Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
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 ...
clan that ruled
Mino province
was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...
in the
Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
. The clan appropriated the name of a defunct samurai clan named "Saitō" that had previously hailed from
Echizen province
was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated for ...
and claimed descent from
Fujiwara Toshihito Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include:
; Families
* The Fujiwara clan and its members
** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...
Fujiwara clan
was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...
.Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003) ("Baba"?)_''Nobiliare_du_Japon'',_p._50_[PDF_54_of_80 /nowiki>.html" ;"title="DF 54 of 80">("Baba"?) ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 50 [PDF 54 of 80 /nowiki>">DF 54 of 80">("Baba"?) ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 50 [PDF 54 of 80 /nowiki> retrieved 2013-4-30.
History
The founder of the Saitō clan was Saitō Dōsan (1494–1556), who started out as a Buddhist monk, and later worked as a peddler selling cooking oil. In the 1520s, Dōsan's father was adopted into the Nagai clan, a minor samurai clan. In 1530, Dōsan murdered the head of the Nagai clan and took control of the clan for himself. In 1541, Dōsan attacked and overthrew the
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
Mino province
was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...
,
Toki Yorinari
, also known as Toki Yoriaki, retrieved 2013-5-10. was a Japanese
. He then adopted the name "Saitō" from a defunct samurai clan and set himself up as the
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 Mino. For his ruthlessness, Dōsan was nicknamed .
Dosan was eventually defeated in 1549 by Oda Nobuhide. Nobuhide made peace with Dōsan by arranging a political marriage between his son and heir, Oda Nobunaga, and Dōsan's daughter,
Nōhime
, also known as Kichō (帰蝶), was the legal wife of Oda Nobunaga, a major ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. Her proper name was Kichō, but since she came from Mino Province, she is most commonly referred to as Nōhime ...
. Dōsan, therefore, became the father-in-law of Oda Nobunaga.
Rumors had started to circulate that Dōsan's firstborn son,
Saitō Yoshitatsu
or Toki Yoshitatsu was a Japanese samurai during the Sengoku period. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 54 of 80">"Saitō," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', ...
, was not his natural son and Dōsan started to consider another son, Kiheiji, or even his son-in-law Oda Nobunaga, as his heirs. This caused Yoshitatsu to rebel and kill his two younger brothers. In 1556, the forces of Dōsan and Yoshitatsu clashed in the
Battle of Nagara-gawa
The was a battle that took place along the banks of the Nagara River in Mino Province in April 1556. The site of the battle is in present-day Gifu city, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It was a battle between Saitō Dōsan and his son, Saitō Yoshitat ...
Saitō Tatsuoki
was a daimyō in Mino Province during the Sengoku period and the third generation lord of the Saitō clan. He was a son of Saitō Yoshitatsu. His mother was daughter of Azai Hisamasa and nephew of Azai Nagamasa, a grandson of Saitō Dōsan. He ...
was the son of Yoshitatsu. Tatsuoki was defeated by Oda Nobunaga in 1567, and the clan was extinguished.