The Akizuki clan (秋月氏, ''Akizuki-shi'') is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

family. 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 ...

, the Akizuki clan was led by 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 ...

lord (大名 ''

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 ...

'') in the Akizuki domain on the island of

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

. From the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

to the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Akizuki family was a contemporary noble (華族 "

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 ' ...

"). After World War II, the land controlled by the Akizuki family became Akizuki prefecture. Later, Akizuki prefecture was re-organized as

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

(

福岡県 is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the southwest, Kum ...

''Fukuoka-ken''). At present, the former Akizuki area is still referred to as "Akizuki", and is now

Asakura, Fukuoka is a city located in south central Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, on Kyūshū Island. The modern city of Asakura was established on March 20, 2006, from the merger of the former town of Asakura (from Asakura District), absorbing the city of Amag ...

prefecture. The Akizuki clan's main descendants live in

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kumam ...

and Tokyo.

Notable leader

* Akizuki Kiyotane *

Akizuki Tanezane was a samurai warrior and daimyo from Akizuki clan, son of Akizuki Kiyotane, who was defeated by the Ōtomo clan. Later he joined the Shimazu clan. In 1585, Tanezane supported the Shimazu in an offensive against the Ōtomo at the Siege of ...

(1548-1596) *

Akizuki Tanenaga was a Japanese samurai warrior and ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku and early Edo periods. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Akizuki" at ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 2 r ...

(1567-1614) *

Akizuki Taneharu The Japanese name Akizuki may refer to: * Akizuki clan, a Japanese noble family * Akizuki (surname) Akizuki (秋月) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese noble family *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese dipl ...

Cultural references

Two ships have been named after the Akizuki clan: the of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

, and the of the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

. The movie director

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

directed a movie about the Akizuki clan, called ''

The Hidden Fortress is a 1958 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' adventure film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It tells the story of two peasants who agree to escort a man and a woman across enemy lines in return for gold without knowing that he is a general and the woman is a pri ...

'' (隠し砦の三悪人 ''Kakushi-toride-no-san-akunin''), in 1958. In the film, the clan crest is depicted as a

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

. ''The Hidden Fortress'' was remade in 2008 by director

Shinji Higuchi is a Japanese filmmaker and storyboard artist. He is one of the most successful Japanese filmmakers and the top ''tokusatsu'' film director. Higuchi became known for his work on '' Gamera: Guardian of the Universe'', for which he won the Specia ...

References

{{Unreferenced, date=February 2010 Japanese nobility Japanese people of Chinese descent