The was a samurai clan which came to prominence from the late

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

through

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 in Japanese history, descending from the

Seiwa Genji The is a line of the Japanese Minamoto clan that is descended from Emperor Seiwa, which is the most successful and powerful line of the clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto no Yoshiie, Minamoto no Yoritomo, the foun ...

. Mention of an Inoue surname is found in

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

records; however, the Inoue clan which later became prominent in the Edo period traces its antecedents to the

line founded by Minamoto no Yorisue, grandson of

Minamoto no Mitsunaka was a Japanese samurai and court official of the Heian period. He served as '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' and acting governor of Settsu Province''.'' His association with the Fujiwara clan made him one of the wealthiest and most powerful courtiers of his ...

in the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

. Minamoto no Yorisue settled in Inoue in Takai District,

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

, and this was the main branch, but there were other branches in Harima, Aki and Mikawa Provinces. 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 Inoue, 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'' clans.Appert, Georges. (1888)
''Ancien Japon'', p. 75
/ref> Following 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 clan was appointed

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 ...

Hamamatsu branch

The main branch of the Inoue clan was transferred numerous times throughout the Edo period. Inoue Masanari (1577–1628), the 3rd son of Inoue Kiyohide, was made daimyō of Yokosuka Domain (53,000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

'') in Tōtōmi Province in 1623. His descendants resided at

Kasama Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kasama Castle in what is now the city of Kasama, Ibaraki. It was ruled by a number o ...

Hitachi Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hitachi fudoki''" in . It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Shimōsa Province, S ...

in 1645,

Gujo Domain Gujo is a town located in Sindh, Pakistan. The most important archaeological sites of Amri Culture Amri–Nal culture is attributed to Amri archaeological sites in Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan. It flourished in the 4th and 3rd m ...

in Mino Province in 1692,

Kameyama Domain Kameyama may refer to: *Emperor Kameyama (1249–1305), emperor of Japan 1259–1274 *Kameyama, Mie, a city in Mie prefecture, Japan People with the surname *Keishi Kameyama is a Japanese billionaire businessman, chairman of the internet comp ...

Tanba Province was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima, Wakasa, and Yamashiro Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō system ...

in 1697,

Shimodate Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Shimodate Castle in what is now the city of Chikusei, Ibaraki. It was ruled for much ...

in Hitachi Province in 1702, back to Kasama Domain in Hitachi in 1703, and then to

Iwakidaira Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan.,Jansen, Marius B. (1994)''Sakamoto Ryōma and the Meiji Restoration,'' p. 401 based at Iwakitaira Castle in southern Mutsu Province in what is now part of modern-day Iwak ...

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the comb ...

in 1747. Subsequently, they were transferred to

Hamamatsu Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Tōtōmi Province. It was centered on what is now Hamamatsu Castle in what is now the city of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Hamamatsu was the residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu for much of his ...

in Tōtōmi Province in 1758,

Tanakura Domain was a '' fudai'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in southern Mutsu Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Tanagura Castle, located in what is now part of the town of Tanagura in Fukushi ...

in Mutsu Province in 1817,

Tatebayashi Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Kōzuke Province (modern-day Gunma Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Tatebayashi Castle in what is now the city of Tatebayashi, Gunma. History Following the ...

Kōzuke Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered by Echigo, Shinano, Musashi and Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Kōzuke was ran ...

in 1836, back to Hamamatsu in 1845 and finally to Tsurumai Domain in

Kazusa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. The province was located in the middle of the Bōsō Peninsula, whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa province ...

in 1868. The final ''daimyō'' of the main branch, Inoue Masanao (1837–1904), was made 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'') under 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.

Shimotsuma branch

A cadet branch of the Inoue clan was established in 1712 at

Shimotsuma Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Shimotsuma '' Jin'ya'' in what is now the city of Shimotsuma, Ibaraki. It was ruled f ...

by Inoue Masanaga (1654–1721), the 3rd son of Inoue Masato, daimyō of

Gujō Domain reconstructed ''tenshu'' of Gujō-Hachiman Castle was a '' fudai'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was located in northern Mino Province and southern Echizen Province, in central Honshū. The domain was centered at Gujō Hachiman Castle, lo ...

in Mino Province. A minor 10,000 ''koku'' domain, it remained in the hands of the Inoue clan until the

. Its final daimyō, Inoue Masaoto (1856–1921) was subsequently made a viscount.

Takaoka branch

A cadet branch of the Inoue clan was established in 1649 at

Takaoka Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Shimōsa Province (the northern portion of modern-day Chiba Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Takaoka ''jin'ya'' in what is now the city of Narita, Chiba and town of Shimofusa, Chiba. Histo ...

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 ...

Inoue Masashige was an important figure during the early Edo period in Japan. As the Daimyo of Takaoka Domain, he played a role in the persecution and eradication of early Kirishitan, Christians in Japan. He was commissioner for the Dutch East India Company in ...

(1585–1661), a retainer 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 ...

and fourth son of Inoue Kiyohide. Takaoka Domain (10,000 ''koku'') remained in the Inoue clan until the Meiji Restoration. Its final ''daimyō'', Inoue Masayori (1854–1904) served in the early police forces of 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 ...

and was made a viscount.

Notes

References

* Appert, Georges and H. Kinoshita. (1888)
''Ancien Japon''.
Tokyo: Imprimerie Kokubunsha. * Papinot, Edmund. (1906) ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon''. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaish
..Click link for digitized 1906 ''Nobiliaire du japon'' (2003)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inoue clan Japanese clans Minamoto clan