Japanese noble family that ruled the T?hoku region of Japan during the 12th century
For the "northern house" (北家) of the Ky?to-based Fujiwara clan, see
Hokke (Fujiwara)
.
The M?ts?-ji. Portrait of Oshu-Fujiwara clan, three generations.
The domain of the Oshu-Fujiwara clan in Japan (1183)
The
Northern Fujiwara
(?州藤原氏
?sh? Fujiwara-shi
) were a Japanese
noble
family
that ruled the
T?hoku region
(the northeast of
Honsh?
) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.
[1]
They succeeded the semi-independent
Emishi
families of the 11th century who were gradually brought down by the
Minamoto clan
loyal to the
Imperial Court in Kyoto
. They ruled over an independent region that derived its wealth from gold mining, horse trading and as middlemen in the trade in luxury items from continental Asian states and from the far northern Emishi and
Ainu people
. They were able to keep their independence vis-a-vis Kyoto by the strength of their warrior bands until they were ultimately conquered by the
Kant?
samurai clans led by
Minamoto no Yoritomo
,
[1]
[2]
in the
Battle of ?sh?
in 1189.
[3]
Origins
[
edit
]
Historically, there has been a theory that the Northern Fujiwara descended from the ethnic
Emishi people
, but in terms of genealogy, they were descended from
Fujiwara no Hidesato
.
[4]
Fujiwara no Kiyohira
, after his father's death, was raised as a member of the Kiyohara clan as his mother remarried into a Kiyohara family in
Dewa Province
.
[4]
However, Kiyohira, with the aid of
Minamoto no Yoshiie
, became independent and established themselves in
Hiraizumi
(in present-day
Iwate Prefecture
) in 1087, when he won the victory in the
Gosannen War
.
[5]
History
[
edit
]
After its foundation by Fujiwara no Kiyohira in 1087, the Northern Fujiwara clan ruled the Mutsu and Dewa Province for over a century.
[5]
Along with Kiyohira, the next two generations of
Fujiwara no Motohira
and
Hidehira
saw the zenith of Northern Fujiwara's power in the T?hoku region.
[5]
At the zenith of their rule, they attracted a number of artisans from
Kyoto
and created a capital city, Hiraizumi.
[1]
They introduced the Kyoto culture into the area and built many temples, such as the
Ch?son-ji
founded in 1095.
[5]
During the
Genpei War
(1180-1185), fought between the
Minamoto clan
and the
Taira clan
, the Northern Fujiwara remained neutral and did not participate in the war.
[5]
A conflict erupted between
Minamoto no Yoritomo
and the Northern Fujiwara over the extradition of
Minamoto no Yoshitsune
, who had fled to Hiraizumi.
[3]
Hidehira had remained neutral during the Genpei War, but when Yoshitsune took refuge in Hiraizumi, he decided to protect him.
[5]
Hidehira, who had protected Yoshitsune, soon died and his son
Fujiwara no Yasuhira
succeeded his father as the 4th head of the Northern Fujiwara clan. Yasuhira failed to resist Minamoto no Yoritomo's pressure, and had Yoshitsune assassinated.
[5]
After Yoshitsune was assassinated in April 1189, his severed head was delivered to
Kamakura
by July for Yoritomo to see. However, Yoritomo was already set about attacking Hiraizumi and this had no effect to fix the damaged relations.
[3]
On September 1, 1189, 284,000
cavalrymen
led by Yoritomo set out to attack Hiraizumi.
[3]
Yasuhira prepared himself an army of 170,000 cavalrymen to defend his realm.
[6]
Thus, the Battle of ?sh? began.
[3]
Yasuhira's forces were defeated one after another, and on October 2, he fled Hiraizumi leaving it afire. Yoritomo entered Hiraizumi the next day. Yasuhira was found and killed in Nienosaku, Hinai, Mutsu Province (present-day
?date
,
Akita Prefecture
) on October 14.
[3]
The Battle of ?sh? resulted in the destruction of the Northern Fujiwara. This marked the end of the period of civil war that began in 1180, and the completion of Yoritomo's nationwide domination and the establishment of the
Kamakura shogunate
.
[3]
Notable members
[
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]
Below is a family tree of the Fujiwaras who show up most frequently in historical accounts.
*a.k.a. Izumi (no) Saburo
(Adopted kin are not shown.)
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]