The were a ''

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

'' kin group which rose to prominence in the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

and the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

s.Meyer, Eva-Maria
"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit."
Universität Tübingen (in German) Under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

, the Ōkubo, as hereditary vassals of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

, were classified as one of the ''

fudai daimyō was a class of ''daimyō'' (大名) in the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府) of Japan who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa before the Battle of Sekigahara. ''Fudai daimyō'' and their descendants filled the ranks of the Tokugawa admini ...

'' clans.Appert, Georges. (1888)
''Ancien Japon'', p. 75
/ref>

Ōkubo clan genealogy

The Ōkubo clan traces its origins to 16th century

Mikawa Province was an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces. Mik ...

. The Ōkubo claimed descent from the Utsunomiya clan, descendants of

Fujiwara no Michikane Fujiwara no Michikane (藤原道兼; 961 – June 13, 995), the son of Kaneie, was a Japanese nobleman and monk of the Heian period. When his nephew took the throne as Emperor Ichijō in 994, he returned from monastic life and took the governm ...

(955–995). Papinot, Edmond. (2003)
''Nobiliare du Japon'' -- Ōkubo, p. 46
Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon;'' retrieved 2012-11-7 Ōkubo Tadatoshi (1499–1581) and his younger brother Ōkubo Tadakazu (1511–1583) were the first to abandon the Utaunomiya name for "Ōkubo". Both brothers were among the seven closest retainers of

Matsudaira Hirotada was the lord of Okazaki Castle in Mikawa province, Japan during the Sengoku Period of the 16th century. He is best known for being the father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Biography Hirotada was the son of Matsudaira ...

, the father of

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

Main branch

Ōkubo Tadayo was a samurai general in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Azuchi–Momoyama period, subsequently becoming a ''Daimyō'' of Odawara Domain in early Edo period, Japan. Biography Ōkubo Tadayo was the eldest son of Ōkubo Tadakazu, a her ...

(1531–1593), the son of Ōkubo Tadakazu, participated as a general in all the military campaigns of Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1590, upon the transfer of Ieyasu to the

Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...

, he was rewarded with formal recognition as a

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

, and the clan was established in the ''

han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

'' of

Odawara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...

(45,000 ''koku'') in

Sagami Province was a province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu, Musashi, and Suruga. It had access to the Paci ...

, where the Ōkubo were made castellans

Odawara Castle is a landmark in the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. History Odawara was a stronghold of the Doi clan during the Kamakura period, and a fortified residence built by their collateral branch, the Kobayakawa clan, stood on the ...

. The main branch of Ōkubo clan consists of his family and their descendants. **

Ōkubo Tadachika was ''daimyō'' of Odawara Domain in Sagami Province in early Edo period, Japan. Ōkubo Tadachika was the son of Ōkubo Tadayo, a hereditary vassal to the Tokugawa clan in what is now part of the city of Okazaki, Aichi. He entered into service a ...

(1553–1628) succeeded his father at Odawara, and the revenues of the ''han'' had increased to 70,000 ''koku.'' In 1614 Tadachika was accused of participation in the plot of Tokugawa Tadateru against his brother, ''Shōgun''

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

; and the Ōkubo were dispossessed. Tadahicka was confined at

Hikone 280px, Hikone City Hall is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 111,958 in 49066 households and a population density of 570 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hikone i ...

Ōmi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Ōmi was ranked as one of the 13 "great countrie ...

. ** Ōkubo Tadamoto (1604–1670) was implicated initially in the disgrace of his grandfather; however, he was installed in 1632 at

Kanō Domain 270px, Remnants of the walls of Kanō Castle was a '' fudai'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. The domain was centered at Kanō Castle, located in what is now part of the city of Gifu in Gifu Prefecture. History Before the Battle of Sek ...

(50,000 ''koku'') in

Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...

, and then he was transferred in 1639 to

Akashi Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Harima Province in what is now the southern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Akashi Castle, which is located in what is now the ci ...

Harima Province or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji. During the ...

. He was transferred again in 1649 to

Karatsu Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It is associated with Hizen Province in modern-day Saga Prefecture.

(90,000 ''koku'') in

Hizen Province was an old province of Japan in the area of the Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō. It did not incl ...

, and he was moved again in 1678 to

Sakura Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Shimōsa Province (modern-day Chiba Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Sakura Castle in what is now the city of Sakura, Chiba. It was ruled for most of its hi ...

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area modern Chiba Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shimōsa''" in . It lies to the north of the Bōsō Peninsula (房総半島), whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from ...

. This senior branch of the Ōkubo was restored to Odawara Domain (100,000 ''koku''), where they resided until the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. The final daimyō of Odawara Domain, Ōkubo Tadayoshi died in the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Restoration and beca ...

. The head of this clan,

Ōkubo Tadanori was the 9th '' daimyō'' of Odawara Domain in Sagami Province, (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture) in late- Edo period Japan. Before the Meiji Restoration, his courtesy title was '' Kaga no Kami.'' Biography Ōkubo Tadanori was the nephew of ...

line was ennobled as a

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

("shishaku") in the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ' ...

'' peerage system.

Cadet lines

* A cadet branch was created in 1601 for

Ōkubo Tadasuke was a Japanese '' daimyō'' of the Sengoku period and early Edo period. He was the head of Numazu Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan located in Suruga Province. It was centered on Numazu Castle in ...

(1537–1613), the second son of Ōkubo Tadakazu, who had served as a general in the armies of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ōkubo Tadasuke was given

Numazu Castle was a Japanese castle located in the city of Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was a ''hirayama-jō'', a castle built on a plains rather than a hill or mountain. During the Edo period, Numazu castle was home to the Mizuno clan, ''daimyō'' ...

and assigned

Numazu Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan located in Suruga Province. It was centered on Numazu Castle in what is now the city of Numazu, in modern-day Shizuoka Prefecture. History In 1601, Ōkubo Tadasuke, a 5000 ...

(20,000 ''koku'') in

Suruga Province was an old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu, Kai, Sagami, Shinano, and Tōtōmi provinces; and was bordered by the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay to the south. Its abbrevia ...

; however, he died without leaving any heirs, and the domain reverted to the shogunate. * A cadet branch of the Ōkubo was created in 1684. The descendants of

Ōkubo Tadatame , also Okubo, Ohkubo and Ookubo, is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Ōkubo clan ** Ōkubo Tadayo (1532–1594), Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku period **Ōkubo Tadasuke (1537–1613), Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku a ...

(1554–1616), the sixth son of

Ōkubo Tadakazu , also Okubo, Ohkubo and Ookubo, is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Ōkubo clan ** Ōkubo Tadayo (1532–1594), Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku period **Ōkubo Tadasuke (1537–1613), Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku a ...

, has served as ''

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as ''gokenin.'' However ...

'' to the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1687, Ōkubo Tadataka had amassed a revenue base of 10,000 ''koku'', which qualified him to join the ranks of the daimyō. His son, Ōkubo Tsuneharu (1675–1728) was assigned to

Karasuyama Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in the Nasu region of northern Shimotsuke Province (modern-day Tochigi Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Karasuyama Castle in what is now part of the ...

(30,000 ''koku'') in

Shimotsuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Tochigi Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''SHimotsuke''" in . Shimotsuke was bordered by Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Hitachi Province, ...

in 1725, where his descendants remained until the Meiji restoration. The head of this clan line, Ōkubo Tadayori, was ennobled as a "Viscount" in the Meiji period. * A cadet branch of the Ōkubo was created in 1706. This clan line was instituted for the descendants of

Ōkubo Norihiro , also Okubo, Ohkubo and Ookubo, is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Ōkubo clan ** Ōkubo Tadayo (1532–1594), Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku period **Ōkubo Tadasuke (1537–1613), Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku a ...

(1657–1737), who were installed at Ogino-Yamanaka Domain (13,000 ''koku'') in

from 1718 through 1868. The head of this clan line was ennobled as a "Viscount" in the Meiji period.

Indirect Ōkubo ''kazoku'' lines

Ōkubo Toshimichi was a Japanese statesman and one of the Three Great Nobles regarded as the main founders of modern Japan. Ōkubo was a ''samurai'' of the Satsuma Domain and joined the movement to overthrow the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate during the ''Bak ...

, 1830–1878—1st

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

and 1st

Home Minister The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minist ...

of Meiji's government. ''

Genrō was an unofficial designation given to certain retired elder Japanese statesmen who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor, during the Meiji, Taishō, and Shōwa eras in Japanese history. The institution of ''genrō ...

.''McLaren, Walter. (1966)
''A Political History of Japan: During the Meiji Era, 1867–1912,'' p. 117
/ref> was the son of a low-ranking

in the service of the

Satsuma clan The were the '' daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in con ...

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

. He claimed descent from a branch of the Ōkubo clan who migrated to

Satsuma Province was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation is . History Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. Durin ...

from

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

during the

. For his services to the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...

, he was made a

marquess A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

(''koshaku'') under the kazoku peerage in 1884. * In 1877, a former samurai from Suruga Province,

Ōkubo Ichio , also Okubo, Ohkubo and Ookubo, is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Ōkubo clan ** Ōkubo Tadayo (1532–1594), Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku period **Ōkubo Tadasuke (1537–1613), Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku a ...

(1817–1888) was ennobled as a "Viscount" under the kazoku system. Ōkubo Ichio had served as councilor to the last five Tokugawa ''shōguns'', and during the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

, had served as an emissary for

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...

to negotiate the surrender of Edo to imperial forces. Under the

, he served as appointed governor of Shizuoka (1870) and Kyoto (1875), and as a member of the ''

Genrōin The was a national assembly in early Meiji Japan, established after the Osaka Conference of 1875. It is also referred to as the Senate of Japan, being the word used to describe the Roman Senate, and other western legislatures named after it. ...

'' (1877). He was also known as Ōkubo Tadahiro.

Notes

References

* Dalberg-Acton, John, George Walter Prothero and

Adolphus William Ward Sir Adolphus William Ward (2 December 1837 – 19 June 1924) was an English historian and man of letters. Life Ward was born at Hampstead, London, the son of John Ward. He was educated in Germany and at Peterhouse, Cambridge. In 1866, Ward ...

and Stanley Mordaunt Leathes. (1906)
''The Cambridge Modern History'', p. 865.
London:

Macmillan & Company Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

* Appert, Georges and H. Kinoshita. (1888)
''Ancien Japon''.
Tokyo: Imprimerie Kokubunsha * McLaren, Walter. (1966)
''A Political History of Japan: During the Meiji Era, 1867–1912''.
London:

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

. * Meyer, Eva-Maria. (1999). ''Japans Kaiserhof in de Edo-Zeit: Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1846 bis 1867''. Münster: Tagenbuch. * Papinot, Edmond. (1906) ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon''. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaish
..Click link for digitized 1906 ''Nobiliaire du japon'' (2003)
* Röhl, William. (2005)
''History of Law in Japan Since 1868''.
Leiden:

Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes 27 ...

. * Sasaki, Suguru. (2002). ''Boshin sensō: haisha no Meiji ishin''. Tokyo: Chūōkōron-shinsha

External links

National Diet Library The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...

Ōkubo Toshimichi, text and image

(23 Feb. 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Okubo Clan Japanese clans