was a Japanese

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 ...

kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)
"Nishio," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 42
retrieved 2013-5-5.

History

The clan claims descent from the

Kira clan The Kira clan(吉良氏 - kira-shi) was a Japanese clan, descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880), and was a cadet branch of the Ashikaga family from the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji). Ashikaga Mitsuuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji (1189–1254) ...

, a branch of 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 ...

line. Kira Yoshitsugu, a son of Kira Mochihiro, served under

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

and

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 ...

adopted the family name of Nishio. 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 Nishio, 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> Nishio Yoshitsugu was given the 12,000 ''koku'' Haraichi Domain in

Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, S ...

in 1602. His son, Nishio Tadanaga was transferred to the 20,000 ''koku'' Shirai Domain in

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 1616, and subsequently to

Tsuchiura 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 Tsuchiura Castle in what is now the city of Tsuchiura, Ibaraki. It was ruled for much of ...

(

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 ...

) from 1617-1649. The clan then ruled

Tanaka Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Suruga Province in what is now modern-day Fujieda, Shizuoka. It was centered around Tanaka Castle.

(

Suruga Province was an old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu, Kai, Sagami, Shinano, and Tōtōmi provinces; and was bordered by the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay to the south. Its abbrevia ...

) from 1649-1679,

Komoro Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Shinano Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Komoro Castle, located in what is now part of the city of Komoro in Nagano Prefecture.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 ...

) from 1679-1682, and finally settled at Yokosuka Domain (

Tōtōmi Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa, Suruga and Shinano Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The or ...

) from 1682-1868. After 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 Nishio clan was transferred to the short-lived

Hanabusa Domain was a Han (administrative division), Japanese feudal domain of the early Meiji period, located in Nagasa District, Chiba, Nagasa District, Awa Province (Chiba), Awa Province. It was centered at what is now the area of the city of Kamogawa, Chiba, ...

in Awa Province, and was subsequently granted 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 ' ...

'' title of

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'').

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

Japanese clans {{Japan-clan-stub