The is a Japanese aristocratic family, a branch of the

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 ...

that traces its descent from

Emperor Murakami was the 62nd emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 村上天皇 (62)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Murakami's reign spanned the years from 946 to his death in 967. Biography Before he ascended to ...

. The Koga lineage was classified as '' kuge'' prior to 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 ...

, then as a ''

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 ...

'' lineage.

Name

The name Koga is composed of the

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

meaning 'long time' (久) and 'I/self' (我). 'Koga' is the on'yomi (Sino-Japanese reading) of the kanji. But actually 久我 is the

ateji In modern Japanese, principally refers to kanji used to phonetically represent native or borrowed words with less regard to the underlying meaning of the characters. This is similar to in Old Japanese. Conversely, also refers to kanji use ...

(当て字; phonetic-equivalent cv characters) for 陸 (koga; an obsolete word for ''land''). The name is recorded as having originated with the grandfather of the family's founder, Chancellor of the Realm Minamoto no Morofusa ( :ja:源師房), who owned a manor in the south-western suburbs of Kyoto at Koga (modern Fushimi-ku). As a result, he was referred to as the Koga-Chancellor. After the family's apparent founding, however, neither Minamoto no Masazane's ( :ja:源雅実) son nor his great-grandson were referred to by the name Koga. Strictly speaking, therefore, the 'Koga family' refers to the lineage descended from Minamoto no Masazane's great-great-grandson, Koga Michiteru, whereas those before should be considered as members of the Nakanoin section of the

Murakami Genji 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 the ...

branch of the Minamoto clan.

Overview

The

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often us ...

of the Koga is an artistic representation of the roxanne Autumn Bellflower (''

Gentiana scabra ''Gentiana scabra'', the Japanese gentian, is a species of flowering plant in the Gentian family (Gentianaceae), found in much of East Asia. The flowers bloom in mid-summer, autumn and are blue or dark blue in color. Medicinal use ''Gentiana sca ...

'' var. buergeri). During the

, the head of the Koga family was given the title of marquis (侯爵 kōshaku) as part of the

, the hereditary peerage that combined the kuge and the ''

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

''. One of the responsibilities of the Koga family was to be the protectors of the

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

at court.''Japan: A Short Cultural History'', p.362, G. B. Sansom, 1931 The Koga family was highly regarded as one of the most successful clans throughout the Meiji period. There is still a

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

shrine named Koga jinja (久我神社) in Fushimi district,

Kyoto City 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 c ...

. The present master, Tomomichi Koga (久我誠通), is the owner of an art salon in

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, ...

Notable members

Minamoto no Michichika was a Japanese noble and statesman of the late Heian period and early Kamakura period. Serving in the courts of seven different emperors, he brought the Murakami Genji to the peak of their success. He is also commonly known as , and in Sōtō Z ...

, twelfth century statesman * Koga Michiteru, eleventh–twelfth century ''

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

'' poet *

Lady Nijō (1258 – after 1307) was a Japanese noblewoman, poet and author. She was a concubine of Emperor Go-Fukakusa from 1271 to 1283, and later became a Buddhist nun. After years of travelling, around 1304–07 she wrote a memoir, ''Towazugatari'' ("An ...

, thirteenth century author *

Yoshiko Kuga is a Japanese people, Japanese actress. Biography and personal life Kuga was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her father, , was a marquis and a member of the House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. In 1946, while still attending Gakushuin Junior High Sc ...

, actress

References

Notes

Works cited

*{{cite book, last=Okano 岡野, first=Tomohiko 友彦, title=中世久我家と久我家領荘園, language=Japanese, trans-title=The Medieval Kuga family and the Kuga family manor, publisher=Zokugunshoruijū kansei-kai, date=2002, isbn=978-4-7971-0738-8 * Takie Sugiyama Lebra, ''Above the Clouds'', 1993 * Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi, "Imperial Sovereignty in Early Modern Japan", ''Journal of Japanese Studies'', Vol. 17, No. 1 (Winter 1991), pp. 25–57

External links

Koga Kamon
– the emblem (kamon) of the Koga family Japanese clans Minamoto clan