The Edo clan were a minor offshoot of the
Taira clan
The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divi ...
, and first fortified the settlement known as
Edo, which would later become
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
. The
Imperial Palace now stands at this location.
[Time Out Tokyo edited by Cathy Phillips, page 11]
During the
Azuchi–Momoyama period
The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600.
After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nobuna ...
, the clan was renamed the Kitami clan.
History
The clan originated in
Chichibu in
Musashi Province (now
Saitama Prefecture). In the late 12th century,
Edo Shigetsugu moved south and fortified the little hill at Edo, located where the
Sumida River enters
Tokyo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...
.
This area later became the
Honmaru and
Ninomaru portions of
Edo Castle. There, the Edo grew in military strength under the second patriarch,
Edo Shigenaga
Edo Shigenaga was the second head of the Edo clan. He first settled and lent his name to the fishing village Edo that eventually grew to become Tokyo. He was also known as Edo Taro.''Yoshitsune: a fifteenth-century Japanese chronicle'', By Helen C ...
.
In August 1180, Shigenaga attacked
Muira Yoshizumi, an ally of the rival
Minamoto clan
was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during th ...
. Three months later, he switched sides just as
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...
entered
Musashi.
Shigenaga assisted the
Minamoto
was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during th ...
in overthrowing the
Taira clan
The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divi ...
in
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, 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, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
. In return, Yoritomo granted Shigenaga seven new estates in
Musashi Province, including
Kitami
is a city in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefecture capital is Abashiri.
Kitami is physically in the middle of Okhotsk Subprefecture. Th ...
in what is now Tokyo's western
Setagaya Ward.
Records show that in 1457,
Edo Shigeyasu surrendered his main base at Edo to
Ōta Dōkan
, also known as Ōta Sukenaga (太田 資長) or Ōta Dōkan Sukenaga, was a Japanese ''samurai'' warrior-poet, military tactician and Buddhist monk. Ōta Sukenaga took the tonsure (bald scalp) as a Buddhist priest in 1478, and he also adopted t ...
. Dokan was a vassal of the powerful Ōgigayatsu branch of the
Uesugi clan
The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its height, the clan had three main branch ...
under
Uesugi Sadamasa Uesugi (sometimes written ''Uyesugi'') is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
People
*Uesugi clan, a Japanese samurai clan
**Uesugi Akisada, (1454–1510), a samurai of the Uesugi clan
** Uesugi Harunori (1751–1822), a Ja ...
. Sadamasa was the
Kanto-Kanrei for the
Ashikaga Ashikaga (足利) may refer to:
* Ashikaga clan (足利氏 ''Ashikaga-shi''), a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Minamoto clan; and that formed the basis of the eponymous shogunate
** Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 ''Ashikaga bakufu''), a ...
. Dokan built
Edo Castle on the site. The Edo clan then moved to
Kitami
is a city in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefecture capital is Abashiri.
Kitami is physically in the middle of Okhotsk Subprefecture. Th ...
.
In 1593, in a pledge of obedience to
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 fello ...
,
Edo Katsutada
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
changed the clan name to
Kitami
is a city in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefecture capital is Abashiri.
Kitami is physically in the middle of Okhotsk Subprefecture. Th ...
. Katsutada was employed by the first and second
Tokugawa ''shōguns'', reaching the position of Magistrate of
Sakai
is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...
, south of
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
. Katsutada's grandson-in-law, Shigemasa, found favor with the fifth ''shōgun''
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...
. He rose from the position of
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.'' Howev ...
, with a stipend of one thousand
koku, to
sobayonin, or "Grand Chamberlain", with a stipend of twenty thousand.
[''The Cambridge History of Japan: Early modern Japan'', John Whitney Hall, page 431] It was an influential post, responsible for relaying messages between the ''shōgun'' and his senior councilors. He was also awarded a large domain in 1686. However, the clan's fortunes suddenly plummeted. In 1689, Shigemasa's nephew violated the shogunate taboo on bloodshed. Shigemasa had to forfeit his status and property and was banished to Ise, where he died in 1693 at age 36. The 500-year-old Edo clan essentially ceased as a recognized clan.
Tombstones of several generations of the clan are at Keigen-ji, a Buddhist temple founded in 1186 by Edo Shigenaga, in Kitami.
References
Taira clan
Japanese clans
{{Japan-hist-stub