The , also known as the Jin or Miwa clan (神氏, ''Miwa
uji / Miwa-shi'' or ''Jinshi'') was a Japanese ''
shake'' and
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...
family. Originating from the area encompassing
Lake Suwa
is a lake in the Kiso Mountains, in the central region of Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
Geography
The lake is the source of the Tenryū River. It ranks 24th in lake water surface area in Japan. The cities of Suwa and Okaya and the town of Shim ...
in
Shinano Province
or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture.
Shinano bordered on Echigo Province, Echigo, Etchū Province, Etchū, Hida Province, Hida, Kai Province, Kai, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Mikawa Province, Mikawa, Mino Province, Mi ...
(modern-day
Nagano Prefecture
is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the n ...
), it was originally a family of priests who served at the
Upper Shrine of Suwa located on the southwestern side of the lake.
By 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 ...
, it thrived as a prominent samurai clan with close ties to the
shogunate.
Surviving the fall of both the Kamakura shogunate and the
Southern Imperial Court which it supported, its feud with local rival clans, and frequent clashes with its neighbor in
Kai, 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 T ...
, during the
Sengoku period
The was a period in 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 feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Variou ...
(which ended in the extinction of the main family), by 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 character ...
the clan had split into two branches: one ruling the
Suwa Domain of
Shinano as ''
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 nominall ...
'', with the other continuing to serve as priests of Suwa Shrine until 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 ...
.
Ancestry
In legend

Although the Suwa, which was the high priestly lineage of the Upper Shrine (上社 ''Kamisha'') of Suwa, one of the component shrines of
Suwa Grand Shrine, traditionally regarded themselves to be the descendants of the shrine's
deity,
Takeminakata
Takeminakata (タケミナカタ), also known as Minakatatomi or Takeminakatatomi, is a '' kami'' in Japanese mythology. Also known as or after Suwa Grand Shrine (Suwa Taisha) in Nagano Prefecture (former Shinano Province) in which he is ens ...
(also known as Suwa
Daimyōjin),
the clan's actual historical origins are shrouded in mystery.
In the ''
Kojiki
The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperi ...
'' and the ''
Sendai Kuji Hongi'', Takeminakata is portrayed as a son of the god
Ōkuninushi who fled to Suwa after his defeat at the hands of the god
Takemikazuchi, who was sent by the gods of
heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the bel ...
to
claim the land held by his father in the name of the goddess
Amaterasu.
Other myths (mostly of medieval provenance), however, portray the Suwa deity in a different light. In one story, Suwa Daimyōjin is an interloper who wrested control of Suwa from the indigenous god
Moriya,
the mythical ancestor of the Moriya (守矢氏) clan, one of the priestly families of the Upper Shrine.
[Moriya, Sanae (1991). ''Moriya Jinchō-ke no ohanashi'' (守矢神長家のお話し). In Jinchōkan Moriya Historical Museum (Ed.). ''Jinchōkan Moriya Shiryōkan no shiori'' (神長官守矢資料館のしおり) (Rev. ed.). pp. 2–3.][''Jinchō Moriya-shi Keifu'' (神長守矢氏系譜), in ] In another myth, the god is said to have chosen an eight-year-old boy to become his priest (祝, ''hōri'';
historical orthography: ''hafuri'') and
living incarnation by clothing the latter with his own garments. This boy is eventually said to have become the founding ancestor of the Suwa clan.
[Suwa Kyōikukai (1938). ]
諏訪史年表
(Suwa Shinenpyō).'' Nagano: Suwa Kyōikukai. p. 11.
Medieval tradition usually identified a semi-legendary individual named Arikazu (有員), who is said to have lived in the early
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 ...
during the reigns of the emperors
Kanmu
, or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sc ...
(reigned 781-806),
Heizei (806-809), and
Saga
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Pl ...
(809-823), to be this child.
[Miyasaka (1987). p. 35.] The ''
Suwa Daimyōjin Ekotoba
The ''Suwa Daimyōjin Ekotoba'' (諏方大明神画詞 or 諏訪大明神絵詞 "Illustrated Record of Suwa Daimyōjin (Shrine)"), also known as ''Suwa Daimyōjin Go-engi Shidai'' (諏訪大明神御縁起次第 "Order of Legends (''Engi'') of Suw ...
'' (1356) for example relates:
At the beginning of the god's manifestation, he took off his robe, put them on an eight year old boy, and dubbed him 'great priest' (''Ōhōri''). The god declared, "I do not have a body and so make this priest (''hōri'') my body."
This oyis Arikazu (有員), the priest of the sacred robe (御衣祝 ''Misogihōri''), the founding ancestor of the Miwa (Jin) clan.
However, a brief text attached to a genealogical record of the Suwa clan discovered in the ''Ōhōri''
's residence in 1884 instead portrays Arikazu as a descendant of Kumako (神子 or 熊子), a son of a ''
kuni no miyatsuko'' (provincial governor) of
Shinano Province
or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture.
Shinano bordered on Echigo Province, Echigo, Etchū Province, Etchū, Hida Province, Hida, Kai Province, Kai, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Mikawa Province, Mikawa, Mino Province, Mi ...
, who is claimed to have founded the Upper Shrine during the reign of
Emperor Yōmei (585-587).
[''Ōhōri-bon Jinshi Keizu'' (大祝本 神氏系図), cited in ]When Kumako was eight years old, the revered deity appeared, took off his robe and put them on Kumako. After declaring, "I do not have a body and so make you my body," he disappeared. This umakois the ancestor of Arikazu of the Miwa (Jin) clan, the ''Misogihōri''. In the second year of Emperor Yōmei, Kumako built a sanctuary at the foot of the mountain at the southern side of the lake.
Another genealogical record, that of the Aso clan (
阿蘇氏) of
Aso Shrine in
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
(discovered in 1956), similarly identifies Otoei (乙頴) - there given the alias 'Kumako' - as the "''Ōhōri'' of the great deity of Suwa" (諏訪大神大祝) and narrates the same legend as those found above. Recent reappraisals of these two genealogies, however, have cast doubt on their authenticity and reliability as historical sources.
Apart from these candidates, the clan has also been claimed to descend from the
Seiwa Genji via Minamoto no Mitsuyasu (one of the sons of
Minamoto no Tsunemoto).
The Suwa ''Ōhōri''
In antiquity, the Suwa clan produced the Upper Shrine (上社 ''Kamisha'') of Suwa's high priest known as the ''Ōhōri'' (大祝 'great priest',
old orthography: おほはふり ''Ohohafuri''; also rendered as ''Ōhafuri''), who was worshiped as
the living avatar of the shrine's deity during his period in office.
The ''Ōhōri'', who traditionally assumed the position at a young age (ideally between the ages of eight to fifteen), was assisted
by five priests headed by the ''Jinchōkan'' (神長官) of the Moriya clan, who oversaw the Upper Shrine's religious rituals, many of which are centered around the worship of
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...
and
fertility god(s) called
Mishaguji. The ''Jinchōkan'' was believed to have the prerogative to
summon the Mishaguji onto individuals and objects whenever its presence was called for.
[Moriya, Sanae (1991). ''Moriya-jinchō-ke no ohanashi'' (守矢神長家のお話し). In Jinchōkan Moriya Historical Museum (Ed.). ''Jinchōkan Moriya Shiryōkan no shiori'' (神長官守矢資料館のしおり) (Rev. ed.). p. 4. ]
Though officially the Upper Shrine's chief priest and as incarnate deity, an object of worship, the Suwa ''Ōhōri'' had little, if any, actual power over the shrine's affairs, which rested in the hands of the Moriya ''Jinchōkan'', with his unique relationship to the Mishaguji and his knowledge of closely guarded secret traditions passed down via word of mouth only to the heir to the office. In fact, it was due to the ''Jinchōkan'' summoning the Mishaguji onto the ''Ōhōri'' during the investiture ceremony that the latter became a living deity.
Investiture ceremony
The full rite of investiture into the office of ''Ōhōri'' as practiced in the late medieval period involved the candidate first undergoing a twenty-two day period of strict
ritual purification
Ritual purification is the ritual prescribed by a religion by which a person is considered to be free of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification ma ...
in the ''Maemiya'' (前宮 'old shrine'), one of the Upper Shrine
's two component shrines. During the day of the ceremony itself, the ''Jinchōkan'' led the candidate by the hand before a sacred tree west of the ''Gōdono'' (神殿), the ''Ōhōri''
's residence during his term located west of the ''Maemiya'', under which was a flat rock known as the ''kanameishi'' (要石 'keystone'). During the ceremony, this rock is surrounded a makeshift enclosure or hut and a mat of reeds was placed over it for the boy to sit on.
Inside this enclosure, the ''Jinchōkan'' dressed the boy in full ritual attire: traditional makeup (''
oshiroi'', ''
ohaguro'', ''
beni'' and ''
mayuzumi''), a dull yellow-green ''
sokutai'', a ''
hakama
are a type of traditional Japanese clothing. Originally stemming from (), the trousers worn by members of the Chinese imperial court in the Sui and Tang dynasties, this style was adopted by the Japanese in the form of in the 6th cent ...
'', and a crown (''kanmuri''). The ''Jinchōkan'' then summoned the Mishaguji (who as a
nature spirit was believed to manifest on rocks and trees
) to the ''kanameishi'' via secret
incantations. Via the rock, the Mishaguji was then believed to enter the child's body, thereby turning him into a
living god.
[Miyasaka (1987). p. 28-29.]
After being consecrated, the ''Ōhōri'' visited the various shrines of the Upper Shrine complex. In another shrine in the ''Maemiya'' area, the Uchi-no-mitama-den (内御霊殿), wherein was kept the sacred treasures of the Upper Shrine (a bell, a
mirror
A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...
, a
bit
The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented a ...
and a
saddle
The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...
) that were supposedly brought to the region by Suwa Daimyōjin himself, the ''Ōhōri'' made a ritual declaration (申立 ''mōshitate'') that he has become the god's new 'body' and will henceforth avoid
impurity.
As time went on the ritual became increasingly simplified and later, was supposedly even omitted altogether, with the ''ōhōri'' simply assuming the position without any ceremony.
Role
During his term, the incumbent ''Ōhōri'' was treated as the physical manifestation of Suwa Daimyōjin. In 1186,
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 h ...
officially recognized the ''Ōhōri'' as the god's incarnation in a letter to his subordinates, declaring that the ''Ōhōri''
's orders are those of the god himself.
The ''Ōhōri'' was expected to live a life of ritual purity and was also forbidden to step outside the boundaries of Suwa region under pain of divine punishment.
[Suwa Shishi Hensan Iinkai, ed. (1995). p. 695.]
During his term of office, the ''Ōhōri'' originally resided in a building near the Suwa ''Maemiya'' known as the ''Gōdono'' (神殿). Reflecting its being the residence of an incarnate deity, the ''Maemiya'' area and its vicinity was known during the Middle Ages as the ''Gōbara'' (神原), the 'god's field'.
Should an incumbent ''Ōhōri'' die while in office, his corpse was immediately brought before the Uchi-no-mitama-den where he was ceremonially retired - the idea being that the ''Ōhōri''
's spirit was temporarily deposited in the shrine until a new candidate was chosen. Originally, the deceased priest was buried wearing hunting attire (such as that supposedly worn by Suwa Daimyōjin) and with hair and beard kept unshaven.
[Suwa Shishi Hensan Iinkai, ed. pp. 719.] However, in 1465, with the death of then ''Ōhōri'' Yorinaga (頼長), the local priesthood began to adopt the Buddhist custom of
cremation
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre ...
.
By the early 17th century, the ''Ōhōri''
's residence was moved from the ''Maemiya'' t
a placein what is now Nakasu,
Suwa City
is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,972 in 20698 households, and a population density of 452 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
History
The shores of Lake Suwa have been inh ...
.
History
From the Heian period to the Sengoku period
In the meantime, other male members of the clan aside from the ''ōhōri'' - who cannot step outside the boundaries of the region, as well as come into contact with sources of impurity such as the flesh and blood of men or horses - began to pursue military careers.
One of the first recorded warriors from the clan was Tamenaka (為仲), a son of then ''ōhōri'' Tamenobu (為信). Tamenaka served under
Minamoto no Yoshiie during the
Zenkunen War (1051-1063) under the orders of his father, who could not participate himself due to his priestly status. He then also served again under Yoshiie in the later
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 w ...
of the 1080s, this time despite opposition from his family due to him already inheriting the position of ''ōhōri'' from Tamenobu in the interim between the two wars. Tamenaka's eventual suicide out of shame after his subordinates had a violent quarrel with
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 t ...
's men during a feast held by the latter was considered to be divine punishment for his violation of the ban.
Due to the circumstances of his father's death, Tamenaka's son, Tamemori (為盛) did not inherit the office of ''ōhōri'', it instead passing in succession to Tamenaka's three younger brothers, two of whom died within mere days of their investiture. It would be the youngest brother, Tamesada (為貞), who would turn out to successfully pass down the priesthood to his progeny.
By 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 ...
, the clan - now renowned as being both a priestly and a warrior clan - rose to national prominence as vassals (''
gokenin
A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods.Iwanami Kōjien, "Gokenin" In exchange for protection and the right to become '' jitō'' (manor's lord), a ''gokenin'' had in times of peace the duty to protect ...
'') of the
shogunate and later, flourished greatly under the patronage of the
Hōjō clan
The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period ...
. The clan's fortunes waned with the fall of the Kamakura shogunate and the defeat of the
Southern Imperial Court (which the clan supported) during the
Nanboku-chō period.
During the
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 ...
, the Suwa were involved both in a feud with the Kanasashi clan of the ''Shimosha'' which supported the
Northern Court, and interclan strife between the head family (惣領家 ''sōryō-ke'') and the ''ōhōri-ke'' (大祝家), a branch of the clan that had come to assume the priestly duties. With the defeat of the Kanasashi and the head family's reattainment of the position of ''ōhori'', the clan became a
regional power, clashing with 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 T ...
- originally their allies - during the
Sengoku period
The was a period in 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 feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Variou ...
. The clan again suffered a setback with
Suwa Yorishige's defeat in the hands of
Takeda Shingen
, of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful Daimyo, daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.
Shingen was a warlord of ...
(who was, ironically, a staunch devotee of Suwa-myōjin) in 1542 and with his suicide in 1544, the extinction of the main family; his cousin Yoritada (諏訪頼忠, 1536-1606), who succeeded Yorishige's younger brother Yoritaka (諏訪頼高, 1528-1542) as ''ōhōri'', was spared. After the Takeda was destroyed by an alliance of
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 unif ...
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 fel ...
, Yoritada allied himself with the latter, who eventually reinstated Yoritada in his family domain in 1601.
Edo period onwards

Yoritada's eldest son, Yorimizu (頼水, 1571-1641) became the first ''daimyō'' to rule
Suwa Domain, with the office of ''ōhōri'' passing down to his fourth son, Yorihiro (頼広). With this, the clan effectively split into two branches: the ''daimyō'' line and the ''ōhōri'' line. To distinguish themselves from the ''daimyō'' line, the priestly line altered one of the
Chinese characters
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as '' kan ...
of their surname (from 諏訪 to 諏方).
All in all, ten generations served as ''daimyō'' of Suwa Domain until the abolition of the
han system
( ja, 藩, "domain") is a Japanese historical term for the estate of a daimyo in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji period (1868–1912). Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Han"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 283. or (daimyo domain) ...
during 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 ...
.
Meanwhile, the establishment of
State Shinto abolished the tradition of hereditary succession among Shinto priesthood, including that of Suwa Grand Shrine. Local clans such as the Suwa lost control of the shrine's traditional priestly offices (which in turn became defunct) as government appointees began to manage the shrine, which passed under state control.
The last Suwa ''ōhōri'', the fifteenth since Yorihiro, died in 2002 with no heirs.
See also
*
Takeminakata
Takeminakata (タケミナカタ), also known as Minakatatomi or Takeminakatatomi, is a '' kami'' in Japanese mythology. Also known as or after Suwa Grand Shrine (Suwa Taisha) in Nagano Prefecture (former Shinano Province) in which he is ens ...
*
Mishaguji
*
Moreya
*
Suwa Domain
*
Suwa Taisha
, historically also known as Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社 ''Suwa-jinja'') or , is a group of Shinto shrines in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The shrine complex is the '' ichinomiya'' of former Shinano Province and is considered to be one of the oldest s ...
*
Suwa Province
250px, Location of Suwa Province (721)
is an old province in the area of Nagano Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Suwa''" in .
It was located in the Tōsandō region of central Honshu. According to the old history book ''Shoku ...
*
Takeda Shingen
, of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful Daimyo, daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.
Shingen was a warlord of ...
References
{{Reflist, 30em
Japanese clans