A clan in modern day Japan
The
Nanbu clan
(
南部氏
,
Nanbu-shi
)
was a
Japanese samurai clan
who ruled most of northeastern
Honsh?
in the
T?hoku region
of Japan for over 700 years, from the
Kamakura period
through the
Meiji Restoration
of 1868. The Nanbu claimed descent from the
Seiwa Genji
of
Kai Province
and were thus related to the
Takeda clan
. The clan moved its seat from Kai to
Mutsu Province
in the early
Muromachi period
, and were confirmed as
daimy?
of
Morioka Domain
under the
Edo-period
Tokugawa shogunate
. The domain was in constant conflict with neighboring
Hirosaki Domain
, whose ruling
Tsugaru clan
were once Nanbu retainers.
During the
Boshin War
of 1868?69, the Nanbu clan fought on the side of the
?uetsu Reppan D?mei
, supporting the Tokugawa regime. After
Meiji Restoration
, the Nanbu clan had much of its land confiscated, and in 1871, the heads of its branches were
relieved of office
. In the
Meiji period
, the former
daimy?
became part of the
kazoku
peerage, with
Nanbu Toshiyuki
receiving the title of
hakushaku
(Count). The main Nanbu line survives to the present day; Toshiaki Nanbu served as the chief priest of
Yasukuni Shrine
.
Origins
[
edit
]
The Nanbu clan claimed descent from the
Seiwa Genji
of
Kai Province
.
Minamoto no Yoshimitsu
was awarded Kai Province following the
Gosannen War
, and his great-grandson Nobuyoshi took the surname
Takeda
. Another great-grandson, Mitsuyuki, took the name "Nanbu", after the location of his estates in Kai Province, which are now part of the town of
Nanbu, Yamanashi
.
[1]
Nanbu Mitsuyuki joined
Minamoto no Yoritomo
at the
Battle of Ishibashiyama
and served in various mid-level positions within the
Kamakura shogunate
and is mentioned several times in the
Azuma Kagami
. He accompanied Yoritomo in the conquest of the
Hiraizumi Fujiwara
in 1189, and was awarded with vast estates in
Nukanobu District
the extreme northeast of Honsh?, building
Sh?jujidate Castle
in what is now
Nanbu, Aomori
. The area was dominated by horse ranches, and the Nanbu grew powerful and wealthy on the supply of
warhorses
. These horse ranches were fortified stockades, numbered one through nine (Ichinohe through Kunohe), and were awarded to the six sons of Nanbu Mitsuyuki, forming the six main branches of the Nanbu clan.
During the
Nanboku-ch? period
following the fall of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333,
Nanbu Motoyuki
accompanied
Kitabatake Akiie
north when he was appointed
Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North
, and
Shugo
of
Mutsu Province
. Nanbu Motoyuki established
Ne Castle
, which was intended to be a center for the imperial government administration in the area. This marked the official transfer of the seat of the Nanbu clan from Kai Province to Mutsu. Nanbu Motoyuki was under allegiance to the
Southern Court
; however, at the same time, another branch of the same Nanbu family ruled the nearby
Sannohe
and Morioka areas under allegiance to the rival
Northern Court
.
[2]
The two branches of the clan made peace with each other in 1393.
Sengoku period
[
edit
]
Although the Nanbu clan by the time of the 24th hereditary chieftain
Nanbu Harumasa
controlled seven districts of northern Mutsu province (Nukanobu, Hei, Kazuno, Kuji, Iwate, Shiwa and T?no), the clan was more of a loose collection of competing branches without strong central authority.
[1]
This weakness was exploited by the
?ura clan
, a cadet branch of the Nanbu, who revolted in 1572.
?ura Tamenobu
was vice-district magistrate
(
郡代補佐
,
gundai hosa
)
under the Nanbu clan's local magistrate Ishikawa Takanobu; however, he attacked and killed Ishikawa and began taking the Nanbu clan's castles.
[3]
Tamenobu also attacked
Kitabatake Akimura
(another local power figure) and took
Namioka Castle
.
[4]
The ?ura clan's fight against the Nanbu clan, beginning with
Nanbu Nobunao
, would continue in the ensuing two centuries. In 1590, Tamenobu pledged fealty to
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
; Hideyoshi confirmed Tamenobu in his holdings, effectively putting him out of the Nanbu clan's grasp.
[4]
As the ?ura fief had been in the
Tsugaru region
on the northwestern tip of Honsh?, the family then changed its name to "Tsugaru".
[3]
After the death of Nanbu Harumasa in 1582, the clan split into several competing factions. In 1590, the Sannohe faction led by Nanbu Nobunao organized a coalition of most of the Nambu clans and pledged allegiance to Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the
Siege of Odawara
. In return, he was recognized as chieftain of the Nanbu clans, and confirmed as
daimy?
of his existing holdings (except for Tsugaru). However,
Kunohe Masazane
, who felt that he had a stronger claim to the title of clan chieftain, immediately rose in rebellion.
[5]
The
Kunohe Rebellion
was swiftly suppressed
[6]
and Hideyoshi compensated the Nanbu for the loss of Tsugaru with the addition of the districts of Hienuki and Waga as compensation. Nanbu Nobunao relocated his seat from
Sannohe Castle
to the more central location of
Morioka
, and began work on Morioka Castle and its surrounding
castle town
in 1592.
Edo period
[
edit
]
The Nanbu clan sided with
Tokugawa Ieyasu
's Eastern Army during the
Battle of Sekigahara
. In the wake of Ieyasu's victory, the Nanbu clan was confirmed in its lordship of Morioka Domain
(
盛岡藩
,
Morioka-han
)
(also known as the Nanbu Domain
(
南部藩
,
Nanbu-han
)
).
[7]
The
kokudaka
of the domain was officially 100,000
koku
, but later in the Edo era, was doubled in amount.
[8]
The Nanbu clan retained its holdings for the entirety of the
Edo period
, surviving until the
Meiji Restoration
. During the Edo period, two new branches of the Nanbu clan were founded, one at
Hachinohe
,
[9]
and the other one at
Shichinohe
.
[10]
In 1821, the old tensions between the Nanbu and Tsugaru flared once more,
[4]
in the wake of the S?ma Daisaku Incident
(
相馬大作事件
,
S?ma Daisaku jiken
)
, a foiled plot by S?ma Daisaku, a former retainer of the Nanbu clan, to assassinate the Tsugaru lord.
[11]
The Nanbu clan's territories were also among those effected by the
Tenp? famine
of the mid-1830s.
[12]
As with many other domains of northern Honsh?, the Morioka Domain was assigned by the shogunate to policing portions of the frontier region of
Ezochi
(now
Hokkaido
).
[13]
The clan's first direct encounter with foreigners came in the late 16th century, when a Dutch ship, the
Breskens
, arrived in Nanbu territory. A shore party from the ship was captured by local authorities and taken to
Edo
.
[14]
Over the course of its history particularly in the Edo period, there were several retainers of the Nanbu clan who became famous on a national scale.
[15]
Sasaki Toyoju
was a temperance worker, feminist and anti-prostituion activist.
[16]
Narayama Sado, a clan elder (
kar?
) who was active during the
Boshin War
, was one of them; he was responsible for leading the Nanbu clan's political activity and interaction with neighboring domains.
[15]
Hara Takashi
, who later became Prime Minister of Japan, was another.
[17]
Some 20th-century figures in Japanese politics also came from families of former Nanbu retainers; perhaps the most well known of which was
Seishir? Itagaki
[18]
and
Hideki T?j?
.
[19]
Boshin War
[
edit
]
During the
Boshin War
of 1868?69, the Nanbu clan initially attempted to remain neutral.
[20]
However, under the leadership of
Nanbu Toshihisa
and the
kar?
Narayama Sado, the Nanbu clan later sided with the
?uetsu Reppan D?mei
).
[15]
On September 23, 1868, the Nanbu clan's troops joined in the attack on the
Akita Domain
, which had seceded from the alliance and sided with the imperial government.
[21]
By October 7, Nanbu troops took
?date
, one of the Akita Domain's castles.
[22]
However, due to the collapse of the alliance, the Nanbu clan surrendered to the imperial army on October 29, 1868.
[23]
After the war, the Nanbu clan's holdings were drastically reduced by the imperial government as punishment for siding with the northern alliance. While Hachinohe and Shichinohe Domains survived intact, a large area of what is now northeastern Aomori Prefecture was given as a resettlement zone for former samurai of
Aizu Domain
. The Nanbu were also briefly expelled from Morioka itself, and were assigned new lands surrounding the vacant
Shiroishi Castle
before being allowed to return to Morioka a few months later.
[24]
Two years after the war, as with all other
daimy?
, the heads of all three Nanbu branches were relieved of their offices by the
abolition of the han system
.
[24]
Meiji era and beyond
[
edit
]
In the early years of the
Meiji era
, the main Nanbu line was ennobled with the title of
count
(
hakushaku
) in the new peerage system.
[25]
The Nanbu of Hachinohe and Shichinohe were also ennobled with the title of viscount (
shishaku
).
[25]
Count Toshinaga Nanbu, the 42nd generation Nanbu clan chieftain, was an officer of the
Imperial Japanese Army
, he died in battle during the
Russo-Japanese War
.
[26]
He was succeeded by his brother Nanbu Toshiatsu; Toshiatsu was a proponent of the arts and studied painting under
Kuroda Seiki
. As Toshiatsu's presumptive heir Toshisada died at age 18, Toshiatsu adopted Toshihide Ichij?, his son-in-law, as his heir. Toshihide was the son of Duke Ichij? Saneteru, who was a former
court noble
.
[27]
Upon adoption, Toshihide assumed the Nanbu name, and after Toshiatsu's death, became 44th generation Nanbu clan chieftain. His wife was
Mizuko Nanbu
, a prominent figure in the
Girl Scouts of Japan
. After Toshihide's death in 1980, his son Toshiaki became 45th clan chieftain.
[28]
From 2004 through 2009, Toshaiki served as the
chief priest
of
Yasukuni Shrine
.
[29]
The current and 46th clan chieftain is
Toshifumi Nanbu
, born in 1970.
See also
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Nanbu clan
.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
(in Japanese)
"Nanbu-shi" on Harimaya.com
(accessed 15 August 2008)
- ^
"Ne Castle" J Castle -
"Ne Castle Profile"
. Archived from
the original
on 2016-03-21
. Retrieved
2016-05-20
.
- ^
a
b
(in Japanese)
"Tokugawa Bakufu to Tozama 117 han."
Rekishi Dokuhon
. April 1976 (Tokyo: n.p., 1976), p. 71.
- ^
a
b
c
(in Japanese)
"Tsugaru-shi" on Harimaya.com
(accessed 15 August 2008).
- ^
Turnbull, Stephen (2010).
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
. Osprey. p.
53
.
ISBN
9781846039607
.
- ^
Turnbull, Stephen (2010).
Hatamoto: Samurai Horse and Foot Guards 1540-1724
. Osprey.
ISBN
9781846034787
.
- ^
(in Japanese)
Nihonshi y?gosh?
(Tokyo: Yamakawa shuppansha, 2000), p. 104.
- ^
(in Japanese)
"Morioka-han" on Edo 300 HTML
(accessed 15 August 2008)
- ^
(in Japanese)
"Hachinohe-han" on Edo 300 HTML
Archived
2016-03-03 at the
Wayback Machine
(accessed 15 August 2008)
- ^
(in Japanese)
"Shichinohe-han" on Edo 300 HTML
Archived
2016-03-04 at the
Wayback Machine
(accessed 15 August 2008)
- ^
?oka,
Taken Captive: A Japanese POW's Story
, p. 57.
- ^
Totman, Conrad
. (1993).
Early Modern Japan
, p. 253.
- ^
(in Japanese)
Noguchi Shin'ichi (2005).
Aizu-han
. (Tokyo: Gendai shokan), p. 194.
- ^
Papinot, Edmond
. (1906).
Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan
, p. 771.
- ^
a
b
c
(in Japanese)
Onodera,
Boshin nanboku sens? to T?hoku seiken
, p. 140.
- ^
Kohiyama, Rui (2018-08-28),
"New Women before the "New Woman": Sasaki Toyoju and Sasaki Nobuko in Meiji Japan"
,
Christianity and the Modern Woman in East Asia
, Brill, pp. 83?108,
doi
:
10.1163/9789004369108_006
,
ISBN
978-90-04-36910-8
,
S2CID
165346633
, retrieved
2024-02-09
- ^
Oka,
Five Political Leaders of Modern Japan
, p. 85.
- ^
Contemporary Japan: A Review of Japanese Affairs
, p. 523
- ^
Iwao, Seiichi
. (1978).
Biographical Dictionary of Japanese History
, p. 494.
- ^
(in Japanese)
Hoshi,
?uetsu Reppan D?mei
, pp. 88-89.
- ^
(in Japanese)
Onodera, p. 194.
- ^
August 22 by the
lunisolar calendar
. See
(in Japanese)
Onodera, p. 194.
- ^
September 14th by the
lunisolar calendar
.
(in Japanese)
Onodera, p. 195.
- ^
a
b
(in Japanese)
Nanbu ch?i
南部中尉, p. 4. (Accessed from
National Diet Library
Archived
2010-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine
, 15 August 2008)
- ^
a
b
(in German)
List of Meiji-era Japanese nobility
(accessed 15 August 2008)
- ^
(in Japanese)
Nanbu ch?i
, p. 30.
- ^
Inahara,
The Japan Year Book
, p. 3.
- ^
Onishi, Norimitsu.
"Ad Man-Turned-Priest Tackles His Hardest Sales Job,"
New York Times.
February 12, 2005;
"New Yasukuni chief priest picked,"
Japan Times.
June 13, 2009.
- ^
Alford, Peter.
"Yasukuni shrine's top priest Toshiaki Nambu dies,"
Archived
2011-07-14 at the
Wayback Machine
The Australian
(Sydney). January 9, 2009;
Breen, John
.
"Yasukuni Shrine: Ritual and Memory,"
Archived
2008-04-17 at the
Wayback Machine
Japan Focus.
June 3, 2005.
References
[
edit
]
English
[
edit
]
- Contemporary Japan: A Review of Japanese Affairs
(1939). Tokyo: The Foreign Affairs Association of Japan.
- Inahara, Katsuji (1937).
The Japan Year Book
. Tokyo: Foreign affairs association of Japan.
- Iwao, Seiichi
. (1978).
Biographical dictionary of Japanese history
. Berkeley: University of California.
- "Japan Focus" article on Yasukuni Shrine
(accessed 13 Dec. 2007)
- Oka, Yoshitake (1986).
Five Political Leaders of Modern Japan
. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.
- ?oka, Sh?hei (1996).
Taken Captive: A Japanese POW's Story
. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
- Papinot, Edmund
. (1948).
Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan
. New York: Overbeck Co.
- Totman, Conrad
. (1993).
Early Modern Japan
. Berkeley: University of California Press.
French
[
edit
]
- Papinot, Jacques Edmund Joseph. (1906)
Dictionnaire d'histoire et de geographie du japon.
Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha.
Nobiliaire du japon
(2003, abridged online text of 1906 book).
German
[
edit
]
Japanese
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
Nonfiction
[
edit
]
- Hesselink, Reinier H. (2002).
Prisoners from Nambu : reality and make-believe in seventeenth-century Japanese diplomacy
. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
- Mori, Kahee (1967).
Nanbu Nobunao
. Tokyo: Jinbutsu ?raisha.
Fiction
[
edit
]
- Asada, Jir? (2008).
Mibu gishiden.
Tokyo: Kashiwa shoten.