originally have come from Paekche.
  • Yako clan (陽侯氏) – descended from Emperor Yang of Sui.

See also

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Notes

  1. ^ a b Moore, Ray A. (May 1970). "Adoption and Samurai Mobility in Tokugawa Japan". The Journal of Asian Studies. 29 (3): 617–632. doi:10.2307/2943247. JSTOR 2943247.
  2. ^ Saito, Osamu (2000). "Marriage, family labour and the stem family household: traditional Japan in a comparative perspective" (PDF). Continuity and Change. 15 (1): 17–45. doi:10.1017/s026841609900346x. hdl:10086/13400. S2CID 55491127.
  3. ^ "市史編さんこぼれ話No.１８ 「近世の百姓に苗字はあったのか」｜東京都小平市公式ホームページ". www.city.kodaira.tokyo.jp.
  4. ^ Sato, Tomoyasu (1987). 門閥―旧華族階層の復権. Rippū Shobō. ISBN 978-4651700328.
  5. ^ Yamada, Eizō; 山田栄三 (1988). Seiden Satō Eisaku. Shinchōsha. p. 23. ISBN 4-10-370701-1. OCLC 20260847.
  6. ^ "'Nepobabies' strive to keep dynasties going in Yamaguchi". Asahi Shimbun. 6 April 2023.
  7. ^ "安倍朝臣姓 土御門氏系図". 日本氏族大鑑.
  8. ^ Higuchi, Satoshi (2001). 前九年・後三年合戦と奥州藤原氏. Koshi Shoin. ISBN 4862150888.
  9. ^ "長門 安倍氏系図". 日本氏族大鑑.
  10. ^ Nelson, John K. (2000). Enduring Identities: The Guise of Shinto in Contemporary Japan, pp. 67–69.
  11. ^ Cranston, Edwin A. (1998). A Waka Anthology, p. 513.
  12. ^ Grapard, Allan G. (1992). The protocol of the gods, p. 42.
  13. ^ Saeki, Arikiyo (1981). Shinsen Shōjiroku no Kenkyū (Honbun hen) (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan. ISBN 4-642-02109-4.
  14. ^ "渡来人と赤穂". The KANSAI Guide - The Origin of Japan, KANSAI (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-09-14.

References

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