, in Japanese, refers to powerful regional families. In historical context, it can refer to powerful non-royal families regardless of their area of influence, in contrast to the Imperial Family. The most powerful ''gōzoku'' families of the

Yamato period The is the period of Japanese history when the Imperial court ruled from modern-day Nara Prefecture, then known as Yamato Province. While conventionally assigned to the period 250–710, including both the Kofun period (–538) and the Asuk ...

included the

Soga clan The was one of the most powerful aristocratic kin groups Uji (clan), (''uji'') of the Asuka period of the early Japanese state—the Yamato period, Yamato polity—and played a major role in the spread of Buddhism. Through the 5th and 7th centur ...

Mononobe clan The was a Japanese aristocratic kin group (''uji'') of the Kofun period, known for its military opposition to the Soga clan. The Mononobe were opposed to the spread of Buddhism, partly on religious grounds, claiming that the local deities w ...

and

Katsuragi clan The was a Japanese aristocratic kin group (''uji'') that supposedly existed during the Kofun period. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Nakatomi," ''Nobiliare du ...

History

In the

prior to the ''ritsuryō'' system, the powerful clans based in

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, ...

and Kawachi Province were referred to as the ''chūō gōzoku'' (central ''gōzoku''), while the term ''chihō'' ''gōzoku'' (regional ''gōzoku'') referred to powerful clans outside the immediate vicinity of the capital who served as '' kuni no miyatsuko'' and '' agatanushi''. The central ''gōzoku'' held '' kabane'' titles such as ''

omi is a hereditary noble title (''kabane'') of ancient Japan. It was given to the descendants of the Imperial Family before Emperor Kōgen. Along with ''Muraji'', ''Omi'' was reserved for the head of the most powerful clans during the Kofun period. ...

'' and '' muraji'', while the regional ''gōzoku'' held titles such as ''atai'' and '' kimi''. The most powerful ''daigōzoku'' ("great ''gōzoku''") included the

, Ōtomo clan,

, and

. After the implementation of the ''ritsuryō'' system, the central ''gōzoku'' became ''kizoku'', the aristocracy, and took part in central politics. The regional ''gōzoku'' remained practically unchanged and took part in regional politics. Under the ''ritsuryō'' system, ''gōzoku'' referred to powerful regional families holding a court rank of Sixth Rank or below or who were unranked, in contrast to the royals and the aristocracy, who held a court rank of Fifth Rank or above. Under this system, the ''gōzoku'' typically served as district governors or as junior officials in provincial governments, and thus took on the duties of local administration. In the Middle Ages, ''gōzoku'' referred to a class of regional officials such as '' jitō'' (territory governor), ''shōkan'' (manor administrator) and ''geshi'' (junior official at a manor). However, after

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by ...

, the term ''gōzoku'' fell out of use and was replaced by the term ''dogō'', which referred to '' jizamurai'' (provincial

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

lord of a small rural domain), ''kumon'' (official at a manor in charge of official documents) and ''satanin'' (official at a manor in charge of executing orders and judgements on behalf of the lord). During and after 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 character ...

, neither the terms ''gōzoku'' nor ''dogō'' were used. The terms '' gōnō'' and ''gōshō'' replaced the previous class distinction following the rise of wealthy farmers and wealthy merchants during the Edo period.

References

Japanese historical terms Kofun period Asuka period Japanese nobility Ancient Japan {{japan-history-stub

History

See also

References