Nanbu Clan
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The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled most of northeastern
Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...
in the
Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a ...
of Japan for over 700 years, from the
Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
through 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 ...
of 1868. The Nanbu claimed descent 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 ...
of Kai Province and were thus related to the
Takeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...
. The clan moved its seat from Kai to
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 the early
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 t ...
, and were confirmed as ''
daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
'' of
Morioka Domain 300px, Ruins of Morioka Castle was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was ruled throughout its history by the Nanbu clan. It was called during the early part of its history. It was located in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū, ...
under 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 characteri ...
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 domain was in constant conflict with neighboring
Hirosaki Domain Hirosaki Castle, the seat of the Hirosaki Domain , also known as , was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period JapanRavina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 It is located in Mutsu Province, in northern Honsh ...
, whose ruling
Tsugaru clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled the northwestern half of what is now Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The Tsugaru were ''daimyō'' of Hirosaki Domain and its semi-subsidiary, ...
were once Nanbu retainers. During the
Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...
of 1868–69, the Nanbu clan fought on the side of the
Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei The was a Japanese military-political coalition established and disestablished over the course of several months in early to mid-1868 during the Boshin War. Its flag was either a white interwoven five-pointed star on a black field, or a black i ...
, supporting the Tokugawa regime. After
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 Nanbu clan had much of its land confiscated, and in 1871, the heads of its branches were relieved of office. In the
Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
, the former ''daimyō'' became part of 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, with
Nanbu Toshiyuki Count was a Bakumatsu period Japanese samurai, and the 15th and final '' daimyō'' of Morioka Domain in northern Japan. He was the 41st hereditary chieftain of the Nanbu clan. Nanbu Yoshiyuki was the eldest son of Nanbu Toshihisa, the 14th ''d ...
receiving the title of ''hakushaku'' (Count). The main Nanbu line survives to the present day; Toshiaki Nanbu served as the chief priest of
Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, 1894–1895 and 1937–1945 resp ...
.


Origins

The Nanbu clan claimed descent 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 ...
of Kai Province.
Minamoto no Yoshimitsu was a Japanese samurai lord during the Heian period. He served as Governor of Kai Province. He is credited as the ancient progenitor of the Japanese martial art, Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu and Takeda-ryu. Biography Yoshimitsu was born the ...
was awarded Kai Province following the
Gosannen War The Gosannen War (後三年合戦, ''gosannen kassen''), also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū. History The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power wi ...
, and his great-grandson Nobuyoshi took the surname
Takeda is a Japanese family name.1990 Census Name Files< ...
. Another great grandson, Mitsuyuki, took the name "Nanbu", after the location of his estates in Kai Province, which are now part of the town of
Nanbu, Yamanashi 270px, Nanbu town hall is a town located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 7222 in 3149 households, and a population density of 36 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Nanbu is the ...
."Nanbu-shi" on Harimaya.com
(accessed 15 August 2008)
Nanbu Mitsuyuki joined
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 ...
at the Battle of Ishibashiyama and served in various mid-level positions within the
Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...
and is mentioned several times in the ''
Azuma Kagami is a Japanese historical chronicle. The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in 12 ...
''. He accompanied Yoritomo in the conquest of the Hiraizumi Fujiwara in 1189, and was awarded with vast estates in Nukanobu District the extreme northeast of Honshū, building
Shōjujidate Castle was a Muromachi period Japanese castle located in what is now the town of Nanbu, Aomori, Nanbu, in Sannohe District, Aomori, Sannohe District of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of far northern Japan. It was also known as the (i.e. forme ...
in what is now
Nanbu, Aomori 250px, Hoko-ji, the clan temple of the Nanbu clan is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 17,754, and a population density of 120 persons per km2 in 7433 households. The total area of the town is ...
. The area was dominated by horse ranches, and the Nanbu grew powerful and wealthy on the supply of
warhorse The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot designs ...
s. These horse ranches were fortified stockades, numbered one through nine (Ichinohe through Kunohe), and were awarded to the six sons of Nanbu Mitsuyuki, forming the six main branches of the Nanbu clan. During the
Nanboku-chō period The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...
following the fall of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333,
Nanbu Motoyuki Nanbu may refer to: Places * Nanbu, Aomori, Japan * Nanbu, Tottori, Japan * Nanbu, Yamanashi, Japan * Nanbu County, Sichuan Province, China * Nanbu Domain, a feudal domain in northeastern Japan People with the surname *, Japanese samurai and ''da ...
accompanied
Kitabatake Akiie was a Japanese court noble, and an important supporter of the Southern Court during the Nanboku-chō Wars. He also held the posts of Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North, and Governor of Mutsu Province. His father was Imperial advi ...
north when he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North, and ''
Shugo , commonly translated as “(military) governor,” “protector,” or “constable,” was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the ''shōgun'' to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The pos ...
'' of
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 ...
. Nanbu Motoyuki established
Ne Castle is a Muromachi period Motte-and-bailey-style Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of far northern Japan. It has been protected by the central government as a National Historic Site ...
, which was intended to be a center for the imperial government administration in the area. This marked the official transfer of the seat of the Nanbu clan from Kai Province to Mutsu. Nanbu Motoyuki was under allegiance to the
Southern Court The were a set of four emperors (Emperor Go-Daigo and his line) whose claims to sovereignty during the Nanboku-chō period spanning from 1336 through 1392 were usurped by the Northern Court. This period ended with the Southern Court definitively ...
; however, at the same time, another branch of the same Nanbu family ruled the nearby
Sannohe is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 9,814 in 4260 households, and a population density of 65 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Sannohe occupies an inland area in sout ...
and Morioka areas under allegiance to the rival
Northern Court The , also known as the Ashikaga Pretenders or Northern Pretenders, were a set of six pretenders to the throne of Japan during the Nanboku-chō period from 1336 through 1392. The present Imperial House of Japan is descended from the Northern Cou ...
."Ne Castle" J Castle - The two branches of the clan made peace with each other in 1393.


Sengoku period

left, Nanbu Nobunao, Nanbu clan head in the Azuchi–Momoyama period Although the Nanbu clan by the time of the 24th hereditary chieftain
Nanbu Harumasa Nanbu may refer to: Places * Nanbu, Aomori, Japan * Nanbu, Tottori, Japan * Nanbu, Yamanashi, Japan * Nanbu County, Sichuan Province, China * Nanbu Domain, a feudal domain in northeastern Japan People with the surname *, Japanese samurai and ''da ...
controlled seven districts of northern Mutsu province (Nukanobu, Hei, Kazuno, Kuji, Iwate, Shiwa and Tōno), the clan was more of a loose collection of competing branches without strong central authority. This weakness was exploited by the
Ōura clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled the northwestern half of what is now Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The Tsugaru were ''daimyō'' of Hirosaki Domain and its semi-subsidiary, K ...
, a cadet branch of the Nanbu, who revolted in 1572.
Ōura Tamenobu was a Sengoku period Japanese ''daimyō'', and the first daimyō of Hirosaki Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. He was born as Ōura Tamenobu, and was a hereditary retainer of the Nanbu clan; however, he later rebelled against the Nanbu and ...
was under the Nanbu clan's local magistrate Ishikawa Takanobu; however, he attacked and killed Ishikawa and began taking the Nanbu clan's castles. "Tokugawa Bakufu to Tozama 117 han." ''Rekishi Dokuhon''. April 1976 (Tokyo: n.p., 1976), p. 71. Tamenobu also attacked Kitabatake Akimura (another local power figure) and took
Namioka Castle was a Muromachi period Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of far northern Japan. The ruins were designated a National Historic Site in 1940 by the Japanese government. Situation ...
."Tsugaru-shi" on Harimaya.com
(accessed 15 August 2008).
The Ōura clan's fight against the Nanbu clan, beginning with
Nanbu Nobunao was a Sengoku period Japanese samurai, and ''daimyō'' and the 26th hereditary chieftain of the Nanbu clan. His courtesy title was ''Daizen Daibu'', and his Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. Nobunao was the second son of Nanbu ...
, would continue in the ensuing two centuries. In 1590, Tamenobu pledged fealty to
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 ...
; Hideyoshi confirmed Tamenobu in his holdings, effectively putting him out of the Nanbu clan's grasp. As the Ōura fief had been in the Tsugaru region on the northwestern tip of Honshū, the family then changed its name to "Tsugaru". After the death of Nanbu Harumasa in 1582, the clan split into several competing factions. In 1590, the Sannohe faction led by Nanbu Nobunao organized a coalition of most of the Nambu clans and pledged allegiance to Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the Siege of Odawara. In return, he was recognized as chieftain of the Nanbu clans, and confirmed as ''daimyō'' of his existing holdings (except for Tsugaru). However, Kunohe Masazane, who felt that he had a stronger claim to the title of clan chieftain, immediately rose in rebellion. The Kunohe Rebellion was swiftly suppressed and Hideyoshi compensated the Nanbu for the loss of Tsugaru with the addition of the districts of Hienuki and Waga as compensation. Nanbu Nobunao relocated his seat from
Sannohe Castle was a Muromachi period Japanese castle located in the center of what is now the town of Sannohe, in Sannohe District of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of far northern Japan. It was located on a river terrace of the Mabechi River, whi ...
to the more central location of
Morioka is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . ...
, and began work on Morioka Castle and its surrounding
castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...
in 1592.


Edo period

Nanbu Naofusa, first lord of Hachinohe The Nanbu clan sided with
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 ...
's Eastern Army during the
Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...
. In the wake of Ieyasu's victory, the Nanbu clan was confirmed in its lordship of (also known as the ). The ''
kokudaka refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of ''koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 54 ...
'' of the domain was officially 100,000 ''
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 ...
'', but later in the Edo era, was doubled in amount."Morioka-han" on Edo 300 HTML
(accessed 15 August 2008)
The Nanbu clan retained its holdings for the entirety of 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 characteriz ...
, surviving until 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 ...
. During the Edo period, two new branches of the Nanbu clan were founded, one at
Hachinohe is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 221,459, and a population density of 725 persons per km2 in 96,092 households, making it Aomori Prefecture's second largest city by population. The city h ...
,"Hachinohe-han" on Edo 300 HTML
(accessed 15 August 2008)
and the other one at
Shichinohe is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 15,286, and a population density of 45 persons per km2, in 6,797 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Shichinohe is in central Aomori Pref ...
."Shichinohe-han" on Edo 300 HTML
(accessed 15 August 2008)
In 1821, the old tensions between the Nanbu and Tsugaru flared once more, in the wake of the , a foiled plot by Sōma Daisaku, a former retainer of the Nanbu clan, to assassinate the Tsugaru lord. The Nanbu clan's territories were also among those effected by the
Tenpō famine The Tenpō famine (天保の飢饉, ''Tenpō no kikin''), also known as the Great Tenpō famine (天保の大飢饉, ''Tenpō no daikikin'') was a famine that affected Japan during the Edo period. Considered to have lasted from 1833 to 1837, it wa ...
of the mid-1830s. As with many other domains of northern Honshū, the Morioka Domain was assigned by the shogunate to policing portions of the frontier region of Ezochi (now
Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...
). The clan's first direct encounter with foreigners came in the late 16th century, when a Dutch ship, the ''Breskens'', arrived in Nanbu territory. A shore party from the ship was captured by local authorities and taken to Edo. Over the course of its history particularly in the Edo period, there were several retainers of the Nanbu clan who became famous on a national scale. Narayama Sado, a clan elder (''
karō were top-ranking samurai officials and advisors in service to the ''daimyōs'' of feudal Japan. Overview In the Edo period, the policy of ''sankin-kōtai'' (alternate attendance) required each ''daimyō'' to place a ''karō'' in Edo and anoth ...
'') who was active during the
Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...
, was one of them; he was responsible for leading the Nanbu clan's political activity and interaction with neighboring domains. Onodera, ''Boshin nanboku sensō to Tōhoku seiken'', p. 140.
Hara Takashi was a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1918 to 1921. Hara held several minor ambassadorial roles before rising through the ranks of the Rikken Seiyūkai and being elected to the House of Representatives. Hara ...
, who later became Prime Minister of Japan, was another. Some 20th-century figures in Japanese politics also came from families of former Nanbu retainers; perhaps the most well known of which was
Seishirō Itagaki was a Japanese military officer and politician who served as a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and War Minister from 1938 to 1939. Itagaki was a main conspirator behind the Mukden Incident and held prestigious chief of ...
and
Hideki Tōjō Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assista ...
.


Boshin War

During the
Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...
of 1868-69, the Nanbu clan initially attempted to remain neutral. However, under the leadership of
Nanbu Toshihisa was a Bakumatsu period Japanese samurai, and the 14th ''daimyō'' of Morioka Domain in northern Japan. He was the 40th hereditary chieftain of the Nanbu clan. Biography Nanbu Toshihisa was the 3rd son of Nanbu Toshitada, the 12th ''daimyō'' o ...
and the ''
karō were top-ranking samurai officials and advisors in service to the ''daimyōs'' of feudal Japan. Overview In the Edo period, the policy of ''sankin-kōtai'' (alternate attendance) required each ''daimyō'' to place a ''karō'' in Edo and anoth ...
'' Narayama Sado, the Nanbu clan later sided with the
Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei The was a Japanese military-political coalition established and disestablished over the course of several months in early to mid-1868 during the Boshin War. Its flag was either a white interwoven five-pointed star on a black field, or a black i ...
). On September 23, 1868, the Nanbu clan's troops joined in the attack on the
Akita Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kubota Castle in what is now the city of Akita and was thus also known as the . It was governed for the whole of its hi ...
, which had seceded from the alliance and sided with the imperial government. Onodera, p. 194. By October 7, Nanbu troops took
Ōdate is a city in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 71,558 in 31,634 households, and a population density of 82 persons per km2 (212 persons per square mile). The total area of the city is . Geography Ōdate is loca ...
, one of the Akita Domain's castles. However, due to the collapse of the alliance, the Nanbu clan surrendered to the imperial army on October 29, 1868. After the war, the Nanbu clan's holdings were drastically reduced by the imperial government as punishment for siding with the northern alliance. While Hachinohe and Shichinohe Domains survived intact, a large area of what is now northeastern Aomori Prefecture was given as a resettlement zone for former samurai of
Aizu Domain was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Tsuruga Castle in Mutsu Province, the core of the ...
. The Nanbu were also briefly expelled from Morioka itself, and were assigned new lands surrounding the vacant
Shiroishi Castle is a flatland-style Japanese castle in what is now the city of Shiroishi, Miyagi. During the Edo period, it was the castle of the Katakura clan, who were hereditary retainers of the Date clan of Sendai Domain. During the Boshin War, it was also t ...
before being allowed to returned to Morioka a few months later. ''Nanbu chūi'' 南部中尉, p. 4. (Accessed fro
National Diet Library
, 15 August 2008)
Two years after the war, as with all other ''daimyō'', the heads of all three Nanbu branches were relieved of their offices by the
abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...
.


Meiji era and beyond

left, Nanbu Shrine, where the ancestors of the Nanbu clan are enshrined as '' kami'' In the early years of the
Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...
, the main Nanbu line was ennobled with the title of
count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
(''hakushaku'') in the new peerage system.List of Meiji-era Japanese nobility
(accessed 15 August 2008)
The Nanbu of Hachinohe and Shichinohe were also ennobled with the title of viscount (''shishaku''). Count Toshinaga Nanbu, the 42nd generation Nanbu clan chieftain, was an officer of the
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
, he died in battle during the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
. He was succeeded by his brother Nanbu Toshiatsu; Toshiatsu was a proponent of the arts and studied painting under
Kuroda Seiki Viscount was a Japanese painter and teacher, noted for bringing Western art theory and practice to a wide Japanese audience. He was among the leaders of the '' yōga'' (or Western-style) movement in late 19th and early 20th-century Japanese pa ...
. As Toshiatsu's presumptive heir Toshisada died at age 18, Toshiatsu adopted Toshihide Ichijō, his son-in-law, as his heir. Toshihide was the son of Duke Ichijō Saneteru, who was a former court noble. Upon adoption, Toshihide assumed the Nanbu name, and after Toshiatsu's death, became 44th generation Nanbu clan chieftain. His wife was
Mizuko Nanbu was a Japanese member of the Nanbu clan from Morioka Domain. The eldest daughter of Toshiatsu Nanbu, the 43rd daimyō of Morioka Domain, and wife of Toshihide Nanbu, the 44th head, she served as the Director of the Girl Scouts of Japan from 195 ...
, a prominent figure in the
Girl Scouts of Japan The is the girls-only Scouting organization serving Japan, founded in 1919. It became a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1952 and had 33,593 members . History Girl Guiding was first introduced in Japan in 191 ...
. After Toshihide's death in 1980, his son Toshiaki became 45th clan chieftain. From 2004 through 2009, Toshaiki served as the chief priest of
Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, 1894–1895 and 1937–1945 resp ...
.Alford, Peter
"Yasukuni shrine's top priest Toshiaki Nambu dies,"
''The Australian'' (Sydney). January 9, 2009; Breen, John
"Yasukuni Shrine: Ritual and Memory,"
''Japan Focus.'' June 3, 2005.
The current and 46th clan chieftain is
Toshifumi Nanbu is the 46th head of the Nanbu clan from Morioka Domain, descendant of Emperor Go-Yōzei, and statutory auditor of the Tohoku Bank. He is CEO of the Orix Ceramic Limited Company yūgen gaisha established by his grandfather, a director of Iwate Ni ...
, born in 1970.


See also

*
Morioka Domain 300px, Ruins of Morioka Castle was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was ruled throughout its history by the Nanbu clan. It was called during the early part of its history. It was located in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū, ...
*
Hachinohe Domain was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan It is located in Mutsu Province, in northern Honshū. The domain was centered at Hachinohe Castle, located in the center of what is now the city of Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture. History O ...
*
Shichinohe Domain was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan, located in Mutsu Province, Honshū. It was centered at Shichinohe Castle in what is now the modern town of Shichinohe, Aomori in the Kamikita District of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku ...


Notes


References


English

*''Contemporary Japan: A Review of Japanese Affairs'' (1939). Tokyo: The Foreign Affairs Association of Japan. *Inahara, Katsuji (1937). ''The Japan Year Book''. Tokyo: Foreign affairs association of Japan. * Iwao, Seiichi. (1978). ''Biographical dictionary of Japanese history''. Berkeley: University of California.
"Japan Focus" article on Yasukuni Shrine
(accessed 13 Dec. 2007) *Oka, Yoshitake (1986). ''Five Political Leaders of Modern Japan''. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. *Ōoka, Shōhei (1996). ''Taken Captive: A Japanese POW's Story''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. * Papinot, Edmund. (1948). ''Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan''. New York: Overbeck Co. * Totman, Conrad. (1993). ''Early Modern Japan''. Berkeley: University of California Press.


French

* Papinot, Jacques Edmund Joseph. (1906) ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon.'' Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha
''Nobiliaire du japon''
(2003, abridged online text of 1906 book).


German


List of Meiji-era Japanese nobility
(accessed 15 August 2008)


Japanese

*Onodera, Eikō (2005). ''Boshin nanboku sensō to Tōhoku seiken'' Sendai: Kita no mori.

(accessed 15 August 2008). *Hoshi, Ryōichi (1997). ''
Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei The was a Japanese military-political coalition established and disestablished over the course of several months in early to mid-1868 during the Boshin War. Its flag was either a white interwoven five-pointed star on a black field, or a black i ...
''. Tokyo: Chūōkōron-shinsha.
"Morioka-han" on Edo 300 HTML
(accessed 15 August 2008). *---- (1913). ''Nanbu chūi'' 南部中尉. n.p.:Kikuchi Gorō. (Accessed fro

15 August 2008)

(accessed 15 August 2008). *---- (2000). ''Nihonshi yōgoshū''. Tokyo: Yamakawa shuppansha. *Noguchi Shin'ichi (2005). ''Aizu-han''. Tokyo: Gendai shokan.

(accessed 15 August 2008). *"Tokugawa Bakufu to Tozama 117 han." ''Rekishi Dokuhon'' Magazine, April 1976.

(accessed 15 August 2008).


Further reading


Nonfiction

*Hesselink, Reinier H. (2002). ''Prisoners from Nambu : reality and make-believe in seventeenth-century Japanese diplomacy''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. *Mori, Kahee (1967). ''Nanbu Nobunao''. Tokyo: Jinbutsu Ōraisha.


Fiction

*Asada, Jirō (2008). ''Mibu gishiden.'' Tokyo: Kashiwa shoten. {{good article Japanese clans Meiji Restoration